STJØRDAL (VG) Svein Kirknes has made his way up Norway, but no one complains when they see his sign.
Less than 30 minutes ago
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The old mechanic opens the hood of the blue Zetor tractor from 1961. For six weeks, it and a converted horse-drawn carriage behind the tractor have been his home.
For 400 miles, a windscreen, southwest and a set of retro pilot glasses have been protection against the weather.
– I dry my shoes in here, he says and points to the engine.
But it is not just drying shoes that the engine heat is used for.
– And here I arranged with leg of lamb one day. I bought foil and tied it. It will be 80 degrees in here. After two hours of driving, I thought it was over.
It didn’t work out that way. When he opened the engine cover, the piece of meat was nowhere to be seen. It had worn itself out, he says.
– I’m sure it does quite well, but then it has a ferry, to quote the størdalingen directly.
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NOK 60,000, but no sour cream porridge
Stjørdal to Nordkapp, round trip. On the way, he has, among other things, taken trips to Karasjok, a visit to Finland and Mosvik to find Petter Northug – who turned out not to be at home.
– I had hoped for sour cream porridge, but there was no sour cream porridge that day.
The maximum speed on the “Zetor’n” is 25 km/h, but no one has ever gotten mad. When they see the sign on the back about the fundraising campaign, thumbs up and money at Vipps:
–So far, Kirknes has collected NOK 60,000. The money goes to the children’s cancer department at St. Olav’s hospital.
Serious accident
The background for the trip stretches back almost 23 years.
The date 06.08.1998 is engraved on a cup attached to the tractor, behind the female doll Lura (and of course – we’ll get back to her). Then Kirknes was in a serious car crash.
The foot and an arm were almost torn off, while the head was thrown through the windscreen. He sewed 270 stitches and received disability benefits.
Later, he found pleasure in fixing vintage tractors.
In 2018, he drove to Kirkenes for the first time in a Gråtass tractor. He visited a friend who didn’t think he would make it.
In Tromsø, he met a married couple who were crying. They had just learned that their child had cancer, they said.
– When I sat down on the crying bag to drive again, I started to think. Maybe I should contribute something to the hospital, which had also saved my life?
–The tractor, which he bought for NOK 10,000, has been completely renovated. He bought the horse-drawn carriage in Svalbard and converted it into a caravan full of smart solutions.
– The diesel pump smoked on the first test run, he says.
– And yet you set out on this journey?
– It is madness. I was very excited about the trip.
On Thursday, he returned to Stjørdal to applause at Torget. With black smoke rising from his pipe and a grin, he was back where he started – with both tractor and health intact.
Hard work all the way
The tractor uses one and a half liters of diesel per mile, which around the rain should mean 600 liters on the trip.
Still, he hasn’t spent a penny on fuel. Sponsors and good helpers along the way have stepped in.
Generally, he says, he has been offered more diesel than he has room for in the tank.
– At Kvenndalsfjellet some guys were ready and gave me 70 litres.
In the area by Lakselv, the thought of going completely empty continued.
– Then a farmer came who said I could drive up to his farm and fill up.
He has been offered plenty of food. If he has not fished himself, he has always received a trout from people along the rivers on the way.
–But what is the real deal with the female doll Lura?
– My lady, yes! I wanted to bring my wife, but she didn’t want to be part of this. It didn’t help.
He was able to buy a doll for NOK 300 at Solsiden in Trondheim, bought clothes at Fretex and put her at the front of the tractor.
Since then, Lura has broken her foot once, bathed, attended a party with Sami people in Karasjok and a pub with tunnel workers.
– There were only guys there, so they thought we had to have a lady.
Back to normal
In the square in Stjørdal are his daughter, son-in-law and grandson, as well as his wife, Heidi Kirknes.
– It’s crazy, she says.
– What did you say when he decided on this?
– Nothing. He’s just like that. We are at our best when he gets to do what he thinks is fun. He loves people and new places.
–Now duties await at home. The lawn must be mowed, drainage pipes dug and cleaned.
– It will be good to get him home. It’s time for him to come home and do things, she says with a laugh before giving Stjørdal’s Reodor Felgen a welcome hug.
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