On The Pegs February 2020 - Volume 5 - Issue 2 | Page 80

On The Pegs
80
On South Street in Malmö, there were always a lot of people. That first evening
of the Novemberkasan, it was especially crowded outside of Husqvarna’s dealer
depot. The interest for the exciting event was great and everybody wanted to
know how the competitors were progressing.
It’s a late November night in 1927, and spectators gather in Sweden’s southern-
most city of Ystad where the riders are expecting to stamp their penalty cards,
before heading out to continue riding the exhausting night stage. By now, they
have covered around two-thirds of the night stage. And here is the first rider,
coming through the snow, signalling and honking to get through the bystanders
close to the road.
He is having trouble stopping at the control unit and his machine makes a
360-degree loop before the rider elegantly stops the two-wheeler. People ap-
plaud the skill of the snowman. Between the wheel-spokes, there is a thick layer
of frozen snow and ice. You would almost think that the man is riding on disc
wheels.
“It doesn’t help going too fast under these severe conditions,” says Gunnar
Kalén as he enters the Hotel Continental, where the riders have a 45-minute break
in order to get some refreshments and food. I have taken note that there are a lot
of secret controllers along the course.
The press is informed that there are 19 men out there, looking for speeding rid-
ers who get penalties for fast-tracking. The newsmen have vowed not to mention