Ride Epilogue

While getting to Finland had certainly proved the immense challenge I had expected, my travel back to Albania via bus, train and plane proved almost as arduous as the fours weeks it took to get to Jyvaskyla and shall form a separate blog entry shortly.

The physical stress/challenge of the ride was reasonably easy to predict. However, it was those unforeseen issues that really provided the challenges (much of it psychological): spoke failures, chains snapping, road surfaces turning to gravel, crashes, rain and wind, lack of water, relentless climbs that appear to have no end (when you are on them). However, on the other side of the scale are: friendly, helpful locals; support from family and friends; stunning scenery; seeing Europe from a rarely-seen perspective; being humble and accepting assistance from strangers. Mark Twain said he did not fear for the future of the human race when he saw someone on a bicycle. I feel the same way as a result of the wonderful people I met along my route courtesy of my bicycle.

I had spent 20 days in the saddle covering 2,831 kilometres. The necessity of train travel to Budapest, and the re-routing based on road surface scuppered the chance of breaking the 3,000 mark. However, I certainly feel I have completed my own ‘Tour’. And those lads in France don’t even tow a trailer – lightweights!!

During the course of my 3-weeks of pedalling the following stats were racked up:

20 – days in the saddle
2,831 - total km
154 – average km/day (taking out the two 25 km days for train and ferry)
214 – most km in one day
25 – least km in one day
3 – most number of countries in one day (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia)
6 - most days in one country (Poland)
70 – fastest speed (km/h)
5 – slowest speed (km/h)
26.6 – highest average speed (km/h – on the 214 km to Tallinn)
16.2 - lowest average speed (km/h – on the 132 km to Poprad)
6 – punctures
2 – rear cassettes used
3 –chains used
2 – bottom brackets used
7.5 – most litres of fluid (2 gallons) consumed in one day (June 9, Poland/Lithuania)
12 – total number of countries pedalled through
132 – hours in the saddle
88,830 – calories burned

Taking a closer look at the calories burned, I could have fuelled my trip on: 297 Snickers bars; 634 cans of Coke; 1,057 chocolate biscuits; or 25.5kg/56 lbs of pasta (dry weight); or any combination thereof.

Thank you to all of you who: provided me with support, whether moral, or in person; made a financial contribution to the ride campaign; read the blog; offered words of encouragement or support. Special thanks to: YMCA of the USA and the World Service department for processing financial contributions; YMCA Europe for allowing me to make this trip; YMCA Krakow and Latvia for arranging housing and fundraising for the ride (Krakow); Adam Rychlik for the spare tire; and Lene Fretheim for support-and-gear and companionship; my bro, Geoff, for letting my crash at his place (for several days longer than expected).

Many people, including myself at one point, referred to this as a once in lifetime trip. While I would certainly make changes to future ‘expeditions’ – namely have a ride companion(s) and somewhat shorter daily distances – the next trip is already floating around my mind. While talking late one night, Geoff suggested a ride down the length of Norway. I of course pounced on that and am trying to talk our other brother, Richard into it also. And yes, I have already checked my map and worked out a possible route. It is very tentatively planned for next summer. Then there is the matter of finishing my ride from N. Carolina, USA to Nova Scotia, Canada. Shannon, you are put on notice. And an idea which has been at the back of my mind for a few years now: Vancouver, Canada to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Hmmm – how far is that? Need a new map.

Of course all that will have to wait. Next week I check-in to the Betty Ford clinic to detox from caffeine and sugar.

June 20: Sysma to Jyvaskyla - 116 km

One of the factors that has made the biggest difference to my mindset on this trip is how early I get on the road in the morning. Earlier is better as it allows that ‘magic’ number of 100 km to be reached as early as possible. With this in mind, I was away before 8. I had been aiming for 7, but given the fact that it is hard to get so sleep before midnight in this part of the world at this time of year, due to the light, I was happy with this.

My ride plan was simple: scream through 50 km before stopping. This, I figured, would be about halfway for the day. Despite the continued hills the forest provided me with protection from the wind, and without this invisible wall pushing me backwards I was flying. It was a sunny, but cold day and I was dressed in winter gear – calf-length shorts, shoe covers, arm warmers. I had taken 4 chocolate bars with me and excess water with the intention of getting to Korpilahti before refuelling. In Finland of all places I had set my fastest speed of the trip – 70 km/h (45 mph) on a descent. (The descents in the Balkans/Tatras were probably steeper but they were also twistier, forcing me to brake much more frequently). I was very low on food, as I had eaten most of it due to high intensity effort of the morning thus far. I am sure it was my mood and not actually lack of blood sugar, but I seemed to be going slower than before, and all I could think about was where could I buy food.

Then as I swept downhill around a right hand curve I saw Lene pulled over in bus lay-by. My mood instantly improved. It continued to improve as I consumed a sandwich, crisps, chocolate, biscuits and whatever else she had in the car. Yes, really, this whole support-crew thing cannot be overrated. The pros have it made – new wheel, food, water, extra blood cells when you need it!

I was now into the last 40 km of my trans-European ride. Despite the food my energy seemed low and I did the only reasonable thing I could: I stopped and got help from the nutrition team in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Yep, it was time for the last Coke of the ride. Fortified by caramel, various e-numbers and caffeine I drove on towards Jyvaskyla. Lene was waiting at the Jyvaskyla (region) sign and we took the photo I had been dreaming of: the bike hoisted high above my head in celebration with the sign in the background.

I remember my first view of Jyvaskyla clearly: crossing the bridge over the main road and seeing the top of the clock tower and church. I was there! I duly passed the city limit sign at exactly 14:30, though truth be told I had no idea where I was in Jyvaskyla relevant to the landmarks I knew (train station, University). I resisted the temptation to follow signs to Paviljonki on the main road (my brother’s house is next to the pavilion) and was rewarded by being led directly to the train station. I bumped up the curb to the right and took the bike bridge over the 12+ tracks. I SMSed Lene to say I would be there in two mins. Less than 60 secs later I was at the front door to my bro’s apartment complex. The workmen were eyeing me with a combination of interest and suspicion.

I had done it. I was here – from Albania! Somewhat strangely I did not feel this great sense of euphoria. Maybe because there was no welcoming party to congratulate me /celebrate with - Geoff was in Chicago and the locals could have cared less. It was just another day in the saddle safely negotiated. A shower, clean clothes and food were in order.

June 19: Helsinki to Sysma - 173 km

Got a later than planned start. However, the good side of this was that I had enjoyed a relaxed breakfast and leisurely start to the day. As had become the norm, leaving a metropolitan areas took time as I negotiated the many turns and traffic lights. However, the Finns have it worked out: bike paths run parallel to the busier roads and though a hassle to keep crossing back and forth following the path it was treat to be on a road for ‘non-motorised’ vehicles, though my opinion on this soon changed.

I quickly discovered that Finland was not as flat as I remembered, and although my speed was reasonable it seemed painfully slow compared to what I had expected – a Tallinnesque 25+ km/h average. This was not helped by the continual head wind that was causing my knees to ache once more. However, the forests and hills made the ride more interesting than the flat lands. I set me sights on reaching Mantsala and then Lahti.

I had quite possibly the worst meal of my trip in Mantsala (purchased from a supermarket): meat (??) sandwich, packet of crisps and a packet of 6 mini-doughnuts (though I could only manage three). They did not even sell Coke. Outrageous! In Lahti I stopped for a break and ice cream – despite the wind it was reasonably hot. No sooner I had tasted my first spoonful of Mango and Melon than the clouds darkened, the wind grew stronger and it started to rain!

I could not find the Sibelius music hall and other ‘attraction’ that the local man had directed me too, and following the brief detour into a local park where I finished the remaining doughnuts (even bad-tasting ones have calories) I pushed North. Despite the increase in wind I really enjoyed the terrain once I reached Vaaksy: I was surrounded by water and forests, as one would expect in Finland, and it was stunning in its simplicity and timeless beauty. The only problem? Surrounded by all this water, there was nowhere to buy any / re-fill water bottles.

I was only 35 km from Sysma but the headwind and hills had taken their toll and it seemed like an interminable distance. Lene SMSed and said she had just entered Sysma in the rental car. Great – she could bring me water. Buoyed by the knowledge that my H2O source would be replenished I turned the power on. We met just less than 20 km from Sysma and I re-stocked. (Why had I not arranged to have support on the previous 18 ride days? This was great.).

I rolled into the campground at 20:30 and found Lene talking to the proprietor. She asked how far I had come. “75 or 100 km?” “One hundred and seventy…..five” I replied. “Oh”, came the response, “75 -100 is what most people do”. I wanted to say “no half day’s for me” but resisted. We scrambled around for the right denominations of money – for whatever reason the landlady did not have the key to the till, her husband was in the sauna, and therefore she could not give change.

That done, and with ice lollipop in hand, we made camp near the water. We were the only tent campers that night. Lene had outdone herself and bought pizza and we ate it on the jetty while we watched the sun set - at 10:45 pm. After that we ate the various foods she had bought en route in the kitchen area provided. Then tiredness overwhelmed me.

June 18: Tallinn to Helsinki via ferry crossing - 25 km

The rain had abated when I woke, but had obviously continued for most of the night. The tent was wet inside and it needed a repeat of my first morning’s drying technique: sleeping bags, pads, tent, towels and groundsheet were strung up into the wind. As we finished breakfast (toasted ciabatta and sausage again) the rain started once more. Hastily we packed up in an effort to prevent the fabric from getting too damp.

I had intended to ride the short distance to the ferry in ‘street’ clothes. However, with the rain now upon us there seemed little point in letting my one ‘civilian’ outfit get wet. We were all packed up, checked out, tires inflated, bike checked and it was time for the obligatory photo. That done we were off. Well, Lene was. In the 50 metres I had gone for the photo I had got a puncture! I was stressing – we had intended to leave for the ferry at 11:00 and it was already 11:15. I had visions of us missing the ferry due to pierced rubber. I am sure I looked annoyed, stressed and disbelieving simultaneously.

Lene went for the bus and I was on the road around 11:45. Having stopped and asked for directions at a petrol garage I arrived at Terminal C for the Nordic Jet Line at 12:15, a full 15 mins ahead of the deadline.

As told, I ‘checked in’ via the vehicle entrance and then stood in the rain and wind for 30 minutes, along with a couple on a motorbike. How I wished I was wearing their leathers – they looked so warm and comfortable. The complete opposite of how I felt. I of course was the last ‘vehicle’ to board and having secured the bike (against a pallet full of beer and a locked cage of other duty free goods) I joined Lene in the warm confines of the ship’s lounge. The crossing was smooth and we played cards most of the way – all you could see through the portals was grey sky or water.

Upon arrival in Finland it was still raining. I was once again the last off the boat and waited a while in the drizzle to clear passport control. But I was here – in my final country of this great adventure. Having failed to raise a response from the YMCA of Finland regarding accommodation they were arranging we aimed for the tourist information office in the centre of Helsinki, a short walk away. Having got directions we then made our way to the Arthur Hotel, owned by the YMCA of Helsinki in the slim hope that a reservation had been made for us there and that I did not get the message. After Krakow, who knows what plans may have been made? As expected we came up empty. The hotel was fully booked to boot. However, the original plan had been to camp and the clerk at reception called the campground we were heading to. Good news, they had just opened a hostel that very day and had plenty of beds available. The thought of a solid roof, not canvas, over my head sounded good. Off we went, via a Chinese restaurant, Lene by metro, me on two wheels.

I will highly recommend Rastila campsite and hostel. The rooms were very clean, affordable and of a standard I am not used to in a hostel – we even had a kitchen in our room. Sauna was also available, though all I wanted was dry clothes, a shower and food (surprise).

June 17: Tallinn

The rain was back. We woke up to high winds and low, grey skies and cooked ourselves an ‘English’ breakfast of left over Estonian sausage, egg, baked beans and fried sausage. This was indeed high living on the campground. The rain duly started and we moved everything to the centre of the tent, in an effort to keep it dry, and headed for the sauna located in the tennis club next door. To round out an almost perfect morning, save for the weather, an hour or so was spent perusing the inventory of the bicycle store in the same complex. I considered it a moral victory that no money left my wallet.

Once we could no longer find excuses to prevent us from venturing out into the weather we journeyed to town again. As usual for the touring cyclist, hunger consumed me once more. I also needed a map of Finland to replace the one my dad had loaned me and that I had to cut in order to make it fit in my handlebar map pocket (sorry Dad). We combined these two needs at the bookstore café, having dismissed the idea of crepes downstairs. Then it was on to the internet café located in the basement bus station for the regular blog update.

Having spent a few hours there it was time to peek outside and see what Mother Nature was doing. No surprises in store – it was still grey and miserable with precipitation being driven by high winds. We walked the short distance to Old Town and attempted to explore again. However, the weather was hardly encouraging and soon dampened our desire to walk, or even be outdoors. It was time for a decision: go back to the tent, find a coffee shop, or begin a long, slow dinner with a drink? Answer C please. And so we made our way to Old Hansa, a medieval themed restaurant where dinner was begun with a stein-full of Dark Honey Beer. The atmosphere, food and décor of the restaurant was as good as the beer (or was it the other way around) and the live ‘period’ music was a nice touch and completed the ambiance.

We braced ourselves for what we find inside the tent. The outside was soaked and it was a question of how closely the inside matched it. Sure enough the floor was wet, along with the edges of the sleeping bag, but it was still much better than the first night I had spent here.

June 21: Celebrating trip´s end in Jyvaskyla

It´s over. No more pedalling, no more hills, no more cokes or snickers. Despite misfortune´s best efforts in attempting to delay my departure from a cold and rainy Tallin - I had a flat tire en route to the ferry - I arrived in Finland on Monday afternoon.

The weather was just as cold and miserable in Helsinki. There was no accommodation left at the Helsinki YMCA´s hotel, so following an attitude adjustment conisting of Chinese food and hot tea we set off in search of the Rastila Hostel on the east side of the city. I do not think I have ever slept in a hotel/motel/hostel on its first day of opening before - but that is exactly what we did in the school turned Hostelling International site.

The next day it was off to Sysma and I found out the hard way that Finland is not as flat as I thought. Combined with the all-day headwind it was one of the harder days I have had on the trip and I had not geared down this low since coming through the High Tatras into Poland. After a long day in the saddle the night was spent at the Sysma campground - next to the lake. We ate pizza in bright sunshine at 10 pm.

The final day to Jyvaskyla was a relatively short one of 116 km. I was on the road early and enjoying the lack of wind. I zipped through the first half of the day, despite the continuing undulations of the countryside. My fastest speed of the trip was set (in Finland of all places) of 70 km/h. I was flagging by lunchtime and very pleased to see Lene with food around noon.

After an injection of caffeine and sugar in the form of Coke (what else?) I pushed on for the final 35 km into Jyvaskyla. The sun was out and I told myself to enjoy the final 90 minutes of cycling on back roads. At 2:30 pm local time I had arrived. By 2:45 it was pouring with rain and I was grateful to be inside and warm/dry. I had finished and though happy, all I wanted to do was sleep. No big celebration, just rest.

Today is Midsummer´s Day (Johannus in Finnish) and I will be celebrating: Food, drink, Sauna and watching the midnight sun.

Full updates for each day since Tallinn (and photos I hope) will be posted over the weekend I hope. However, as this is Johannus, most stores/cafes are closed from tonight on.

A big thank you to all who have made this ride possible and offered support throughout the last 4 weeks. I will write more soon, but now I hear the sauna calling my name!

June 16 - Tallinn

Woke up to bright blue sky and sunshine and little wind. Lene was sleeping so I made myself some coffee and went for a walk around the Olympic harbour.

Having cooked breakfast and taken my bicycle to the nearby store for a 'drivetrain clean' we ventured into the Old Town, taking advantage of the cheaper 'book' of bus tickets that the Swedish biker had told us about rather than paying the driver. With the good weather there were crowds of people in the city. We had deliberately not taken a map - instead opting to wander and discover the city be chance.

As usual I was hungry and having toured various cafes restaurants we settled on a traditional Estonian establishment, opting for the Estonian Sausage Feast. It was indeed a feast and most of it was bagged up and taken with us - the idea being to have a cooked breakfast of sausage, egg and beans on the morrow.

We continued to explore and gradually discovered all that Tallinn has to offer - craft shops, narrow cobbled streets, churches and other historic buildings, posing for photographs and making important decisions such as where to eat dinner tomorrow. For me, Tallin had much more to offer than Riga, though in fairness to the Latvian capital I did not make much of an effort to explore it.

Following a bus ride back to the marina it was time for grocery shopping to ensure our breakfast feast went off as planned. We returned to the tent where the wind had died down and were under a crystal clear sky. I slept well.