Bonus photo post

Ok, you'll get two bonus photos ;)

Orivesi - Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä - Suonenjoki

Quick update for my non-Finnish speaking followers. I'm in Suonenjoki this morning having stayed here last night and in Jyväskylä the night before. My need for rest and food has overridden my ability to keep two blogs and twitter feeds up to date. You'll get a bonus photo instead :)

Anyway, since you're dying to find out, here are the numbers from my two previous days on the bike:

Monday 9.7: 120,8 km, 5h 55min 1sec, 20,4 km/h avg, 61,3 km/h
Tuesday 10.7: 100,0 km, 5h 06min 15sec, 19,6 km/h avg, 56,0 km/h max
Tour total: 448,2 km

Urjala - Orivesi

As you can see from the photo today's route was even more rural than yesterday's. Well that's not quite accurate, but I at least left route 9 so that I could actually admire the scenery. Oh, and avoid a fine for cycling on the motorway :)

From the area around Viiala I followed some excellent cycle paths to Valkeakoski where I stopped for lunch outside a supermarket. The road from Valkeakoski to Kangasala was really nice and the hills were few and far between. This changed for the last push from Kangasala to Orivesi during which I, for a brief moment, started contemplating the wisdom of this endeavour. Undulating is an understatement and my compact crankset doesn't have the range for comfortable climbing when tired.

Fortunately I had company for the last 10 km or so as a local roadie had caught up with me and stuck around to find out what I was up to. We parted ways as I turned towards the Säynäniemi campsite, yet to face a single drop of rain or the forecast lightning. As I came to a stop in front of the reception building the skies openend up and thunder crackled through the air.

I explained the purpose of my tour to the landlady and ended up being donated a stay in a small cottage. As I'm writing this the rain har started again and I'm happy not to be huddling in my tent.

Today: 110,2 km, 5h 25min 33sec, 20,3 km/h avg, 54,8 km/h max
Tour total: 227,4 km

Turku - Urjala

I had an uneventfulday on the bike interrupted by pleasant encounters almost everytime I stopped. The BOB Yak is as good a conversation starter as ever and I had to explain myself a few times. People's reactions tend to vary between being mildly impressed to "you're doing what?". Mentioning my heart condition and the charitable purpose of this tour equalizes most to "oh, that's nice".

Route 9 from Aura onwards is rather boring but fairly safe to ride. The shoulder is wide enough and there wasn't that much traffic today. Most drivers passed at a good three feet or more but there were of course a few that came closer as well.

Tonight I'm staying at Taikayö Camping, approximately 8 km west of Urjala. Tomorrow I'm getting back on route 9 for a bit then switching to smaller roads through Valkeakoski and Kangasala on my way to Orivesi. Here's to the forecast for heavy thunderstorms not being accurate..

Today: 117,2 km, 5h 39min 33sec, 20,7 km/h avg, 49,3 km/h max
Tour total: 117,2 km

Good Will on Wheels

This year I've already cycled far more than I did last summer. This blog has, however, remained dormant even though I've been clocking up the kilometers. Another thing that's different from last year is that I'm also counting the total distance I've cycled in miles in addition to kilometers. The reason for that is that I'm part of 1000 miles 2 work, raising money to pay for heart operations for kids in Vietnam with congenital heart defects (CHD). I was 'recruited' for this campaign by Val Monk who started it all about a year ago and has since just bout completed her 1000 miles. Read more about Val on her blog.

At the moment I'm up to about 652 miles (1050 km) but will soon be putting my participation on hold for a week as I'm about to set out on another charity project of my own. Starting on Saturday July 7th my aim is to cycle from Turku to Nurmes, a journey of about 620 km if the measurements on online maps are anything to go by. With mE I'll be dragging my trusted BOB Yak trailer and in it I will be hauling the usual cycle-tour gear: tent, sleeping bag, camping cooker, food, tools and clothes. I'll stay at campsites where available, use CouchSurfing or Warmshowers.org in the larger towns and the odd B&B.

As in 2010 I'll be touring to raise awareness about CHD and to hopefully also inspire at least a few to donate to the Finnish Association for Heart Children and Adults. The association works to improve the lives of those who are living with congenital heart defects as well as their family members. In addition the association also supports research and education in matters related to CHD.

During the tour I'll be blogging mainly in Finnish in my tour specific blog with more frequent updates in English over on twitter. There might still be the odd blog post from the road here as well, but I'm not promising any daily digests as I've failed to deliver on that promise previously.

Here's a rough route plan for the Turku to Nurmes tour:

Bike route 1382138 - powered by Bikemap 

Yesterday I also took the trailer out for a spin as I went on a short ride to Raisio where the heart association organized an event called Good Will on Wheels. This event called for an all together different type of biker than I've usually written about on this blog as some 15 Harley Davidon riders gathered to take CHD kids for a short cruise. Unfortunately the weather was somewhat less than ideal with a cold, light drizzle keeping turnout at a minimum. Still, the kids who's parents didn't shy away from a little light rain seemed to enjoy the chance to ride on a large motorcycle.

Day 2: Tammela - Asikkala

Last night I was way too sleepy to write a full post for day 2. I barely managed to stay awake to post in Finnish over on http://sovatour.blogspot.com. Here's then a short recap of at least how the day ended.

I had a decent but long day on the road. With over 6 hours in the saddle combined with some uncertainty as to where I was going to spend the night it started to wear me down at the end.

There aren't any proper campsites in all of Asikkala and as I rolled into town I caught an intense shower of cold rain. Soaking wet, and getting cold fast, I quickly made a reservation for a cabin and soon found myself in a hot sauna. Well rested I now look forward to another day on the bike. The sun is out so it should be a good one. I already have accomodation booked in Mäntyharju for tonight.

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Yesterday: 128,32 km, 6h10m00s, 20,94 km/h avg, 52,8 km/ max.
Tour total: 233,26 km.

Day 1: Turku - Tammela

Today was the first stage of my tour from Turku to Punkaharju. I had a great day on the bike and besides a 20 minute light rain I can't think of anything that didn't go according to plan.

The Venesilta camping here in Tammela is really nice, and I had a lengthy chat with my neighbours while sitting next to the fire in the photo. The view of the lake is really something special, and my tent is less than 10 meters from the shoreline.

It's now time to turn in and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I'll be riding some 120 km from Tammela to Asikkala.

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Today: 104,94 km, 4h55m18s, 21,50 km/h avg, 44,2 km/h max
Tour total: 104,94 km.

Tour preparation

I'm in the midst of finalizing my preparation for my bike tour next week. On Monday morning I will set out to complete a project that's been several months in the making. The SOVA-tour will be a five day adventure from Turku to Punkaharju, during which I will blog and tweet from the road. The main body of this reporting will be in Finnish, and posted in my tour specific blog. Not to neglect this, my main cycling blog, too much, I'm hoping to post a couple of brief reports here as well. At the very least I will take the time to compile a post-tour write-up when I'm home again.

Embedded below are the planned daily stages, courtesy of bikemap.net. Based on Google Maps, bikemap.net and it's sister sites for other sports offer a great mapping and route planning tool. I've always enjoyed pouring over maps and dreaming away wanting to visit different places. With digital maps combined with efficient routing tools, it's very easy to see how far 100 km or so a day actually gets you.

Before I get to the maps, I would like to take the time to thank a few companies and businesses for helping me make this tour a reality. Things started to fall apart on Tuesday morning when I noticed that my BOB Yak trailer had been stolen from its place in the common bike shelter in my building. Distraught I called the sole Finnish importer, Kareisen pyöräkorjaamo, to check if they had any in storage. There weren't any available, and the prospect of getting any more this week were uncertain to say the least. None the less, I would be contacted as soon as any showed up, with the promise to overnight a trailer to Turku should any arrive on time. On Thursday I received a phone call saying no new trailers had yet been delivered, but that there actually was a bike shop in Turku that also carried the trailers. I rushed over to Next Bike and true enough, they had a BOB Yak in the shelf, straight out of the box. Since I had already made my police report and filed a claim with my insurance company, I elected to buy the new trailer there and then. By now it was almost lunch time, and after lunch I got a text message saying my new trailer had been assembled and was ready to be picked up.

I've since taken the trailer out for a shakedown, and had my bike given some professional TLC at Visan polkupyörähuolto. Dropping just about everything he was doing, Visa swapped my brake pads and a gear shift cable, opened and reassembled the bottom bracket and retuned the gears. With my bike feeling as good as new within hours after dropping it off, I was more than happy to pay the reasonable fee instead of making a mess of my self and only getting half the job done.

Day 1: Turku - Tammela.

Bike route 392738 - powered by Bikemap

Day 2: Tammela - Asikkalan kk.

Bike route 392748 - powered by Bikemap

Day 3: Asikkalan kk - Mäntyharju.

Bike route 392754 - powered by Bikemap

Day 4: Mäntyharju - Ryhälä.

Bike route 392761 - powered by Bikemap

Day 5: Ryhälä - Punkaharju.

Bike route 392772 - powered by Bikemap

On the road again..

Yesterday I went out on my first road bike ride of the year. With an ambient temperature of around 10°C and the sunshine making it feel even warmer I was determined to go out for a spin. This year I'm starting from an even lower level of fitness than last year, even though I did go ice skating a few times during winter. I've got some decent incentive, however, as I'm planning to cycle-tour from Turku to Punkaharju in the middle of June (more on that later).

As I was preparing for my ride I noticed that the batteries in both my Sigma bike computer and my FRWD sports computer were flat. I then resorted to logging my performance with Nokia Sports Tracker istead. It works well enough, and while it in a way felt liberating not to stare at a speedometer the entire time I think I prefer to have a display in front of me over the phone in my jersey pocket.

There's still a lot of sand and gravel on most bike paths in the area, with only a narrow clean line near the middle along most of my route yesterday. Hopefully they will be cleaned soon, as it did detract from the enjoyment of being out on the bike again. The sand also decreases the amount of grip offered by 23 mm racing tyres to dangerous levels. At one point I hade to slow down almost to a crawl to negotiate a turn without wiping out.

Roadie season premiere: 18.8 km, 51min3sec, 22.1 km/h avg, 43.8 km/h max.

You've got a friend in me

A week ago I was out on my bike again. But not just on any ride, oh no. This time I was on a mission. I had decided to go to a charity concert held in benefit of the Finnish Association for Heart Children and Adults. The "Ilman ystävää et jää" (~You won't be without a friend) concert was in Helsinki on Sunday, so what better way to get there from Turku than to hook up my Yak trailer to my road bike and start pedalling?

I started out on Saturday morning, just after 9.30. As agreed on a cycling forum, a fellow Turku roadie met me on the street corner and together we set out towards Piikkiö. Janne would tag along all the way to Halikko where, after a cup of coffee, he'd turn back to (I believe) go to someone's graduation party.

Before we ever got to Halikko, though, I had a few problems with the trailer. I had waited to take it out of storage until the night before, only to notice that it was missing a pin. Without it, the trailer would not stay on the bike, especially not in a bump or sharp turn. I went through every box and drawer in my flat in order to find an alternative, ending up with a sturdy piece of string as my best option. I was, after all, not going to cancel this mini tour on count of a missing cotter pin. The string held up fairly well, too. I had to retie it once about halfway to Halikko, where I eventually found a hardware store that carried a pin that fit the bill.

As the day wore on, the heat became more of an issue. With air temperatures of around 27°C, I went through a lot of water, and on the inclines the road surface temperature of about 50°C made it self known. It was almost like pedalling uphill in a sauna. Luckily the old saying of what goes up, must come down is still in effect. Cruising downhill at 50+ km/h sure cools you down even on a hot day.

A little before 19 I arrived at my destination for the day, Vihti. The last 20 km were really hilly, but the scenery made it worthwhile. Once in Vihti I made my way to my CouchSurfing host for the night. E and her daughters where waiting for me in the yard, and we soon went over to the neighbours and sat in the garden. After I'd had a shower a while later, I was treated to delicious pies (veggie and rhubarb) and ice cream. E and I sat up talking til around midnight, when it was more than time for me to turn in for the night.

On Sunday morning I headed out again a little after 10, as I was in no real hurry to get to Helsinki. Again, I had to tackle quite a few hills after leaving Vihti. Fortunately I know well enough how to climb with the trailer, slow and steady. Still, with the heat setting in around noon, it was still pretty tough this early in the season. All in all the landscape north west of Helsinki is a lot more rolling than I'm used to here near Turku. Guess I can only blame the ice age..

After reaching Helsinki I went to a friend's place to cool down, take a shower and chat for a while. H also agreed to drive my trailer and bag to the train station after the concert was over, making my life in central Helsinki a lot easier. With the unloaded bike feeling almost unbelievably light, I rode into town and found a kebab with my name on it. An hour before the concert was about to start, I went to the Savoy theatre, the venue of the evening, and convinced the doorman to allow me to take my bike inside the cloak room. The people from the heart association were thrilled that I had come by bike, and supposedly there's now going to be a story about me in the association's magazine. The concert was great, with several nationally, and some internationally, recognised artists donating their time for the charity.

Once the concert was over I met up with H outside the train station, thanked him for his help and caught the last train back to Turku. Mission accomplished.

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Saturday: 130km
Sunday: 55km

Åland Runt 2009

This weekend my cycling got a shot in the arm (I know, bad metaphor). Last year I rode my bike(s) only slightly more often than I updated this blog. A lot has happened since my last post, which I won't mention here. I did recover my stolen MTB, but I won't go into that story now either. The topic of this post is, and will be, Åland Runt 2009.

Last saturday, together with 32 other riders, mainly from Turun Urheiluliitto's Harrastepyöräilijät, and a support van, I embarked on a two day light tour of the Åland islands. We met up at the club 'stable' at 7.15 in the morning, loaded our overnight gear in the van and rode the short distance down to the Viking Line terminal. Onboard we had a small conference room booked where coffee and sandwiches were served, and the itinerary of the trip was presented. Later on, before reaching Mariehamn, we also had lunch in the buffet restaurant.

We divided into two groups, with the aim of keeping the average speeds moderate. I chose the 25 km/h group, where I was joined by 18 others. This left the faster, 30 km/h, group with 13 riders. We were to ride mainly the same route, with the faster bunch taking predetermined detours to meet up with the support van at about the same times as the slower group.

We spent the night in cabins at Puttes camping, right next to the ruins at Bomarsund. Both the thai food dinner in the evening and the oatmeel & sandwich breakfast the following morning was literally devoured, to the astonishment of the cafeteria staff. Even with all the food available to us in the van, we had still burned enough calories to be very hungry :)

The weather on Saturday was cloudy, with even a few drops of rain as we disembarked the ship and rolled out of Mariehamn. The sky cleared as the day wore on, ending with a beautiful sunset to crown the evening at the camp site. On Sunday we woke up to a bright morning, not a single cloud to be seen anywhere. Still, we rode almost exclusively in long bibs, as May is not to be regarded a summer month here in Finland.

The scenery afforded to us as we blasted through the Åland countryside was stunning. If you're ever in this neck of the woods and you've got your bike with you, you should definitely make a stop there. Also, on your way back, why not indulge yourself in a celebratory meal in the à la Carte on the ship? We did, and it surely was a feast!

This trip was a great opportunity for me to try out my new wheels and tires. I'm now riding on Mavic Ksyrium Elites wrapped in Schwalbe Ultremos. Before the weekend, I had only done five or six laps on the velodrome on them. Now, with almost 200 km done, I'm very happy with their preformance. I also finally got to use my FRWD on a longer ride, you can check the data from both Saturday and Sunday on traxmeet.com. On top of that, here's a short, poor quality, video to illustrate riding in a chain gang. I've yet to upload any photos, but I'm hoping to get around to doing that soon..

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Stats: see the traxmeet.com links above.

Around and around..

The photo to the right is the view from the top floor of our building. The velodrome (Wikipedia) just sits there, taunting me, right across the street. This Wednesday there was a local track meet, with 500m, 1000m and Keirin races. As I wasn't doing much else, I walked over and took a few snaps instead. I'd been planning to have a go at it myself with my roadie ever since I moved here together with my girlfriend over three weeks ago. Finally, this morning I got my act together and headed out there.

The Turku velodrome (Wiki, Finnish) is a 333,33 meter outdoor circuit where the Finnish track championships have been held quite a few times. The last time I'd ridden on it was in 2006, if I'm not mistaken. Today I had the track to myself, but since I still haven't ridden much at all this year, I decided to take it really easy. In total I did about 60 laps, 20 km, including a couple with one foot unclipped. I really liked how the freedom from having to worry about traffic and other road hazards allowed me to concentrate of my riding style and position on the bike. Before heading home I went for a short spin to Lauste, a quaint suburb to the southeast.

After I got back home again and had had some bacon and eggs, Maija and I headed to Ajopyörä so that she could buy a pair of single-sided SPD pedals and matching shoes. She's been commuting to work, through sleet and snow even, but now I might just be able to lure her with me on even longer rides in the countryside.

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Morning ride: 32.17 km, 1h14min24sec, 25.94 kmh avg, 44.6 kmh max.

Author Vision '06 stolen!

I got an sms last night from my girlfriend. My MTB, my Author Vision '06, has been stolen from in front of our building in Turku while I've been on the ship. It was locked with both an, albeit somewhat flimsy, Basta wire lock and a Kryptonite U-lock. Dammit, why can't people just respect the property of others?

Besides from what's obvious from the pictures, it's a 19" frame, there was a Sigma Cuberider mount on the saddle post, a damaged Sigma Evo+EvoX T-bone on the stem and some damage to the gear indicator cover on the left gear levers.

Of course, it's only a bike, and when the insurance company won't cover it's full value, it's only money. Still, I just can't fathom the concept of someone stealing a bike. Oh well, off to the police station..

XT dual-control

Today I got my new '07 Shimano ST-M760 XT dual-control brake/shift levers for my MTB. I managed to damage my left lever on the bike back in september last year, while it was just about brand new. The old one still works, but I've been looking around for a decent deal on a replacement ever since. I thought long and hard about waiting until I could afford disc brakes, but there's just no room in the budget for that right now.

I'm on the ship again, working til the 14th. So it'll be over a week until I'll get to try out the new levers for real. Then I guess I'll have to take it easy for a while and accept that there probably is a learning curve to using STI off road.

On the 15th I'm joining MTB-Turku for the annual visit to Luolavuoren koulu (link in Finnish). The PTA there hosts a schoolyard event and we're invited to show the kids the joy of cycling. Last year I went on my road bike, and after a fair amout of encouragement I had a go at a small ramp. This year I think I'll stick to the MTB..

First road club ride 2008

Last night I was on my first roadie club ride of the season. Once again, due to construction work, the route has been changed this year. And, once again, Kaharinvuori just east of Rusko proved too much for me at the speed the chain gang was going. It's not a big hill, not even by local standards. Still it's steep enough for me to drop well behind the others this time of year.

Cruising down hill again on the far side I noticed one of the other riders had waited for me. On the flat he helped me keep a pace that would let ut catch up with the gang again. Before we could do that, though, we were overtaken by two cars which in turn couldn't pass the rest of pack. More traffic in Moisio caused the gap to inrease even further. I was in no shape to go any faster, so my companion asked if I was ok with him joining the gang now well ahead of us.

I was down, but not out. I decided that I wasn't dressed in lycra for nothing, and continued along the route alone. Actually I wasn't 100% sure I was going the right way, having lost line of sight to the chain gang. But then, while still on Paattistentie, near Auvaismäki, I saw them again heading south on Auvaismäentie. I knew the area from before, having passed through on a solo ride a couple of years ago. I really should explore these parts of Turku some more, it's great cycling country.

All in all I ended up doing two laps of the Moisio - Auvaismäki - Maaria circuit at my own pace before heading home again. Not too shabby, as this was only my second outing on the roadie this year.

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club ride: 62,36 km, 2h26m4s, 25,62 kmh avg, 45,6 kmh max

Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery

Check out Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery, a bicycle web comic. It's hilarious and details the everyday adventures of avid commuter / bike shop worker Yehuda and his co-workers.

Yesterday I was out on my second ever mtb club ride. MTB-Turku (Finnish) holds weekly rides for beginners like me and last night I felt more like trying out the forest instead of the road. I've actually only been on one roadie ride so far this year, but I've ridden my mtb around town all winter. My first off road club ride was back in september last year..

Meeting up at Prisma Itäharju, nine riders set out towards Littoinen by way Pääskyvuori, Varissuo (Kalttasuo), Järvelä and Tehtaanmäki. The return trip had us riding through Paaskunta, Rientola and Lauste. Near the starting point, as Pave led the remainder of the group up Laukkavuori, I announced I'd had enough and headed home.

It's been fairly dry for a few days, but there were still quite a few muddy spots here and there. The terrain surrounding Turku is perhaps more suited for enduro and trail riding, not xc cruising which would perhaps be more my cup of tea. Most of the other riders were out on full suspension bikes, I can only remember seeing one other hard tail.

...

• ~2 hours of riding, short breaks
  
• 2 over-the-bars expriences
• loads of fun

New bike!

I finally did it. I'm now officially a bike addict, owning both road and mountain bikes. For quite some time, ever since my accident in may, the thought of getting a new bike has been maturing in the back of my mind. A few days ago, while out riding my roadie in Helsinki, I stopped by Best Brakes to check out their end-of-summer sale. The guy behind the counter gave me an offer that was hard to refuse, but luckily also 24 hours to think it over.

While in Stockholm the next day I finally gave in to the urge, picked up the phone and called. With the word "sold" ("myyty", in Finnish) I bought a new bike, picking it up yesterday when I was in Helsinki again. It's a 2006 Author Vision a hardtail XC vehicle, specced with mostly Shimano Deore XT and LX components, Ritchey finishing kit and a Manitou R7 suspension fork.

Today I of course had to try it out, and what better place to do it than on the small cliff right next to the Viking Line terminal here in Stockholm. With my girlfriend in tow, carrying my work camera, I made my way up the hill with my feet touching the ground far fewer times than I had expected. Having reached the top it was time for a small photo session, the result of which can be seen here.

It will probably take a while before I'm confident enough off road to join any of the club rides on offer in the Turku area. But once I get to know this bike a bit better that's what I'm going to do.

Nykarlebyloppet 2007

Last saturday was race day, and I was on the starting line of the 6th ever, my second, edition of Nykarlebyloppet. It's a local race through the southwestern part of the municipality of my old home town. When I still lived there, cycling hadn't really managed to get a visible foothold yet. But since then it has grown steadily, enough for me to find myself in the middle of over 150 other cyclists patiently waiting for the start. This year I was also joined by my brother, what a treat!

Just like last year, the pack was lead by a pace car on a short prologue through town. The start and finish had been moved, though, to the fairly recently refurbished sports center Stjärnhallen. The move was motivated by the facilities available, but also made the run up to the finish line more complicated and dangerous. Hopefully next year the race will end on the main street again, with a safer and more crowd friendly sprint to the line being in everyone's interest.

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My official, though not quite accurate time: 2h 17m 50s.
Timed distance: 73,6 km
Average speed: 32.0 km/h
Top speed: 51.8 km/h.

Community

I would have to say that I enjoy my job. Not only does working on the ship give me the opportunity to go on regular rides in the middle of the day. From time to time I also get to meet fascinating people.

Just this Friday a German fellow named Timo boarded the ship in Helsinki. Timo was riding a 105 equipped Cannondale roadie, which caught my attention, as there was a sleepingbag attached to the handlebars and a tent fixed to the saddle. When I later saw him sitting in the stairs outside the compartment where my cabin is, I promptly introduced myself as a fellow cyclist. It turned out he had done 6000 km in six weeks! Starting out in the Stuttgart area, he had gone through Germany, Denmark and Norway, made his way to the North Cape and then down to Helsinki, the last stint taking a stunning mere 8 days.

Awestruck I quickly realised I had a lot to learn from my newfound friend. So when he asked me where people without a cabin were supposed to sleep, my couchsurfing instincts kicked in and I offered Timo the spare bunk I usually use to store my clothes. He gladly accepted, and also bought me a beer in the pub after I got off work. To top up the sync we already had going, we also figured out that we both study process control at university.

Community, a sense of beloning and sharing what you have to spare, is a wonderful thing. And I've found that solo (bike) travellers expect the least help, but then also truly appreciate it when they get it. A week from now I will wake up in or near Rostock, about to start first full day of my tour in Germany. Whether I'll be camping alone somewhere or on a friendly couch remains to be seen. I can handle either one without losing faith in my current idea of community.

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25.6.2007: Two laps around my standard route in Helsinki (Seurasaarenselkä), a quick stop at the SuperFast terminal and a slow roll along the shoreline at Kaivopuisto, finishing off with a stop at an icecream stand.
46,48 km, 1h54m32s, 24,35 kmh avg, n/a kmh max.

26.6.2007: Two laps around Södermalm, a hilly expedition Nacka Strand, another lap around Södermalm and finally a run down Kungsgatan.
60,01 km, 2h28m39s, 24,22 kmh avg, 59,7 kmh max.

28.6.2007: Started off with my usual warmup lap around Södermalm, then headed towards Älta. Just as I got there I suffered a flat. Walking back into town, I called my friend the mountainbiker who, in intermittent showers of rain, came out to meet me with a spare inner tube. When we finally met the rain had already stopped. But it sure is great to have friends!
25,00 km, 1h2m59s, 23,82 kmh avg, 59,7 kmh max.

2.7.2007: First stopped at my favorite bike shop in Stockholm, Gamla Stans Cykel, to top off the pressure in my tyres. Then cruised along Hornsgatan, explored Långholmen and another island nearby, and rode via Hammarbyslussen to Danviksbro. Headed in the general direction of Saltsjöbaden, but turned around in Östervik as time was running out. Getting back into town I did, however, have time for a lap around Södermalm. Finally I popped in to Vagabond, a travel bookshop, to buy a traveller's wallet for my trip to Germany.
53,00 km, 2h17m34s, 23,12 kmh avg, 47,6 kmh max.

3.7.2007: A Sunday ride on a Tuesday! Simmo the magician joined me for a leisurely ride around Helsinki. We didn't go far, nor fast. But chatting away and actually observing our surroundings and enjoying the atmosphere still made it a great ride. Also shopped around a bit for some more kit for my tour.
15,59 km, 1h21m42s, 11,45 kmh avg, 28,6 kmh max.

Just cruising

I've been on the cruise ship for nearly four days now, 12 to go.. Luckily my, and the ship's, schedule allows for me to go out riding for up to about three hours or so every day. That is, if I'm up to it on top of my 10-11 hours of work every day in combimation with lack of sleep from staying up way too late after finishing work at around 11.30 pm.

So far I've managed to go on a couple of rides, both in Stockholm. I've always enjoyed cycling in Stockholm more than in Helsinki. I guess it's partly because even the center of the Swedish capital is more bike friendly than its Finnish counterpart. But I also feel there's a difference in the attitude towards cyclists among motorists of the neighbouring countries. Sadly Finnish drivers, especially in downtown Helsinki (and my home Turku for that matter) are more likely to cut you off even though you have the right of way. In Stockholm, staying in the bike lane and signaling in time when negotiating a turn will almost always result in a safer ride.

Of course, I haven't got any hard evidence to support these claims. It's just my reaction to riding quite a lot in both cities. Tomorrow I'm planning on giving Helsinki another try, as there are enjoyable stretches of bike paths there as well.

...

22.6.2007: Four laps around Södermalm and a sweep through downtown along Kungsgatan. On my way back to the terminal I ended up being a tourist guide for a young Spanish couple looking to buy tickets to go to Finland.
51,13 km, 2h5m1s, 24,54 kmh avg, 57,3 kmh max.

24.6.2007: A lap and a half lap around Södermalm, then met up with a friend (mountainbiker) who showed me a new bike friendly route out of town. Broke my personal speed record on a bike.
26,50 km, 1h 8m 19s, 23,27 kmh avg, 61,5 kmh max.