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.

...

Saturday: 130km
Sunday: 55km

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..

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.

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.

...

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.