In June 2003 we (Nelly and Henny) made a 3 week long bike ride of 1975 kilometers through Finland. It is great cycling here in the woods, and there is usually little traffic. When you explore a country by bike, it is always different from what you have read about it. Due to the many short, but steep climbs, it was tiring for us to cycle through this country. Despite the fact that the population density is low, there is relatively high traffic to and from holiday homes. Most Finns have a country house, farm or weekend house. Furthermore, Finland has more than 10,000 lakes, in the southern part alone. On the bike, however, you see little of this, sometimes a vague shadow between the trees. Camping is allowed everywhere here, but because the production forest is plowed by the farmers, there are few flat spots to be found. Finland is also much less luxurious than, for example, the Netherlands or Germany. This is certainly a relief, you have the feeling that you can live better with less. The language knowledge of the Finns often does not extend beyond Finnish, had we known this we would have learned something beforehand.
A relaxing cycling holiday, with lots of rest!
Rain and sun rays
While sweating, we cycle along the vast fields of cornstalks in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. We are on our way to the Hanseatic city of Rostock, here we take the ferry that takes us to the Finnish Hanko. It is beautiful summer weather in the Hanseatic city of Rostock, in Hanko a new spring is just waiting for us. Yellow dandelions speckle the meadows, the grain has only just sprung up here. The roadside is also full of colorful flowers such as cow parsley, lupines, buttercups, Whitsunflowers and primroses. The Finnish forests are light green, in between you see jet-blue lakes against a clear blue sky. A wonderful fresh air, which smells of wood, helps us to climb the winding roads. The roads go up and down, with some climbs of 10 to 18% in between.
We are directed by large blue signposts to places and villages that have unspeakable names. We often cycle through them without having seen them. We spend the night in the tent, but sleeping is difficult when it hardly gets dark. When we get up again, spring is over. A cloudy sky with gray mist covers all the beauty. Later on the bike we even have to take shelter in a bus shelter, because of a rain shower. Strangely enough, the Finns all walk on as if nothing is wrong. Even an elderly person with a walker just shuffles through in the rain. In a garden opposite us, a man in his swimming trunks is working in the garden! This while we are shivering from the cold with a thick sweater and coat. A car stops and calls us something in Finnish. After some difficult English it turned out that he invited us for a cup of coffee. It was a lot of fun, we stuffed ourselves with rhubarb pie and bread, and continued on our way once it was dry again. The unpaved roads are slippery, and on the steep climbs you slip a bit, on the descents you have to hit the brakes hard again. "At least we have the wind at our backs, so we don't get wet a bit," says Nelly. ''I prefer headwind and sun'' shouts Henny. After a wet night in the tent, with a lot of mosquitoes, we get back on the bike.
Cycling in Rauma
We cycle on to the old wooden town of Rauma, on the Gulf of Bothnia. Because there have been many fires in the past, there is often little left of the old cities. Fortunately, Rauma is still completely intact, beautifully historic with bumpy boulders and narrow streets. There are nice shops and terraces that give a southern European appearance due to the radiant sun.
Finland is a country where there is not much cycling, despite that there are still an amazing number of cycling routes. In the center of Rauma they take us past all its sights. With the help of the Pyöräilijän tiekartta, the Finnish cycling map, we find quiet cycling routes. The roads are less busy here than in the Netherlands, although we expected less traffic in such a sparsely populated country. However, there are tunnels and cycle paths in all places, in addition to the main roads. The tunnels in particular provide a steep descent and a steep climb.
Young people and children live in the small towns, the town has not aged. In the woods near remote lakes you will find summer houses everywhere. This causes some traffic, especially on weekends.
National Parks and Forests
You see forests a lot in Finland. It therefore consists of 60% forest. Mostly production forests, but not nearly as boring as in Sweden. The trees are not that high either, but there is variation in type and height. You see many conifers such as pine and spruce, but also the Scots pine and the birch tree. There is also a carpet of moss and ferns in the forest. Cowberries, blueberries and reindeer moss are also regularly encountered on the chalky, rocky soil. I don't think there's any big deal here
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