Those Finnish Maps...
Keitele - Pyhäntä ~125 km
Today I wanted just to go 70 km to Kiuruvesi, I just didn't feel like going 50 more Kilometers... However... riding wasn't much fun, just lots of unsurfaced roads with the wind the whole time in my face... I was looking forward to get to Kiuruvesi, that seemed to be a quite large village. I was looking forward to maybe a mökki (cottage - if it wasn't too expensive). I was looking forward to have a looooong afternoon and evening for not doing anything...
Yah, and then I reached Kiuruvesi: it wasn't a quite large village... The first camping ... I just didn't want to stay there. Expensive, Unfriendly... So I went on, because a few kilometers after Kiuruvesi there is the next one, maybe nicer, not in the middle of the "village" but in the middle of nature. Unfortunately it didn't exist... so... going back? Never! Next Camping: Pyhänta, 50 km that I didn't want to do in the morning.
It was quite comfortable going there, no hills, just straight ahead. It started to rain... It wasn't a heavy rain, but it didn't stop for some hours... So lunch today at a busstop, one of the nice and comfortable ones. I put on my rain clothes and went on. For the first time I was not sitting straight on my bike, but I layed my ellbows onto the handle bar (Lenker), put down my head, like they do on Tour-de-France... no, not exactly like this, I don't have a handle bar like this, but it works as well. Looking down to the street I thought: If now a moose would cross the street, I would crash into it...
I reached Pyhäntä. Shop for some food, Person for some information: I asked a young man, if he knew, where the camping site was. He told me, where I have to go. Fine. But there was no camping.... So I went back, Shop for some information (as the man in the shop spoke english as well). And the information was: The camping site doesn't exist anymore either!!! (So why told me the first guy to go over there???)(And why are all those non-existing Campings in my map, that I bought 3 weeks ago?!?) However, is there any other place to stay for the night? The only possibility was the motel... So, let's go.
9 pm at the motel: they seem to be closing in a few minutes: Is there any free room? Errr... room... well... no... just an appartment for 4 people... But as the Motel should have closed at 6 pm (a Motel closing at 6 pm??? Or she said something wrong or I heard something wrong...), and the owners were only there because of a birthday party, they decided to let me stay in the appartment for the price of one person... still 50 Euro, but no other chance...
So tonight I had the choice, which of the four beds I'm going to use, which of the four wardrobes I'm going to use, which of the four showers I'm going to use... no, just kidding. But the shower was HUGE!!! At least double than mine at home...
All my things needed to be dried: my clothes, my showes, and also my map...
Finally, in the evening, shower, a little longer shower, and still a little longer shower, cooking, hot choclate (you'll never imagine how good tastes a hot choclate with milk powder, water and real finnish Karl Fazer dark choclate after a day like this...), bed.
If I COULD reach Oulu tomorrow, I WOULD have caught up the time that I lost yesterday... We'll see...
Click: Having a little rest in the middle of nowhere (as usual...)
Nature is changing: There are more rocks and less trees in the woods
Click: Another funny sign
Click: Streets like this today
Click: 1381 means: 13 km 810 meter from the cross. So houses can easily be found by post or ambulance. Great system, isn't it? Gerd, special foto for you!
Click: My clothes need to dry...
The view from my appartment: Did you notice the rain on the left coming down from the roof?
Today I wanted just to go 70 km to Kiuruvesi, I just didn't feel like going 50 more Kilometers... However... riding wasn't much fun, just lots of unsurfaced roads with the wind the whole time in my face... I was looking forward to get to Kiuruvesi, that seemed to be a quite large village. I was looking forward to maybe a mökki (cottage - if it wasn't too expensive). I was looking forward to have a looooong afternoon and evening for not doing anything...
Yah, and then I reached Kiuruvesi: it wasn't a quite large village... The first camping ... I just didn't want to stay there. Expensive, Unfriendly... So I went on, because a few kilometers after Kiuruvesi there is the next one, maybe nicer, not in the middle of the "village" but in the middle of nature. Unfortunately it didn't exist... so... going back? Never! Next Camping: Pyhänta, 50 km that I didn't want to do in the morning.
It was quite comfortable going there, no hills, just straight ahead. It started to rain... It wasn't a heavy rain, but it didn't stop for some hours... So lunch today at a busstop, one of the nice and comfortable ones. I put on my rain clothes and went on. For the first time I was not sitting straight on my bike, but I layed my ellbows onto the handle bar (Lenker), put down my head, like they do on Tour-de-France... no, not exactly like this, I don't have a handle bar like this, but it works as well. Looking down to the street I thought: If now a moose would cross the street, I would crash into it...
I reached Pyhäntä. Shop for some food, Person for some information: I asked a young man, if he knew, where the camping site was. He told me, where I have to go. Fine. But there was no camping.... So I went back, Shop for some information (as the man in the shop spoke english as well). And the information was: The camping site doesn't exist anymore either!!! (So why told me the first guy to go over there???)(And why are all those non-existing Campings in my map, that I bought 3 weeks ago?!?) However, is there any other place to stay for the night? The only possibility was the motel... So, let's go.
9 pm at the motel: they seem to be closing in a few minutes: Is there any free room? Errr... room... well... no... just an appartment for 4 people... But as the Motel should have closed at 6 pm (a Motel closing at 6 pm??? Or she said something wrong or I heard something wrong...), and the owners were only there because of a birthday party, they decided to let me stay in the appartment for the price of one person... still 50 Euro, but no other chance...
So tonight I had the choice, which of the four beds I'm going to use, which of the four wardrobes I'm going to use, which of the four showers I'm going to use... no, just kidding. But the shower was HUGE!!! At least double than mine at home...
All my things needed to be dried: my clothes, my showes, and also my map...
Finally, in the evening, shower, a little longer shower, and still a little longer shower, cooking, hot choclate (you'll never imagine how good tastes a hot choclate with milk powder, water and real finnish Karl Fazer dark choclate after a day like this...), bed.
If I COULD reach Oulu tomorrow, I WOULD have caught up the time that I lost yesterday... We'll see...
Click: Having a little rest in the middle of nowhere (as usual...)
Nature is changing: There are more rocks and less trees in the woods
Click: Another funny sign
Click: Streets like this today
Click: 1381 means: 13 km 810 meter from the cross. So houses can easily be found by post or ambulance. Great system, isn't it? Gerd, special foto for you!
Click: My clothes need to dry...
The view from my appartment: Did you notice the rain on the left coming down from the roof?
koerndl - 20. Jul, 00:00
