Trapped in Tikkakoski
Korpilahti - Äänekoski ~100 km
After my experience with the street no 9 yesterday I looked for a possibility going somewhere next to the main road, and this was quite easy, I didn't expect that. It was an unsurfaced road, but thats ok, if it's not raining... So I reached Jyväskylä, where I had some things to manage. It was the first real CITY I passed! Wow!
In the pedestrian zone lots of bicycles, as usual in cities with universities. I had to look at the tourist information, as in my tourist guide they told me to do so: there should be a map of cycling pathes to Viitasaari, where I wantet to be tonight. Yeah, there SHOULD be... Damned tourist guide! I bought it 3 weeks ago, nevertheless its 9 years old, I didn't realize that in the shop... Soooo...
I asked if there was a bike shop, as the "leg" of my bike (finns just use the finnish word for leg "jalla" for the bicycle stand (Radständer)) was broken. The weight I'm carrying around was too much for it. I tried just yesterday at Sysmä to get one new, but my bike seems to be so special, that no one fit... (didn't know my bike is so special...) However, same today. Nevertheless I bought a reserve tube, you never know what happens...
At Suomalainen Kirjakauppa ("finnish book-buy") I equipped myself with brandnew bicycle maps of north Finland, as I nearly have travelled through the ones I bought in Austria.
Back at my bike I saw another bike traveller from Germany. Wow again! We had a little talk, it was much fun! Together we went to see the university, then our ways separated: Jürgen towards south, me with direction northcape (still I didn't know which route to take...).
Finally I found a nice route, most unsurfaced roads, in the map marked grey, which means, there would be no sign for the villages in that direction. So the ability to read maps is the only thing, that will help you.
Everything worked fine, until I got to Tikkakoski: there was a military restricted area, a small airport, no signs, lots of roads and ex-roads, a bad map, the church marked in the wrong place and a desperated Angelika. Uffa. Help, I got lost! For about one hour cycling around, not knowing where I was, finally I met someone who I could ask. He showed me the right street and told me the names of every street, that I will have to take. Just... finnish street names are very difficult, as finnish is... However, I managed once more to take the wrong street (so at least I head the "honour" to see the finnish central store of Lidl...), and than finally I was where I wanted to be. Across the street 5 there was the next grey street waiting. So... let's go! Gravel uphill, Sand downhill, Mud uphill, Loam (Lehm) downhill, etc... And for the topping my knees were hurting so badly! At the end I refused to stop anywhere, because restarting pedaling (even after a stop for 3 seconds!) was SO painful.
But finally I reached Äänekoski, the city where I wanted to stop, because there is at least a terveyskeskus (hospital), so in worst case I could go there tomorrow morning... I was thinking about staying there for the whole day tomorrow, if the knees wouldn't get better. But I did NOT think about breaking off my project.
It was in those moments, when I was thinking about Mind and Body... Mind is strong enough to go on, Body isn't. What happend if Mind was too strong, stronger than Body?
Mind: Go ahead! You want to reach northcape!
Body (Knees): We can't! We are not hurting just for fun...
Mind: That doesn't matter! Go on!
If I have to go to hospital tomorrow, I know it is dangerous if Mind is stronger than Body...
In that evening I even refused to cook something... A thing that nearly never happens to me... I just felt like dead.
I was going on streets like this (or MUCH worse) for the most time this day
Click: There is always something to dry...
Wow! A real City
At Jyväskylä I met Jürgen
Click: Doesn't the cycle path look nice? Just... it end at the bus stop behind the hill... &%@!§
I thought I was at Tikkakoski, but the sign told me something else...
Click: There were also streets that were even worse...
Click: Strange signs... m19Oe, have you ever seen something like that?
Click: At least there were some nice views...
And the best of it: Äänekoski 9 km
After my experience with the street no 9 yesterday I looked for a possibility going somewhere next to the main road, and this was quite easy, I didn't expect that. It was an unsurfaced road, but thats ok, if it's not raining... So I reached Jyväskylä, where I had some things to manage. It was the first real CITY I passed! Wow!
In the pedestrian zone lots of bicycles, as usual in cities with universities. I had to look at the tourist information, as in my tourist guide they told me to do so: there should be a map of cycling pathes to Viitasaari, where I wantet to be tonight. Yeah, there SHOULD be... Damned tourist guide! I bought it 3 weeks ago, nevertheless its 9 years old, I didn't realize that in the shop... Soooo...
I asked if there was a bike shop, as the "leg" of my bike (finns just use the finnish word for leg "jalla" for the bicycle stand (Radständer)) was broken. The weight I'm carrying around was too much for it. I tried just yesterday at Sysmä to get one new, but my bike seems to be so special, that no one fit... (didn't know my bike is so special...) However, same today. Nevertheless I bought a reserve tube, you never know what happens...
At Suomalainen Kirjakauppa ("finnish book-buy") I equipped myself with brandnew bicycle maps of north Finland, as I nearly have travelled through the ones I bought in Austria.
Back at my bike I saw another bike traveller from Germany. Wow again! We had a little talk, it was much fun! Together we went to see the university, then our ways separated: Jürgen towards south, me with direction northcape (still I didn't know which route to take...).
Finally I found a nice route, most unsurfaced roads, in the map marked grey, which means, there would be no sign for the villages in that direction. So the ability to read maps is the only thing, that will help you.
Everything worked fine, until I got to Tikkakoski: there was a military restricted area, a small airport, no signs, lots of roads and ex-roads, a bad map, the church marked in the wrong place and a desperated Angelika. Uffa. Help, I got lost! For about one hour cycling around, not knowing where I was, finally I met someone who I could ask. He showed me the right street and told me the names of every street, that I will have to take. Just... finnish street names are very difficult, as finnish is... However, I managed once more to take the wrong street (so at least I head the "honour" to see the finnish central store of Lidl...), and than finally I was where I wanted to be. Across the street 5 there was the next grey street waiting. So... let's go! Gravel uphill, Sand downhill, Mud uphill, Loam (Lehm) downhill, etc... And for the topping my knees were hurting so badly! At the end I refused to stop anywhere, because restarting pedaling (even after a stop for 3 seconds!) was SO painful.
But finally I reached Äänekoski, the city where I wanted to stop, because there is at least a terveyskeskus (hospital), so in worst case I could go there tomorrow morning... I was thinking about staying there for the whole day tomorrow, if the knees wouldn't get better. But I did NOT think about breaking off my project.
It was in those moments, when I was thinking about Mind and Body... Mind is strong enough to go on, Body isn't. What happend if Mind was too strong, stronger than Body?
Mind: Go ahead! You want to reach northcape!
Body (Knees): We can't! We are not hurting just for fun...
Mind: That doesn't matter! Go on!
If I have to go to hospital tomorrow, I know it is dangerous if Mind is stronger than Body...
In that evening I even refused to cook something... A thing that nearly never happens to me... I just felt like dead.
I was going on streets like this (or MUCH worse) for the most time this day
Click: There is always something to dry...
Wow! A real City
At Jyväskylä I met Jürgen
Click: Doesn't the cycle path look nice? Just... it end at the bus stop behind the hill... &%@!§
I thought I was at Tikkakoski, but the sign told me something else...
Click: There were also streets that were even worse...
Click: Strange signs... m19Oe, have you ever seen something like that?
Click: At least there were some nice views...
And the best of it: Äänekoski 9 km
koerndl - 18. Jul, 00:00
