In Europe today, it’d have been a pretty complicated day. I’d have ridden over 70 miles to the Russian border, dipped my toe into Russia, then exited back to Finland. Lynn and Kurt and I would have then hightailed it in our rental van to Helsinki for the night, ready to take a ferry in … More Little Friends for Peace
Matti Koistinen, Executive Director of the Finnish Cycling Federation, was to be our host in Joensuu, Finland. He spoke of Karelian pies with such love I had to taste them. When I brought up the topic of the pies in our Zoom meeting yesterday, Matti reached over and picked one up… Aside from Karelian pies, … More Karelian Pies and Castles
Today in Finland on my way to Joensuu, I’d have skirted several very large lakes. To celebrate that plan, I cycled around Lake Barcroft fractally, following every road I could find that skimmed by its shoreline. At one point, instead of skirting around the lake, I crossed it on a bridge. I spotted a kayak in … More Resets
It was a long way to go to simulate the Vaisalanmaki Lookout Tower we’d have visited today in Finland. I’d been in touch with Matti Koistinen, Executive Director of the Finnish Cycling Federation (FCF), about my route through Finland. He suggested posting it on the FCF Facebook page. Satu Ekmark jumped on it and suggested … More Towering Observations
Through Finnish forests, we’d have cycled to Puolanka. A 50-mile car ride east of Puolanka right on Finland’s border with Russia is Suomussalmi. There stands the Winter War Monument, a commemoration to 17,000 lives lost in a 105-day war in the brutal winter of 1939-1940 when the Soviets attempted to break through to the west but failed. … More War Monuments
Today we’d have cycled along a river from Rovaniemi to Ranua, where there is a zoo. I’m not fond of zoos ever since I went to one in San Diego in blistering heat and watched the polar bears suffer in their cage. I cycled up from Bethany Beach northward to the hospital in Lewes where … More Unzoo
Today, we’d have finally cycled far enough south to reach the Arctic Circle in the city of Rovaniemi, Finland, where it’s always Christmas. Santa Claus has his own post office in Santa Claus Village here. It’s tough having to read a half a million letters from all over the world every year. Santa shares a … More The Arctic Circle
When the wheels connected to my feet are not spinning, the wheels in my mind race, sometimes down rabbit holes. Last night was such a night. Had I been in Europe, I’d be in Finland now. In reality, I am temporarily in Delaware in a temporary three-generation household. I wondered if there was anything Finnish I … More The Wheels in My Head Go Round and Round
Yesterday, a few hours after the 1 AM sunrise, we’d have cycled out of Norway into Finland in a cold (39 degrees) rain, pushed by favorable wind. We would still have been north of the Arctic Circle in land speckled with lakes. Gareth, a Canadian cyclist who guided me in to Thunder Bay, Ontario in … More Lakes and a Border
For years, I’ve either run or cycled through the parking lot that serves Teddy Roosevelt Island. At the north end of the parking lot, there’s an inconspicuous sign that’s always intrigued me. As today’s ride in Europe would have been a rugged ride, 79.2 miles with 8090 feet of climbing, much along rivers and one … More Checked that Box
