First Friday of the month meant Sub24 and this time it was a male only affair, but there was more variety when it came to nationalities. We had an Australian, a Russian, a Swiss, two and a half Brits and one and a half Frenchmen.
The ride was beautiful, first riding up the length of Bodominjärvi, before taking the riders' heaven that is Velskolantie.
Ok so Robin's bike did have the odd technical issue, but it's part of the fun and made for some excellent pictures!
In the end we made it to our camping spot in Halkolampi. A big group of scouts had claimed the grilling area at the far end of the lake so we thought we'd be safe on the near side. Time would prove us wrong...
After calling the Finns a primitive and brutal species, Florian and Olivier (French and Swiss) decided to go and swim in the very cold lake naked with only a hand towel for warmth afterwards. Primitive. Brutal.
It's always nice to see what people bring on these trips and Florian's taste for (ultra) minimalism was the talk of the evening. Who needs tents? In fact, who needs sporks, when you have a toothbrush?
It serves as a brush to clean it afterwards too. Genius! May in Finland should not be confused for warm and sunny, and soon we were chilly enough (and curious enough) to decide to take a twilight walk around our little lake.
It was all going so well, but then who should show up? No, not the devil, but close! A group of breakaway scouts who obviously got bored with the rest of the group and decided to set up camp right next to us. And talk very loudly. Until past 3 in the morning, by the time the rest of us had of course gone to bed a long time ago. Brutal. Primitive. The rain was also pounding all night so it certainly wasn't a quiet night.
But it's ok, we got our revenge (on the scouts at least) in the morning, as we guiltlessly started having (loud) breakfast at 7.30!
We then left in 3 groups. Robin's family duties called and he left first. And an hour or so later, we split into two groups to take our respective scenic routes back home.
So thanks to Lee, Florian, Nick, Robin, Olivier and Dima for another great outing. Remember, the June edition will exceptionally be moved to the first Saturday of the month. That's Saturday 2nd June!
Charles
Great trip report! Toothbrush is THE camping tool. I'm sure even MacGyver wouldn't have thought of that! The water wasn't as cold as expected, and your hand towel Charles was just the right size for both of us ;)
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