Cycle to the hills

 

Almost two weeks have passed since last Sub24, time to take a look back at it.

With most regulars away (riding the Tour de Helsinki, cycling in Estonia…), I was really pleased with the good turn-out. A dynamic group of 8 cyclists from Germany, Italy, Morocco, France and Finland found themselves in Bemböle in cloudy weather.

A rather short trip to Kattilajärvi made it for a good introduction of the Sub24 concept for the 6 new comers. Sub24 has visited he place only once, in the complete darkness of December 2011, so it was time to pay a visit to the place in broad daylight.

Joined by the laughers of the youngest Sub24er ever seen (10 months old), our group cruised leisurely along Nupurintie, until we took the direction of Nuuksio along Nuuksion pitkäjärvi. Famous for its hills, the road proved to be a good test for the typical camaraderie encountered on these trips as everyone supported each other to make it to the camping place. Emile, carrying his young daughter in his trailer, definitely deserves an award for the effort!

Turning on the gravel road of Kattilajärventie, easily top3 of the most beautiful gravel roads of Helsinki region in my opinion, it was not long before we finally arrived at the camping site of Kattiläjärvi. Instead of the rain forecasted, it is sun that we got once at the spot, and a few of us obviously took it as an invitation to go swimming.

After pitching the tents, we all gathered by the roaring fire. New comers really picked up the luxury item tradition, and soon we all shared them: Moroccan sausages, French saucisson, coriander beef with peaches and port wine made it for a memorable dinner under the star.

After another group of hikers (coming by car!) arrived close to midnight to set up their tent next to ours, we decided to call it a night and retreated back to our tens for a good night sleep. On morning we all parted in different directions to catch up with civilization and carry on with our lives.

Overall, a rather short Sub24 in distance and many new faces I hope I’ll see again on one of these trips. Special thanks to Olivier for recommending Sub24 to them!

Summer ain't over

As you must have noticed, this weekend saw Helsinki radiating with light and sunshine.

Let's hope for a similar weather this coming Sub24 Friday!

Many regular Sub24ers will be missing, but I'm sure many of you are still up for some outdoor fun.

As per usual, let's all meet at 5.45 pm this Friday 30th at the regular spot of Bemböle. I have a few locations in mind in Nuuksio where we could end up camping (Kattilajärvi, Urja). You can check these places from the Destination page where you can find the link to trip report we had there in the past. All are around 15 km from Bemböle. Expect a short but hilly ride, 70% asphalt roads on cycling tracks (the rest on maintained gravel roads). The pace will be leisury, and the group will adapt its speed to the slowest rider, supporting each other on the way.

New comers: check this post for the meeting point and this post if you're not sure what to bring.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding the meeting place and time, the gear or the route.

Cyclingly,

Florian.

Friday 30th edit: Meeting in Bemböle at 6 pm

The Luck of the Irish

With many of our sub-24 friends away on summer holiday this month, only three adventurers set out from Bemböle heading in a northerly direction towards Pirttimäki. The Anglophiles little knew what was in store for them on their trip to Hynkänlampi. 

The Irish mountain-biker soon took us off-road on a forest route running parallel to our well-known Kunnarlantie. There were many hazards on this route, but nothing could have prepared us for the numbers of small frogs intent on crossing the path in front of us. We did our best to avoid them but their numbers were simply too great. Not any more, though. The sound of frogs being ground to death between my wheel and mudguard with haunt my dreams forever.

We were relieved to find our camping place deserted (predictions of a thunderstorm had kept the Scouts at bay) and organised ourselves at the top of a ridge looking out over the Hynkänlampi water. Only when we climbed down for a well-deserved swim did we discover an enormous group of young men sitting by the lake. That was surprising enough, but when one of them invited us to sauna, we were not sure what was going on. They quickly flung a cheap tarpaulin over a marquee tent frame and disappeared. Interesting.

Our relaxation was then interrupted by a young man running past us and diving into the lake. He was soon followed by another. And another. And another... In the end, seventeen guys flew past us into the lake leaving only a trail of steam behind them. Well, if you can't beat them, join them. 

So we went in for some löyly. "Don't sit there, that's the hottest place", he says. That sounded like a challenge. Some polite conversation led to the singing of a sauna song which incorporated the throwing of water onto the stones. This song got faster and faster until we had to leave. I think it was a Finn that left first. However, I can still feel my lungs burning...

(I'm not sure whether I should mention this, but...) If that wasn't exciting enough, like the idiot I am, in a sequence of pure comedy gold while trying to put on my t-shirt, I managed to lose grip of my phone right next to the lake. It bounced literally in slow motion down the rocks as I dived after it. I almost stopped it with my foot shortly before I slipped and slid into the lake behind it. The rocks seemed to disappear away into the depths, but luckily the phone had snagged on something. 

I should say at this point that, as a bit of an equipment geek, I had my phone in a little waterproof bag (it was supposed to rain). However, I have carried this bag around with me for some months, it is rather battered and I wasn't even sure if I had closed it properly. Needless to say, I was distraught.

I removed my soaking shoes, towels and t-shirt and dived down to get the phone, not at all hopeful that it would ever work again - what a loss! Well, of course, I wouldn't be telling this story if there hadn't been a happy ending. The phone was fine. The Loksak waterproof bag is amazing. And I've got a nasty bruise on my bottom.

Well, the night couldn't really get any better. Or luckier! Hearing about Hugo's trip to ride the Dunwich Dynamo was a highlight. As was his ingenious use of a bottle cap as a wine glass. Camping up on the ridge gave us a nice view as well as stopping the worst of the noise from the gentlemen below. After some hours, we thought we'd better go and see if they were all okay, so we climbed down - which seemed a whole lot more difficult while carrying gifts of nuts and liquorice - and were treated to a couple of beautiful songs as a lullaby. They were the nicest, politest group of illegally sauna-ing young men you could wish to meet. Then they went home and left us to sleep in peace. 

The following day gave us more glorious summer weather and a relaxed ride home in under 24 hours.

Newcomers are always treated
to tea and biscuits in bed

The scene of the crime

I hope this report makes some holidaying sub-24ers a bit jealous! Any ideas for next month?

Right, that's all for now. Keep riding! I'd better go and wash some mysterious red stains of my bike...

Easy ride Friday

With many regular sub-24ers away on holiday this month, let's meet at Bemböle and decide then which way and how far to go.

Possible options include Nuuksio, Pirttimäki or Halkolampi. Check previous trip reports from the 'Destinations' tab above.

That would be 10 or 20 km ride from Bemböle, and, as ever, the pace will be slow. So if you're in the mood for a shortish ride followed by a relaxed evening, see you at Bemböle Shell at 17:30 this Friday...

Väransby, June 2013

It's nice behind Bembole Shell

More new roads and new friends for this month's sub-24. At our regular meeting point in Bemböle, riders from Britain (2!), Switzerland and Russia shook hands and filled water bottles.

After a short ride to Espoon keskus railway station, riders from Finland, France and Britain (2!) joined the crew for a new route.

Finnish wilderness. Espoon keskus.

Rather than retracing our steps along Kuninkaantie, we opted for a ride southwards through Espoo's wooded central park, through some new and posh-looking suburbs, arriving at the Lansivayla bridge across the bay at Kivenlahti. From there, our way was rather confused by the building of golf course roads, although, on a brighter note, we did see some forest deer. Maps, GPS, friendly locals, and we were finally pushed in the right direction.

The end of the road

The reward for our hard work was Hirsalantie, a wonderful curvy Finnish countryside road with only the slightest of hills for added interest.What more do you want? Sheep? Strawberries?

When we finally arrived at Varansby, we found a perfect beach camping spot, The Beast and two tandem-riding adventurers (French and Australian). Along with copious amounts of comedy nudity, the refreshing swim and roaring fire gave us an enjoyable evening. At our busiest, we had eleven riders this month, but again family commitments led a couple home before the sausages were burnt. 

The traditional wheel-dip

No camping?

If I'm honest, they fell straight off

Vegetables. Cooked by girls.

Gravel

T-shirt in honour of bike thieves

Everyone loves a tandem

The sound of light rain on our tents kept us all in bed until late on Saturday morning. A lightning quick break of camp and an ultra-leisurely breakfast put us on the road well within sub-24 limits. The rain stopped and our ride back along Hirsilantie was only disturbed by ridiculous numbers of locals driving into the city.

Rather than attempt negotiating golf courses or central parks, we headed straight towards the big city along Lansivayla, stopped only by red lights and tandem test-drives. Incidentally, in the hands of seasoned handlers, the tandem is terrifyingly fast downhill. It sounds like a truck, too.

Well, that's it for this month. Thanks to everyone. I thought it best not to include certain pictures for fear of alienating potential sub-24ers. Presumably the Facebook page will be rather less-well edited...

Go west!

Back to the western side of Helsinki region for this June edition of Sub24 Helsinki.

Update:  We've decided on Väransby for this month's sub-24... good facilities, an interestingly varied ride (if we don't get too lost negotiating our way through Espoo), and only 24 km from Bemböle. That's about two hours of slow riding with the promise of a refreshing swim, flat camping ground and a roaring fire.

Meeting at Bemböle Shell Station at 17:45. THIS FRIDAY!

See elsewhere on the blog for more details and comment or email with questions or problems.

As mentioned during our last trip in May, summer in the forests of Southern Finland means mosquitoes, and to avoid them as much as it is possible, heading to the seaside in the winds sounds like a reasonable idea.

Newcomers and regulars alike, check out our previous trips using the Destination tab of this blog to have an idea of the meeting places and timings, as quite likely these will be the same this time.

Lost in Sipoonkorpi

At the end of May, Finland switched suddenly to full summer weather, and it was under a great light that a strong team of 9 cyclists showed up at the farm of Haltiala.

The presence of a few newcomers from England, Finland and Tunisia (?) once again proves that the concept of Sub24 knows no border and is still attracting people.

After a long jaunt following Vantaanjoki and Keravanjoki with a few stops in search of food, a mandatory swimming stop would be done in the outdoor location of Kuusijärvi, Vantaa.

Enjoying the surprisingly warm waters, a few cyclists-turned-swimmers shared a swim with a family of ducks to embrace the spring nature.

Joined by Immi, the group would now count 10 people, if only for a short while as a few cyclist would return home the same day.

For the rest of us, the goal was a laavu and a fireplace to set the camp, nearby lake Bisajärvi. After pushing the bikes for a good 2 kilometers on small paths (remember Urja?), we all had to admit the laavu was no more. Indeed, asking a few close residents, it appeared that all the camping facilities of the area have been removed as the land on which they were located was now private. Our map from 2012 indicated otherwise…

Since there was no other option left, the first official camping place being more than 10 km away across forest paths, Olivier located a rock that would consist of our camp for the night. No fire that night, nor access to water, but the great food brought would make up for the disappointing turn of events: pulla, mustikka pie, strawberries… Fighting the armies of mosquitoes in full force, some tried the dubious technique of makkara grilling in the flames of a gaz stove, while pondering of the protein content of mosquitoes as everyone was swallowing them by the dozen.

After an uneventful night, Nick would leave us quickly to fulfill parenting tasks, and 5 of us were left for the morning breakfast. Mosquitoes all gone despite similar weather to last night, we enjoyed our time rather nicely, and made our way back to our respective homes by midday.

The thermometer that day would reach 27 degrees Celsius, to our greatest pleasure.

Thank you all for the good times cycling, swimming, and camping!