Porkkala, 6.10.2012

An astonishingly good turn-out saw 9 bicyclists ride to the Porkkala peninsula in southern Kirkkonummi last Saturday. Although not too warm, the rain left us alone and it's fair to say that the autumn colours alone made the trip worthwhile.

A combine harvester

Kirkkonummi train station

Riders representing Great Britain, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland and Australia rode from Bemböle along Kuninkaantie to Kirkkonummi train station where riders representing France, Russia and Iran joined the peloton.

 

Ruska in southern Finland may not have the colours of the north but it looked pretty good to us. And it wasn't freezing cold. From Kirkkonummi station, the roads travelling southwards are excellent for riding and there weren't too many cars to bother us either. Our pace was constant but not too fast - around 17 km/h; the final distance from Bemböle was just over 40 km and around 25 km from Kirkkonummi.

The final couple of kilometres on the peninsula were more for walking than riding but the pay-off was worth it: an amazing sunset. The wind and the waves were the strongest that I have ever seen in Finland, and it certainly added to the feeling of getting away from the city - we were really in the wilds! Somewhat surprisingly, Bahram got back on his squeaky old Kona and rode home. In the dark. Hopefully your sore throat is better now?

The rest of us got settled in the remaining daylight, fighting against the wind to put up tents and light the fire. Discovering the fresh water well to be contaminated with salt water was a bit of a blow - especially at morning coffee time, but everyone had brought something good to drink anyway.

The lack of light pollution so close to the big city is amazing. The photo below shows all the stars and satellites and even the Milky Way. See?

 

Nick showed us how you don't really need poles to make a tent, while Dries and Andy reminded us that even tents can be optional. The volume of the wind (and waves) was surprising for those of us used to triple glazed windows but after some well-earned sleep, the views in the light of the morning were excellent - Porkkala is a really amazing place!

The fact that the rain held off for the ride home was a nice touch by the weather gods, thanks for that. We rolled back to Kirkkonummi and went our separate ways there - the train inviting a couple more riders than the previous day. The sisu prize has to go to Jakub on his old one-speed city bike. His weekend was probably a hundred kilometres and I didn't hear him complain. Actually, the picture below seems to show he has some hidden powers.

Old bikes make friends with each other

Bicycles really like trains

With the addition of a couple of new riders, I'm really looking forward to next month's ride to Olivier's cabin (I know it's not really yours). More details will follow, but for now I'll just mention the distance - around 15 km by road from Bemböle, more through the forest if we can find a good route.

I'll post again in a couple of days about our December edition and/or pikkujoulu Christmas party, so don't be a stranger...

Ruska

NEW INFORMATION ADDED BELOW...

Next week's sub-24 ride will be on Saturday 6th October.

Yes, Saturday.

That will allow us to start a little earlier and go a little further. This time last year we rode to Porkkala, saw some deer, great Ruska, and the Milky Way. However, not everything went to plan...

The ride from Bemböle is approximately 40 km which comes out at around three hours. From Kirkkonummi train station it is a 22 km ride, that's a couple of hours very of easy riding. Taking your bike on the train is simple and free, so don't be shy. The carriage for bikes has a picture of a bike on it.

We could meet at Bemböle at 3:30 pm, Kirkkonummi at 5 pm? Last year we managed to arrive in the dark - a contributing factor to our overall misery. So, I recommend those times to leave some room for error. Please comment with suggestions or changes.

I really hope for a few more riding buddies this month!...

p.s. Thanks to Olivier for organising what will prove to be a very memorable November edition. Thanks also to the guys at Pyörähuolto for helping me with my stolen wheel - I really cannot recommend this place highly enough for good service and good English! Finally, if something important happens on our Facebook page, please copy it into the comments section of the blog - some of us don't use FB (or is it just me?)...

HERE IS A MAP OF PORKKALA SHOWING FACILITIES (NOTE:THERE IS A WELL FOR WATER). SOMEONE ALWAYS HAS EXTRA ROOM IN THEIR TENT SO LONG AS YOU DON'T SNORE. OR SMELL. WE HAVE ALSO HAD SOME GOOD EXPERIENCES WITH SLEEPING IN THE COOKING SHELTERS.

I'LL ALSO ADD HERE THAT REGULAR RIDERS USUALLY HAVE ALL THE COOKING AND FIRE-MAKING EQUIPMENT NECESSARY AS WELL AS TOOLS TO FIX BROKEN BIKES. BRING SOME FOOD AND DRINK THOUGH. EVENING TEA AND MORNING COFFEE IS ON ME...

British veterans

The prominence of British cycling continued this month on our trip to Nuuksio in changeable weather. Instead of the long climbs and descents of Nuuksiontie, we chose the cyclists' dream of a road - Heinästie. I can't recommend this road highly enough, although the national park designated cycling route from Siikajärvi to Mustalampi that followed was distinctly unrideable in places.

The weather improved significantly after our arrival at Mustalampi, and finally we were given some peace and quiet in Nuuksio - we had the camping area and grill shelter to ourselves and all-in-all the surroundings were perfect. Red sky at night, cyclists' delight!


A couple of observations from me: on the way home we turned off of Turuntie after Bemböle and followed Kuninkaantie, went through Auroranpuisto (see the manor house below) and then towards Pitkäjärvi. From there we went our own ways home, but riding away from the traffic of Turuntie made a nice change and is an option for future rides for those coming from the Leppävaara direction.










Also, I felt guilty when I realised that the poor turn-out might have had something to do with my lack of advertising! As I've written before, there will always be sub-24... even if this blog is updated too close to the ride to be polite.



My lack of Twittering, Facebooking and Foruming this month may have kept someone away and for that I'm sorry. Please fill in the poll on the right about how you want to hear about the rides and I'll see if my internet allergy can be overcome.

Finally, I hope for some really bad luck to befall whoever it was that stole the back wheel off my touring bike last night. Not only is it inconvenient and expensive for me, the worst part is that my faith in the safety of Finland has been affected.

And to all the cyclists out there, lock wheels to frame and frame to something immovable...

September edition

Late notice again, but nevertheless... The first Friday of the month is sub-24 Friday.

Hopefully you never wonder whether there will be a ride. Even if I'm this late with the blog. There will always be sub-24!

Again I invite suggestions for destinations, but I was thinking we meet at Bemböle Shell at 17:30 and aim towards Nuuksio. Excitement levels can then dictate how far we ride. Kattilajärvi is a shorter option. I'm also interested to ride to Haukkalampi/Mustalampi along Heinästie, which is prettier and probably less hilly than Nuuksiontie. Also, Haukkalampi/Mustalampi via Pirttimäki and Solvalla is a more cross-country option. All these routes can be found from Google.

That's too many suggestions, right? Comments, please?!

And the triathlon? I don't fancy it much. Do you?...

Wet ride to...

Bylandet Väransby

Especially arranged for The Beast's visiting sister (who is, incidently, distinctly unbeastly) and friend, the Finnish summer deposited all of its wrath upon us on sub-24 Friday. To add insult to injury, the expected 20-something kilometre ride to Bylandet turned out to be more like 40 (from Bemböle)! Strangely enough though, 40 kilometres in the pouring rain didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits too much, not even when we discovered that we had been misled by the VisitEspoo website and that there are actually no cooking shelters on Bylandet.

We discovered this when we interrupted the dinner of a rather charming Swedish-speaking family enjoying a weekend away at their summerhouse. The sight of first two, then three, then five, dripping-wet foreigners on their doorstep was not even close to upsetting their stylish demeanours. After consulting map, phone, iPad, and a couple of telephone calls to neighbours, we were pointed in the direction of Väransby - which I would provide a link to if one existed. It might be wrongly named as Bylandet on the website, or it might be a different place entirely, but I can highly recommend the place. Several cooking shelters over quite a large area, an excellent sandy beach, as well as flat, grassy camping areas - easily enough for even busiest sunny Friday evening. Which it wasn't. 

The usual sub-24 activities still took place though - a swim and a warm fire, some ridiculous wood-chopping and even more ridiculous eating was undertaken (cod liver pate?!)

About the bikes, I have to say that Claire and Alice did amazingly well on bikes that looked a little on the large side for them. Tim's fixie looked even more attractive with added mud (as did his bottom). The Beast's old Helkama managed to hold up despite a dodgy seat-stay. And heavily-loaded rack and Robin's beautiful old British Raleigh... continued to be of constant interest.

This is the only picture here with any effect - thanks, Tim. The others that look blurred and hazy... it was wet.

The ride home was a bit more enjoyable but it did rain a bit. When we split up for some riders to end their journey by train, the sun actually started to shine. No one got a picture of that, though.

I'll add a better group picture when I get one.

So, next month triathlon? Or maybe not, what if the water is cold? We still have some excitement for The Hanko Dynamo (see below) if only we can find a date in the next few weeks that appeals. Please comment below or send an email to sub24helsinki@gmail.com if you have any interest in coming. Or any other suggestions, for that matter.

Until next time, keep your bicycles neat and tidy...

Friday August 3, 17:30... to Bylandet

It is with great sadness that I must admit the Hanko Dynamo did not take place last Friday. We almost went, really. Only, it  seemed a bit silly, just the two of us. We're really hoping to do the ride sometime though, surely a couple more of you would be interested? 140 km at night...

This coming Friday will be an enormous turn-out, I'm sure of it. The Beast has suggested Bylandet and it sounds good to me - it will be a new discovery for sub-24. At the usual speed that is less than a two hour ride. Unless someone comments otherwise, let's meet at Bemböle Shell around 17:30.

If you don't know what sub-24 is, click some links to find out.  Or just put a tent in your bag, get on your bicycle and meet us on Friday.

Better than watching the Olympics, right?

Summer's here... before the rain

 
The big summer sub-24 saw eight riders make the journey to Haukkalampi in Nuuksio. Beautiful weather, the wind on our backs and warm lake water made the trip memorable.


Never before on a sub-24 have we seen so many varieties of fruit and vegetables, healthy food vastly outweighing the usual sausages and chocolate. Also, rarely have we seen such strange sights in Nuuksio - life-vest adorned Chinese people lure-fishing in tiny inflatable boats? People dressed in baby costume party clothes running around while being filmed? Second world war bombers flying over? All sad but true.

Four and a half Frenchies rode the 18km from Bemböle along with one Finn, two Brits and half an American... X's videos can be seen here.

Some experiments turned out better than others - Florian's night without a tent worked much better than his home-made methanol stove. For my part, I would not recommend leaving your sleeping bag at home, even in summer. And Robin's rack repair again reminded us of the supremacy of zip-ties in all things. By the way, at the risk of appearing fetishistic, I have to say Robin's old Raleigh is very nice:

The wind that supported us from behind on the way to Nuuksio was inexplicably blowing right down our throats on the way home and I would say that we all noticed at some point that sub-24 is about exercise as well as food, drink, nature and company. Having said that, my bike computer says 15 km/hour for the whole ride...

Other comments: The Hanko Dynamo is schedules for Friday 27th July. Any takers? The "triathlon" (I've decided to put it in inverted commas) will probably be on the occasion of the September sub-24. We will have a normal sub-24 ride to a camping spot but those interested in swimming and running will drop off their running shoes at one end of a lake, ride to the other end and dump the bike, swim across the lake, put on running shoes and run around in the forest for a while before returning to the camping spot for refueling and congratulations. Possible distances are 15km ride, 500m swim, 5km run - almost Sprint Tri-length! - and it looks like Halkolampi in Luukki is a good option (even though sub-24 has visited there twice this year already...).

As ever, please comment freely on all of the above...