Subject:
Report No. 4
From:
David Maden <david@maden.ch>
Date:
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:24:34 +0200
To:
cycle.tour.friends@maden.ch
 
Outskirts of Helsinki, Finland, 1 July 2008, 14:00, 60 deg 09' 12" N
====================================================================

Yesterday was just a question of hacking away at the km and getting to Tallinn as painlessly as possible. It was helped by a good tail wind, smooth road, and no hills. One could recognise the uphill bits when the speed was 20 to 25 kph, and the downhill bits when the speed was 25 to 30 kph, but one needed a very good eye to be able to see the difference. It was a main road (not too much traffic) with a 50-100 cm wide strip of asphalt between the white line and the gravel of the hard shoulder. All villages were bypassed (there weren't many anyway), no filling stations, or cafes. I reached Tallinn (130 km) by about 17:30 and it was a question of looking for a hotel or getting a ferry straight away. It turned out that one could book a cabin on the last ferry at 21:00 and stay in it in the harbour in Helsinki until 06:00, thus combining ferry and hotel. So I was in Helsinki at 06:00 this morning waiting 3 hours for the Tourist Information to open. It had been threatening a storm most of yesterday afternoon. The heavens opened as the ferry was leaving Tallinn - good timing.

However, whilst I was pottering around Helsinki this morning, the rain caught up. So I'm now in a library (thanks to a tip from Timo that that is where Internet access is to be had in Finland) waiting for the rain to stop. Then I hope to get on the way out of town before it gets too late. Then it's decision time again - which is the best way north. So far I have about 2400 km behind me and, as the crow flies, it is now only 1200 km to Nordkapp, so I'm probably past halfway. ;-)

Actually, it feels a bit like Jesus returning from his 40 days in the wilderness. Though in my case it's only about 20 days. Maybe, when I get to the mosquito infested regions further north, I might revise this feeling.

Best wishes,

David