We had another late night camp creeper last night but not
sure if it was human or animal as we never actually saw it. Pete shone our head torch out into the
darkness but we couldn’t see anything so just hoped it was a curious moose that
we would get to see when it was light enough and went back to sleep. Awoke for good at 7am and after a quick pack
up, headed down for an early morning dip as has become our ritual now. We were aghast to find someone had set their
tent up right by the lake, which you are not supposed to do as it kind of puts
you in the way of all the other users.
That was enough to put Pete off his swim as he didn’t want to wake this
inconsiderate person up. Not me
however. I intended having my swim and
if it woke them up, too bad. They
shouldn’t have camped there. Mission
accomplished and feeling very refreshed (with no noise from offending tent), we
hit the dusty trail, 7km back to the main road.
This was moose country so we were keeping a keen eye out but alas, no
further sightings. Got back to the main
road and had a nice wide shoulder to cycle on and flew along here with the
roads definitely flatter than they have been.
All too soon we had to turn off though as we have been following the Old
King’s Road which is the oldest road in Finland and dates back from the
1300’s. It has been superseded by a
motorway and a highway and sometimes you come onto the highway where the two
roads merge. Only then do you get the
extra wide shoulder and then cyclists are expected to get off and follow the
more meandering Old Kings Road and leave the flatter, smoother, more direct
road to the motorists. That was fine
though, it was still an enjoyable ride although we wouldn’t have said no to it
being a little flatter as our legs are thoroughly exhausted. We feel good for the first 20 km and then
feel every little hill. A lot of this is
probably due to the excessive heat we are getting which is just physically
draining.
We have seen so many signs warning us of moose, that I was
wondering if they have deer in Finland because I haven’t seen one sign warning
about the presence of deer. That query
was answered this morning when we spotted a beautiful red deer, standing on a
rocky outcrop looking down at us on the road.
We stopped immediately to get a picture but the deer quietly retreated
back into the forest and will just be another lovely memory.
 |
| A house we saw on the way today |
By 10am it was already very hot and it was with relief we
reached Kirkkonummi where we immediately sought refuge from the heat in the
supermarket. Picked up some nice cold
breakfast supplies and then found some shade outside the cemetery where we set
up the groundsheet cum picnic blanket for something to eat. Then we went into the bibliotek (library) to
charge the computer and upload the blog.
We also googled where a campsite was so we knew where to head to from
here. It was stinking hot in the library
and was a relief to get back in the supermarket to get our lunch supplies a
couple of hours later.
 |
| Kirkkonummi Church tower |
Ate some
sandwiches in the shade before we could put it off no longer and it was back
into the breach (wish it had been the beach).
The ride was fairly pleasant in that we had a cycle lane most of the way
so could cycle side by side and talk but we were definitely on the outskirts of
Helsinki now and the traffic reflected this.
Took a wrong turn and as we were rectifying this, we came
across a supermarket so thought we should grab our dinner supplies while we
could. When we emerged from the
supermarket, there was a huge black cloud on the horizon which we instantly
recognised as another thunderstorm approaching.
We only had about 10km to the campground so set to it. However, after about 5km those clouds were
imminent and we spotted a sign for a bibliotek so ducked in there to write up
the blog in comfort and charge the computer while the storm passed.
 |
| Kirkkonummi Church |
Hey Ho…..Pete here……having just been charged 9 Euro’s for a
beer and a cider from the campsite we’re staying at….served in a plastic
cup….robbing gits..!
Having timed our retreat to the Bibliotek perfectly, we timed
our departure just as perfectly and made our way to the campsite where we
currently reside……along with every man…woman…and their dogs….. Big dogs…little
dogs….cute dogs…friggin ugly shouldn’t be called a dog,dogs.
We also have the yapping and barking that goes with them.
Now we have very good friends who have dogs. They breed them and show them and
they know what these shows are like. This must be a big show for the year in
Helsinki….because I reckon every breeder and show-er of a dog in Finland is here.
So I’m giving you all a scoop…..if you wake tomorrow to read about a machine
gun touting…machete wielding madman…gone on the rampage at Finnish Dog
Show….guess who..!
Our mission over the next couple of days is to 1….secure boxes for the bikes to fly home
2….secure hotel for an extra 2 nights
3…. Get out and see something of Helsinki
Tomorrow will probably be our last days riding on this
tour…apart from looking around the city.
Had another delicious dinner, tuna tikka masala with frozen
vegetables and rice. I said to Ju, you
know if you served this up beautifully presented (as opposed to all mixed up
together and slopped on a plate like a dog’s breakfast) people wouldn’t be able
to tell the difference between this and India Today. She cracked up and said yeah, they wouldn’t
tell the difference between chicken and tuna and three minute rice. She reckons I’m just so hungry, everything
tastes really good.
The storm that came through tonight.. dropped the
temperature by about 10° which was a welcome relief. We shouldn’t complain, but
the heat for riding has in fact been too hot. Temp. today was 28° but riding
some of the roads we’ve been on, it would have been 40+ and the skies are clear
again ready for another great day tomorrow.
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