Cross Finland in Mountain Bike

[c4n]

Hello All,

I would like cross the country in Moutanin Bike. Our Idea is start in Helsinki and end in the Finland´s North.

Dou you Know if exist any books or guide about this?

Another Question. Whats is the better date for cross the country? June? July?

Sorry by my English.


Thanks a lot!

C4n

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

you can stop by turku and fix mine while you're here.

As for the the other questions...A lot of stuff about biking around Ahvenanmaa/Aland but not anything I know of about going from the south to the north...the east seems good mountain biking country.

Lot of mosquitos in june/july/through the summer (correct me if i am wrong) I wouldn't like the idea of being bitten to hell and riding all that distance.

[Pete]

In Fillari Lehti i remember reading about a woman who rode the length of the coast from Turku to somewhere near Oulu, she may have gone even further but i can't recall just now.
Definitely June or July for something like this, maybe even August i guess.
It never gets that hot here that heat would be a factor, unless you happen to think that 30 degrees celsius is unbearable.
There are plenty of bike paths here so you wouldn't have to ride on the road all of the time, which is a great thing.
Good luck to you if go ahead with it, i'd love to give something like this a go too, on my fixed gear!!

[c4n]

Thaks a lot for the answers,

We would like to go to Finland in June, What temperature does in that month?

Do you know any bike route from Helsinki to Oulu?
We traveled from Spain to the capital, and we want start the travel from there to our destination.


I see the Fillari Lehti , but i don´t undestand nothing!! only read Spanish and little English jeje.

And the mosquitos? Are there many in June?

Thanks!

[arkisaoglu]

Hello!

That's a great idea! Will you bike on the trails or ways?

I would say the best time to do this is July, August. Yes, there will be many mosquitoes around, but as long as you're moving they don't touch you.

There are many trails in the woods, so you don't really need a guide. The only thing you need is a map and a compass to see which direction you're heading. But if you put enough effort, you can get hiking maps of different regions. They show all the hiking trails in the woods. You can always follow them.

It would be fun to join you

Good luck!

Hello All,

I would like cross the country in Moutanin Bike. Our Idea is start in Helsinki and end in the Finland´s North.

Dou you Know if exist any books or guide about this?

Another Question. Whats is the better date for cross the country? June? July?

Sorry by my English.


Thanks a lot!

C4n

[donald]

Hey

I have been cycling quite a lot, although I have not yet crossed Finland completely by bike.

I would say July is better than June, it's warmer and so on. I know a nice route from Helsinki to Jyväskylä: Helsinki (get out of it ASAP), somehow to Lahti, doesn't matter, not so much traffic as all the traffic to north takes the motorway. from Lahti stay west of the Päijänne lake, ie Asikkala-Jämsä-Jyväskylä. Really not much traffic, wheareas the main route east of the lake is disgusting for cyclists.

However, generally I would say, the further you can go east, the better! Much more lakes and unspoiled nature, I do strongly recommend NOT to take a route along the west coast. All plains, not much variation, quite a lot traffic compared to the east. I mean, what Finland is famous for is the forests, hills and *lakes* in central and eastern Finland, not the plains along the west coast You'd miss something....

And unless you ride along the west coast, which I do not recommend, be aware that Finland is by no means a flat country. There are no Alps here, but there is one hill after the other. On the other hand, as most of the country is covered with forests (except for the west coast, that is), strong winds are not such of an issue as the forest breaks th wind down. Again, one more reason not to ride along the west coast: strong winds! Not that I would dislike the west coast as such, as I do life on the west coast myself, but it's not a cyclist's paradise.

If you go to Turku (as some have suggested) to ride on the archipelago, it might be worth it as the Turku archipelago is quite unique even on a worldwide scale. But the roads are not so wide and there might be quite a lot weekend traffic, so consider well if you want to do it by bike. Better to do it during weekdays and not during a public holiday (ie not during Juhannus, the midsummer feast)

For more information you can join the German forum http://forum.bikefreaks.de/cfrm, there is also an English and a Spanish speaking section. Don't know how good they are as I always read and write in the German section, which is quite good!

And for the other guys here in Turku, who want their bikes get fixed, pm me. I have been fixing bikes during a few summer jobs in Finland, en route in the Australian desert as well as in the highlands of Iceland & other places. Guess I'm qualified...

/donald

[Upphew]

http://www.visitfinland.com/W5/index.ns ... ain-biking