Now an update from the other side of the Gulf of Finland! I left Tallinn under some threatening clouds and gale-like winds. All of my bags act like a sail under even the smallest winds. This time the wind was coming off the gulf from the north as I cycled east towards St. Petersburg. If I had to rank the winds, I would put headwind as the worst, crosswind towards traffic as a close second, crosswind away from traffic third, and the best wind, by large margin, is a tailwind. That first day of three was probably one of the most boring of all my 150+ days in the saddle. There was just nothing interesting about the landscape at all. Endless kilometers of straight roads with feilds or sparse forests on either side. I was so bored I had to play a roadtrip game to myself. You know the game where you have to try and find all the letters of the alphabet in order on signs/license plates outside of your own vehicle? Yeah, I played that. It proved to be more difficult than anticipated, as Estonians don’t seem to have much use for the letters “Q,” or “W.” I came to the Russian border in the morning of my second day. The border crossing was surprisingly less intense than my first crossing, but it wasn’t any shorter in duration. The border personnel don’t seem to know how best to process me without a traditional visa, or letter of invitation to enter the Federation. I spent at least 10 minutes standing at the booth waiting for the woman to figure out how to process me through. On the Russian side of the border the poor weather began in earnest. I ducked into a bus shelter to hide from the rain while eating my lunch before continuing on my journey. I was treated to weather not-unlike that which I found in Turkey around Christmas time. Cold and rainy. For the first time in a very long time, I was forced to keep my sweater on while cycling, and even layer on my rain jacket to protect against the wind! I enjoyed most of a very cold free walking tour in St. Petersburg. I feel a little bad that I didn’t tip the guide before dipping out mid-way through the tour. I was unable to break one of my 2000 (~$40 CAD) ruble notes before the tour began, and I only had ~$1.00 Canadian in small change. By the time the tour got to its mid-way break it was already 1:30 and my stomach was telling me it was time to eat something. I just barely managed to get into a restaurant before the first of many deluges I experienced in the city. I spent my fair share of time walking around St. Petersburg on my own, and watching the round of 16 Fifa matches. I’m not all that invested in any of the teams, but again, there’s something about the atmosphere that is magnetic! I endurred one of my more stressful moments of the trip while trying to organize the following weekend. I had confirmed a place to stay in Helsinki with a guy named Eerikki, whom I met in Montenegro during the spring. I was working at finalizing plans for the trip and visit to Stockholm. I had to estimate how long it would take me to cycle to Turku from Helsinki, when to take a ferry to Stockholm, then organize a hostel that won’t make me bankrupt. Financially committing to an entire week of everything-must-go-perfectly-for-me-not-to-waste-money was not a very comfortable position for me to put myself in. The three day trip to Helsinki from St. Petersburg was surprisingly okay, even with rain on all three cycling days. I made it 75 kilometers outside of St. P before the rain started coming down on me. I could see it coming from a long ways off - but that doesn’t make it any more enjoyable. The silicone I had used in Italy to cover the holes in the bottom of my cycling shoes has long since lifted and allowed water in through the sole. My feet generally go all of ten minutes before the first traces of water seep in. That’s even with my shoe covers on, which protect my feet from water dripping off my rain pants, or water kicked up by my tires. Crossing into Finland meant that I am now in the land of functional bike paths and worry-free camping! Finland, along with Sweden and Norway, have every-mans right enshrined in their constitution. Long story short, it protects the right of all people to make use of the land (within reason). I can camp just about anywhere and not have anyone be up in arms over it! I spent probably close to 75% of the journey from the Russian border to Helsinki on a separate protected cycle path! Yesterday I spent an hour or two exploring the Helsinki’s downtown before meeting up with my host and some of his friends from university to take in some of the best beer that Finland has to offer! A large craft beer garden had popped up for the weekend right across from the central metro station. It sure wasn’t cheap - though I suppose I have to get accustomed to that fact sooner rather than later. Most vendors were selling 150ml of their beer for 3-4 Euro ($4.60-$6.10 CAD). Cost aside, it was a perfect way to spend a hot afternoon in Helsinki! Today I spent part of the morning exploring the Suomenlinnan island/fortress that lies just off the coast. Once a formidable first line of defense, it is now host to an army of tourists. If I’m not mistaken, there’s also a very minimum security prison on one of the islands as well. I’m more-or-less ready for my quick trip out to Turku tomorrow. I even remembered that the Finnish government has a database of free-use shelters all around the country that I should be able to take advantage of on Monday night before my Tuesday morning ferry ride. It has felt like a pretty busy two days off here in Helsinki, but a really good two days. Plenty of time left in this afternoon to explore, actually - though I’m going to be kicked out of this coffee shop very shortly.
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