September 6th
With a good night's sleep, the usual wake up call doesn't sound so bad. We had a nice complimentary breakfast in the cafeteria, bounced up and down just a little bit and waved goodbye to our friends, as we resumed our way North.
During today's ride we rode across a couple of nice little towns, which make up the great setting we've been getting to know lately, with the green forest, the blue lakes and the rollercoaster roads. We were even approached by some locals at a small shop, who asked us about the purpose of our visit and recommended us the nicest roads. The weather was pleasant and so was the overall cycling, as we entered Kuopio, one of our main, yet short, stops.
When we arrived at the UEF campus we were met by the press, gave an interview and came in contact with a crowd of rowdy first-year students, off to spread their fueled joy across town. We stayed at the Student House, again turning an otherwise tidy room into a nomad camp for the night. We met our local organizers, Eeva (who we'd met in our first real riding day) and Kai, made introductions and got ready for dinner.
We were invited for dinner with two distinguished guests. Ms Sari Raassina, Chairman of the Kuopio City Board, and Prof Kalervo Vaananen, Academic Rector of UEF, both signed our Manifesto and the Bike of Honour, showing their support for the project. Ms Raassina's speech was particularly heartfelt, as she praised us for being so bold and active in defending our Rights and working towards a better society.
The rest of the evening was spent fixing bikes, playing games and attempting to learn some German. Unfortunately, learning Finnish is a bit beyond our reach.
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