day 62 - Tallinn to Helsinki

Day 62
September 2nd

This morning we joined our friend Sigrid on the fast ferry to Helsinki, leaving Julian and Andi with Boris for an appointment with the mechanic and Tiago with another appointment, much further away. Our bikes were pretty well packed with our survival supplies as we left Tallinn.

Upon reaching Helsinki, we met two old friends: Aka came back to join the last stages of the ride, and Riina was there to welcome us and show us our sleeping place. Tonight, we'd sleep on orthopedic hospital beds, with a skeleton watching over us. Once we settled in, it was time for a nice sightseeing tour around the Finnish capital and relaxing by the seaside. Haubi returned home this afternoon. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone could cycle to Russia with us?

Later in the evening, Julian and Andi managed to cross over with Boris in the last ferry, carrying much needed supplies for the next two weeks, purchased at Estonian prices. We're short one driver at the moment and we're about to begin the toughest part of our route.

day 61 - Tallinn

Day 61
September 1st

This morning we said goodbye to the girls. Zane left early in the morning, while Gabrysia and Seul still waved us off as we moved ourselves and our bikes to the Tallinn University of Technology, where we had a busy schedule for the day, led by our organizer Sigrid.

On arrival, we met the staff from the International Office and gave an interview. Then, we had a meeting with Prof Kalle Tammemae, vice-rector of TTU, who welcomed us, showed his personal support for the project and spoke about the University, the Higher Education system in Estonia and the country itself.

After a nice lunch, we hanged around the lobby, where TV crew after TV crew came to interview the group and film some antics combining bicycles and narrow spaces. The whole time, we kept our Bike of Honour on careful display, being such an important symbol of this project's goals.

When our job was done, we went for a little sightseeing tour around the city. By the time we returned to the hostel, the bad news came. Boris had a problem, which turned out to be much more serious than previously thought. We had a group meeting, already with the presence of our new rider, Mateusz. The scenario was not pleasant. We were to pack our luggage counting on a couple of days without the car.

We prepared ourselves for a tough one, but still enjoyed the night out and met some of our local team members. Finland awaits, and that will be a long part of the ride...

day 60 - Jarvakandi to Tallinn

Day 60
August 31st

This morning we tried a new method to combat tardiness in pre-riding preparations. Threatening to remove breakfast supplies at a specific time results in one of the most punctual departures ever. All packed up, we moved to Tallinn in our last travel day in the Baltic States.

Today's ride was troublesome, with a couple of minor accidents on the way. We took small roads until our lunch break, and on the final stretch Boris broke down. We were greeted in Tallinn by our local guide Urmas, and waited for Georgie and Tricky to help Tiago get the car moving again. While entering the city center, we had yet another crash and then a confusing check-in process at the hostel. While we gathered our smelly apparel for this stop's laundry service, we were exhausted.

Fortunately, we've already made some friends at the hostel, including with members of a band, very friendly folk. The day was tough but we survived it.

Stage M completed, two more to go.

day 59 - Parnu to Jarvakandi

Day 59
August 30th

Today we left the three workers behind once more, so there was some decent route planning once more. We purchased some of our host's amazing woolen clothes and said goodbye. Another riding day expected us with some rain, which is something we could have gone without.

The way North was rather pleasant. The land is flat, the roads are not very bad or very busy, and interacting with the herds of cows across the green fields made for an amusing day. Meanwhile we reached Jarvakandi, and even though we fell a bit short of our plan for the day, we found a nice place to spend the nigh, with the help of some locals. We stayed at the dormitory of a boarding school, Sasha cooked a huge amount of sweet rice and there was much enjoying of the woolen pullovers, perfect for a cold night like tonight.

day 58 - Salacgriva to Parnu

Day 58
August 29th

This morning was again time to say goodbye. Kaspars and Julia were going back to Riga, just when we were growing accustomed to their presence, and we were headed to Estonia, already the tenth country on our itinerary. Julian, Andi and Tiago stayed behind to work, so Mani led the way.

We crossed the border into Estonia, faced another different and puzzling language (sadly, we have no Estonians joining) and stopped for lunch. At this point we met two Austrian cyclists, also headed to St Peterburg, like us, but not through Finland. We rode together to Parnu, looked for a place to stay and were hosted by a very nice lady who knits woolen socks and pullovers and has a huge dog named Rocky.

With yet another show of hospitality, we all got together indoors for dinner and to escape the cold outside. Summer won't last much longer in these latitudes.