My bike
A lot of people have been asking me about what bicycle I am taking with me, so I figured I’d write about it for a bit. Let me just mention here, that I absolutely adore my bike. It’s my treasure and I love what it stands for, how gorgeous it looks and most importantly, how incredibly good it is to cycle with. Let’s all bask in the beauty of it:
Let’s get to the specs:
- Frame: Silkroad II Thermocrom by Tout Terrain
- Fork: Tout Terrain Straightfork II Expedition with 12mm quick release axle
- Rack: Tout Terrain Expedition Rack II
- Crank: Shimano FC551 44-32-24Z
- Bottom Bracket: Shimano BB52 Hollowtech 2
- Casette: Shimano CS-M4100-10
- Chain: Shimano HG54 10-speed
- Stem: Tout Terrain Black Label 100mm +/- 6°
- Handlebar: Black Label Ergo Tour 640
- Grips: Black Label Ergo Screw-On Handles
- Inner Grips: SQlab Innerbarends 410/402
- Steering Stop: Ergo-Stop 2
- Headset: Cane Creek 10
- Saddle: Ergon SMC Sport Gel Men
- Seat Post: Tout Terrain Black Label Micro-Adjust
- Front Wheel Hub: Black Label EX-F1
- Rear Wheel Hub: Black Label TK-R1-10/11s
- Rims: Ryde Andra 321 27,5″ disc, 32 holes
- Rim tape: Schwalbe Rim Tape
- Shift levers: Shimano Deore Rapidfire Plus
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore RD-M6000-GS
- Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore FD-M6020
- Eccentric: Tout Terrain Aluminium SL Centre-Eccentric
- Pedals: Black Label Touring Pedals
- Mudguard: SKS Bluemels XXL
- Hub Dynamo: Shutter Precision PL-7 12mm
- Headlight: busch+müller Lumotec IQ-XS
- Taillight: busch+müller Toplight 2C
- Brakes: Shimano Deore XT BR-M8000
- Disks: Shimano SLX SM-RT66 180/180mm
- Lowrider: Tubus Duo Lowrider
- Power: Cinq Plug5 Plus
Route
Here comes a really exciting topic! I’ve gotten so many questions about where I’m planning to go, about my route and so on. Well, here it is! Before I dive deeper, I want to mention that this is obviously only a rough plan and the whole point of this adventure is to taste absolute freedom. So it may very well be, that one day I decide to take a completely different route. That’s the exciting part! You just have to follow me along through this Blog if you want to map out my actual route. Generally I will follow the routes described by this absolutely awesome cycling guide I have for Finland as well as Norway. The one for Finland is quite antique by now though, so it’ll be interesting to see how accurate it still is.
Now let’s dive a bit deeper. The whole adventure will start in Helsinki, where we will arrive in the morning of the first of June. Once the thriller of crossing the border is past us, we will spend a week in the city, just exploring it and spending time with friends there. Since we might have to quarantine we had to get a hotel. Turned out to be a great thing though, because thanks to some networking, we were able to secure an absolute steal of a price for a room for three in a really fancy hotel. Anyway – from Helsinki we will start our Journey by heading towards Turku along the southern coast. From there we will take on one of the most exciting sections of our route – the island hopping through Åland. It’s an autonomous region of islands in Finland where they speak Swedish and said to be a cycling paradise. I can’t wait! Once we made our way around the islands we’ll go back onto the mainland and cycle towards Tampere in the southern centre of Finland. By doing so we’ll enter a regiond they call the land of lakes. Basically there will be lakes and little islands whereever we look. Through this watery patch we will make our way towards Kuopi and then Kajaani. From there we will head westwards towards the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia, where Oulu lies. After some time at the beach and sea we will continue, almost crossing the Swedish border in Tornio before heading more eastwards again towards Rovaniemi. If you heard about cities in Finland you probably heard about Helsinki or Rovaniemi. Why? Well Rovaniemi is the home of Santa and has a very interesting position on the map as it lies almost exactly on the arctic circle. We have now officially entered Lapland. The land of my dreams. Now we’ll head to Kemijärvi so we can then go southeast and visit Kuusamo. You’re probably asking yourself now why we do this zig-zagging to which I can only say that we just want to see it all. The western part around the Gulf is quite different from the very nature-rich east and especially around Kuusamo it is said that some of the most stunning national parks are located there. So how could we not go there? Eventually we’ll go back up north towards Inari, the last bigger place before crossing the border to Norway. Inari holds a special place in my heart and has some very fascinating cultural things to offer, being the “capital” of the Sami. It will be here at the latest probably where I’ll have to say goodbye to my two friend accompanying me. Norway will be a solo-adventure.
Speaking of Norway, I have to admit that my planned route is a lot less concrete – basically consisting soley of places I want to pass through for sure and not having decided yet on how to get from one place to the next. From Inari I’ll definitely head towards Olderfjort and then up to the Nordkap. True North. As far up as you can go in Europe. From there I’ll head down, make a short detour through Hammerfest, a place my grandfather almost lost his life at during WWII, before heading further down south through Alta and Tromsø. From there things become a bit unclear, I’ll basically freestyle my way through the Fjords and islands down towards the Lofoten and Å i Lofoten. A little fun fact on the side – it is a picture from right there that stands at the origin of this whole idea of cycling the world with my bicycle. A long story that is closely treasured in my heart. Anyway – from there I’ll take the ferry to Bodø. Trondheim is the next destination I am aiming for and from there onwards I have not made any concrete plans other than that I want to cross Bergen and Oslo and end up in Kristiansand where a good friend of mine has promised me to await me with a carrot cake, shower, hot meal and bed. What more could you ask for? I can’t wait to meet up there.
If you wonder about what comes after that? I can’t tell you. I’ll make my plans as I approach this chapter of my travels. All I know is that neither Denmarks nor Swedens streets will be safe from me and my bicycle.
Well and there it is. All the info I can give you on my route before actually heading out. Thank you all so very much for reading and taking part in my adventure! To all of you who gave me good wishes and other forms of support, I can’t thank you enough. In one week I’ll head out and I promise to make the most out of it!
Raphael's Travel Blog 