Jos koulunne, luokkanne, työpaikkanne tai joku muu organisaationne on kiinnostunut matkapresentaatiostani (45-75min), ota yhteyttä  osoitteeseen lpfpri[at]utu.fi.

Presentaatiossa haluan kertoa minkälaisen kuvan sain maailmasta ollessani matkalla 14kk polkupyörällä. Videoitten ja kuvien avulla kerron miten paljon apua sain tuntemattomiltakin ihmisiltä. Kerron, miten turvallisesti matkustin maailman ympäri haasteista huolimatta.

Presentaatio voidaan esittää suomeksi, englanniksi, tai tsekin kielellä Etelä-Suomen alueella (Turku-Tampere-Helsinki-Kotka).

Presentaatio on ilmainen, mutta vastapalveluksi pyydän tarjoamaan matkat ja ruoat.

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If your school, class, workplace or association is interested in a 45-75min presentation of my trip, please contact me on lpfpri[at]utu.fi.

Presentation will be about the view of the World I got during my fourteen month trip on a bicycle. With videos and pictures I will tell you stories about how people helped me along the way. I will tell you how safely I traveled around the World despite some challenges.

Presentation can be given in English, Finnish or Czech in areas of Southern Finland (Turku-Tampere-Helsinki-Kotka).

The presentation is free of charge. However, I will ask for the transportation costs and a meal.

“WOOFFIE”

Size  26” 57cm

Framework 25 CrMo 4, 2 double butted with eccentric bottom bracket

Fork 25 CrMo 4 a-head

Gear lever Rohloff 14-speed twist shifter

Sprocket 16 teeth

BB Sugino Messenger 42 teeth

Chain  Shimano hg 93

Handles Ergon GP 1

Brakes Magura HS33 hydraulic rim brake

Saddle Gel Selle Royal Respiro

Seatpost Satori Camber Patent, Aluminium Satori Camber patent, aluminum ?

Wheels EXAL MX19, aluminum hollow chamber, double eyelets ?

Front Hub Deluxe SON hub dynamo

Rear Hub Rohloff 14-speed gear hub with freewheel

Tires Schwalbe Marathon Supreme

Fenders SKS fixed bridge with edge protection

Porter  Lowrider Rear Tubus Cargo / front: Tubus Tara Lowrider

Spotlight B & M IQ Cyo RT Lumotec Senso Plus, LED, 40 lux

Taillight B&M Line LED mit Standlicht B & M Line LED parking light

Pedals VP-196 with reflector

Stand  Pletscher

(Chain guard Hebie Chainglider)

Weight ~16 kg

Other Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit, Bottle holders 3x , ring bell (from China), Abus lock, Sigma Computer, Mirror Mirrycle, Ortlieb locking mounting bracket (for Handlebar Bag)

HOW DID WOOFFIE MANAGE ON MY TOUR?

In general, I was very pleased with Wooffie. I cycled around 21 500km with  the load (35-45kg), mostly on paved roads and had no bigger problems . It was really pleasent and easy to ride -like Mercedes.

PROS

Rohloff – It works really good. The lowest and highest transmission is enough to cycle over Andes or shake off an Indian cyclist following you.  Exchanging hub oil every 10 000km and reversing the rear sprocket once was all I had to do.  I swapped chains every ~1500km (had chain guard) and my sprockets look still ready for another World tour.

Magura Brakes – I had three pair of brake pads and they lasted easily to the end. Very good and steady braking.

Marathon Supreme – Good choice for my “fast” tour. I was on paved roads most of the time, with some rainy days. Tyres lasted until the end, and are still usable. After my first puncture in India, I had  25 more punctures.

Robustness- I guess all the parts were really good, because I had no problems with anything cracking whatsover. Frame, racks, pedals, fork, excellent!

Outlook- It doesn’t look like a super expensive bicycle.

Rims – Had only one spoke issue, when one idiot moved my locked bicycle with force. I was worried about a rim crack in South America, but my rims lasted until the very end.

Mirror Mirrycle- The best thing to have as an extra feature on your bicycle.

Front Light – Amazingly powerful light for night riding.

CONS

Flats – If you get a “hidden” puncture in the rear tube, you are screwed. You have to unscrew just too many small (and annoyingly attached) screws to get the inner tube out. This is because of strange attachment of the Rohloff speed hub.

Fenders - Just too close to the tires. The rear wheel must be deflated in order to remove it. Also more thick mountain bike tires (especially for the rear wheel) were touching the fenders no matter what.

Expensiveness – even though it doesn’t look like it, it is expensive. That is why you need a good lock to sleep your nights calmly. And good lock weighs more than necessary.

Fixing Rohloff & Brakes – Rohloff speed hub, although “unbreakable”, and Magura hydraulic brakes are difficult to fix in the middle of nowhere… you just have to trust that the cables and Rohloff lasts. And they should.

Weight- I know I shouldn’t comment on my girlfriends weight, but she should lose some kilos. Sorry

+/-  0

Pletscher stand – Of course nice to put your bike on stand (and it stands), yet screws got loose way too often. Perhaps unnecessary weight?

Chain glider- keeps the mud and filth out of your chains, but keeps stupid noise. Also, with a puncture you need to take it out again and again. Not necessary…

Saddle – Not very comfortable, but I guess ergonomic and healthy for my “manhood”.

10 BIKE ISSUES DURING MY TRIP

1) For unknown reason my spotlight stopped functioning after one week. I was still in Germany, so I managed to replace it without any extra costs.

2) I accidently poked my saddle into a fence and made a small hole in the leather. No effect.

3) My bottle cage and ring bell were demolished by drunken Iranian youngsters close to Persepolis (bottle cage was partly fixed, ring bell renewed in China)

4) Broken spoke in southern Iran because of a hotel janitor who tried to carry my bicycle (it being locked).

5) First puncture in Mumbai. Since then around 25 more punctures.

6) I lost my other pit lock in India, so had to be extra cautious not to lose the other one.

7) Lost nut holding the rear wheel in Buenos Aires was problematic. 1mm thread pitch nuts were almost impossible to find in BA, until one bike shop had one in their garage.

8) The rear view mirror got fractures by unknow reason in South America. 

9) The rear wheel rim seemed to have a small crack in Bolivia, yet no spokes snapped. The rim lasted until the end.

10) Left crank got loose and worn out in Germany because of my sloppy tightening.

Moldova – Being stopped by a traffic officer for riding my bicycle against the traffic rules. I was warned about these fake tickets, so I decided not to give any money to him. I was ordered  in his office, but because he spoke no English, there was three minute silence before he let me out.

Black Sea- One sunny day our captain decided to do a rescue rehearsal for the crew. Result: another boat had to rescue the first boat because it ran out of gas. One lady got sea sick.

Kutaisi- After finding the cheapest (and poorest) guest house in Kutaisi, I shared a room and slept next to a local old man who was probably not paying for his accommodation. As little wealth as he had, it was he who invited me to eat his piece of bread and meat. We spoke nothing, and just ate our dinner in the dark room.

Caucasus- Two day hike under Mountain Kazbegi brought an exciting moment when me and two Poles  had to cross the glacier in the pitch dark. Setting up our tents next to Glacier gave us cold night, but an awesome scenery in the morning.

Armenian Highlands-  The hardest up & downs ever with my weak knee was tough. Maybe the only time I thought that if my knee pain continues, I must quit my trip.

Iran- hospitality in Iran was amazing and bizarre. When I decided not to answer few questions for a local motorist, he called an interpreter and an officer to force me to answer his questions. To prove my point I rejected to answer any questions.

Camping in Iran- Each night the sky was full of stars. No fear of rain whatsoever.  One night close to Persepolis some drunken boys pinched my tyre and bended my water bottle cage

Persian Gulf – Realizing that I had traveled overland to Persian Gulf was stupendous. I had to dip my body to the water straight away.

Dubai  - After long journey through Eastern Europe and Iran, it was just crazy feeling to chill on the roof top swimming pool and stare at the Burj Khalifa. And those shopping malls!

Mumbai- Riding a bicycle to  Mumbai downtown and back to the hostel (30km one way) was an experience! Especially when the last 15km it got dark. I was never so concentrated on the traffic as I was back then. Flyovers were the worst!

India- Cycling through half of India in less than twenty days. I got followed  by local cyclists, horned hundreds of times, and when stopped, stared at big time! India was unique!

Nepal- Seeing the Himalayas for the first time. I climbed this hill up to 2500m, and when descending, the view got me.

Kathmandu- Those danish pastries at one cafeteria were so delicious!

Tibet- Crossing Tibet by Jeep/Van/Hard Seat Train. An interesting bonus feature was a dog bite to my leg by a street dog.

China- Ikea meat balls in Chengdu with some Salmiakki (Finnish licorice) never tasted better.

Laos- With no ATMs/money after the border, I had to cycle ~200km with some cookies, one soup sack and Salmiakki. The last 50km I had to apportion the last sweets very carefully. When I got to Thailand, I ate four dishes and two hot dogs.

Brazil- Hospitality. Being invited to a private Tennis club (with sauna) and a Gremio match by one couchsurfer. Accommodation and continental breakfast- invitation by a random Brazilian family. Bike tour in Curitiba by local bike association. A man buying me a tire in Cascavel.

Argentina- Cycling 230km in one day through Chaco province.

Crossing Andes- The hardest part of my trip. More you can read from here

Bolivia- Speed record (72km/h). Also the diarrhea record.

La Paz- The view of La Paz was breathtaking.

Peru- Crossing Bolivian and Peruvian border. There was a demonstration going on on Peru, so I had to cycle car-impossible 100km confronting rocks, glass and protesting locals.

Machu Picchu- Outstanding journey to see this phenomenal attraction.

Canada- Arriving to Montreal. After ~9 months I found myself in the western World.

New York- Cycling to/in New York. I never would’ve imagined cycling in New York is so much fun.

“Route 66“- Me and two buddies of mine driving from NYC to LA. No more needs to be said. Legendary.

Conan O’Brien- One of my favorite shows seen live in LA.

Feast in Encinitas – Good food and good company in California. Bliss.

Arriving to Duesseldorf – Still, a big culture shock between Norhern America and Europe.

Yesterday my video which was screening at the exhibition in a constant loop without a sound, was projected in an art exhibition at my faculty. The video  is in vimeo (poor quality, sorry). This movie is in English.

The second video I uploaded on vimeo is from the Finnish cyclist I met in Romania. It was already once linked, but here we go again. This movie is in Finnish.

And check out my new page called FAQ, just next to the LINKS page.

I hope I’ll be able to update my blog before summer.

post from California

Lukas is Home -post

All posts written for Nokia Maps Blog (former Ovi Blog)

Thank you Nokia team, Ovi team… everbody who has helped me with the Safely Around the World project. It was a real pleasure, suurkiitos

But before I cut and paste this story about two travelers, I will tell you what I’ve been doing last month. Since i haven’t been updating my blog, I’ve done other things.  I have added captions to my two-thousand-pack pics, edited some video clips, planned my tiny exhibition about my trip, and also cleaned and maintained my Wooffie a bit. With her I did a short cycle tour 60km north from Turku for one interview but also got invited to experience flying on a glider (thanks Tommi). I’ve had two interviews for local newspapers and a short description about my trip on teletext (thank you Matti) I’ve also visited one Brazilian friend I met on Andes, but now studying in Finland, and a student medical center to check my hip/back, which has been mas o menos bothering me for the whole journey. The physiotherapist said I should stretch more

Okay, but because I still have many things to do, here is the post about Jukka Salminen and Allan Karl (and here is a link of our stay at Allan’s – including a podcast!)

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My bicycle journey around the World is almost done. The last flight from San Diego to Dusseldorf was ten days ago, and since then (thanks to Nokia maps) I already halved my way back to Finland. But while I’m trying to keep my shoes dry in rainy Denmark, I would like to take you back to the sunny west coast of the US.

It was five days before my flight, when I bumped into another Finnish World tour cyclist Jukka Salminen and his American friend Allan Karl, who had traveled the World on a motorbike. Both guys were traveling for much longer time than I was, and also using Nokia phones during their travels. Jukka had cycled 60 000km in five years and Allan biked more than 60 000 miles in three years.

When you leave your home for such a long adventure, all the familiar surroundings, one would think there must be some doubts in the beginning. But no, Jukka and Allan were ready to make the big step into unknown. Jukka said his start from Australia was smooth without bigger problems, and Allan after touring in Alaska continued for Mexico. Quoting Allan:  ”…when I crossed the border to Mexico… I had this anxiety that now I can’t really turn back, I’m officially committed”.

Quitting never occurred to Jukka nor Allan. Jukka had some back problems in Africa and Allan broke his leg in Bolivia, but that didn’t stop them. They cured their bodies so they could continue on their projects. For them the end of one road was just another beginning.

 So what kept and is still keeping these guys on the road from one day to another? What is the motivation? Jukka points out, that he just needs to take care of his body with healthy food and a good rest.  ”Naturally the energy comes up”- Jukka states. Allan’s motivation is people – understanding them by sharing their lifestyle. Also, what kept Allan moving was the fact that staying at one place for too long made him loose the stimulation and inspiration.

We had a great time at Allan’s house in southern California, eating delicious food, sharing stories and having good laughs. This made me realize that it was moments like these that made me going. And yes, it still does.

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Interestingly, two weeks after I wrote this post, Jukka encountered heavy health issue and returned back to Finland

…

Final Etappe was 1570km long passing four countries which I already knew from before quite well; Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. It  wasn’t exactly the most exciting etappe I had, but it had it’s moments.

I already wrote how I got to Denmark, so I will make a short summary of Sweden, one of my favorite countries in the World.

1st day: I slept four hours at the “over night” ferry from Grenaa to Varberg.  In my tiredness I still had to cycle 75km to Gothenburg that morning, because one couch surfer-cyclist had offered me a couch for the night. Or so I thought, because I was convinced it was Friday. Well, in Gothenburg I learned I was one day ahead, but fortunately this Swedish cyclist knew how to treat another cyclist. He advised me how to sneak into a University sauna before we met at his flat to exchange our experiences over South America. Thanks Carl-David.

2nd day: I left Gothenburg early morning and headed towards Stockholm. I calculated 520km in four days is an easy job, so I cycled only 70km that day. I found a good place along a quiet dirt road to pitch a tent already at 6p.m., but was happy to get finally a good rest.

3rd day: Things didn’t start well in the morning. I hadn’t even cycled two kilometers from my camping spot when I heard a snap and my front pannier fell down. Closer observation showed that one of the clips was split in two and no longer good for attaching to the rack. That moment it also started to rain and I just couldn’t believe how unlucky I was on my last etappe. First the pole of my tent, then the crank  and now this.

I cycled 15km to the nearest town, almost a village, and found a bike shop. The bike shop owner didn’t obviously have Ortlieb products but helped me out with few cable ties.  I also found a perfect hose fastener in my tool bag and so I could continue to Stockholm with a relief.

After 60km I was caught by a very hard rain, but luckily I found a nice farmer who offered me a shelter. With all these incidents I wasn’t able to cycle that day more than 107km. Again I found good looking spot for camping, just next to a pasture.

4th day: Piece of an advice. Don’t pitch your tent next to a pasture inside the fence. Cows are stupid but very curious animals. Just before midnight I woke up in a herd of cows eating grass just next to my tent. Not that I’m afraid of cows, but the whole herd is not the safest thing to have next to your tent. I got out of my Hubba Hubba and chased the herd away. This procedure took place three times before they learned their lesson.

I had two days left to get to Stockholm and 340km to go. There was no way I could have afforded another lazy day so I woke up at 5.30 a.m to start the day. It was raining a bit, but I managed to pack my stuff quickly and hit the road. My focus was to do lots of kilometers that day, nothing else.

The rain stopped and actually I had some tailwind as well. Soon I found myself riding along lake Vättern towards Örebrö. My condition was good and motivation high. Road signs passed one by one, by noon I had already more than 100km cycled. Then the crazy idea came to me; today I will break the 300km/day milestone. Now or never, I thought.

With one thing on my mind I pedaled like never before. It was just pure athletic performance, no sightseeing or long lunch breaks were allowed. With the optimal wind and temperature everything went as planned. Just before 6p.m I already broke 200km. At this pace I would’ve reached 300km not long after dark, around 10p.m.

At 10p.m. I was sleeping in my tent. No milestones were meant to be broken, or otherwise I wouldn’t have bumped into this perfect camping spot with a  perfect lakeside and a sunset. It was when the road begun to be hilly and 240km was already cycled when I though that enough is enough. I didn’t break the great three hundred, but I did have a great swim in the lake and a good supper before falling asleep. Another time.

5th Day: The previous day I had made such a distance that no magic trick was need for the last push. With a nice back road I entered Södertälje and met this Belgian cyclist who was touring around Sweden. Together we had a lunch and cycled to the suburbs of Stockholm. My trip was about to end.

I met a Swedish cyclist Peder two years ago, when he was finishing his tour from Sweden to Beijing and back. I hosted him via hospitality club in Turku, his last stop before Stockholm. On 29th of August it was the other way around. I was finishing my trip and he was hosting me at my last stop. I had planned to meet some of my old friends who live here and there, but it was only the first day of my trip and the last one that I did so. In France I met this friend from America and now in Stockholm I met Peder. Somehow it was a perfect way to finish my journey. Thanks Peder.

The next day I cycled to the port and took a ferry to Turku. Check out rest of my pics.

(Legend: 1-Try to avoid biking in this country 2- Bike in this country for transit 3-Biking is even fun here 4-Nice landscape with good roads for biking 5-Beautiful landscape with nice people and good roads, you should definitely come here)

First of all, even though I did travel (cycle) fourteen months abroad without “working” , I feel like I need some vacation. I long for laying on a sofa and watching comedy series from the telly. I long for playing on my acoustic guitar the whole day without feeling lazy. I long for those days, in which I can cook some food, go to sauna, visit the library and read a good book. I long for some free time, where I don’t need to think about proceeding anywhere.

I would also like to just sit down with  my laptop and arrange all the pics and videos I managed to capture. I would like to update my blog without any rush, write some stories and prepare few presentations. I want to relive my trip from my new home, and realize what I had actually done. I want to have some time to write to the people I met on the road and thank them for helping me out. I want to invite them to my house.

When I look around me, I feel like I traveled with a time machine. Nothing seems to have changed while I was gone. Of course there are changes in somebody’s hair cut and some buildings has been renovated, but everything is running the same speed as before. Right now though, I’m not able to keep up with the pace of the society.  I’m used to cycle, eat and sleep, but now there are infinite options to choose from. I can’t believe I managed to live in this hassle before.

I’m happy to be back in Finland, but I’m not happy to stop living the fulfilled life I had on the road. I wan’t to enjoy all the simple moments I experience here too, but it’s hard when people around me are so used to them. I sometimes feel a bit alone.

Despite all the loneliness, I really enjoy the things that were sometimes difficult to get like: rye bread, sauna,  beer, movie night, fresh air, fast internet, soft toilet paper, warm shower, volleyball,  electricity, salmiakki, tap water, kitchen, bed, jogging shoes and mosquito-free area.

People also ask me what was the best thing I saw or experienced. I will later on make a FAQ-post, but to this question I can answer right now. There wasn’t one single thing which I rank higher than the others. I like to think that the best moments were many, and together they make the whole trip the best thing.

I feel like I did an awesome trip and I don’t think it was the last one.

On the day I arrived to Turku, on 31st of August, I attended some classes in the University. In between those classes I had some interviews in the local media (here and here and here). Then the next days we had a student party, I moved into a new flat and before I realized it, I was back in the life I left more than a year ago.

Last night something felt wrong. I had traveled in four different continents and met hundreds of people. Shouldn’t I digest this whole experience somehow before continuing with the every day routine?  I thought I should.  I should first close one chapter before rushing into another one. Breathe.

Today, a week after my arrival, I stopped stressing. I skipped some classes, had late morning and begun to unwind my Around the World trip bit by bit. Which means, I will update my blog very soon.