It was actually already before easter when I got the offer from my Honda VFR1200X Crosstourer. After trying to sell it so long time I was quite happy with offer I got from Bikeworld. But I had to wait over 1 week for the delivery of the new KTM 690 Enduro.
This photo was taken only 10km’s after I bought it and already I’m offroad!! Ok it’s only like 20 meters away from the pavement but anyway that bike really invites you to make turns away from the road.
My way home (normally about 30km’s) turned in to 90 kilometers of gravel roads and some little bit illegal roads. I even found some nice and interesting places.
Here’s the route I rode yesterday (few places I couldn’t add to the route since googlemaps doesn’t allow it).
The real offroad places (forest etc) are still snowy or at least very wet so for now I’m staying mostly on the gravel roads. But luckily there are lots of those here in my area!
adventure
Tuesday March 15 was the day when I went to garage and took my Honda out (BMW is still waiting for the 1st ride).
I took a short ride to Lauttasaari in Helsinki to check one motocaching.net -cache someone had made during the winter. The place is actually not legal to ride with the motorcycle but it was in the middle of the day so there were not too many people around so I took the risk and rode my bike up to the small hill with this cannon.
There’s also a viewing platform very near from where you can see the south-western parts of Helsinki.
Wednesday 16th of March was much warmer so I even got 1 friend with me and we rode to Vuosaari to check 1 breakwater where you can also ride. Ocean is already without ice and there were few swans flying around beautifully!
Here’s my Honda VFR1200X Crosstourer with my friends KTM 990SMT at the Ruusuniemi breakwater in Vuosaari. This is also a cache at motocaching.net!
Then on friday morning it was below zero and some snow was in the ground (and on my Honda too!)
Now it seems that we’ll have to wait many days until we can ride again!
This strikes straight to my heart and soul! It was so close that I put my name in there right away… But it’s better to ride the the summer 2016 first before getting in to 2017. But I will remember this -Oh yes I will!
Over 1 month riding in the alps… UUh! http://alpenbutt.com/
Quite many riders from Finland have been riding in Estonia too. But usually it’s only riding through as fast as you can! Riders from Finland are coming to Tallinn by ferry and then they ride straight to south!
But what if you’d stay for awhile?
It is true that there are not too many roads with nice corners in Estonia! But it doesn’t mean that riding here would be totally boring. The best curvy roads are in the coastline east from Tallinn (https://goo.gl/maps/n7Ej8PAaqb92) but you will find some nice roads also in Otepää area and in the Hiiumaa and Saaremaa islands. Sadly it is also true that if you find a nice curvy road it is quite possible that the pavement is not in very good condition.
But what is it then that makes the riding not boring? There are few good answers to this:
1. Estonia was a part of Soviet Union before 1991. There are many very interesting places to see: some abandoned nuclear missile bases, military fortresses, harbours, military airports or a submarine base.
2. Tallinn and Tartto are old Hansatowns. That means there are so many historical spots to see. There is also an old castle in Pöltsamaa, Haapsalu, Kuressaare and many, many other places too! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_Estonia)
3. Prices are very cheap! Last summer (2015) me and my friend stopped to eat something in Rakvere. We parked the bikes in the centrum and we saw a restaurant. The price for a russian kind of meal (some potato sallad, vegetables and a meat-saslik) was about 8 euros!
4. The nature is surprising! There are some cliffs, waterfalls, beautiful lakes, forests, very nice sandbeaches and so much more surprisingly beautiful places.
5. Huge motorcycle meeting in July in Jögeva! Usually something like 2-3000 motorcycle riders meet every year.
Curvy road from Leesi to Hara
Sehe’s quite young girl from Melbourne Australia! And for some reason she desided to come to Europe and make a 3 months roadtrip here. And what a wonderful trip it was!!
http://www.bikergirl.me/
Here’s the route she made (or I think this is the plan):
A girl from Finland going around the world… what is so special about this? She has a rare muscle condition called SMA and she needs a personal assistant almost in all of her daily routine. She’s been telling about her experiences many years now and now she’s about to go around the world! Check http://www.palmuasema.fi/ (also in english)
What? Who is Vaune Phan? She is 27 years old blogwriter from Singapore. And she did quite a ride from Singapore to Mt Everest Base Camp (north). It was 7500 km’s through Malaysia, Laos, Thailand and China. And she did this with Suzuki 250ccm!! All I can say is WOW! Find the story and the blog from here: http://vaunephan.blogspot.sg/2015/06/day-1-beyondeverest-its-official-flag.html
First I have to confess that this is my mistake! I didn’t read the conditions about making the change or cancelling the booking! But since I’ve been using booking.com quite many times (more than 50 bookings made!) I didn’t think this would be possible!
This guesthouse has this “special condition” about the cancellation (and possible changes). It says: “Please note, if cancelled or modified, 100 percent of the first night will be charged. Deposit: 100 percent of the first night may be charged anytime after booking.”
I made my booking in the beginning of december and then I cancelled it about 2 weeks later (and 7 months before the actual arrival time!!) So due to the regulations and this special condition I lost the whole amount of money already 7 months before I ever made any trip!!
This is not possible here in Finland! But maybe in Lithuania it is possible to cheat travellers like this! And for us motorcycle riders it is quite impossible anyway to make this in-advance bookings because you don’t know what happens tomorrow…
Here is the guesthouse: http://aismares.lt/
And here is their page in booking.com: https://www.booking.com/hotel/lt/aismares-guest-house.fi.html
If you’re using booking.com to find a place to stay, please always read the notes and conditions about cancellation or making changes to your booking!
I also put very negative feedback to trip advisor and google!
Gloria Tramontin Struck is 90. Yes, ninety years old! And she rides HD Heritage Softail Classic 2004. She’s been riding a motorcycle for 74 years ans she has a goal…. Still ride a motorcycle when she’s 100!! Way to go Granny! Make life a ride!
Read more here!
GoZa Mite 