The train from Helsinki arrived to Kolari station around 11. About 1 hour later I got my bike out from the car-carrier train.
First thing I did I wanted to find a better place to change to my actual riding gear. That I did in the parking area of one restaurant that wasn’t open yet. There was also gas station just beside and I filled my tank. Then I started riding! Pretty soon I arrived to the gate of an old mine. It was Rautuvaara that stopped working as a mine in 1988!
Big disappointment was the possibilities for eating in Muonio on Sunday afternoon! SEO Muonio right beside the main road has Rolls hamburger restaurant. But I didn’t want anything from there. Other than that there was no option! Harriniva resort has restaurant but the kitchen opens only at 5pm! SO I decided to ride straight to my accommodation and they promised to make some food for me! (What a great service!) Here is the route I did on the first day:
From Kolari to Muonio I was riding TransEuroTrail Finland Section 3. Here’s the video I made of that day:
Big recommendation for the place I stayed for the night!! It was Old School of Kihlanki village and I found the place from booking.com. Check from the end of the video… I was amazed especially how helpful and friendly the hosts were!
Empty shopping mall Zsar This shopping mall was opened in November 2018. Already in december 2020 it was in debt restructuring and in october 2022 the company went bankrupt. Now this amazing building is standing empty just beside the TET Track in the beginning of the section 4. The POI is called “Zsar shopping Mall (empty)”
Kruununpuisto landscape Finland’s first nature reserve Kruununpuisto-park in Imatra is established in 1842. In the same island are the best views of the dam and the old banks of the river/ rapids. The POI in the TET gpx is called “Oldest nature preserve in Finland” or “Imatra Dam”. This park is just beside the TET track.
Parikkala Sculpture park Freak statues! Some even think they are scary… Entrance fee is 7€. The POI in TET gpx is called “Parikkala sculpture park” and it’s just beside the TET track.
Öykköistenvaara Battle Zone This is a perfect place to learn a little about the battles of the Second World War on the Finnish front line. You are free to walk around the area that was built by local volunteers. The POI in TET gpx is called “Öykköistenvaara Battle Zone”.
Most Eastern point of continental EU This would be the most eastern point of the Continental EU. You are now 60km east from St. Petersburg. If you want to go further east in EU you need to visit Cyprus. The POI in TET gpx is called “Most Eastern point of EU”. The TET track takes you as far as you can ride. Then there is still a short hiking trail to the shore of the lake from where you can see the actual point.
Neitikoski/ Ruunaa rapids Ruunaa is a huge area for hiking, fishing or rafting. In the TET gpx file there is one suspension bridge POI but the main place to visit would be the Ruunaa outdoor center and the Neitikoski rapids close to this place. You need to ride 4,5km east from the track and the POI is called “Ruunaa rapids”. You can leave your bike to the parking area beside the outdoor center or somewhere close. The trail to the Neitikoski is very near and easy to find.
Saab museum The Uusikaupunki car factory produced Saabs for many years. So it is only natural that Saab has its own museum there. But nowadays there’s many other Car brands too! The POI in the TET is called “Saab museum”
Old Rauma The Old town of rauma is a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1991. The old part of the city consists of around 600 wooden houses which are used both for residential and commercial purposes. You will find some interesting shops, restaurants and cafeterias here. TET route makes a loop through the market square but it’s recommended to ride around the narrow streets of the Old town and maybe check the old stone church too. The old town hall was built in 1776 (unfortunately this building/ museum is closed until 2026).
Kallo lighthouse 8m tall lighthouse of Kallo was built in 1903. There’s something special about this small lighthouse and the place where it’s located! The POI in the TET gpx has the same name.
Reposaari fortress park This island and its coastline you can see from Kallo lighthouse. But you need to ride 15km to reach the Reposaari island! The POI in TET gpx is called “Fortress park”. There you will find a wide range of fortifications from the Second World War. And there is also an observation tower about 10m high with very nice views to the sea!
Vattaja sand dunes The Vattaja dune area is a valuable landscape also by European standards. Vattaja is Europe’s largest coastal dune area in the boreal region, and with 15 kilometres of shoreline, it is also one of the longest sandy beaches in the Nordic countries. TET route would probably go through here but there are some military areas too so it’s not possible to make a nice route through the area. Now you need to ride about 35km north from TET track to reach Vattaja area. The POI in the TET gpx is called “Vattaja Beach & Dunes” If you don’t visit Vattaja dunes you can still check Yyteri or Kalajoki beaches near TET Section 3!
Hailuoto/ Marjaniemi Hailuoto is The third biggest island in Finland. You can visit the island by ferry and in the future throught the bridge. The most western point of Hailuoto is called Marjaniemi and it offers nice sand beaches, a lighthouse and a small fishing village. The POI in the TET gpx is called “Hailuoto Marjaniemi”. You need to ride more than 60km west from the TET track (but 7km of this is in the ferry!)
Aavasaksa hilltop One of the first tourist attractions of Finland was the top of the hill of Aavasaksa. There is many things to see: Struve Geodetic Arc and The Imperial lodge that was built in 1883. But the best idea about the place you will have by hiking around the trail called The Scenic path of Aavasaksa. There is 2 POI’s in the TET gpx: “The Imperial Lodge” and “Aavasaksa Viewpoint terrace”. The Aavasaksa hilltop is about 3,5km noth from the TET track.
Arctic Circle in Pello The cafeteria & Restaurant Tuomaan tupa is a crossing point of the Arctic Circle. North from here you can experience the midnight sun and the further north you go the longer the period of the midnight sun is! The POI in the TET gpx is called “Arctic Circle Pello”. You need to ride 2,8km north from the TET track.
Tyrvää medieval church About 100km’s after the section 2 start you will ride through Sastamala city. This church is 3km after the city. POI in TET gpx-file has the same name. You need to ride about 1km away from the track to enter the place. The church is located on an island and it’s very beautiful place! Maybe churches is not your thing? But I recommend this place anyway -especially in the evening/ sunset it can be extremely beautiful.
Haapamäki Steam Locomotive Park About 335km from the start of Section 2 You will enter Haapamäki city where this place is located. The POI is called “Steamtrain park”. It claims to be the biggest Steam locomotive park in the world!
Ähtäri Zoo They don’t have Pandas anymore!! POI has the same name. If you want to visit I think it will be at least 3 hours. Ticket to the Zoo is for 1 day (21-23€).
Tuuri Shopping Mall 28km west from Ähtäri Zoo there is the biggest shopping mall of Finland. The story begins in 1976 when the small grocery store started in Tuuri village.
Hepoköngös Waterfall This waterfall is in Puolanka about 15km west from the TET track. It’s one of the most famous waterfalls in Finland!
Iso Valkee You started from Helsinki 159km ago and you have been enjoying “Kiikala” area already 30km’s and now you have POI in your TET gpx called “Iso Valkee very nice place”. This is a small beach, camping area and Lean-To shelter by a very beautiful lake! The lake has very clear water and sand bottom so it’s a nice place for a swim. Or grilling some sousages and have a break. It’s ok to put your tent here and do wild camping. Remember: Don’t make fire if there is forest fire warning!
Aulanko in Hämeenlinna You need to leave TET route just when you enter the main road 57 in Hattula/ Hämeenlinna. You need to ride 8km to south-east to reach the Aulanko area and there turn to left to Aulanko lookout tower. (Route here). Even if the tower itself is not open the place has amazing views to the lake and the tower itself looks quite unique. It’s 117 years old tower and the place is one of the national landscapes of Finland. The POI in TET gpx is called “Aulanko National view”.
Niemisjärvi lake in Evo area You have been riding in Evo area already few km’s and the TET route makes a turn to the right to go around this lake. I recommend to ride straight to the place and have a short break there. With lean-to shelters, grilling places and a beautiful small beach it’s quite special place. You’re not allowed to ride over the bridge but you can park your bike before the bridge. POI is called “Niemisjärvi camping area”.
Old church of Petäjävesi You can see this wooden church from The TET route but we really recommend you to go and check this 250 years old wooden church. You can see the POI in TET gpx, it’s called “Old Church of Petäjävesi”.
Finnish Air Force Museum You can see the planes and the museum from the route but if you are interested about this kind of stuff it is ofcourse recommended to go in! Google maps location
Koli National landscape If you want to visit Koli National park and the “famous view from the top of Koli” You need to ride about 20km away from the route near Juuka. And in Koli you need to leave your bike to the parking area and take the railcar to the top. From there it is about 1km hike to the lookout spot. POI is called “Koli hill top”.
Raate road The route goes across Raate road in Suomussalmi. You will probably see some tanks or something about the war while riding but it’s very much recommended to ride to the beginning of Raate Road. That is about 15km’s from the actual TET route to the museum area. Maybe visit the Raatteen portti museum or at least read about the Battle of Raate Road and check the Winter War Monument. POI’s are called “Raatteen portti” and “Winter War Monument”.
Kiutaköngäs rapids The POI in TET gpx is called “Kiutaköngäs Rapids/ Waterfall”. If you ride 3 km north from the track you will find Oulanka National park (One of the gates to the park) and if you leave your bike to the parking area you will have about 1km hike to the famous rapids in the National park.
Samperi’s locomotive About 4km east from the track you can find POI called “Tulppion majat” and just on the north side of that area there is a strange machine standing in the shelter. It’s a steam locomotive to be used in transporting logs from the forest closer to the road.
I still have some of my old action cameras and I had this idea quite long time! I wanted to compare the old ones to the new ones I am using now. Finally I did it. The old cameras that I have: JVC GC-FM1 (pocket camera), but for this one I didn’t find the correct wire to charge it. Sony HDR-AS30V Quite good camera already! It has even digital Steady Shot stabilizer. My video of this camera here! Sony FDR-X1000V was my first 4K camera, and I was so happy with this camera! My video of this camera here! And then I’m also showing (testing) the video quality of Insta360 One RS 4K Boost lens, video is here! Insta360 One X3, video is here! I did also a short flight with my drone because they are also kind of action cameras… Nobody had a drone 10 years ago! DJI Air 2S, and my flight video is here! The full video I made you can check here:
Comparing old action cameras to the new ones
I made also another video where I’m shooting the video with Insta360 One RS 4K boost lens. That video you can see here:
I’ve been riding Adventure and Enduro about 10 years. TET Linesman of Finland I’ve been now 2,5 years. The more I’ve been riding the more it is not clear to me where you can ride and where it is not OK? Finland Roads and Traffic act says that it is OK ride to ride on the road -It is not OK to ride outside the road (OffRoad). But the problem is about the fact “What is the road?” But I also have quite clear thoughts how it should be! What the road owners should do… We have quite many possible traffic signs and they should use more of those! Like I’m saying in the video: The amount of road users is getting bigger and bigger (OffRoad car drivers, ATV riders and adventure motorcycle riders) so it is obvious that the private forest roads cannot stay unused forever. If you don’t want other road users there you need to put the traffic sign to your road!
It’s been a long time since I called other riders to join my ride. But now I did it. 12 bikes started from Veikkola and interesting detail was that there was no more bike models than 1 of each! We had: 2 x BMW, 2 x Husqvarna, 3 x Honda, 2 x KTM and 3 x Yamaha.
The group of “Pohjolan Kurapyöräilijät” (Nordic Dirt Riders) had so much! Here’s the video:
Day started with morning swim, breakfast and packing the bike. Before 9 AM I was ready to start riding!
Weather forecast looked quite bad fot the afternoon so I wanted to ride as far as possible before the rain. After Savonlinna there was a long challenging part. In the video this starts at 06:00. I took 1 picture in that part:
Luckily that wasn’t so hard because I was able to go around! After Juva there was quite long and little bit boring part with ordinary Finnish countryside roads and I got my first raindrops… I decided to put on the rainsuit. But while I was putting the rain gear I noticed the front wheel! There was 2 new spokes broken and they were just beside the previous ones. So now I had 4 spokes missing from a very short part of the rim. I was thinking right away that I can’t continue riding with this bike! My holiday adventure ended there… About 150km’s before Jyväskylä. Called a towing car and got a ride to Mikkeli and took the train back home…
This was the route for the day:
And the entire adventure looked like this on the map:
GoZa Mite 