22.09.2009 - Brevet 200km.

Prologue:

We completed this same route with my friend first time 15 years ago and we wanted to complete this with spirit of those days.

Jarkko had severe accident on 2007. He was driving mini-bus near Kouvola and got a kiss from  a truck on full load, 90km/h directly to right side of the mini-bus. The survival was already quite a miracle itself but to recover to this condition that he was able complete this route after 1½ years from the accident was something that needed true will power and dedication to move on, get shape and set new goals.

"People do not lack strength, they lack will." - Victor Hugo

Route:

Route starts from the city of Lahti. Route is completely pavement, mostly small roads on a hilly country side.  Complete route is 202km and it has several long ascents that gain more than 100 vertical meters. In example, Vaaruvuori gains elevation of 120meters from the lake of Päijänne.

Equipment:

Bicycle - Check detail fm here.

I have done some improvement to the original set, lock pedals etc.

I carried only a small backpack for necessarities, a small set of tools, spare inner tube and some energy bars. I had integrated camel bag (pouch of water with hose.) to my back pack.

Weather was more than good; it was nearly perfect so it gave a possibility to ride on very light clothes. It was +8C when we started at the morning but the temperature rose up to near +20C soon.

Generally about hydration, I managed to consume 8 liters of fluids, 6 liters of water & 2 liters of sport drinks.

1st section, Lahti - Canal of Vääksy.

We started few minutes before 0800, shivering in our light clothes. Route from Lahti to Vääksy was actually most boring section of the whole route. It just went by, 28km in 1h10minutes.

2nd section, Vääksy - Sysmä.

Section was fast as it has no remarkable ascents. One of the most beautiful parts of the route is in this section. Pulkkilan Harju, check the picture taken fm air, here.

When we arrived to Sysmä, we had 72km behind and we had spent 3 hours.

We had lunch at Sysmä, yoghurt & meatballs.

This far going was easy.

3rd section. Sysmä - Luhanka.

Oh yes, hills started soon after Sysmä and ended near Jämsä. Basically there was not many flat sections, whether you go up, or you go down.

Jarkko was exhausted when we arrived at the village of Luhanka, after 128km of cycling.

We had short stop at local cafeteria. I recommend to Jarkko that he should have couple of beers so he just might stop complaining about his ass & legs. He had mineral water and kept complaining.

4th section. Luhanka - Korpilahti.

The best, but not the last. Vaaruvuori, 120 meters of vertical gain on a single hill. In Finland it is a lot. And of course we had lot of fun, especially on descent where I reached more than 80km/h.

This section has also nice bridge called Kärkistensalmi, check photo from here.

After 170km of cycling we stopped at local gas stations yard to keep our last stop.

5th section. Korpilahti - Jämsäkoski - Haavisto.

From Korpilahti to Juokslahdetie the route is boring, just cycling on route 9 until you turn out from Jyväskylä - Tampere road. Jarkko was wasted, lack of stamina did the job, but he did not gave up and somehow he managed to find some will power to continue, and maybe energy gel & sugar helped also. :o)

After energy boost we increased our pace to same levels that they were at beginning so rest was easy going and Jarkko were tailing most of the route fm Sysmä onwards.

We did extra kilometers at the end to achieve more than 200km, we continued towards Koskenpää for few kilometers. I decided to drive fast for 2 km, after 199km, and I managed to gain average speed of 42km/h for these 2 kilometers on flat road. I was pleased to my bike and I was happy because I didn’t feel tired or exhausted.

We arrived to our cottage that is situated next to lake called Sovijärvi. Name means long and narrow lake. Cottage / house are called "Rauhala", meaning place of peace.

The ride time was 8hours and 57 minutes and total with stops was 10hours 40 minutes.

Trip was success; we did what we were suppose to do. Jarkko had put time limit to himself, 12 hours, and he pushed himself to limit. Good work.

Afterwords.

Personal recovery was very good, Sunday was easy, walking in the forest collecting berries & mushrooms, paddling at the lake. Good hydration and relatively easy pace allowed me to stay in full condition. Monday was full day of work out, 40km of cycling, 12km of kayaking at Helsinki and I didn’t feel Saturday’s event on my legs. It seems that i have done something right on my workouts.

This trip gave idea about longer cycling trips, maybe i will cycle 300km against clock on September if i will find correct time window for it.

After all, it was fun and remarkable come together with good old friend. Thank you Jarkko.

Pictures.

Check the link, here.