Tour de Naesijaervi

Last weekend 'twas time again for the annual Tour de Naesijarvi out there in and around the "Manchester of Finland". Our team, known originally two years ago as "Team HOT BAT" due to the initials of the participants, had this time around diminished into the rather less impressive "Team BH", as Messiers Squirrels, Hopewell, Mynxter et al had caught the flu, important business matters, or laziness.

My morning got to a less than stellar start, as I managed to over-sleep, and found myself with a quite paltry 20 minutes to get to the train. I did make it with minutes to spare (!), but had to skip the morning tea in progress. And as you all know, breakfast is an important part of a day like this!

Nevertheless, Hopewell's cousin Mr. Hulqoe and I arrived in "Manchester" with ample time for our final preparations, and off we went! 134 km of road ahead of us, sunny weather, yet the temperature was slightly below 10C, forcing us to wear long shirts or jackets, and gloves - this in the middle of June, for heaven's sake! I expected more from the organizers!

Below are some pictures from along the route:

The starting grid around 9:42 AM

I swear the Photography Apparatus has a mind of its
own: this here is its impression of the Tower of the Naesi-Needle


Past the half-way mark, the Locks of Murolee. This is just
after a long and fun downhill and before some hard climbs,
so everybody just shoots by. This time I wanted to stop and
smell the proverbial roses.

Liquid balance is most important in outings like this

Mr. Hulqoe somewhere out there

Typical bucolic landscape of the Manchester region

Let's hope the whole Team Hot Bat will be able to ride next year! Meanwhile, keep on pedalling!

Paddlewick, esq.