Again, to Finland!
(September 2003)

It is really amazing why some people in Helsinki still walk. Or drive. Or use underground. Everything is provided to make the wheeled creatures feel at ease. The city is covered with a network of marked bike paths; broad shady streets and fine embankments are inviting for long and unimpeded skating; drivers are polite and do not hunt skaters; the entire environment is roller-friendly. Though despite these heavenly conditions, there still are some people obstinately rejecting progress. However, it is our colleagues that we'll talk about.

This report is published in FASST (Fitness and Speed Skating Times) Magazine, 2004, Vol. 13, No. 5www.fasst.com

A Finnish skater

There is a skaters' community in Helsinki, dubbed Katukiitajat, or Street Gliders. They skate daily since 6 p.m., and since 1 p.m. on weekends. The regular meeting point is the railway station. The route is not published in advance, and it seems to be a kind of creative process. The Finnish skaters do not run in packs and prefer rather small groups. A typical Finnish skater appeared to be a respectable person...

...a very respectable person...

...with five-wheeled skates and a helmet. The most advanced specimens are equipped with a speedometer: The majority speaks more or less fluent English. Anyway there were no misunderstanding troubles. The skaters mostly have many-years experience and sound skills, but the newbies also run together with the "moose". First acquaintance: Panu, Pekka, Soile, Joppe... would be nice to remember... and Nastya! Our (Russian) fellow-citizens are also here.

First attempt

For a starter, we took a ride round the city. The hospitable hosts led the trail through the most picturesque places. Helsinki appeared to be a very hilly place (I've been there several times without skates, and never noticed this down-hill landscape). The air is very nice due to sea breeze. There are numerous marinas along the quays, with unbelievably beautiful yachts and boats.

The pace was quite sportive. The five-wheeled moose were fast running ahead:

... not hindering the ladies to chat:

We did not waste time for pit stops. Once we were asked about having a tea break. I modestly inquired what were the normal rules, and got a definite reply that we are here to skate rather than drink tea.

However, there were some picture-taking breaks in the most pleasant places.

Thus we ran about 40 km round the city.
The objective of the second day was to go on investigating the city, look around and not get too exhausted before the main event - the Sunday marathon. Escorted by Sasha, our Finnish friend, we lazily skated through the city:

Admired the landscapes and pictures of the local life,
Relaxed in cafes, and just felt at ease.

Never in my life I had such long-distant runs. The figures "90 km", "100 km" made me tremble in advance. But, as the Russian proverb states, eyes are scared, but hands are working (in our case - legs are running). At 1 p.m. we set off to the Jarvenpaa town.
We were definitely lucky with the weather. It was not even warm - it was hot in this sultry Northern country. Immediately I regretted about the lack of the helmet. To hide from the burning sun I've covered my head with a shirt, which amused the Finnish guys greatly.

The road passes through the cross-country. Long and steep ups and downs follow one by one, the first 20 kilometers gaining the maximum height. We had a break in Mac Donald's after 22 km, relaxed a bit, and went on refreshed. The group shrank, because some people returned home, and the two most fast- running moose ran forward, and we've never seen them ever since.

The ascensions are exhausting, but the downs are a real pleasure! It's so nice to roll down, being well aware that there is no ambush ahead. The Finnish technique of descending deserves a special description. The skaters concatenate, putting their hands on the waist of the previous person (but not grasping him or her!) - and off we go! The only demand to the participants of the train is the complete tranquility and ability to keep balance on the pits and bumps. So doing, an impressive speed is achieved. This time the speedometer has registered 47.5 kph. The experienced long-distant riders love to tell thrilling stories about crashes of such trains at a speed of 60 kph. One can easily imagine how did they look after that…. We had no dangerous adventures. Staying behind reliable Joppe, whose mileage is measured with some five-digit number of kilometers, one feels assured.

There is the most rustical landscape around the highway: neat little houses, neat fields, and the nice neat tractors and rolls of hay. Soile just started to tell about the romanticism of cutting hay in the past, when they used scythe, but at the same very moment a huge Boeing leaped out of the nearest bush... we've just passed the Vantaa airport runway.

Sooner or later, the fields were changed with woods. It seems that the harvest of mushrooms is rather rich, and some people do pick mushrooms in the thick of the forest. (Though there is no such overall mushroom madness as in Russia). The edible mushrooms grow in the thick of the forest, and along the road we can only see toadstools. But they are marvelous! These toadstools produce unfailing impression on Oleg - as soon as he sees another picturesque group, he falls on his four, and starts shooting photos.

Finally, we got to Jarvenpaa, with something like a "swan lake" in the main street. The swans were nicely cold, it was so pleasant to sit on their backs after the run.

It's strange, but the return way was easier. Maybe it was the second wind (or third, fourth etc). Maybe it became chillier. We returned to Helsinki at dusk. Looking for something for supper, we encountered this disgraceful sign that prohibited admittance to dogs, smokers and skaters. IMHO, it is an outrageous violation of human rights, regardless of that human being a dog or a skater. How that can be tolerated in an advanced democratic country?

I'd like to mention that long-distant runs facilitate language studies. Some moment I've suddenly noticed that some words and phrases became clear without translation. Every new kilometer added new words. Two hundred kilometers more, and we could have learnt this difficult Finnish language.

Skating on the water

Formerly I thought that skating two days in a row is rather tiresome. When the fourth day came, the skates suddenly transformed into an integrate part of my body. We planned some water entertainments for this day: boat trip and a visit to a water park. We reached the jetty on skates, and were allowed on board without taking them off. Having deeply impressed the other tourists, we rolled on board and spent two hours feasting our eyes on the sea views. The other part of the program miserably failed. After 22 km, we came to an announcement that the park is closed for remodeling. "... Water will be given when you learn how to swim..." One shouldn't miss an opportunity to use the phone!

Tips & Tricks
- Our colleagues' address
- The asphalt in Helsinki is worse than one can expect. There are numerous places with coarse-grained asphalt.
- There are other skaters apart from the katukiitajat. Using ski poles is very popular, especially among the elderly people.
- Bike paths are made along the highways. Where the dwelling houses are close to the highway, there are noise-protection walls. Use the special road-junctions to cross the highways on the skates.
- You can pay credit cards almost everywhere except maybe buses and trams.
- Have spare parts! I've lost an axis, and it was rather difficult to find one for replacement.

Irina Megorskaya