Oulu Appreciation Day
The Oulu campsite has a generous check-out policy so I spent the morning catching up on paperwork that had accumulated over the past month while I was hiding from the rain in one of the kitchens. It was past noon when I finally left the campsite, but I didn't leave town just yet. Instead, I spent the next hours cruising around Oulu, marveling at the phenomenal cycling infrastructure.
According to a local guy the network of cycle path is considered Finland's most advanced and is still being expanded. It's amazing, on intersections the traffic from bike routes is consistently prioritized -- unthinkable in Germany where traffic planners go to great lengths to ensure that cyclists have to yield to cars all the time. The people of Oulu bike all year; in winter the bike paths are cleared of snow just like regular roads. Yes, that can actually be done! It's as though the Oulu'ans took the German approach to traffic and implemented the complete opposite in every aspect. And it's not like these top notch bike paths were limited to just the city center: the network extends well into the suburbs and remote sub-suburbs. In fact I traveled 25 km out of Oulu before the bike paths ended.
It was hard for me in the end to say goodbye to this amazing town. Oulu gets the essential things right and deserves the highest praise for it. I'm certain though that this wasn't my last visit.
A Short Day, Cut Short
When I rolled out of town it was already mid-afternoon so whatever riding plans I had for the day I already scaled down. Not an issue really, I'm days ahead of schedule anyways. The terrain was as flat as yesterday. Altough I gradually climbed up to almost 100 meters altitude today, over the distance that hardly made a difference. Traveling in south-east direction again I again put some distance between me and the sea. The headwind however stayed with me.
Then, about 50 kilometers in, it finally happened: the first puncture of this whole trip. I instantly found the culprit: a pointy stone had penetrated the tire and damaged the inner tube. The tube was replaced quickly thanks to my trusty Lezyne tire lever. I patched the punctured tube, keeping it around just in case. You never know when it might come in handy.
Due to the delay I ended up having to race the final 17 kilometers to arrive in time in Vihanti at the one shop that opened till 9 p. m. I did make it with a bit of effort but still had to rush through the shelves in a few minutes. Close one, I narrowly avoided a tough night there.
Since the sun was about to set already I decided to camp out somewhere close to town. The two lakes were, of course, the obvious candidates and I did find a neat spot by the water with a bench and a garbage bin next to it. Very convenient, though sitting outside is out of the question this time of the year on account of the bugs. The mosquitos gave me hell for pitching the tent and inside I'm now beleaguered by a buzzing cloud that is just waiting for me to step out. Well they're not getting that satisfaction, at least not until tomorrow morning.
gps tracks
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