Today I rode to Sarvvik and then back via the forest that lays south of lake Finnträsk. It's a lovely pine tree forest with rocky hills and hard packed single track trails. I didn't take the Strava segments too seriously this time and occasionally stopped to admire the views instead.
It looks like spring has arrived in Finland! During the nights the temperature is still below zero though. I took advantage of that and went for a ride in the morning while the trails were still frozen hard. The snow had a tough icy crust on top so in some places it was possible to ride on it even with my non-fat 2.4" tires. We call that kind of snow "kantohanki" (snow that carries you).
I swapped the winter tires onto my bike on Saturday and headed out to see what kind of shape the forest trails were in after last week’s snowfall. I followed a narrow, well trodden snowy path until it split into several smaller trails. That’s where I had to call it quits because the snow just wasn’t packed enough to ride on. I turned around and did the rest of my ride on gravel roads and bike paths that had been cleared by snowplows.
This year's last ride: I rode to the Meiko nature reserve area and had lunch there at a campfire. The weather was nice and sunny but quite chilly (-9 °C) so I had to wear ski goggles instead of the usual riding glasses. I'm still using the "summer tires" (Maxxis Forekasters) as the ground isn't icy at all and the tires still have good grip in most places.
I went for a fun little ride in the nearby forest. The ground was frozen solid so even the muddy spots were easy to cross. Some wet patches here and there of course because the temperature has only been below zero C for two days.
