Have you ever thought that cycling was a pretty bad idea and wondered if sailing wouldn’t be a valuable alternative? Well, I have; and that on the second day of my trip. But let’s go to the beginning first.
An early start brought me the 14 km through Helsinki to catch the 10:30 boat from Helsinki to Tallinn. Again, some old friends were coming to see me off. I start to think they all want to make sure that I am actually leaving. The boat was rather empty, a quite odd thing, since the Tallinn ferries and their amenities are the quintessence of Finnish mini vacations. I settled into a seat at a panorama window and waited the two and a half hours until we docked in Tallinn. When I left the ferry I didn’t stay and had a look around Tallinn. I have been there many times before and I know the sights, although the detailed insights have escaped me, I am sure. Instead, I immediately followed the Eurovelo 10 (10) which was exquisitely signed out in the city. For those of you ever considering visiting Tallinn, it is a gem of a city. A medieval masterpiece.
The 10 is the long-distance bicycle route which circumnavigates the Baltic Sea. The cycle paths were smooth and well signed and it was a complete pleasure cruising on them towards west. My plan is to follow the 10 to Klaipeda in Lithuania. Because it is the “Baltic sea” cycle way, unsurprisingly, it leads quite a bit along the sea coast. Obviously that means a lot of wind and in my case the wind was a frontal storm, the kind of I had expected for Patagonia and not pastural Estonia. Add to that a cold, but sunny weather of about 4 degrees Celsius which caused a wind chill factor of well below zero. I hardly came forward in the wind gusts of 65 km/h. I was freezing and exhausted, and the thought about sailing came more and more frequently into my tormented mind. Luckily there were the moments of pure joy: the spectacular views from the Türisalo cliffs and the quaint ambience of the Keila waterfall. They made more than up for the pains of the headwinds. And in the evening the camp spot in Meremõise was the icing on the cake. Complete solitude in the dunes of the Baltic Sea – beautiful.
Did I regret of going cycling instead of sailing? – NOT one little bit.
Bicycle-camping is a great way to experience the world and unlike any other means of travel except walking … just fast enough to see and feel a place and meet people and do not have to carry a heavy pack on your back and can usually find a cafe or lace to eat. Credit card bicycle camping is even better if money is not an issue or not toughing it.