Mountain bike adventures
We rented Fatbikes for mountain biking and the first target was the Kotamaja, which is periodically open in summertime. The beginnig of the biking was a on easy road to Kesängin keidas. I was suprised, because I had imagined before that the wide tires could be much heavier to drive.
The first stop was on the beautiful Lake Kesänkijärvi. From there the route continued to steep and partly along the rocky forest path and the electric assistance was needed first time. We did mountain biking without problems.
We met some reindeers and after the greetings and photographings, the route was more demanding because of stones and tree roots. It was a route to Hangasojankuru, which runs between the Fell Kesänkitunturi and the Fell Lainiotunturi. This route began feel much longer than in wintertime with skis. Also we needed skills: an electric assistance on, twisting of the larger rocks, crossing of the smaller ones, avoiding hit the rocks, more speed, less speed, the saddle lifting up and down, so that the legs get support from the ground when needed, standing on pedals. All of these were needed, and the gaze had to keep tightly in the path all the time.
With Fatbikes all this was working just fine. But this all needed much more muscles than we expected, and we had a very good exercise.
We didn' t stop at Hangaskuru and from there the journey continued towards to Kotamaja. This route was easier luckily, and we tried to bike faster before Kotamaja was closed. We had eaten a light breakfast and we were very hungry and little bit exhausted. At the Kotamaja we told to hostess where we were coming, and that the route had been difficult for us. She told us that many young hard-trained biker men had told that route is heavy. Great! We had chosen one of the most challenging route for the first-time mountain biking. But I was happy, because I have done it and even as a middle-aged woman.
After the delicious soup and coffee in Kotajama, we read the map, which route could be best to go back. My backside "told" me that we need to choose the easiest and fastest route, please. So, we decided to go back along the edge of Fell Kukastunturi, as we knew that after the Fell Kukastunturi was a long downhill and, through Nilivaara, was a quickest and easiest route back to Äkaslompolo. This choice was good, because of the painful backside.
The rented Fatbikes were very good on the first mountain bike route. Bikes were equipped with different types of electric-assisted selections and the mountain setting was the best on the rocky paths. Another great help was the saddle up and down lifting, which was often needed on a challenging route. The third ideal assistant became known for me only after a couple of days later...
A few attentions for mountain biking: the rocky and narrow paths are quite easy when you are focused. Useless thoughts are not allowed, you only need good concentration. And this is very rewarding. The second thing is that it is very difficult to drive on a duckboard (two times 20 cm wide planks), because for some reason the balance (or courage) is not enough to stay on the board. The third point is that mountain biking is very good training, even if you use the assistances.
The next day we planned to make only easy biking route to the Lake Tunturijärvi in the evening starting after 5 pm. The goal was to drive first in the direction of Lake Luosujärvi and then to the Lake Tunturijärvi. Because this was supposed to be a short and light route, we took only a little water with us.
The first mistake occurred in the beginning, we biked towards the Velhonkota instead of right route Kaulavaara. We passed the Velhonkota and then we started to climb by bikes via a rocky small path up towards the right route. Again, all the just learned biking skills were needed. The landscapes in summertime are quite different and we were lost. We read from the paper map and the Google maps where we should go or where we should navigate. Finally, we came to the right route, and the journey continued.
After this there were several crossroads and we missed again the right one and we were on the road to Lake Luosujärvi. We read once again the map to got to the Lake Tunturijärvi. On the map the route was marked, but on the ground it was not. We tried to find the route and we found ourselves on the swamp route and then we pushed the bikes near river Luosujoki. We knew that after crossing the river we might hit Lake Tunturijärvi route again. When we found the right route, we noticed it'd be a very hard to bike. For saving our backsides we thought we should bike more easier, but by longer route nearby from Aurinkotupa. So, we were first in Aurinkotupa and then we had to bike to Ylläsjärvi. What a long route! The clock was over 9 pm and we decided to bike by the quickest route back to Äkäslompolo and forget the hard-to-reach Lake Tunturijärvi. In addition, we were very hungry, because we had planned to have dinner after light biking. I remembered that in a fridge was a half pizza and after that I just dreamed about the pizza.
From Ylläsjärvi we biked by the Scenic road and used the electric-assistance Turbo (the strongest one) to get home Äkäslompolo as soon as possible. With Turbo was easy to bike but needed muscles, too. After very long biking we finally saw the Lake Tunturijärvi from the Scenic road. But we continued straight to home and we were in Äkäslompolo after 10 pm. At home the pizza tasted heavenly good. The "Light" evening biking trip lasted over five hours and before biking we had done few hours cloudberry picking and a swam walking. After pizza we had sauna. Very tired mountain bike trainees went to bed after this all.
On the third day we had the same formula, first berries picking and then a new try to bike towards the Lake Tunturijärvi. We decided to bike without any lost and we took direct route to the target. The start of the biking was easy, and the sun was shining from the clear sky. I was thinking photographing from Fell Ylläs, it would be nice to try get there with good bikes and maybe get some photos in a such good weather.
So, we changed our route towards Ylläsjärvi. We made this decision in Tunturijärvi, so we finally found there. The route from the Lake Tunturijärvi was good to drive and there were only small rocks on the path. Soon we were on the side of Ylläsjärvi and from there we started to bike towards the Fell Ylläs. First in the woods, the route seemed to be easy. I was wondering why this route was marked black (difficult) in the biking map? When we reached the tree line, I understood why. The route continued strongly upwards and there were all over big rocks. There was no courage to bike anymore. Therefore, we were pushing the bikes upwards. In this point, I began to stay more behind my husband and Fatbike felt very heavy. My husband seemed to go faster and waited for me and asked: Do you use Walk, is it on? I said angrily that I am sure that I am walking. What's the point? Here was the third "unknown" assistant which make the bike pushing much lighter. My trip was much easier after I found the WALK assistance. But this was only the third mountain biking day and we were on the hardest and heaviest route. Only because the sun was shining, and I was thinking to take some pictures from the Fell Ylläs.
After thousands of rocks (these were a lot) we were in the between the Feöö Ylläs and Fell Keskinen and we tried to find to the Maintence road. Almost after one hour climbing, we were up to the Fell Ylläs and sun was shining for us. But there were very cold and strong wind. Though the Fatbike is a pretty heavy bike, the wind tried to push us away from the road. We decided to go up to Ylläskammi (height 719 m) and tried to get some wind shelter from there. In Ylläskammi I realized how magnificent the scenery was there. I took the camera and I went to take those hoped evening sun photos.
The clock was after 9 pm and we started our route back to Äkäslompolo. This was easier said than done, down steep road was slippery and the was too dangerous to bike. So again, on by foots forward, this time the wheel brakes were on and legs did gravity resisting. When we got back to the tree line, we were able to bike again easily, and we were in Äkaslompolo after 10 pm. Later in a bed I was thinking have we tried the most difficult route already.
The next day was the last day for mountain biking. The plan was to bike first to the Lake Tunturijärvi (again), then to the Lake Luosujärvi and back Äkäslompolo through Kaulavaara. In this easier route I felt that I have learn finally some new skills and the biking with rocks went smoothly. We didn't miss any routes and we were back Äkäslompolo in planned time.
In the evening we went to eat to restaurant in Äkäslompolo. It was nice to look back our mountain bike routes and thank ourselves for the courage to go to those routes, even though they have been challenging. Did I learn something? Yes, absolutely. First, mountain biking is very nice, but requires planning. Even if you imagine leaving for a light biking, it is recommended to pack plenty of drinks and food with. The bike helmet is an absolute requirement, because it is very dangerous to bike in rocky routes. The second almost obligatory is the saddle padding, as the mountain bike seat is narrow and tough. It's better to save your backside. Other basic equipment si the map, mobile phone, extra clothes, as the landscapes and weather changes, and the journey can have many surprising things. You should practice your biking in advance because you'll need versatile bike handling skills. A good condition would not be bad at all.
The biking is a very good way to enjoy nature. And it's very ecological way. Especially if you are a nature lover like me, then only the forest and mountain routes are wanted. When the equipment and the bikers are in a good condition, it is truly exciting to bike around in a magnificent nature.
Our holiday week was very active and went too fast. We had plans for canoeing and hiking too, but there was not enough time for all these activities. There will be new activities to try next time which sounds great. For me the time in forests and in fells and in swamps means mindfulness and soul rest. I'll miss these feelings!