Milestones

Packing your bike in the rain never gives you an overwhelming desire to saddle up, but saddle up I do. I turn off the major route North as soon as possible to take the more scenic path along Route 81 and the minor Route 945.

Route 81 headed westward through pretty wooded Lakeland scenery. It was on this road that the first milestone of the day was reached – I have now covered 1000 miles since starting my journey home.

I make the right turn onto Route 945 and Tom-Squared is not happy. For the next fifty miles Tom-Squared tells me to turn around. After the first few miles, I wish I had listened…

The fifty-mile journey along Route 945 is one of sheer fear. What begins as a lovely meandering paved road soon changes into a narrow strip of sand and gravel. The rain combines with the sand and gravel to produce a sludge that insists on guiding my motorbike towards potholes, verges, reindeer or oncoming traffic. The sludge can also catch the front wheel and the bike begins to squirm and wriggle underneath me. I have no idea what to do…

Naïvely I begin by trying to wrestle the 300kg beast; unsurprisingly I lose and bump into some vicious potholes. I change tack. I simply try to coerce the machine through the ever-changing consistency of the road. I have no idea if what I am doing will work, but I do not have many choices! I hop up onto the pegs and put pressure on them to steer the rear of the bike. I do not fight that front end. I also try to balance the throttle. Too little and I feel the bike dragging. Too much and I begin to lose control of the bike. After what seems like an eternity I hit tarmac and in contrast to yesterday I am delighted to return to a paved road. 

Now you may ask why I did not just turn around and head back the way I came. Two reasons: (1) If I had stopped to complete a U-turn on the narrow road, I was not convinced that I would I could get my motorbike moving again. (2) I am a man, therefore we stubbornly do not ask for directions or turn around :D

The joy of returning to solid ground is amplified by the fact that I cross the Arctic Circle within moments of hitting the tarmac – another milestone :)

Drained by my experience on Route 945, my mood seems to be reflected in the greys skies above. So I stop to fill my belly in Sodankylä and try to find the oldest church in Finland (I now know it was hidden in the forest behind the new church!) to lighten my mood.

I hop back on my motorbike and resume my journey northwards. Reinvigorated I choose to leave the main road again and travel through Petkula where there is an impressive 1900m-long dam which provides hydroelectric power.

At Tankavarra, I indulge my need for a bit of holiday tat by panning for gold! I do not know who was more impressed with my results, me or the cowboy that taught me!? That said, I will have to work for a little longer if I want to make any jewellery :)

I was told not to miss Purnumukka as it is a genuine Finnish Sami settlement. When I arrive there, I am told these are all holiday homes. Progress? I will let you decide…

One final diversion before I park up for the night. I ride to the top of Kaunispää for views of where I have been and where I am going.

I am spending the night in Ivalo, which is the largest ‘village’ in Finnish Lapland. My humble abode is Hotel Kultahippu. Food is good and the pub and club are the main local nightspots… Good night! ;-)

Distance: 287.6 miles