Hullun Polkasu 2014 (The Mad Cycle)

Äkäslompolo, Finland: Thursday 3^rd July 2014

It’s been light all night as it always is at this time of year in Lapland.  This far north, we have around two months of midnight sun with what they call “nightless nights” when the sun never sets.

Fortunately, this morning sees it a bit cooler and overcast, as we are up early, drinking strong coffee, repacking and trying not to think too much about the fact that we are about head off, with a group of fit Finns, on the longest cycle we’ve ever attempted – The Hullan Polkasu or, in English, the Mad Cycle.

Hullan Polkasu  

Sampo Kaulanen (left) owns and runs Jounin Kauppa, the supermarket and shopping centre here in Äkäslompolo. 

One day, in the heat of summer (yes, as well as being light for 24 hours it often tops 30C in Lapland) he was looking at a map of the area while trying to think of some ideas for a summer fun event.

He thought about the short distance to Norway, and came up with the idea of going for a cool refreshing swim in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Norway.  

With typical Finnish consideration for the environment, he decided it would be best to cycle there,  all 350 km, and the idea for the first Hullun Polkasu was born.

The one proviso was that he put details of the event on Facebook, and would only go ahead with the cycle if it got 50 000 “Likes”. 

Within a few days, the number of “Likes” sailed past the 50 000 mark, and Sampo had started training!

Of course, it's no fun to cycle such a long route on your own, so Sampo sent out a general invite for people to join him on the trek.

Lapland Finns are typically fit and very keen on the outdoors, so soon people were signing up from all around Finland to join in. 

As part of the small contingent of Brits in the village, and badly in need of some exercise, we decided to sign up too.  Now, on the morning of the first day, it seems a bit rash to have made that decision only three weeks ago!

Äkäslompolo –> Hetta (Enontekio) – Day 1

As we gathered outside the supermarket at 7:30am we found, somewhat to our relief, that not only were there indeed quite a few other people ready to take part, some very well prepared with racing bikes.

Age no Barrier

Fortunately, there were some people that looked like they might go at a more reasonable pace, including a couple of fellas on a tandem, quite a few bikes with cuddly animal passengers and a lady on a traditional Tunturi bike with no gears!

The youngest participant was 11 and the oldest 63, excellent examples of the characteristic Finnish “Sisu”. 

After a quick pep-talk from Sampo and a brief group stretching and warm-up session, we all dropped our bags with Nils-Samuli in the Jounin Kauppa “Support van”, which was to follow us for the full route.


This was to prove a valuable lifeline as, along with carrying luggage, it was stacked with goodies!

Just time then for a group photo of a bunch of enthusiastic cyclists before setting off on the first part of the trek.

140 km to the lovely Sami village of Hetta (or Enontekio as it’s shown on the map). 

The road out of Äkäslompolo has one steep climb, perfect for warming up the cycling muscles.  

Once we had puffed our way up that, we were off at a good speed, and in no time, we had passed the road to Akäsmylly at 20 km, marking the furthest we’d previously cycled in that direction. 

The first Pit-Stop

Several Jounin Kauppa suppliers had contributed food, fitness drinks and energy bars to the cause, so after about 30 km, there was a pit-stop set up at the roadside for a quick refuel.  

This was the first time we really understood the benefits of having a support team, as they handed out much appreciated food and drink.

After a couple of minutes relaxing and watching a few other participants coming and going, we pressed on for the next 40 km to the lunch stop at the Loimu restaurant in Raatama, where there was lots of gorgeous Lappish salmon soup to get everyone raring to go again.

By this point, it was clear that we had spread out quite a bit, with the “Elite” riders well ahead, and the rest spread over quite a distance, in small groups, making new friends as people of similar speeds cycled together (some closer than others) or regularly passed each other.

By the time we hit the 110 km mark, it seemed that most people were feeling the effort taking a toll on their legs, and it was perfect to have another pit-stop to top up energy levels which helped the last 30 km fly by.

Welcome to Hetta

On arrival in Hetta, most of us were staying in the Hetan Majalta hotel.  Anticipating the arrival of a lot of weary Finnish cyclists, the hotel knew exactly how to prepare; getting the beers chilled as the sauna heated, providing the perfect welcome for the end of day 1.

The Hetta locals had arranged a welcome festival for the cyclists in the market square in the evening, with stalls selling coffee, cakes, sausages and

other post-cycling delights as well as laying on some locally flavoured entertainment, the highlight of which was a young singer performing a song that she had written especially for the Hullun Polkasu event.
  

Then back to the hotel, to bed.  

Day 2 – Hetta -> Kautokeino - Let’s go North of the Border

Day two dawned and it was apparent that the promise of lovely weather had been a little optimistic.  

Heavy clouds covered the village, and it didn’t look like the light rain was planning to stop anytime soon.

Gathering to start from Hetta market square, the villagers gave us a fantastic send off, with a quick Zumba session to warm up weary legs and a great sing-a-long of the Hullan Polkasu song, which even the Finns couldn’t understand as it was in the Sami language; not that that stopped everyone joining in with the chorus.

So many options!

Everyone started off in cheery spirits and was soon clocking up the miles to the first café stop after about 30km.  That bit wasn’t too bad, especially with the thought of lunch on the horizon.

The second half of day two was promising to be a bit tougher, with everyone setting off still damp after lunch, and with full stomachs and some steeper uphill sections, it was all getting to be a bit of a slog.  Then two things happened that really boosted us. 

First, we came to the border crossing between Finland and Norway.  It was an easy border to pass, with no stops and checks, but it was nice to get a cheery wave from Norwegian customs as we pedaled past.

Then the Jaunin Kauppa support van drove past with the team handing out energy drinks and chocolate to all the cyclists, on the move! 

No one could fail to be lifted by that kind of surprise, and with it being a shorter day, covering only 80 odd km, we soon had Kautokeino in view through the low clouds and a lovely downhill section to the Arctic Motel and Camping site to finish.

This time, some of the participants were staying in cabins at the Kautokeino camp site and some were up the hill at the Thon hotel.

After checking in, we headed off to relax in the outdoor hot-tub under the watchful eye of some of the local reindeer.   

As we sat chatting with some of the other cyclists, the weather started to clear, with the magnificent Norwegian mountains and scenery gradually appearing through the clearing clouds.

It’s at times like that, you realise what a special place Lapland is.

Gallery Visit 

With an earlier end to the cycling at 3pm, we had time to visit Juhls’ Silver gallery in Kautokeino.

The building and all the exhibits (most of which are for sale) were designed, build and collected by Frank and Regine Juhls since settling here in the 1950s.

It's a welcoming and fascinating place with an amazing history and a free guided tour.  It's no surprise that people travel from all over the Nordic countries to visit.  Highly recommended. 

Day  3 - Kautokeino -> Onward to the Arctic Ocean

After the wet weather of day 2, it was something of a relief to see that the more typical Lapland summer weather had returned.  

As everyone gathered outside the hotel, we started off in good spirits, though with dire warnings of mountains between us and our final destination, Alta, to be tackled later that day, ringing in our ears. 

  

The only en-route stop on day 3 was after 70 km at the top of the one steep uphill section, the first tough section that we had encountered that day.  

Photographer Stepi enjoys lunch

The support team had somehow managed to get hold of a vat of sausage soup, which, accompanied with cheese sandwiches and a fantastic view of Norway was the perfect pick-me-up for the second half; and what a second half it was!

As we descended from the stopping point, we seemed to hit one downhill after another, and were keeping up a much higher speed with far less effort than before.   Even the few uphill stretches seemed easier. Then we started to see the mountains in the distance, looming closer with every km.

Each km seemed to expose more and more impressive Norwegian scenery, with high cliffs, still topped with snow, gushing waterfalls and majestic lakes around every corner.

As we arrived at the mountains, to our surprise, the road seemed to go downhill more and more steeply, with the bending road snaking down through the mountains, where only the bravest of cyclists stayed off the brakes completely.

   

Keeping the UK end up

Past the mountains, it was easy to keep up the momentum, and keep the UK flags flying, as the last few km flew by and we were soon arriving at Alta River Camping, the end of the cycling route.

It was great to catch up with everyone there, enjoying the camaraderie, a relaxing beer, a sauna (of course) and some dinner in the sunshine.

A Refreshing dip

In the excitement of finishing the cycling, we almost forgot that the objective of the event was to swim in the Arctic Ocean.  

Fortunately, one of the Ylläs coaches had been laid on, and by 9pm we were all boarding to start our unusual trip to the seaside.

A couple of km outside Alta, we stopped at a lovely little beach with Norwegian mountains and sky perfectly framing the Arctic Ocean.

The end of the challenge and time for quick photo, just giving a few moments to think about the prospect of the final swim in the Arctic Ocean. 

Then into bathing gear to charge, run or paddle into the sea.

The water was quite cold, but wonderfully clear and refreshing after days of cycling.

It’s hard to imagine how the last day could have been better.  The gorgeous weather the Norwegian scenery and the fun of swimming in the Arctic Ocean really made it a special experience.

Big Thanks

Special thanks to Teemu Haavisto & Ylläs Sportia for support and technical services and to the Jounin Kauppa support team for helping us all to make it to the end, and of course to Sampo Kaulanen for the original idea and for making the event a reality.





Thanks also to Stepi Sundberg for taking so many great photographs of the event during all three days, and especially for allowing me to use some of these here.  You can see more of his work on his web site by clicking on his name.

Not forgetting Ylläs Express for picking us up and taking our bikes back to Äkäslompolo, especially since I’m not sure any of us could have cycled back up the long climb back out of Alta!

Video Footage

To get an idea of the spirit of the event and see some of the magnificent wild scenery, Veli-Matti Näränen took some excellent video footage during the event…

And the team from JVPS did a fantastic video blog!

Roll on Hullun Polkasu 2015!

Join Us?

If you fancy taking part in Hullun Polkasu 2015 and experiencing some of the summer magic of Lapland, please feel free to contact me or visit the Hullun Polkasu Facebook page. 

Summer in Lapland

When we travelled back to Blighty at the end of April to visit friends and relations, Äkäslompolo was still the perfect "winter wonderland".  Barely four weeks later, when we arrived back in Finland, summer had got here first!

Summer in Lapland is almost as striking as winter.

With 24 hour daylight and the cleanest air in Europe, you get drawn outdoors to do things, and seem to have much more energy to do them.  For the plants and animals, with a relatively short summer season, growing and feeding becomes a real priority, and the area is alive with birds and animals of all sorts. 

Reindeer

When we arrived back in the village, this fella was waiting to meet us.  In summer, you see a lot more reindeer out in the open, getting away from the insects in the forest and enjoying the open spaces.

Reindeer are generally very placid animals and it's lovely to see them wandering past, just minding their own business and looking for the next bit of tasty lichen.

It's possible that he was looking across the lake to the village sauna, wondering if he might pop over for a relaxing end to his busy day. 

In winter, it's normal practice to wander out of the sauna several times for a dip in the lake, where the water is kept from freezing by an underwater fan. 

It's really a more pleasant experience than it sounds, honest!

Squirrels

On the smaller side, the red squirrels in the area are much more agile and always seem to be busy, even if only trying to bury food quicker then the magpies can spot and pilfer it.  

In the UK, typically the grey squirrels are seen as more of a nuisance.  Here the red ones are much more fun and don't seem to be unduly worried by having humans around, especially the types that put nuts on their patios! 

After bounding toward our patio table, and sitting there happily eating the nuts that had originally been put out for the great tits and pied wagtails, only about two feet (sorry 60cm) from where I was sitting, this young lady seemed to be asking "Would you like me to pose for a photo?"  

At least, I think that was what she was saying; our Finnish lessons aren't progressing as well as they might...  

Out on the Road

The extra daylight sometimes has a strange effect on people.  With us, that included deciding to sign up for  "The Mad Cycle". 

Though we are about five minutes walk from a lovely lake, the idea is that a group of people from the village will cycle up through the Finnish/Norwegian border, and on up to Alta, near to the most northerly point in Europe, to go for a swim in the Norwegian sea, which is sure to be warm at this time of year (not!) 

The trip is around 340km (oops, around 200 miles) and is going to take place over three days at the beginning of July. 

To prepare for this, cycling has been the way to take advantage of the extra daylight. 

Fortunately, as well as having miles and miles of quiet roads to cycle on, we also have a mountain to (try to) cycle up, just to remind us how unprepared we are, especially compare to the Fit Finns!

Although, or maybe because the roads are quiet, you meet all sorts of interesting characters.  

I wasn't quite sure if this handsome chap though I might be planning to chat up his Mrs, since he was definitely giving me a good look up and down as I passed.  

Of course, the warmth and sunshine brings out all sorts of wildlife, and, with some, it's a handy reminder to watch where you are cycling! 

This slippery customer (I think a female adder) was basking on the road as I cycled past.  Not being the biggest fan of the slithery creatures, I used a bit of zoom to take this from a safe distance!

I'm sure the meeting increased my average speed by about 50% and trebled the attention I was paying to the road ahead for the rest of the day.

Mid-Summer Celebrations

Midsummer heralds a celebration that sees every town and village in Finland building a bonfire.  Äkäslompolo is no exception, and down at the lake, the bonfire was lit, on schedule, at 11pm on June 20th.  

After the most wonderful couple of weeks of weather, with the temperatures nearing 30C, midsummer was a big change, with a spell of chilly weather seeing all the anoraks out again. 

 More on the summer activities later, assuming we make it to Alta and back!

  

Chasing the Fox

Not clad in red on horseback with blood-curdling cries of “Yoiks” and “Tally-ho” but out in the quiet Arctic cold, hoping for glimpses of the Northern Lights or, more scientifically, the Aurora Borealis. 

And the fox?

Well, in Finland, the Northern Lights are known as “Revontulet” which translates to Fox Fire in English.

One Sami legend has it that, as the Arctic Fox runs across the hills or fells his bushy tail moves so fast it whips up the snow and generates sparks which light up the sky.  Of course, there are also less romantic scientific theories.

Whatever the reason for them, a good display of the Northern Lights is one of the most magical and mysterious sights we ever get to see, and even a mild display has an ethereal quality that only increases the desire to see the more spectacular version.

Last night (12th January 2014) looking out at the sky above Äkäslompolo in Finnish Lapland, there seemed to be just a hint of a green glow even with a bright moon.

We’ve been here before…  often just prior to spending a fruitless evening in a cold car getting a stiff neck leaning forward and looking upwards.

A quick look at the thermometer showed that it was just hovering above -30C (-22F). 

With a warm bed beckoning, it's never an easy decision to pull on multiple layers of clothing to keep the cold at bay, find hat and gloves, camera, tripod and back-up batteries, then warm up the car to drive out of the village to a nice dark spot to watch and wait, hoping for a good display. 

In the Arctic, the Northern Lights are supposed to be visible some 200 nights of the year. There is though a big difference between the “Quiet” display and the “Active” display which is what we really want to see. 

A “Quiet” display is normally a bit of a green glow in the sky. That’s the one that’s usually accompanied with a lot of pointing and “is that something” type questions. The hope is that this is just the beginning, and that the green glow will gradually and magically transform into a “Active” display.  

Fortunately, despite the cold, the decision was made to go out. On the way through the village there were hints of green in the sky, but, even when on arriving at a handy lay-by to the North of the village, it was clearly still a “Quiet” display, with only the typical arch of green fading in and out.

Once out, the temptation is to photograph anything, if only to justify the decision of not going to bed to yourself.  That can be quite interesting in the arctic where, with the help of a slow shutter speed, it’s never quite as dark as you think. One of the result of that was this image of the Orion constellation, accompanied by some lovely clear moon shadows. 

Anyway, after several rushes out of the car to take photographs, then jumping back in to the warmth before body and camera get too cold to operate, it started to look like the display was becoming a bit more “Active”.



This is when you hold your breath and hope that the fox has his running shoes on and is feeling fit.  Then, if you're anything like me, you wish you were a professional photographer and could do more than set a really slow shutter speed, point and hope!

For a short time, there was a really nice display, long enough anyway to capture a couple of images of just how unique and vivid the display can be. 

When a good display gets going, it really is one of the most remarkable things that you will ever see, with the light moving and flowing to its own rhythm in complete silence. 

It does look great on photographs, and possibly more so on video. But standing out in the snow watching it all happening in silence, is really one of the most fantastic things to experience.

Thanks Mr Fox for a cracking display last night!   Fingers and cameras soon return to normal temperature, but the unique spectacle is recorded for ever in the mind. 

The Northern Lights are notoriously unpredictable, although the level of activity is supposed to coincide with sunspot activity, which is supposed to be at a maximum during 2013 and 2014. 

The Auroras Now! site is a space weather service maintained by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) to help watching auroras in Finland.  This was the original trigger for our little adventure.

http://aurora.fmi.fi/public_service/

Good Luck to all other followers of the fox. 

Kick Sledging

In the UK, "sledging" generally brings one of two things to mind...

• Children (young and old) tobogganing down the local grassy slope when school has been closed after a dusting of snow... or 
• Sportsmen indulging in the decidedly unsporting practice of winding up their opponents with what might be called "colourful" insults. 

In Lapland, it's different. 

With six months or more of snow cover a year, kick sledging is a regular way of getting around for young and old.  This one from Esla is a good example of the standard kick sledge. 

The principle is very simple.  The "driver" stands on one of the footrests on one leg, and, using a scooter-type kicking motion with the other leg, pushes back between the runners to move the sledge forwards.  It's pretty good exercise too!

Passengers on the sledge don't get the exercise benefits, but do get to experience the wind-chill and hear how hard the driver is breathing!

Of course, as with every other form of transport, there are people that push things to the limit, and there are kick sledges made with the need for speed in mind.

  

These don't have the shopping carrying option, but they really help you cover the ground fast and are a bit easier to steer.

You can see an excellent example of sporty kick sledges being raced in use by a lot of brave/crazy individuals in the annual Ylläs kick sledge race in Äkäslompolo in the link below.

   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF5z4Wk9rY8

The prize for the winner of the race each year is a copy of the lovely Bruno Maximus painting of a kick sledger, which captures the ethos of the kick sledge race event so well and highlights the dangers of not regularly changing legs when kick sledging.  

Making the most of your time in Äkäslompolo!

If you’re here on a package trip, you might not have much time for exploring and finding out what you can do in and around the village.  There are loads of options!

I hope you will find the notes here useful in making the most of your time here.  I would have included pictures, but I’m sure you’ll be busy taking your own!

Any comments, suggestions, feedback, questions etc. very welcome! 

* Adventures

* Skiing

* Eating Out

* Souvenirs

* Fire and Light

Adventures

If you want to look beyond the options offered by your tour reps, or prefer to explore in a smaller group, relax, it’s easy!  

There are local safari companies that will be delighted to help.  

On the way up Sivulante, the road that heads off to the right as you walk up the hill from the Supermarket, you will see Destination Lapland on your left with the giant lit-up kick sledge outside. 

There are several safari companies further up the same road on the left.  These are staffed by lovely people who all speak good English and will happily organise tours for you.

Husky drawn sled tours (something everyone should do once), exploring in groups on snowmobiles or even hiring snowmobiles to go off exploring on your own with clear maps and instructions.

You might have heard of the Lainio Snow Village.  It’s absolutely worth a visit to see all the snow and ice sculptures.  The best way to get there is to hire snowmobiles for a few hours and follow the map at your own speed, but it’s an easy taxi trip too.   

Skiing

You’re probably aware that there is a ski slope here.  Even if you didn’t plan on skiing, or indeed you’ve never been on skis before, if you head up the Scenic Road (Maisematie) to Y1 on one of the Ski Buses that run regularly from all the hotels, you can hire all the equipment you’ll need.

The instructors are fantastic with all levels from absolute beginners upwards, and even a one-hour lesson will get a non-skier you to a surprisingly reasonable and confident level. It’s also a great family activity. 

Less well-known to many UK travellers is that Äkäslompolo is one of the best places for cross-country skiing.  You might have seen some of the tracks (two parallel lines a few inches apart that head off into the countryside often starting under wooden arches). 

There are more than 300km of ski tracks in this area, with quite a few lit until 10pm for the more enthusiastic skier.

Cross-country skiing is really quite easy to get started with, and skiing off into the woods in the twilight is lovely experience. 

The Äkäslompolo Sport Shop and Sportia both hire all the equipment you’ll need to get started and organise lessons too.  If you have the time, this really is a great way to spend a few hours.  This was what kept us coming back here originally.

You might see ski maps for sale in the shops and supermarket. These pay for the upkeep of the ski trails for everyone, and keep them free for use.  As well as being nice souvenirs, you can really help the area by purchasing one of these.   

If you find yourself getting quite confident and want to venture a bit further away, you’ll see lots of rustic wooden signs pointing to wilderness cafés out on the ski trails.  Never did hot chocolate and doughnuts taste better than after an hour of skiing!

Eating Out

With many package trips, all food and accommodation is included.  Even so, it’s worth exploring the local cuisine further at one of the local restaurants, especially if you like trying local food like reindeer and arctic char.  (Tip - pretty much everyone that isn’t vegetarian likes reindeer)

Poro Restaurant is up past the Yllaskaltio hotel.  Take the right fork in the road and it’s about 250m down the road on the right.  It’s a lovely setting and fantastic Finnish food.  There’s also a nice gift shop there.

To get to Restaurant Rouhe, the newest restaurant in Äkäslompolo, you need to go down the main road past the supermarket to the T-junction, there you can’t miss it on your left at the far side of the junction.  As well as a range of local foods, they also do fantastic pizza!

Eväskori is a nice pub which sometimes does karaoke, and serves great pizza.

Ylläksen Kaivohuone (The Sport Bar) has a good range of sport channels and also serves food.  (Can’t say much more as not been there yet.)

Julli’s has long been a favourite here with tourists.  It’s more of a pub/restaurant, but also does lovely burgers, where you can even chose one with antlers! (a delicious smoked- reindeer topping ).

The Selva pub (Selvä Pyy) is just in front of the supermarket on the main road and also serves great local burgers. 

Tower Restaurant and Nightclub is another very new restaurant in town, also just in front of the supermarket.  It’s excellent quality and, if you have any energy left after a day in the snow, and the pubs close too early for you, has a nightclub that’s open from 10pm to 4am.

Souvenirs

On the main road there are several shops selling lots of Lappish products, many made by local craftspeople.  If you can’t find some good souvenirs in those, you’re really not trying!

Jounin Kauppa is the fantastically large supermarket here.  Pretty much anything you need you’ll find there, as well as lots of gift options.  There is also a well-stocked chemist, a café and a post box there.

Navettagalleria is a lovely little arts and culture wilderness café open from 10am to 3pm Mon to Friday.  Here you can be sure to meet the magical gnomes of the forest.  Easiest to ski or drive/taxi to.

Fire and Light

As you move around the village, you'll probably see lots of candles and torches burning outside shops and cabins.  

On special occasions, (3pm on Christmas Eve and 8pm on New Year’s Eve) the villagers place candles along the sides of the main streets and switch off the street lighting.  There can’t be many better times to see the village.

At around 11pm on New Year’s Eve, down near the supermarket car park, there will be a Fire lantern event, where you can buy and launch your own lanterns to celebrate New Year. 

On “normal” days, the village street lights are switched off at 10pm to make it easier to see the Northern lights (Aurora Borealis) when they make one of their unpredictable, but spellbinding, appearances. 

Have a wonderful time in Äkäslompolo!

Arctic Chills

Since we arrived in Lapland, it's been, not surprisingly for winter, a bit chilly.

Of course, it's all relative, and having the temperature moving between about -5 and -15C is great for cross-country skiing, and isn't at all like the bone-chillingly damp cold that we were used to in UK winters. 

Yesterday, all that changed.  The temperature dipped below -20C and then started plummeting!

Getting a little chilly!

This is how it looked last night... By then, all was calm.  

Earlier, in the afternoon, just as the numbers hit the -30s, we had a power cut, leaving us scrabbling for candles and head-torches by the flickering light of the log fire.

Sitting around the roaring fire in candlelight, is a lovely winter setting, only, in our case, slightly tinged with worry as to how long the remaining logs (and furniture if necessary) will burn for, and how long that will keep the winter chill outside. 

Using the video camera to record the dark stillness outside, my wife wondered out loud if we should keep the remaining four minutes of battery life to record any "last messages"!

Fortunately, the power cut lasted only ten minutes or so, but it was a timely reminder of just how vulnerable we are at the mercy of potentially severe Arctic weather.