LHL 2013

London-Helsinki-London went almost according to plan in August 2013.

The plan was 5,000km round the Baltic and Gulf of Bothnia in three weeks @ 250k/day:


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This is how it turned out - just under 4,000km, missing out the Gulf of Bothnia:


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All was going to schedule until I got to Poland and beyond where road surfaces and navigation both became more challenging.

There were some lovely bits too:


However, by the time I got to Helsinki I was over a day behind schedule and it was clear I could not continue north around the Gulf of Bothnia and complete as planned.  So I headed west across to Naantali for the ferry to Sweden where roads were almost universally superb:

Things were taken at a gentler pace across Sweden and Denmark with a day off the bike completely for fishing on a Swedish lake with a German friend and a long afternoon/evening visiting the wonderfully bike-friendly city that is Copenhagen.

More photos here

Baltic Cruise Tweets here

It was all a good test of my own abilities, the new bike and various bits of kit.  Am I confident now for the world tour next year?  I think so...!

Vital Statistics
3,918km ridden
201 hours riding
304 hours sleeping/eating/shopping/tweeting/fishing etc.
Average ride speed: 19.5km/h
Average ride speed including stops: 7.8km/h (just over walking speed!)