I just finished my 4 days bikepacking adventure from Kouvola to Hanko in Southern Finland, mostly following South by Cycles route.
https://www.bikeland.fi/en/south-by-cycle-kouvola-to-hanko/
Originally the route was divided into 9 day stages, this however makes for quite a relaxed ride so doubling up days like I did is well possible if needed. The information on the website is extremely good and suffices almost all the time so I wont get into those details here, just check out the link if you plan to ride the route.
Some things to consider:
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On day 2, or day 1 if you do Kouvola-Ruotsinpyhtä (Strömförs), you should atock up on groceries in Sippola as stores in Ruotsinpyhtä close at 6pm, and restaurant opening times on google proved unreliable.
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The stretch from Vantaa to Nuuksio is gonna take you longer than the rest as the constant up and down over sandy very steep inclines may take you off the bike to push quite often.
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Campsite are very available all along the route, I recommend chat gpt, feeding it the gpx file and asking for laavus along the route in your target area as hanging a hammock or setting up a tent is usually possible at those laavus which usually have some lake or river access.
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Take a water filter, like that you'll need to carry at most 1.5l at once with grocery stops and lakes / rivers along the route, except the last stretch from Karjaa to Hanko where theres little fresh water, but plenty of grocery stores.
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Finnish summers can be rainy, rain pants are recommended, and forecasts can be deceiving.
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If you wanna shorten the route komoot has plenty of gravel road alternatives you can use and plan around.
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Use the original finnish trail notes and have them translated by Chat GPT as the english version has some wonky town names in it that you'll struggle to find on a map.
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Some rough and wet single track sections that are outlined in the trail notws should be riden around if you dont wanna hike and push your bike.
Rough Gear List:
– Stock Pelago Stavanger
– Ortlieb Rack
– Ortlieb panniers
– Hammock/Tarp
– Salomon Waterfilter
by Ecstatic_Chance4280