Forget Sibelius and that crowd, Finland so inspired Michael Palin that he wrote the Monty Python classic, ‘Finland Finland Finland‘. Merely filling up a contractual obligation record side (refer ‘I like traffic Lights’)? perhaps. But I suspect there is some affection in there, and with reason.
Finland, Finland, Finland
The country where I want to be
Pony trekking or camping or just watching T.V
Finland, Finland, Finland
It’s the country for me.
You’re so near to Russia
So far from Japan
Quite a long way from Cairo
Lots of miles from Vietnam
….
The proximity to Russia may well be giving Finnish strategists some not too flavoursome food for thought right now, but we at Buff3ysbicyclingblog can assure Michael that the camping is still spectacular (refer tent and bicycle in the woods and river-side cabins below). Finland doesn’t offend, nor does it try to impose itself on the rest of us. It sits, mostly frozen and dark for a good chunk of the year, (in a sauna), being what it is.
For the touring cyclist in the Spring time this place is heavenly; the roadside ‘wild’ camping is simply the best; the roads are mostly flat; the drivers super-polite in giving loads of room when passing (Take note Australian driver prats!). Oh, and it’s cheaper here than in Norway!
Me on a road, on a bike.
Sami roadside shop has a huge selection of woolly socks. Excellent.
Roadside coffee and a ‘donut’ for EUR 0.50! Bargain, and great cycling food. Scoff the sugary treat and on we go.
Sunbeams break through the trees across another forest camp (near Muonio). (Finland allows wild-camping but best to be a bit stealthy regardless)
A photo of the bike in the forest, as you can’t really get too many pictures of a touring bicycle, when it comes down to it.
This is particularly true when it is a NUA hand crafted titanium framed assault weapon from Spain all fitted out with the finest componentry known to human-kind. Just sayin’. See specification @ The Bicycle.
Flat and rolling road with a great surface and super-polite drivers who cross right to the other side of the road as they pass.
Korpikosken Grilli is out in the middle of nowhere in particular, but a lovely stop to recharge on fish & chips.
Above mentioned Fish & chips for lunch gets me over the last 22km to the campsite.
And what a campsite. ‘Arctic Camping’, 22 km south of Pello town is quite possibly THE perfect campsite. Nestled against the Tornio River it has cabins, sauna and even a ‘saunalautta‘ (floating sauna).!
After three days of camping in various forests it’s (well beyond) time for a hot shower and a day off by the river. Then on into Sweden for a brief 100 km ride down to the Baltic Sea.
It should be noted at this juncture that one curious thing about the Finnish that is not in dispute is that they are mad about saunas. So much so that they put them on river barges and leap off into the cold water then back into the sauna-ing.
We at buff3ysbicyclingblog here working on a prototype bicycle propelled ‘saunalautta‘ sauna raft. We just never stop learning and innovating for sustainable inclusive outcomes here. The wheel paddle mechanism could be a bit tricky.
A stroll of a few hundred metres puts me at The Pörröporo Café-Restaurant for lunch to sample the famous salmon soup and panini (both delicious).
Tomorrow just three short kilometres south of this lovely camp ground I will encounter the village of Juoksenki marking the crossing of the Arctic Circle, for the third time on a bike; first in 2011 on ‘The Americas‘ ride and then in 2019 on ‘The Rockies‘ ride.
*This circle is the southernmost point where the sun stays below the horizon in winter (polar night) and above the horizon for 24 hours in summer (midnight sun),
![Conqueror of The North, Helsinki, Finland [June 2026]](https://buff3ysbicyclingblog.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Flipper-Kanga.jpeg)
![Swamped in Sweden to Biking Paradise in Oulu [June 2026]](https://buff3ysbicyclingblog.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Penny-Farthing.jpeg)
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