Made a little edit of the trip.
As soon as my summer vacation started I packed my bike and strapped the MRS Microraft packraft to the handlebar and took off. This was my first trip with the raft. I was pretty much hooked after trying it out over a weekend earlier this year.
Since this was my first bikerafting trip I wanted to go somewhere familiar, so I would not have to focus on map reading. The goal was to see how the setup with the raft on the bike works and how long does it take to go from bike mode to paddling and back. So I pedalled a scenic route to Tikkurila, where I hopped on the train to Kouvola. From there it was a 40km ride to Kyykoski rapid area that is good fishing spot, that I have visited a couple of times before. For some reason I left the fishing gear home and instantly regretted it. There was only one guy fishing there and left as soon as I got there. I had the whole place to my self on a beautiful evening with no fishing gear...
Happy weather and a premium camping spot. As good as it gets.
I have been testing the new Blackburn Outpost Elite line of bikepacking bags this summer. They are all waterproof and very thoughtfully designed. The frame bag has welded seams and a two compartment design. It is wide enough to fit the Jetboil cooker snugly in place. I have used the lower compartment for tools and some small heavier items, but you can also use it as water storage, since there is a port for a hose and a velcro strap on the side to keep it in place. Heavy duty removable hypalon straps make fitting the bag to the frame easy. The bag weighs only 402 g.
The seat pack is also a totally new design. It has an alloy wing that attaches to the saddle rails with bolts. Good bye swaying from side to side while riding. And the best thing is that it's dropper post compatible! A waterproof tapered dry bag is secured with clips into the holster. Very easy and fast to attach and remove from the bike. The dry bag has a one way valve so you can compress it as the extra air has a way out. You attach light gear with the bungee cords on top. A handy place to carry wet neoprene paddling slippers.
The handle bar roll has a waterproof double ended dry bag. The harness is attached to the handle bar with an alloy plate that has angle adjustment. It fits 35mm bars too. A very stable platform that can take some serious off road riding fully loaded. The bag has cords and molle loops for attaching extra gear like a jacket, map or light.
The MRS Microraft was easy to secure to the handlebar roll harness. I used a couple of extra straps to secure the four piece paddle on top. The paddles work as a good place to mount your light when it gets dark. The additional bulk of the raft required for a backpack on this trip. Carried the tent, pad, drone and some food in it. Along the trip I realised that the tent fits on top of the raft while riding. It is not the optimal place for it when paddling, since the handlebar is quite close to the water and waves will splash water on it and it might even get submerged if you are doing bigger rapids. So a waterproof backpack is a good option on bikerafting excursions.
After filling up the raft I strapped the bike on the bow. Maybe not the most elegant setup but it worked fine for the whole day. 3 or 4 straps are required to get everything stable and secure. You should have a couple of longer (80-100cm) straps to make things work. On the first time it took me around 15 minutes to get the wheels off and everything sorted out, but it got faster when I had done it a couple of times. Strapping just a backpack (like on our Kaldoaivi trip) to the raft is easier and takes only a minute or two. I hopped into the boat and entered the first little rapid area right away. Everything went smooth and I paddled for over 10 km before the first pee break.
But why?
After a nice paddle on the river and lakes it was time to switch to bike mode again. It is almost impossible to carry everything (bike, gear and raft) as a single package for longer distances alone. You could maybe go around a dam carrying it all together, but anything longer would be a struggle. So I deflated the raft, put the wheels back on the bike on and started pedalling to the next camp site.
By now the weather had turned cold and rainy. Experienced a strong demoralising flashback to the previous "summer" when we were rocking a full offshore goretex sailing suit for the most of june.
It rained the whole night with spectacular thunder as a bonus. The whole place was infested with mosquitos that would charge in the tent as soon as you opened the inner tent door for a second. I couldn't get rid of them all in the dark and they managed to take a lot of blood samples during the night. The rain was so heavy, that it bounced of the ground and splashed dirt under the fly onto the bottom of the inner tent, but the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1 kept me and my gear nice and dry. A bit more paddling and riding in the rain eventually led to a change of plans and a train ride closer to home.
The weather forecast predicted that the rain would most likely stay inland for a couple of days, so I threw my gear in the rib and cruised off to a small island in the archipelago.
Hanging out on an island with dry clothes was awesome. Spent the evening fishing without catching anything and learning to fly the drone.
As a holiday reward for myself I bought some tasty real food and prepared it over an open fire. I have eaten instant trekking meals for countless days during the past years, so nowadays I prefer something that isn't freeze dried whenever it is practical on trips.
As I was getting ready to go to sleep it started raining again. Someone had left what looks like a semi-permanent tarp right next to the firepit... so I experimented by setting up just the inner tent on top of the picnic table using a rope. Worked like a charm and didn't fall off the table. I have used this method several times in the summer. No need for pegs or poles, just a single rope/strap attached to a branch above. The sleeping pad keeps the floor in shape, like on this trip.
After a nice breakfast in beautiful weather and some unsuccessful fishing I went to pick up Mathias from the mainland. Much to my surprise it started raining as soon as I spotted him walking from the bus stop. And it did so until the next afternoon. So we enjoyed the comfort of the fire along with some definitely palatable blue cheese burgers, while listening to Matu's excellent Americana playlist titled "Airbrush t-shirt of Kevin Costner". The next day I dropped him off at the Karhusaari store from where he continued on foot for a couple days of hiking. I returned home and started packing for a three week sailing adventure. First week of the holiday was officially done.
© 2026 Erik Plankton
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