Was to leave early and ride around 80km to Riihimäki and meet friends at the outdoors expo. After breakfast I packed some food and clothes on the bike and got going after 8.
This time I had some new gear to test: The Jones Loop bar. On full day rides my wrists tend to suffer a bit on a normal handlebar. So I searched for a sweeping bar that was wide enough. Found quite a lot of positive comments on various forums and decided to give it a go, even though it is pretty pricey. After installing I did some minor angle adjustments and that was pretty much it. Feels really solid and stable and immediately found use for the different hand positions it offers. Handlebar bag sits nicely in place and there is still good room for a GPS device.
First stop was my old home town Kerava. Well actually I didn’t really bother to stop, but found some pretty good trails to get lost on. Found mosquitos too in the forest.
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After a quick coffee I could continue quickly since I realized that the Jones bar serves as a temporary bottle holder too.
A few kilometers after Järvenpää I found a railway service road and figured that it has to go in the right direction since my target Riihimäki is by the tracks. The gravel road was rideable all the way to Hyvinkää and was great riding. Straight and fast.
Just before the town of Hyvinkää the rain caught up with some considerable force. The only shelter was under a bridge next to an intersection. Took out the Jetboil and made a quick lunch. After about 20 minutes the rain held back a little and I continued onwards.
Got to Riihimäki a bit late. Went to the outdoor expo, met some friends, bought nothing and hopped on the train that took me back south to Tikkurila. The train ticket was as long as my ride.
From Tikkurila I took the gravel route that follows the river. Pleasant riding in the evening sun for a couple of hours.
© 2026 Erik Plankton