TIME TRAVEL

The cycle of life

By Erik Plankton

September 8^th, 2019

on assignment

I am writing this post as a proud member of the Kona Ambassador program. We receive a new "assignment" every two months. The idea is to get creative with the subject and create something interesting. You can have a look at some really cool posts by the ambassadors here: http://cog.konaworld.com/category/konaambassadors/

This time the topic was Time Travel, so I decided to head to Hamina to visit my parents who are enjoying their retirement days at the farm which was my mothers birthplace. I have spent my childhood summers there exploring the river on a rowing boat learning how to catch fish.

06:00

The technology wonder of an iPhone interrupted my beauty sleep at six in the morning. 35 minutes later I was out of the door and hopped on my bike heading towards the Pasila train station leaving the city behind. Next stop: Kouvola.

Myllykoski

The train arrived on time at 08:19 and I started to ride in the sunny but crispy morning. The first 20 km was a nice paved bike path. Suddenly I stumbled upon a football stadium in the small town of Myllykoski. The gate was open so I had look inside.

gravel paradise

Soon after Myllykoski I headed into the woods for some excellent gravel roads. This route was new to me so I missed some turns and had to stop frequently to navigate. It is surprising how many service roads there are in the forests.

12:00 destination

After a nice 55km ride and the obligatory cup of coffee at the Hamina market square I reached the homestead in Mullinkoski, just 3 kilometers from town. Fun fact: the bridge right next to the property is the first bridge in the Nordic countries made from reinforced concrete boasting a whopping span of 19 meters. It was completed in 1950.

barn finds

Before the bridge was built there was a series of rapids in the river and it was a popular fishing spot. There are a lot of fishing-traps from the early 1900's lying on the rafters of the barn. The roof of the main building was renewed last year. Some of the old tiles were saved for possible replacements for the other buildings that still have almost 100 year old tiles on the roof.

Project: boat house

The goal for the day was to repaint the roof of the boathouse. It had been at least 30 years from the last maintenance so it was a bit rusty, but still in good condition. My uncle had done a great job of cleaning the roof a week before, so the painting went smoothly in about three hours. There was plenty of daylight left before sauna time, so I also got one off the bucket list by painting the milk delivery platform (maitolaituri in Finnish). When petrol powered vehicles became the norm starting from 1920, farms built these platforms by the road. Milk from the cows was put in steel containers and the truck would pick them up every morning. The wall is littered with staples and pins, since the platforms were also used to post up roadside notifications and advertisements.

the workshop

My grandfather was a farmer and a very skilled craftsman. His workshop was a fascinating place to hang around as a kid. I have spent countless hours experimenting with different tools learning basic wood workmanship and building miniature sailboats, that I would take to the river and see how they would perform. Back in the early 1900's before mass produced tools you would buy (or forge) the metal bits and make the wooden handles by yourself. Most of the tools built by my grandfather are still in perfect working condition.

wesco lubing

This oil can is from the 1960's and works flawlessly.

from the albums

Bikes where the go-to way of transportation. A 20-30 km gravel grind was the norm when people went out for the dances on the weekends. My grandfathers sister on the left. Picture taken 1930.

1960 - 2019

Above: My grandfather Hannu Tepponen on the left checking out his friends Skoda Octavia some time around 1960.

Below: Me with the 2019 Kona Sutra LTD. Note the new roof on the house, but the doors and windows are still original.

KEmi airport

My grandfather served as a medic during the wars. This picture is taken way up north at the Kemi airport - hence the reindeer.

hamina - virolahti

The town of Hamina is located very close to the Russian border. There are a lot monuments and historical places reminding of the tough times of 1939-1944 when Finland was at war. This post was fuelled by a nice pils from the local Takatalo & Tompuri brewery.