bretti_kivi
Member
Hi!
Text on Icetrack 2023; what it is, where, and the costs involved. Let me know if interested, please!
Icetrack 2023 is now open for reservations. There are a few changes from last time. Skip to ***new stuff*** if you’re impatient.
What is Icetrack? Depending on how you look at it, it’s either an opportunity to drive on water, spend a small fortune to drive in circles all weekend, a weekend away in the frozen north, a chance to improve your driving skills, or all of the above.
I’ve been organizing this for a very long time (I think this is something like the 11th edition that will actually happen) and have a pretty good idea of how things can go down as a result. The short version of the timetable for the weekend is like this: leave Germany on the ferry at 0300 Thursday morning, having checked in at the harbour in Travemünde late Wednesday evening. Arrive Helsinki 0900 Friday. Drive up through Finland. Drive track Saturday and Sunday. Escape to further adventures or home Monday or Tuesday.
Accommodation for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (and Monday if so desired) is in a hotel near Tervo, in Savo. It’s been recently bought and is now called Koskisydän (“heart of the rapids” or so). EDITED because this has changed, see below
Track is over in Vesanto, a 20 minute drive away. The track is in Trackmeister’s back yard, just out of town.
We will be eating breakfast at the hotel and then lunches and coffee break goodies will be delivered to us. I’m working on the precise details for Saturday evening, but the hotel now buys its food services in from the local cafe. My wife and daughter have sampled their offerings a couple of times and it has been good. I will supply food package prices (so lunch x 2, coffee break x4 and dinner Saturday) as I have it. I will also get a quote for a Sunday evening meal.
What’s changed?
***new stuff***
Trackmeister has had some environmental requirements placed upon him. These are really quite strict and I would absolutely not be surprised if the enforcement agency paid us a visit. In short:
I am suggesting a new route northbound. There are a couple of nice alternatives for those who want to drive something more challenging, I will document this. In essence, we will drive via the 5 and Mikkeli – the roadworks on the 4 north of Hartola are a complete nightmare at the moment – and then take the 72 to Pieksämäki, doubling back for the few kms to Tiinan Tupa. Our lunch stop will be Ramin Konditoria, where the 5 and 72 meet. It’s my go-to in the morning on the way to the office and the gluten-free selection is excellent, with cakes to die for. Lahti and Karisma are still on this route, but I don’t live in Lahti any more so I’m not 100% sure where I’ll be joining the group.
The challenging alternative then goes via Juva and Virtasalmi; there’s a super-challenging gravel road option, too; take the 5 a little further north and then turn left. There’s not many options!
I’ve driven Kuopio-Helsinki-Kuopio 40+ times over the last year, this is my current preference. Some detail: there’s roadworks on the 5 between Juva and Leppävirta that should be done in November, so the 72 is faster anyway; the 4 is just a mess between Hartola and Joutsa and the resurfacing currently ongoing on the 9 between Jyväskylä and Suonenjoki is almost complete. The current rock-breaking on the 4 between Helsinki and Lahti should also be complete soon. Joutsa – Kangasniemi – Pieksämäki just makes no sense in terms of good food, unfortunately. The limits have also been retained at 80, so it’s overall slower. 5 has generally also been good in terms of snow shifting, the 9 has been poor on occasion. EDITED because this changed
*** end new stuff ***
Pricing for this time out has also changed.
Hotel: We are being offered only standard rates: €75/person/night in a twin room. All room styles are included in this. No specific booking procedure. I do not yet know which sauna we will have available to us. Breakfast is €15/person/night. - see below for new info
Food: An offer should already be with me but is not. I expect around €75-80 for this, including a three-course buffet on Saturday evening. I will confirm as soon as I know, along with the payment formalities. Food prices are up significantly here.
Track: I will consult with Trackmeister on this, but his direct costs are >30% on last time; diesel is currently €2.10+. Therefore: track price will rise to €250. The more I invest, the more track(s) I will get. Discussions are ongoing, I will go to meet Trackmeister next time I am at the summer house and I promised to call him back next weekend with information on how big the group is.
What to do?
What do I need right now? Firm indications of interest at these prices and the dates of 11+12 Feb 2023. This will help me set a budget with Trackmeister and then we can work out how that translates into track space.
More details will follow on what I need you to do when entering or leaving the lake track – it’s essentially probably going to be picking up and replacing a physical object and taking a selfie that you submit to a Signal channel so I can log who and when. Some effort required, sorry. I’ll put up some prizes for the best selfies
This only applies to the lake track, the land ones do not need this.
Text on Icetrack 2023; what it is, where, and the costs involved. Let me know if interested, please!
Icetrack 2023 is now open for reservations. There are a few changes from last time. Skip to ***new stuff*** if you’re impatient.
What is Icetrack? Depending on how you look at it, it’s either an opportunity to drive on water, spend a small fortune to drive in circles all weekend, a weekend away in the frozen north, a chance to improve your driving skills, or all of the above.
I’ve been organizing this for a very long time (I think this is something like the 11th edition that will actually happen) and have a pretty good idea of how things can go down as a result. The short version of the timetable for the weekend is like this: leave Germany on the ferry at 0300 Thursday morning, having checked in at the harbour in Travemünde late Wednesday evening. Arrive Helsinki 0900 Friday. Drive up through Finland. Drive track Saturday and Sunday. Escape to further adventures or home Monday or Tuesday.
Track is over in Vesanto, a 20 minute drive away. The track is in Trackmeister’s back yard, just out of town.
We will be eating breakfast at the hotel and then lunches and coffee break goodies will be delivered to us. I’m working on the precise details for Saturday evening, but the hotel now buys its food services in from the local cafe. My wife and daughter have sampled their offerings a couple of times and it has been good. I will supply food package prices (so lunch x 2, coffee break x4 and dinner Saturday) as I have it. I will also get a quote for a Sunday evening meal.
What’s changed?
***new stuff***
Trackmeister has had some environmental requirements placed upon him. These are really quite strict and I would absolutely not be surprised if the enforcement agency paid us a visit. In short:
- track must be >80m from an edge of the lake
- Track can only be used 20 days per season
- Track can only have 8 cars at a time
- Track must be less than 1km in length
The challenging alternative then goes via Juva and Virtasalmi; there’s a super-challenging gravel road option, too; take the 5 a little further north and then turn left. There’s not many options!
I’ve driven Kuopio-Helsinki-Kuopio 40+ times over the last year, this is my current preference. Some detail: there’s roadworks on the 5 between Juva and Leppävirta that should be done in November, so the 72 is faster anyway; the 4 is just a mess between Hartola and Joutsa and the resurfacing currently ongoing on the 9 between Jyväskylä and Suonenjoki is almost complete. The current rock-breaking on the 4 between Helsinki and Lahti should also be complete soon. Joutsa – Kangasniemi – Pieksämäki just makes no sense in terms of good food, unfortunately. The limits have also been retained at 80, so it’s overall slower. 5 has generally also been good in terms of snow shifting, the 9 has been poor on occasion.
*** end new stuff ***
Pricing for this time out has also changed.
Food: An offer should already be with me but is not. I expect around €75-80 for this, including a three-course buffet on Saturday evening. I will confirm as soon as I know, along with the payment formalities. Food prices are up significantly here.
Track: I will consult with Trackmeister on this, but his direct costs are >30% on last time; diesel is currently €2.10+. Therefore: track price will rise to €250. The more I invest, the more track(s) I will get. Discussions are ongoing, I will go to meet Trackmeister next time I am at the summer house and I promised to call him back next weekend with information on how big the group is.
What to do?
What do I need right now? Firm indications of interest at these prices and the dates of 11+12 Feb 2023. This will help me set a budget with Trackmeister and then we can work out how that translates into track space.
More details will follow on what I need you to do when entering or leaving the lake track – it’s essentially probably going to be picking up and replacing a physical object and taking a selfie that you submit to a Signal channel so I can log who and when. Some effort required, sorry. I’ll put up some prizes for the best selfies
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