bretti_kivi
Member
Sorry, I'd missed this.
Quick update: I've been promised an offer that simply hasn't turned up. I will spend some time tomorrow talking to an alternative (I've been hoping all week that the other guy would get back to me but he hasn't...). His website: www.aaltonenmotorsport.com
The timetable has firmed up. I'm translating from my original post, here (though English is my first language, sometimes it's difficult).
Thursday, 25.2 0300: ferry from Travemünde, Tranche 1
Friday, 26.2 0300: ferry from Travemünde, Tranche 2
Friday, 26.2 0700: Arrival in Vuosaari, Tranche 1
Drive to Lahti (ca. 1hr)
Skijump Museum, bit of shopping, some acclimatisation, early Lunch.
1200 I pick up my daughter from school. We leave, heading for Kuopio.
1600 Arrival at Overnight stop 1. Food, Sauna, time to play in the snow and drink a couple of beers. I will confirm the location later (may be the summer house, depending on how many we are).
Sat 27.2, 0700, Tranche 2 arrives in Vuosaari. They hit the road immediately towards Kuopio.
Sat 27.2 approx 1200 collection point at the Puijo Tower in Kuopio. Anyone who is coming from alternative directions - this is where we'll pick them all up. For Tranche 1, this means a couple of "spare" hours to check out Kuopio, go sledding, pick up provisions (which we'll do for the rest of the group as well).
We'll head off towards Nilsiä at around 1215, arrival expected at around 13:30.
- empty space here right now -
Monday Lunch time head back towards Helsinki, Hotel will be confirmed (probably a cheap hostel)
Tuesday, 2.3: Time to play tourist before the ferry leaves. The ferry to Stockholm leaves from in town, the German one from Vuosaari which takes an hour or so in traffic. Places to go: Kiasma, the market, some souvenirs, the cathedral, the designmuseum.
The Stockholm ferry; you'll need to leave around 1500, for Vuosaari around 1600.
Wed 3.3 evening arrival in Travemünde
Notes:
I will arrange accomodation. It will be "cheap and cheerful", so kept basic - i.e. the €30 / night category, simply because that way we keep a lid on the costs.
You can expect to be driving 1000km in Finland. I get 6l/100 without trying, so that comes to 60l at €1.35 / l. You can do that maths
Prices here aren't spectacularlyl cheap, but acceptable and we know where the "problems" are. From the UK, the prices will probably seem OK. Coffee is always good and fresh, no matter what time of day or night, pastries and cakes are normally good, a BigMac meal costs €5.75 in Helsinki right now.
I am trying very hard to keep the training costs (execpting optionals, like skidoo, husky, rallyexperiences) below €200 / person.
I will also send everyone a SIM card before you arrive (€6) - it works better than walkietalkies for distance, because I don't want the hassle of trying to keep a group together on the road. I'll try and drive the route a couple of weeks before to make sure there's nothing really silly going on. So, bring an older simfree mobile with you (not orange!) and I'll add in a list of who's got what numbers. Costs per minute are around 6c for PAYG. There's 100 min or so included, which should be a good start. In comparison to my last experience in the UK, coverage is fabulous here. And I mean really, seriously good.
Tyres: You MUST have winter tyres on. I would strongly recommend "Viking" contacts, for example from mytyres.co.uk. I use 185/55. Problem with spikes is that you can't drive them in Germany. Yes, you could go for some Pirelli Wintersports in 195/45R16, it will only make a difference on sheet ice and even then it's not *that* big. But they will need a snowflake marking.
We'll probably spend Monday doing mainly photography and unscientific tests. Like Spikes vs non-spikes on ice and snow, Tyre width differences when braking, etc.
We'll keep the sauna sex-seperate, so there's no reason to freak. If you want some beer brought from Germany, you should say so. And Ice-hole swimming is not 100% essential
Route:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...62.600925,27.496033&spn=0.868329,2.798767&z=9
Alternative Route:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...62.951476,27.084045&spn=0.858063,2.798767&z=9
- but ONLY if the roads are dry and warm (which is extremely unlikely). There are some great sections there, including a metric ton of curvy stuff round by Kangasniemi, but we don't want to be driving it in dodgy weather as it's bad enough when it's wet. And there's around 3 overtaking opportunities in 20+km. Yes, I do drive this stuff regularly, I lived in Kuopio for five months and it's my wife's home town, so I drive the route 3-4-5 times per year.
Bret
Quick update: I've been promised an offer that simply hasn't turned up. I will spend some time tomorrow talking to an alternative (I've been hoping all week that the other guy would get back to me but he hasn't...). His website: www.aaltonenmotorsport.com
The timetable has firmed up. I'm translating from my original post, here (though English is my first language, sometimes it's difficult).
Thursday, 25.2 0300: ferry from Travemünde, Tranche 1
Friday, 26.2 0300: ferry from Travemünde, Tranche 2
Friday, 26.2 0700: Arrival in Vuosaari, Tranche 1
Drive to Lahti (ca. 1hr)
Skijump Museum, bit of shopping, some acclimatisation, early Lunch.
1200 I pick up my daughter from school. We leave, heading for Kuopio.
1600 Arrival at Overnight stop 1. Food, Sauna, time to play in the snow and drink a couple of beers. I will confirm the location later (may be the summer house, depending on how many we are).
Sat 27.2, 0700, Tranche 2 arrives in Vuosaari. They hit the road immediately towards Kuopio.
Sat 27.2 approx 1200 collection point at the Puijo Tower in Kuopio. Anyone who is coming from alternative directions - this is where we'll pick them all up. For Tranche 1, this means a couple of "spare" hours to check out Kuopio, go sledding, pick up provisions (which we'll do for the rest of the group as well).
We'll head off towards Nilsiä at around 1215, arrival expected at around 13:30.
- empty space here right now -
Monday Lunch time head back towards Helsinki, Hotel will be confirmed (probably a cheap hostel)
Tuesday, 2.3: Time to play tourist before the ferry leaves. The ferry to Stockholm leaves from in town, the German one from Vuosaari which takes an hour or so in traffic. Places to go: Kiasma, the market, some souvenirs, the cathedral, the designmuseum.
The Stockholm ferry; you'll need to leave around 1500, for Vuosaari around 1600.
Wed 3.3 evening arrival in Travemünde
Notes:
I will arrange accomodation. It will be "cheap and cheerful", so kept basic - i.e. the €30 / night category, simply because that way we keep a lid on the costs.
You can expect to be driving 1000km in Finland. I get 6l/100 without trying, so that comes to 60l at €1.35 / l. You can do that maths
Prices here aren't spectacularlyl cheap, but acceptable and we know where the "problems" are. From the UK, the prices will probably seem OK. Coffee is always good and fresh, no matter what time of day or night, pastries and cakes are normally good, a BigMac meal costs €5.75 in Helsinki right now.
I am trying very hard to keep the training costs (execpting optionals, like skidoo, husky, rallyexperiences) below €200 / person.
I will also send everyone a SIM card before you arrive (€6) - it works better than walkietalkies for distance, because I don't want the hassle of trying to keep a group together on the road. I'll try and drive the route a couple of weeks before to make sure there's nothing really silly going on. So, bring an older simfree mobile with you (not orange!) and I'll add in a list of who's got what numbers. Costs per minute are around 6c for PAYG. There's 100 min or so included, which should be a good start. In comparison to my last experience in the UK, coverage is fabulous here. And I mean really, seriously good.
Tyres: You MUST have winter tyres on. I would strongly recommend "Viking" contacts, for example from mytyres.co.uk. I use 185/55. Problem with spikes is that you can't drive them in Germany. Yes, you could go for some Pirelli Wintersports in 195/45R16, it will only make a difference on sheet ice and even then it's not *that* big. But they will need a snowflake marking.
We'll probably spend Monday doing mainly photography and unscientific tests. Like Spikes vs non-spikes on ice and snow, Tyre width differences when braking, etc.
We'll keep the sauna sex-seperate, so there's no reason to freak. If you want some beer brought from Germany, you should say so. And Ice-hole swimming is not 100% essential
Route:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...62.600925,27.496033&spn=0.868329,2.798767&z=9
Alternative Route:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...62.951476,27.084045&spn=0.858063,2.798767&z=9
- but ONLY if the roads are dry and warm (which is extremely unlikely). There are some great sections there, including a metric ton of curvy stuff round by Kangasniemi, but we don't want to be driving it in dodgy weather as it's bad enough when it's wet. And there's around 3 overtaking opportunities in 20+km. Yes, I do drive this stuff regularly, I lived in Kuopio for five months and it's my wife's home town, so I drive the route 3-4-5 times per year.
Bret
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