If you find yourself travelling through Finland & need an overnight stop and you get offered a hunters cabin for the night, politely decline. They are off grid, no heating or water. The wood stove takes an age to heat, water needs to be carried from the lake, bedding is absent, and the loo is a hole 20m away. There is a DIY sauna which is even more work & less time to relax.

The morning started with a little bike maintenance, then work emails before heading out. As with yesterday, similar terrain & 30 mph headwind with gusts. Almost wished for a cold northerly to give me that push.

With limited internet, Christine found me the Wilderness Hotel 2 miles beyond – lovely.

Very pleased to be in the cabin last night & not being part of the storm hammering away outside!

From her more reliable weather app (the IPhone one is hopeless in these parts), Katja advised me to hold back from riding out until after lunch. So, instead of cycling, I sat back & mainly listened whilst she gave me a little insight into the Sami people. Before the international borders, & the laws & restrictions that came with them, the Sami were both nomadic & democracy. In summer months they went off with the reindeer, in winter they gathered as a community for celebrations and to plan the following year. Who went where & with how many reindeer was agreed collectively on need only.

Katja went back to the early 1900’s when the borders and laws of the outsiders began to take affect. Her great grandmother was with her baby, fishing in a canoe, as her people had done for centuries. Unbeknown to her, this was no longer allowed. A patrol spotted them & began shooting. Wounded and chased, she made her way to shore then into the forest and hid in a hollow from a fallen tree. The pursuers were only inches away when the weather worsened & the hunt was called off. Both survived &, in the 1950’s, retold her story in a recording, in Skolt-Sami. The recordings are extensive and personal & Katja listens to them often.

It’s only now, when the Sami culture & language has all but gone, that it is valued.

I asked if the Sami shared the same neutral position as Kirkenes on the Ukranian war. The same she said – but for different reasons. The Sami are passive – no history of conflict – it’s alien to them. ‘For us, even the people we don’t like we depend on and need to get on with.’

Eventually Katja headed for the school and I took another coffee & waited for the storm to pass.

Todays ride was pleasantly undulating through a very wild Lapland, though the strong headwind took away some of the pleasure. Accommodation was to be a hunter’s cabin – all very Finnish.

Sevettijarvi is a wonderful place, even if the pub is always closed, so I decided to stay over.

Katja had headed back to civilisation very early, to purchase more materials for her project – returning 6, tired, large holiday cabins back to a good state ready for the tourist season – whenever that is. She was also to get me a few supplies for the journey.

My day was nice and chilled. A walk along the lakeside, some work emails, some blog postings & calls to home.

During my second lakeside walk I came across a lone boat way off shore. I learnt later that the person rowing was Marju. I waived and the boat came closer. We exchanged a few words – in English of course before being invited on board.

Marju was a teacher at the school – just across from the pub. Her home is somewhere in central Finland so she boards here with other teachers. The school only has 35 students, aged up to 15 yrs & 5 teachers – confirmation they take education very seriously indeed! The school is also tasked with ensuring local culture is kept alive. I made comment on how wild Lapland felt. Not to the Sami people, she replied. The whole land is crisscrossed with paths & these people know every one.

Too soon, we were cut short by the rain and headed for shore. I thanked her for the cruise & memorable encounter. She said – that’s what travelling is about. And I quite agree!

Packed & back over the bridge to pick up route 92 & the Finnish border.

Jaajarvi – population 6, nearest neighbours 20 miles. Yet boasts 2 well stocked supermarkets, a cafe (ish) & petrol station. Finland’s USP – its much cheaper than Norway so people travel here from miles around.

In Jaajarvi, over coffee, I was provided a contact for accommodation in Sevettijarvi, Katja was to be my host. Arrangements were quickly made & peddled on.

My stay was to be a lodge that was still work in progress across from a bar that was closed! Can you see the pattern?

Hotel Skandia’s manager, Benjamin, had been a good host and shared swapping stories of travels and sports played in our earlier lives. Having been an American football pro with its gruelling training (all about the legs) – like most of us, life’s pressures have since got in the way so he has done little. He asked my age, an indication I might be old, and should know better. Even more so when I asked him not to dispose of my bike box just yet – not until I know if my hip will take me a reasonable distance.

The ride began with an unexpected off-road climb and had me dragging my heavy bike up & through unrideable terrain. then SW on the open road & into the sparsely populated hinterland.

I quickly learnt that the area remains in winter closedown. Everywhere opens as the tourists arrive – ‘sometime in June’, I’m told, but withholding any exact date. Until then, hotels, campsites, restaurants, museums, cafes, & most shops will remain closed.

I arrived in Neiden via the E6 & crossed the Njavdanjonka river at the spectacular rapids! The fastest flowing water I’ve ever seen & so close you could almost touch it. Having given up any hope of a comfortable bed, I found myself a “quiet” place to camp at the rear of a hunting lodge. Despite the roar of the river some 300m away & 24 daylight I did manage a good nights sleep.

My bike is now rebuilt and supplies got – excluding bear spray. I’m told that, although they are plentiful in number and move in large groups across Norway, Finland and Russia, they don’t bother humans much. I guess I’ll find out!

Seasons change very fast here. A few weeks ago, people were travelling around on snowmobiles, then the snow “disappeared overnight”. I arrived on 18 May to bare trees and a colourless landscape. 2 days later and the trees are half in leaf and the primroses are out. And it’s warm – a very nice, sunny 16C.

Being isolated from Norway further south, the region has a closeness to its immediate neighbours. Being close to the Russian border, the communities are intermingled – they share a common history and have a strong presence in the town, local industries are interdependent on one another.

With the Ukrainian war and Norway applying to join NATO, I was interested to learn what had changed. Of the people I spoke to, the answer was – nothing much. They want to stay as neutral as they can.

They have Russian friends or work for or are dependent on Russian trade. For example, a large local big employer who repairs mainly Russia ships. The loss of such a business would be devastating for the area.

Only 12hrs door to door and now safely arrived at the Scandic Hotel, Kirkenes – the starting point of my ride and what feels to be the end of world.

The day began less certain. At Birmingham Airport, the SAS check-in lady advised that my cycle box (pre-paid and meeting all the required SAS criteria) may be too large for their small CR J900 plane. My bag was therefore checked in as provisional and I was given the job of personally observing the bike’s loading. Only then could I confidently board!

I rarely bother looking out of plane windows anymore but north of Copenhagen along the coast north to Oslo and beyond, I saw a very unfamiliar world. Remote islands, large & small, some inhabited, some not; vast waterscapes and forests and more. I think there is an adventure waiting to be had for Christine & me.

Getting ready for another adventure!