Street Gliders' annual
long-distance skating event "FinLine" is arranged in the beginning of
July somewhere in Finland. Usually the total skating distance has been
between 300 and 500 kilometers. However, the 10th anniversary FinLine
in 2001 was somewhat longer, about 1300 kilometers. It started from the
northwestern end of Finland, Kilpisjärvi. From those tree-less Lapland
hills we skated in two weeks to the southern place in Finland, the
Hanko summer city.
You may think that FinLine is a
one skating competition among others. No, FinLine is an exceptional
free-time skating event for everyone, from novices to professionals --
for everyone who want to skate a few days without any pressures from
work or competitions. The target on FinLines is to skate on beautiful
Finnish roads through huge forests and between the thousands of lakes,
nothing more. Everything other is kept as easy as possible. Our service
car(s) carries the baggage and refreshments. Day trips are kept
reasonable for any level of skating competence.
Do not forget the tourist's point
of view: FinLine is one of the best methods to see Finnish countryside,
villages, and cities outside the tourist centers and the capital
Helsinki. When the skating groups with different speeds are skating the
day trip, they usually stop on special places, beautiful scenery and
natural and cultural sights. Taking photos are common in every group,
also among the "professionals". On warm and sunny days, skaters usually
stop just for swimming in some lake!
Special sights along the route
and near the accommodations are listed beforehand. Places seen on
FinLine are new for many Finnish skaters, so there will be much to see
for foreigners.
We begin planning next FinLine after the end of the skating season -- when the snow begins to cover the roads and the lakes. It is rather difficult to find optimal FinLine routes, due to the long distances and scattered population in Finland. The target to keep the skaters' burden at a minimum makes it more complicated: we need to find hotel-level accommodation for (almost) every night and possibilities for evening games and skating sightseeing around those hotels.
Hot Finnish sauna is a necessity after the day trip to relax muscles. Other usual evening events include beach-volley, other games, swimming, short skating trips, walking, local pubs and nightclubs, and meeting local skaters (if we could find anybody). Everybody has the freedom to use the evenings as they want -- during planning we only try to choose accommodation that does not limit the possibilities!
A FinLine can start and end
anywhere in Finland. Because the most of the FinLine skaters are from
the Helsinki region or Turku City, we travel together from and to those
cities. These journeys are done usually by express trains or by bus.
Because the international airport is located near Helsinki, it is every
easy for foreign skaters to obtain flights and after-flight
accommodation for FinLine using their local travel agent. We can help
you by giving information and tips for hotels and local transportation.
As Finland is a traditional
high-technology country, you can use English in most places. For most
of the Street Gliders speaking English is not a problem -- you do not
need to be afraid of coming a place where nobody understands you. As
Finns are famous for avoid speaking with strangers, it is different in
the countryside and at least among the FinLine skaters. You will meet
persons that never stop speaking and discussing...
The 12th FinLine event
starts from the beautiful city of Turku. (Many FinLine skaters will
join a skating happening in June 29th in Turku.) During the Monday 30th
of June we skate 56 kilometers to Salo, the home city of Nokia mobile
phones. On Tuesday we skate through the Torronsuo national park to the
city of Forssa (61 km). After 72 kilometers of skating, we spend the
Wednesday evening in Riihimäki, a small city about 70 kilometers north
from Helsinki.
From Riihimäki we skate 66 kilometers to Lahti, a city famous for the international skiing stadium and Salpausselkä ridge. Finally on the Friday 4th of July we finish FinLine 2003 by skating from Lahti to Kouvola (62 km) seeing the Koria museum railway bridge over the Kymijoki river. In total, FinLine 2003 contains at least 317 kilometers of skating in five days.
FinLine 2003 is exceptional in
two things: this is the first time when we spend all nights in cities.
That means that the level of accommodation is guaranteed for every
night. The other special thing in FinLine 2003 is that the day trips
are between 50 and 70 kilometers -- now even the slowest skaters will
have really free time in every evening for games, skating tours, and
relaxation.
In theory, FinLine event is only for members of the Street Gliders club -- but it is not a problem: Everybody can be a member, also you. Just pay the membership fee (25 ¤) together with the FinLine's entry fee and that's it. During the trip, the club pays some costs, so the membership fee is worth of it.
On FinLines we skate on bike
paths, but in the countryside we need to use the roads. Therefore basic
skating skills are required. (If you can skate 50...70 kilometers in a
day, you probably have those skills.) Skating speed is not a problem.
You only need to be not afraid of small descents and cars passing the
skating groups. We can help in choosing the correct clothes and other
required items with you.
To be sure that new FinLine
skaters will be able to skate the day trips, we arrange a "test
skating" in May. For FinLine 2003 it is arranged in May 29 between
Helsinki and Porvoo cities. However, for those foreigners that are not
able to join this event, we can deviate from our rules. If you really
want to come in Finland and skate four or five days, we can hopefully
rely on your skating skills...
Because we must reserve the accommodations as early as in the beginning of the June, the last possibility to sign up for FinLine 2003 is June 6, 2003. For foreigners we recommend to contact out FinLine secretary (finline...katukiitajat.fi) as soon as you know that you possibly want to join next FinLine, for example during the winter. Then we can inform you as soon as we have any new information about the coming event.
If you want to join FinLine 2003,
just check your calendar for week June 30...July 4 and contact us
(finline...katukiitajat.fi) immediately! It is
always nice to see new persons and get new skating contacts. You are
very welcome! (You may also try to ask extra places during June.) At
least: get ready for FinLine 2004 -- just remember to contact us
beforehand.
For more information:Invitation to FinLine 2003FinLine home page