Yes, the motorcycle season is over but I still have trips to tell you about. After the success of my trip to Ylimmäinen, I used Google Earth to search for more forests in the surroundings and Kalkkivouri looked very promising. Indeed, I found there challenging paths in a gorgeous forest, similar to the best of Niemenjärvi and Keihäsjärvi.
I’m not going to explain you again how I got there, nor I can give you a detailed description of my route. All you need to know is that I took every open path I found in the area limited by road 132, road 25, Korpiharjuntie, Livinkyläntie, Suopellontie and Kytäjäntie. I was mostly going around the outer part of the forest, since all paths to the center were closed by barriers.
I first went along Rauhaniementie, Itä-Vihtijärventie and Löytlahdentie, which are main dirt roads to access the cottages and a nice camping by Vihtijärvi lake.
It got much better when I took Iso-Kairintie, a very challenging path of stones similar to Källängintie in Sipoo, but this is longer and has great views of Iso-Kairi lake.
The sun doesn’t get high at this time of the year and visibility was a constant problem during the day. Trees and branches make zebra shadows on the ground that make it very difficult to spot stones and holes, like in the picture below taken in this location. They can hit you like flashes of light that prevent your eyes from getting adjusted. Despite wearing sunglasses, I could barely see a few meters ahead when the sun was right in front.
I was enjoying myself and, as you can see in the grass marks of the picture below, I missed this curve but was able to stop before crashing or falling. It’s not the first time I go off the path and I always wonder if it is because of me getting mentally blocked rather than actually reaching the limits of the bike or the road. Maybe I could have stayed in the trajectory if I hadn’t got afraid of sliding on the gravel. I would have definitelly tried if there wasn’t such a good escape in the outer side. In any case, I always try to keep the balance between fun and safe.
That day I discovered a new type of very deceiving path conditions. Much of the soil looked dry but was surprisingly slippery. What happened is that there had been heavy rains followed by sunny days that created a thin layer of dry soil over mud. I realized this when I noticed the tracks left by the tires were darker than the rest of the soil. Unfortunatelly I don’t have any picture to show you this, but I photographed some poodles in this location.
Another peculiar condition of the day was the amount of leaves due to the Fall season. The picture below was taken in this location, where I found the most beatiful spot of the day with different kinds of trees and rocks covered with moss. I stopped there to rest and listen to the wind waving the trees.
The slippery conditions put me in trouble when climbing this slope in the picture below.
The day wouldn’t be complete without getting into high-grass paths, like in the picture below taken in this location.
At the end I took Astrakan south to reach road 25 and went back to Helsinki. Astrakan is a wide gravel road.
Kalkkivuori is another great area for off-road motorcycling, and so must think the two KTM riders I crossed there. Besides them, I didn’t cross any other vehicle or pedestrian, but never assume nobody is around the corner. Kalkkivuori combined with the nearby forests of Niemenjärvi and Keihäsjärvi could make a perfect long day that I definitely must have next season.
