FinLine 2001 Photos

FinLine 2001

copyright © by Panu Tuominen

In July of 2001, Katukiitajat ry (the Helsinki Street Gliders Club) is going to celebrate its 10th anniversary by skating all the way across Finland on their annual "FinLine" skating tour. Normally FinLine is about 500 km (300 miles) in length, but this year event will be about 1300 km (800 miles) altogether, which is more than twice as long as earlier years. Instead of the traditional one week, this year the group will be on the road for two entire weeks.

Event Dates:
The event will start in Helsinki on Sunday, July 1, 2001. and the tour will last for 14 days and 13 nights. The registration deadline is June 3, 2001.

copyright © by Panu Tuominen

The Route:
The trip will start in Helsinki by coach. Helsinki with its surroundings is the center of business and economy with around 1 million inhabitants. Helsinki is also the city with best international air connections in Finland. After a good night's sleep in Kilpisjarvi in the north-west of Finland, an area of fields and wilderness the skaters will begin their tour across Finland. The route will travel across rural countryside and lake districts, and finally, after two weeks, the skaters will arrive in Hanko in the most southern part of continental Finland. Skaters will be transported back to Helsinki.

The tour officially starts in Helsinki and ends in Helsinki. So, transportation to Kilpisjärvi and from Hanko will be organized by the Katukiitajat Club. Between stages, skaters will overnight in small town hotels or in smaller towns, motels or holiday villages. Hotel reservations will be made by the event organizers, but skaters will pay their share of the hotel expenses during the trip. There won't be much time for sightseeing while the skate is in progress, but in the evening there will usually be time to look around. At the final destination there will be a farewell party with sauna, dinner and dancing.

Daily Schedule and Distances:
The following schedule tells you the approximate kilometres and stages skated per day.

Road Surface and Skating Conditions:
Because of the long distance, the route has only been checked a map, however, the organizers have interviewed several people who have taken a similar route on skates or on bikes. There are not many alternative routes to choose from, so be aware that there may be rough asphalt here and there. At least in Germany (Berlin) and USA (Massachusetts and California) the road surfaces are excellent compared to what you find anywhere in Finland where they have demons like frost, ice and steel-studded tires during winter. However when the organizers think back to the FinLines of 1999 and 2000, only a few percent of the roads had a poor surface on a Finnish scale. The rest of the road surfaces were clearly above average and the landscape was magnificent.

Meals and Accommodations:
The skaters will not be staying in 5 star hotels and they will not be eating 6 course meals. Whenever possible they stay in 3 to 4 star hotels and eat from a "Sport menu" intended for athletes (Pasta, chicken, rise, fish etc.). Where there is no hotel available they will stay in motels or holiday villages.

copyright © by Panu Tuominen

Event Registration Fee and FinLine T-Shirt:
The Katukiitajat club is not trying to make money on this trip. This is a volunteer effort by club members, and the main purpose of the trip is to enjoy skating in good company. The event registration fee is 100 Euros, and it covers the services of a support vehicle, drinks, basic first aid, and a FinLine 2001 T-Shirt. The registration fee does not cover hotels, meals, and other travel costs.

Club Membership Fee and Club T-Shirt:
In order to register for FinLine, you need to be a member of the Helsinki Street Gliders Club (Society Katukiitajat Ry). The price of a membership is 25 Euros. For the unity of the group, it is desirable that all members participating in FinLine purchase a club T-Shirt, which is typically worn during after-skate activities. The T-Shirt price 16.8 Euros. Skaters from outside of Finland are very welcome to join the Street Gliders Club, but unfortunately the club does not have resources to translate the member letters and bulletins into English or other languages. They will, however, provide an English summary to non-Finnish members who have an email address.

Travel Expenses
Expenses such as hotels, meals, and transportation costs are not included in the registration fee, and they are to be paid by each traveler during the course of the trip. Based on several years' experience, Katukiitajat estimates that travel expenses will cost about 550 Euros for the two week trip, if you stay in a hotel with 2 to 4 people to a room.

How to Pay:
Hotel, meal and transportation expenses are to be paid by each traveler during the course of the trip. Other payments (100 Euros for event registration and event t-shirt + 25 Euros for club registration + 16.8 Euros for a club t-shirt) can be made by wire transferring funds from your bank directly into this account:

Bank: MERITA PANKKI
Office: Helsinki-Arkadia
Account number: 218518-32949

Be sure to include your name and the purpose of the payment when you transfer the money. Other membership information (mailing address, phone number, year of birth, email address) can be sent via email to info@katukiitajat.fi.

Currency Exchange Rates:
FIM (markka of Finland) is the official currency used till the end of year 2001. After that they will be replaced by euros, the official currency of European Union. As of May 21, 2001: 1 Euro = FIM 5,94573 = USD 0.8754. For the most recent currency exchange rates, see Currency Converters.

You Can Skate a Half Tour:
For those who are not willing to skate the entire 1300 km distance, there is an option to skate either the northern half of the route (Kilpisjarvi - Oulu) or the southern part (Oulu - Hanko). Total costs for a half trip are around 50% of the announced total costs. Individual prepayments like membership fee and registration fee are as written.

Skating Ability Required:

Traditionally the club has "tested" newcomers to see if they are able to skate long distances SAFELY. For skaters outside of Finland, that won't be possible and the club will have to rely on each skater's own assessment of their ability.

For reference, all FinLiners are able to skate marathon (42.195 km or 26 miles) in less than two hours. FinLine is skated in small groups according to skaters' physical abilities. Depending on the group, the average skating speed will vary from 15 km/h (? mph) to 20 km/h (? mph). Short breaks are held every hour and there is one longer break each day for sightseeing or eating. One has to be able to control their skates at downhill speeds up to around 60 to 80 km/h. The skaters form tight queues and make "trains" on downhill portions of the route. About 30% of the participants will be on 5 wheel skates.

Skating will take place every day, even in rain, as long as it seems reasonable and safe. In case of heavy rain or total exhaustion, one may have to resort to public transportation at their own cost (not included in any costs mentioned here) because there is no room for passengers in the service car.

Important FinLine 2001 Information:

• Please register early for this event, because there is a limit on the number of skaters who can participate.

• All skating will be done on roads in normal traffic. Nnone of the routes are even partly closed to automobile and truck traffic. In Finland skaters are regarded as pedestrians and they must skate on the left side of the road.

• Club Katukiitajat Ry will not be responsible for any accidents. Participants will be required to sign a document stating that they have insurance, valid in Finland, to cover the cost of treatment for any possible injuries.

• There will not be a traditional group leader looking after participants. Everyone will have certain responsibility over themselves.

• Participants must be over 18.

• A helmet must be worn while skating.

• Skating will take place, even in rain, as long as it seems reasonable and safe.

• In case of heavy rain or total exhaustion, one may have to resort to public transportation at their own cost (not included in any costs mentioned here) because there is no room for passengers in the service car.

• Traditionally the club has "tested" newcomers to see if they are able to skate long distances SAFELY. For skaters outside of Finland, that won't be possible and the club will have to rely on each skater's own assessment of their ability.

• For reference, all FinLiners are able to skate marathon (42.195 km or 26 miles) in less than two hours. FinLine is skated in small groups according to skaters' physical abilities. Depending on the group, the average skating speed will vary from 15 km/h (? mph) to 20 km/h (? mph). Short breaks are held every hour and there is one longer break each day for sightseeing or eating. One has to be able to control their skates at downhill speeds up to around 60 to 80 km/h. We skate in tight queues and make "trains" in downhills. About 30% of us skates with 5-wheelers.

Contacts: For more information about this event, see the FinLine Web site or send email to finline@katukiitajat.fi.

copyright © by Panu Tuominen

Related Links:
Helsinki Street Gliders Club Katukiitajat.fi
Finline Home Page Katukiitajat.fi
Helsinki Inline Marathon August 5, 2001
Official Travel Guide to Finland Finland.fi
Maps of Finland Karttakeskus.fi

From About.com:
FinLine 2000 Article Kathie Fry
Visitors Guide to Helsinki Durant Imboden
Visitors Guide to Finland Durant Imboden

Join the Discussion:
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