Exploring Finland's gravel cycling capital from Lahti

Bike Touring Collection by GravelUnion

Tours

25:27 h

197 mi

5,900 ft

About 100 kilometres north of Helsinki, tucked away in a part of Finland that claims to have even more lakes than the rest of the country, you’ll find one of the best places we’ve ever had the pleasure of riding.

Lahti is the city at the centre of this area, and the gateway to such pristine gravel that it looks set to be the key element that establishes Finland on the global gravel riding map.

Predominately a winter sports region, bright minds and eager riders from in and around Lahti have registered how their slice of Finland – with hundreds of kilometres of tracks cutting through its forest for cross-country skiing, as well as the vast network of dirt roads for logging or hunting – could be a magnet for gravel riders, if only people knew.

To read the rest of Emmie's story about Finish gravel riding nirvana, head on over to the Gravel Union site - gravelunion.cc/article/finland-gravel-by-default

On The Map

Tours

Warm up ride, getting acquainted — Finland gravel and ancient geology
02:21
15.4 mi
6.6 mph
725 ft
725 ft
Full-on tourist mode activated for this easy ride out from the city. Within minutes we passed the ski jumps and did the short, sharp climb into the woods where the cross-country ski tracks were laid out like a beautiful brown pine needle-strewn carpet.

The loop was exceptional and really good fun over…
by GravelUnion
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Day 1: Heading north from Lahti — Finnish gravel
09:40
76.7 mi
7.9 mph
2,225 ft
2,325 ft
Exquisite experience from start to finish, with fresh roadside strawberries and traffic-free, fast-rolling gravel being the main highlights of the day.

The climb at 65 km just before Vääksy provided glorious views over the lake! We had a lunch stop at a French cafe in the town that was very accommodating…
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Day 2: XC ski tracks and remote gravel — Finnish gravel
08:47
67.4 mi
7.7 mph
1,950 ft
1,925 ft
We rode straight through a storm for the whole of the first hour, but it was such fast-rolling gravel that we were able to laugh it off. The roads are really quite tacky so you were never short of grip, even if you were on slick tyres.

Luckily the sun came out and we continued happily, heading south…
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Day 3: Back to Lahti — Finnish gravel
04:39
37.4 mi
8.0 mph
1,025 ft
1,050 ft
We rolled out from our lush cabin in the woods and straight onto more sublime gravel roads.

Having locals riding with us meant that we were able to skirt on and off the gravel and take in some great singletrack alongside the edge of the railway. We basically followed this back into Lahti, with more great…
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