Reflection Cycling Suomi

Where were the Monsters? ( 14 April 2014)

Looking back on this trip, what did it get us?
In the introduction  I wrote that this trip is all about fighting our Monsters.
Looking and reading back on this trip, I wonder if they were even there?

Although it almost one year ago, we still get filled with positivity when looking back at this adventure. Remembering the people we met, the stories we heard, the nature we enjoyed and the distances we concurred makes us feel alive and kicking again. Not because all went well, although you might get that impression when reading the previous post's, it was not all fun at all. There were moment's we really got annoyed by each other and the situations we end up in ( getting lost, getting on boring highways with rude car drivers, dealing with body ordure)

But I think it is how we dealt with the struggles/confrontations we had, that makes us feel good about ourselves.

The biggest struggle for me was to give up the plan to cycle on my own. I really looked forward to that, because I knew that would have been a big struggle, since there is really no escape from myself when being alone. 

Finland is a nice country to cycle in, I would advice everybody who wants to cycle in Finland to cycle the archipalog trail.

Tampere seemed to be the final destination for me (or atleast a new starting point to leave from). In January I moved to Tampere for real, to live with my boyfriend ( read more about that here ). Therefore I really am glad that Marcia has seen the city and the people here, because it is my new home now.(  If you want to know my first impression of Tampere you can see the short animation I made here!)

Did we meet the monsters? I think we did, but not the ones we knew. I wrote to my boyfriend Michel during the trip that there were not a lot of Monsters, but that I had some confrontations with myself. Learning to let go and be flexible and be there for Marcia in any way she would need me.

I found a nice old text which explanes that the monsters are only there, when you bring take them with you when you leave. 

Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in front of you. Hope the voyage is a long one. May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind— as many sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars. Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich. Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

K.P. Kafavis (1863 – 1933)

Apparently I left them at home.They were welcoming me home after my return. But I couldn't live without them, if they do not block me, they inspire me to live the fullest!

This was the last post about this adventure!

If you want to stay updated of the live in Tampere, you can always go to the Dirtycars&Millioncows webblog.

Warm regards!			Loes van Dorp & Marcia Zaal