I would love to say that after our stay at Kyyjärvi Camping things improved weather-wise, but that would be a lie. The weather continued wet and cold, but luckily we found shelter from the heaviest showers on route to Keuruu, our next stop. And at Keuruu, we were shown more incredible generosity we can be grateful for.

At Keuruu, we had seen on Google that there was a hostel, and decided to check that out. Once again, we were cold and damp and a night in the tent didn’t tempt us.

A burst shot… I thought maybe I should change the colourings, Andy Warhol-style, but then thought no. It is what it is. Another wet day.

Especially since the tent leaked. I have completely forgotten to mention that one wet morning we woke up wetter than expected. Thankfully Halti – the manufacturer – replaced the tent and we no longer have to worry about getting wet inside the tent. But more about tents when we review the equipment we have used.

But at this point we still had the old tent and with rain forecast for the whole night, we were keen to find an alternative.

The hostel was reasonably priced, so we thought to just take the chance and turn up. After all, it’s outside the tourist season and places are quieter than normal thanks to COVID.

After several hills and searching around this residential area, we found the “hostel”. It turned out to be a flat in an apartment block!

However, we had come that far, so we rang the bell anyway. A man answered and said it was already taken. Turned out the hostel was a flat someone was renting out. Somewhat dodgy if you ask us.

A room in a block of flats is not what I would call a hostel by any stretch of imagination. Maybe we should have checked the reviews or planned more in advance. Five weeks into the ride and we are still working on the planning…

But then, part of the fun is having the freedom to go with the flow. And sometimes things don’t go as planned, anyway.

We were certainly in for a huge positive surprise when we arrived at the Big Book Association.

But back to Keuruu and the unsuccessful attempt at checking into a hostel.

Because the day was rapidly turning into an evening, we found a nearby campsite and pitched our tent there. As it was raining again, a place at a campsite at least offered us somewhere dry to cook our dinner and keep our bikes. And the tent, I hear you ask.

Since we figured out where the water was leaking in from, Justin came up with a way to keep us dry. Thankfully, it worked.

We spent a cold and uncomfortable night in the tent as the rain hammered the tent all night and the wind felt strong enough to scoop the tent up and carry it a way.

With wet weather forecast for the whole day, and heavy downpours at that, we decided it was best to stay at Keuruu, but find somewhere else to stay.

We emailed The Big Book Association, a campsite about 8 kilometres from where we were at. The BBA also does rooms, so we asked if it would be possible to get a discounted room to support our charity ride.

The accommodation manager replied quickly and offered us a free twin room for the night. I nearly cried when I read the reply. We were going to have somewhere warm and dry to stay for the night.

When things like this happen, it really restores your faith in the human kind. Such incredible generosity. And very much appreciated.

Lovely campsite – maybe we need to return one day on a SUNNY day.

The Big Book Association covers a huge area of land. On site, they have a campus for Bible studies as well as a small hotel, cottages and space for caravans, campervans and tents. It was another beautiful lakeside location we couldn’t make the most of because of the XXXXXX rain.

We checked in at the reception and found out, for our surprise and delight, that as well as a free room for the night, we could have free breakfast the next morning. Again, such generosity!

When we saw our room, we were in for another surprise. And I nearly cried again. Such comfortable beds, fresh towels and our own shower! The things you come to appreciate when you are living in a tent.

And there was a TV, too. We hadn’t really watched TV since we started our journey and it was such luxury to chill out in bed, fresh from the shower, and just watch some telly. Although neither of us stayed up long after getting into bed.

The next morning, we woke up refreshed after a comfortable – and dry – night’s sleep. We then had the pleasure of a free breakfast at the campus cafe.

What luxury! Fresh towels, comfortable beds and our own toilet and shower!

While we were at breakfast, a couple who we had chatted to when we checked in came over to talk to us. We had mentioned we were heading towards Tampere. They said that’s where they live and offered us to come and stay with them if we needed somewhere to stay. How nice is that!

We had, however, a place to stay at already with my aunt who lives in Tampere.

The friendly couple, whose names we didn’t get, said they’d check out the blog. So, if you are reading this, a big thank you for your generous offer!

Since then, we have come across more incredible generosity, but that has to wait until another time.

Until next time!

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