From Germany to Finland by bike
by Taneli Rantala|14 MAY 2022
photo: Organizing Comittee
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2,000 kilometres, three-and-a-half weeks and one flat tire. Ramona Ruhe cycled from Germany to Finland for 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.  
 
A bike ride through four countries is not for rookies. Ruhe started to plan her fifth long cycling trip about three months before the start. Last year she had cycled around 1,800 kilometers, so a trip to Helsinki sounded possible.  
 
Ruhe packed only the essentials – a small tent and a sleeping bag, a gas cooker with a little frying pan and some clothes. Everything ultra-light, of course. 
 
On Easter Monday Ruhe had everything ready on the island of Usedom, on the border of Germany and Poland. Her route followed the EuroVelo route number 13, which is also known by the name the Iron Curtain Trail. Ruhe cycled first through Poland and around Kaliningrad, then along the coast of the Baltic Sea through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. 
 
Ruhe cycled around 80 to 90 kilometers per day, but also took some days off while stopping by the cities along the way. Ruhe arrived in Tallinn on Tuesday, 10th  May, after 22 days of intense biking. The last leg of the trip, the Gulf of Finland, she crossed on a ferry on Thursday, just in time for the World Championship. Ruhe is going to spend ten days in Helsinki to see the games before heading back to Germany – this time with a ferry.  
 
Oh, and the only challenge during the journey? One flat tire.