Bikepacking trip 4: a one-day trip back to Tallinn from Jogeva
My tent set-up for what turned out to be a wet night out!
Bikepacking trip 4: a one-day trip back to Tallinn from Jogeva
After making several changes to my gravel bike setup before I set off to ride the entire Eurovelo 11 route across Estonia, I’ve decided to come out on a single night expedition, to test my setup prior to setting off on the 500-kilometre trip.
1. Aero bars
I’ve added a pair of aero bars from Decathlon, that give another hand position and make it easier to attach the front gear bag.
1. Matching Topeak versacage gear platforms on each fork
I’ve added a Topeak versacage gear platform to both fork legs now so that I can carry a Nalgene 1.5 litre on one side, and then a small jetboil and my food on the other. My reasoning is that they’re things that I won’t need it until I stop and put my tent up and not at short notice.
I’ve moved the waterproof jacket to its own bag on the top tube so it’s more accessible when it starts raining, keeping my overall speed up.
4. Leaving the tent inner flysheet behind
It’s late August and still very warm in Estonia, so I figure I can save a lot of weight and space by leaving the inner flysheet behind and just packing a mosquito head net.
The ride
I check out the train map of Estonia and look for places that are about a day’s cycle of 100 kilometres or so with somewhere interesting to camp on the night. I find the RMK Tooma camping site near Jogeva, and so can take a train from Tallinn and get there within a few hours.
So, I do that, and find the site that’s miles from any cities in a very rural area. There’s no one else around, so I explore the lake and cycle around to see more about the place. I get the tent set-up, just as the rain starts lashing down, making it hard to stay awake as I listen to the sound of the rain of the drops on the single skin protecting me from getting soaked. After a little while, the thunder starts and then lightening joins in to give a full light and sound show. It’s been a long but busy summer as a digital nomad exploring this new country, so I’m awake long enough to count the gap between the rumbles and flashes, satisfying any anxiety that I might need to move somewhere safer.
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