Why this ride
A 435 km round trip from Kuopio - roughly 7 h 15 in the saddle. On the way it passes Aalto Campus, Säynätsalo Town Hall, Experimental House and Petäjävesi Old Church. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kuopio long day · Petäjävesi Old Church
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 435 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 15
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Kuopio
Kuopio is a lakeside city in the middle of eastern Finland, a place of just under ninety thousand people spread between water and forest, and it is the capital of the Savo region, whose people are known for their sense of humour and their talkative, roundabout way of speaking. The town stands on the shore of Lake Kuopio, one of thousands of lakes in this part of the country, and in summer, the water is dotted with boats and the air is full of birdsong. In winter, the lake freezes, and the people skate and ski across it.
Read the complete Kuopio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kuopio is where the day begins. Next is Aalto Campus.
2. Aalto Campus
Alvar Aalto grew up in Jyväskylä, and the city wears his work like a signature. The university campus on the hill of Seminaarinmäki is one of his great achievements, designed in the 1950s around the older buildings of the teacher training college that had stood here since the nineteenth century. Red brick, timber, copper and glass, arranged around a sloping green with tall pines, it feels less like an institution than a village built for thinking. The main building, with its grand stair and lecture hall, the library and the sports hall all carry his particular mix of warmth and rigour. Walk around and you notice the details: the door handles, the light, the way the buildings follow the slope.
Read the complete Aalto Campus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Aalto Campus comes up about 149 km into the recorded legs. Next is Säynätsalo Town Hall.
3. Säynätsalo Town Hall
Alvar Aalto won the competition for this building in 1949, and it was finished in 1952, a village council hall on a small island in Lake Päijänne that has become a pilgrimage for architects. Säynätsalo sits just across a short bridge from the town of Muurame, with Jyväskylä, the city where Aalto spent so much of his working life, a few kilometres north; the island is now part of Jyväskylä itself. The town hall is a cluster of red brick and timber around a raised courtyard of grass, and the council chamber stands over it with its high roof, fan-shaped wooden trusses and a hush of slanted light.
Read the complete Säynätsalo Town Hall write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 165 km into the recorded legs you reach Säynätsalo Town Hall. Next is Experimental House.
4. Experimental House
Alvar Aalto built himself a summer house here on Muuratsalo, an island in Lake Päijänne's northern waters near Jyväskylä, and called it the Experimental House. He began it in the early 1950s, and the idea was literal: the walls of the square courtyard are patched with dozens of different bricks and tiles, laid out as samples to see how they weathered through Finnish winters. It is a low whitewashed building with a courtyard open to the sky, and it sits between the pines and the water. Nearby, in Säynätsalo, his town hall of dark red brick is a gem of Finnish modernism.
Read the complete Experimental House write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Experimental House, about halfway. Next is Petäjävesi Old Church.
5. Petäjävesi Old Church
The lakeland of Central Finland is a place of low wooded ridges, narrow lakes and small farms, and Petäjävesi, a village of three and a half thousand people, lies on the shore of Lake Päijänne's northern arm, about twenty-five kilometres from Keuruu. Its old church, built entirely of pine logs, is one of the best-known wooden buildings in Europe and was inscribed by UNESCO in 1994.
Read the complete Petäjävesi Old Church write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Petäjävesi Old Church sits at 230 km, about halfway. Next is back through Experimental House.
6. back through Experimental House
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Experimental House write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Experimental House comes up about 268 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Säynätsalo Town Hall.
7. back through Säynätsalo Town Hall
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Säynätsalo Town Hall write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 273 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Säynätsalo Town Hall. Next is back through Aalto Campus.
8. back through Aalto Campus
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Aalto Campus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Aalto Campus, late in the day. Next is Kuopio.
9. Kuopio
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kuopio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 435 km.
Leg by leg
Kuopio to Aalto Campus
Kuopio → Aalto Campus is 149 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Aalto Campus to Säynätsalo Town Hall
Aalto Campus → Säynätsalo Town Hall is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Säynätsalo Town Hall to Experimental House
Säynätsalo Town Hall → Experimental House is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Experimental House to Petäjävesi Old Church
Experimental House → Petäjävesi Old Church is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petäjävesi Old Church to back through Experimental House
Petäjävesi Old Church → back through Experimental House is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Experimental House to back through Säynätsalo Town Hall
back through Experimental House → back through Säynätsalo Town Hall is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Säynätsalo Town Hall to back through Aalto Campus
back through Säynätsalo Town Hall → back through Aalto Campus is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Aalto Campus to Kuopio
back through Aalto Campus → Kuopio is 148 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.