Why this ride
It goes by way of AVASAKSA Aavasaksa, PULLINKI Pullinki, KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka and back through PULLINKI Pullinki. It crosses from Sweden into Finland - carry ID and check the toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara and KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 388 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 02
- 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. PERRA-VAARA Perävaara
Perävaara is a modest hill in the Swedish Tornedalen, a little north of Haparanda, and it is one of the points of the Struve Geodetic Arc. Between 1816 and 1855, the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and his teams measured a chain of triangles stretching from Hammerfest on the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea, over two and a half thousand kilometres, to determine the exact size and shape of the Earth. The survey points were marked on hilltops, church towers and rocks, and the surviving ones in ten countries were listed by UNESCO in 2005. At Perävaara, the station is a small marker on the summit, with a sign explaining its place in the chain. Struve's neighbours on the arc nearby include Jupukka and Pullinki, both a short ride away.
Read the complete PERRA-VAARA Perävaara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara is where the day begins. Next is AVASAKSA Aavasaksa.
2. AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
Aavasaksa is a wooded hill rising above the Torne river on the Finnish side of the border with Sweden, near the town of Ylitornio, just south of the Arctic Circle. It is a modest height, around 240 metres, but it has a remarkable history. In 1736 and 1737, a French expedition led by Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis came to the Torne valley to measure the length of a degree of latitude near the pole, and their observations helped prove that the earth is flattened at the poles, as Newton had predicted. Over a century later, Aavasaksa became one of the points of the Struve Geodetic Arc, the chain of survey stations running from Norway to the Black Sea, inscribed by UNESCO in 2005.
Read the complete AVASAKSA Aavasaksa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
AVASAKSA Aavasaksa comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is PULLINKI Pullinki.
3. PULLINKI Pullinki
Just north of the Arctic Circle, in the valley of the Torne river that forms the border between Finland and Sweden, stand some of the stations of the Struve Geodetic Arc. Between 1816 and 1855, the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve and his teams measured a chain of triangles from the Arctic coast of Norway to the Black Sea, more than two thousand eight hundred kilometres, to determine the exact shape of the Earth. The arc is now a World Heritage Site spread over ten countries, and the points in the Torne valley, with names like Pullinki, Perävaara and Jupukka, are marked by drill holes and cairns on the hilltops.
Read the complete PULLINKI Pullinki write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 105 km into the recorded legs you reach PULLINKI Pullinki. Next is KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka.
4. KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka
Somewhere on a rocky hilltop above the Torne river, a small mark in the stone once helped answer a very old question: how big, and what shape, is the Earth? Kerrojupukka is one of the points of the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of triangulation stations that stretches roughly 2,800 kilometres from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea. Between 1816 and 1855, the Baltic German astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and his teams measured it, hilltop by hilltop, working with tripods, signal towers and an extraordinary patience, and the result was one of the most accurate measurements of the Earth's size and flattening made up to that time. Thirty-four of the surviving points, spread across ten countries, were listed as a World Heritage site in 2005. Sweden's share lies up here in the Torne valley.
Read the complete KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka, about halfway. Next is back through PULLINKI Pullinki.
5. back through PULLINKI Pullinki
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete PULLINKI Pullinki write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through PULLINKI Pullinki sits at 261 km, about halfway. Next is back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa.
6. back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete AVASAKSA Aavasaksa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa comes up about 329 km into the recorded legs. Next is PERRA-VAARA Perävaara.
7. PERRA-VAARA Perävaara
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete PERRA-VAARA Perävaara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara closes the day.
Leg by leg
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara to AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
PERRA-VAARA Perävaara → AVASAKSA Aavasaksa is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
AVASAKSA Aavasaksa to PULLINKI Pullinki
AVASAKSA Aavasaksa → PULLINKI Pullinki is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
PULLINKI Pullinki to KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka
PULLINKI Pullinki → KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka is 89 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka to back through PULLINKI Pullinki
KERROJUPUKKA Jupukka → back through PULLINKI Pullinki is 89 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through PULLINKI Pullinki to back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa
back through PULLINKI Pullinki → back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa to PERRA-VAARA Perävaara
back through AVASAKSA Aavasaksa → PERRA-VAARA Perävaara is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.