Extreme Athletes, And Paul.

PIRKKALA.

Parkruns in Scandinavia start at 9:30 so I have time to walk the 2.5 km to the start. The first person I meet is a Russian called Alexander. He tells me that he is staying in Lehti with his wife for a Mayday holiday. Only later does explain that he has run the 25 km, setting of at 6:40 and, of course, he has to run back. He came second by 50 metres. What a performance!

It's a day for extremes. The next person I talk to is a lady from London. She's here to do a Red Bull Challenge. 400 metres up a ski slope this afternoon.

Rosie missed all this by staying at the hotel and enjoying a sauna and the breakfast buffet. She plates up a breakfast for me too. Which allows us to be on the road by 11:15. A huge hare crosses our path, it takes a moment to realise what it is. It looks more like the size of a fox. We're heading for another Best Caravans site just by Tempere. It closes at 2pm so we ensure that we arrive by 1:30. Even more embarrassing, the guy insists on giving us a cup of coffee before we hook up. Rosie is disappointed that there isn't a washing machine for free.

We set off on the bikes and cycle to Nokia, about 5 miles away. No sign of the phones but there is a tyre factory here. Not worth stopping, the smell is overpowering. The HQ for Nokia phones is actually in Espoo, south west of Helsinki. Back past the van, we arrive in Pirkkala.

We think that we have earned a beer with all this cycling. 5.50 euro buys a pint. We sit watching the Finnish version of Gladiators until a local strikes up a conversation. We suspect he's had a breakdown of some description. He's a retired instrument engineer from the paper mill industry. It's all about him and the large projects he's been involved in. Very slow in his delivery making it hard to follow his conversation. We think that he was overtake by Bill and Hillary Clinton on a motorway at some stage.

Bizarrely, there is a statue of a man next to a zebra crossing. Must make it difficult for drivers from outside the town. We also notice an old lady on a scooter type wheelie.