Day Twenty Six - RMK Peraküla to Tallinn (72mi)

Well, that’s it. 1775 miles in 23 days of riding. 5 countries. There are the statistics behind such an endeavor, but it’s what we learn about ourselves and new surroundings that really makes them special.

I’m having a hard time finding a place to start writing about this last day, so I’ll just start with how the day went. I woke up in RMK Peraküla near the beach, on a high from the amazing evening the day before. This camp site was superb. Being there after all of the mid-summer celebrations I saw people having in the preceding days really culminated into a full heart of happiness. All the people along the way who helped me, even though they couldn’t always understand me. The people who made space for me to camp. The people who let me crash hotel breakfasts. The farmers who didn’t yell at me for riding on the paths through their property. Most importantly, the support and encouragement I received from my partner, Allison, and friends and family. All of these thoughts were swimming in my conscience as I made coffee and ate my completely smashed croissants I carried from Pärnu.

Before packing my swim trunks, I jumped in the ice cold Baltic Sea for a rinse, or a bathing, whichever way you think about it. The sun was shining, and I dried out my wet trunks as I very slowly packed up camp.

My bike was all packed up and ready for departure on this last day. I threw a leg over the bike, clipped in, and started pedaling away. The gravity of this entire experience hit me. I was completing this ride. This is it. Damn, I am so happy I chose to do this, and for all of the support I’ve received. Simultaneously, I was super sad that it was ending, and also excited to be seeing my partner, friends, and family again very soon. Happiness, sadness, excitement, gratitude, the emotions really got to me. To some people I may seem super confident and intimidating. Underneath all of this I am a very sensitive person. I stopped riding and took a moment to recognize what I was feeling, and let my emotions be what they were. I’m really glad I did that, as it allowed me to finish this last day like I did the previous 25 days, taking in as much of my surroundings as possible, reflecting on them, how they fit into the arc of history, and the uniqueness of the millions of small things that happen everyday that make traveling by bicycle the most poignant way to experience foreign countries.

The way people in different places build homes and heat them:

The way trails and routes are marked:

How bicycles are incorporated into transportation infrastructure:

The way roads are painted and maintained:

The ways we celebrate and remember our ancestors and those who have passed:

The way we build our cities, and what it says about our history, like these examples from Tallinn:

The symbolic artifacts of history, as well as modern times that clearly define our values, like this tribute to Estonian independence:

And this tribute to the Polish people and their lead in the solidarity movement:

And this expression of unequivocal support for Ukraine with a combined Ukrainian and Estonian flag presented in the center of the city:

All of these images were taken on this last day of the ride, and also capture the core purpose and pure essence of the experience. Riding a bicycle through these cultural and geographical spaces allows you to move at a pace that stimulates all the senses, and most importantly, have it leave an impression on you that evolves your world view, and therefore, brings new perspective into the daily milieu you live in. I feel like this trip truly did this.

Another thought I am taking away from this experience is the importance of vulnerability, and being a kind human. Every day I was vulnerable in a host of ways, whether it be access to shelter, food, or having safety on busy roads. Through differences in language and culture, the humanity of people came through. I want to be as kind of a human being as those who were so generous and eager to help me along the way.

There are so many thoughts I still need to put together about this trip, and I will not be able to do that in this single post. The message I want to close with, with tears welling up in my eyes is: be curious about the world, explore it on a bicycle, don’t doubt yourself, and be a kind human to others. If there’s a place you’ve always wanted to explore or visit, don’t wait. Just do it.