Welcome to Jyväskylä! Today we'll spin the pedals for about 60km (depending on number of runs in the bike park) and we'll start in the heart of the city with a breakfast in Miriam's café near the market square.

With a full stomach we'd advise you to visit some of the local sights including Nero stairs or the Natural History Museum of Central Finland. Entrance to the museum is free and there are many beautiful samples of animals and plants living in Finland.

After discovering all the beauties of Jyväskylä, let's explore the beauties of local dirt. Best downhill options are to be found in local bike park in Laajavuori. Surrounding the hill is also a great XC natural trail and we'll finish the day with more XC riding on a natural trail in Nyrölä.

BIKE TIP: Considering the diversity of chosen trails we recommend a full-suspension trail bike for this trip. Jerry managed to ride the whole route on XC hardtail, but it's fair to say that he had to walk some of the features because of that.

Arriving to Laajavuori, you will not miss the huge parking lot where you can leave your car, take out your carbon treasure and start riding in the local bike park called Laajis. Bike Park features more than 10 very well maintained DH trails including the lift to save your energy on the way up. You can buy a 2 hours ticket, which should be enough to explore all trails and have plenty of time for the XC stuff.

Running around the Laajavuori hill is the Laajavuori natural trail, which is well suited for XC riding. This 4km long trail is marked with yellow dots on trees and you can also follow it using our map above (mark the map with a star and then open it in Google Maps app).

The trail is going up and down and you'll get a very good exercise here. It will be important to keep yourself well hydrated, especially in summer time. If you run out of water or get hungry after your rides, you can recharge in a Rinnerravintola restaurant in the bottom of the bike park.

However, if you want to do it the real Finnish survival way, you'll grill a sausage at a fireplace, which is situated in the middle of the Laajavuori natural trail with a nice view of the slope on the Western side of the hill.

Make a fire, grill a sausage (or a rabbit if you manage to hunt one), drink the beer you bought in the city and continue with the rest of the natural trail (when you're sober, of course 😉).

The day has slowly tilted towards the afternoon and it's time to head for more adventures! About 22km away from the Laajavuori is Nyrölä with fabulous natural trail, which has many different challenges for mountain bikers. You'll improve your balance on skinnies, have ridiculous amount of fun on local narrow descents and even sail on the water with your bike!

Trail in Nyrölä is 3,5km long of which about 1/4 is on wooden skinnies. On the island in the middle of the trail sits absolutely outstanding fireplace with sheds, where you could sleep if you have the courage. You'll reach the island by a self-driven cable ferry, which is a one-off experience itself.

We'll return to the city for the grande finale, which naturally has to be in a sauna. A well deserved sauna if you managed the whole route on a bike! And there's THE sauna in Lehtisaari, which you will remember for a long time. Not only you can enjoy lovely sauna, you can also play volleyball, frisbee golf, darts or grill a sausage. All on one little island.

All the fascilities on Lehtisaari are managed by the city of Jyväskylä and their usage including the boat transportation to and from the island are free of charge. And if you're still not exhausted (both physically and mentally) after such a trip, you might consider reducing the amount of coffee you drink! Jerry had to take a day off the following day... 😆