03.06.25 Day 27 - Pärnu-Muhu.

Note: From now I give links to my GPX tracks at the end of the posts.

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Weather constraints made it a bit difficult to chose a route.

Forecast Tuesday-Wednesday etc

Two nice days, then rain. I wanted to visit the islands Saarema and Hilumaa outside the Estland coast - before Thursday. The Eurovelo to Virtsu (where the ferry goes) is 116km, which I found too long after yesterday's long ride. So I choose a direct route, recommended by OrganicMaps, 67km. However, this turned out to be on the rather busy road 60, so I reconsidered and took 101 towards Töstamaa. In fact, the Eurovelo also goes here, but turns south a little later. That is different from the GPX track I downloaded from Eurovelo.

My route still saves about 25km compared to the Eurovelo. It is a good road with little traffic.

In Töstamaa there is a shop where I wanted to buy apples, tomatoes and bananas. They had none of this. Admitted, they had quite a lot else, but fresh fruit was not their strength.

From Töstamaa I again followed the Eurovelo to Virtsu. On the map this looks more attractive than the inland routes - water always adds colour and dynamics to the views. In reality, there is no difference, because you never see the sea. That said, it is a nice, quiet and attractive route to cycle. A mix og forests and agriculture, much more small scale than I've seen earlier. Many meadows don't seem to be in production anymore.

I have not had any flower pictures for a while. Had not seen these along the road before. Anemone Sylvestris according to ObsIdentify

15km before Virtsu on Eurovelo, there is a dilemma. If I use the "Avoid unpaved roads" option on OrganicMaps, it proposes a 25km alternative. The problem is, you never know if you avoid 1 or 15km gravel (or anything inbetween). In spite of yesterday's experience I still went for the gravel, and this was a good choice. It was a LOT better than yesterday, and it was only 5km gravel. I strongly recommend this option. The roads are really nice and quiet.

I'm still a power engineer. The towers are supposed to have a 60-70 year lifetime. These were VERY rusted. End of life soon?

On the ferry from Virtsu

I'm now on Muhu, a smaller island before Saaremaa, on a small camping in Liiva. Nice weather for camping. Tomorrow I do not intend to continue on the Eurovelo, which goes around the whole island and then around Hilumaa also. Would be nice with a better weather forecast. I take a direct route to Hilumaa instead. Still gives me a flavour of the islands.

103km in 8:20, active time 5:44.

Total 2676km.

Link to GPX track.