Estonia! Taking my Solar Cargo bike to a new country

[00:00:54]So, here is your ticket and line one, please.

[00:00:56]>> Line one. Thank you.

[00:00:58]>> Thank you. Have a nice day.

[00:00:59]>> Thank you.

[00:01:01]>> [laughter] >> Thank you.

[00:01:02]Can you tell them I'm new here?

[00:01:05]I'm doing everything for the first time.

[00:01:23]Excuse me.

[00:01:24]>> Yes.

[00:01:25]>> Uh bikes and motorbikes first or cars or >> Uh cars are going first, but it depends on the load and where they are. They are putting these always in a different position, so it depends on the cargo >> Okay.

[00:01:37]>> where they can So, yeah.

[00:01:44]>> But we Do we go up the ramp or do we go >> No, you would you go down.

[00:01:48]>> We go down.

[00:01:49]Okay.

[00:01:53]>> It may take some time.

[00:01:55]>> It's okay.

[00:01:56]It's nice >> It is, yeah.

[00:01:58]>> Yeah.

[00:02:35]>> [clears throat] >> Thank you.

[00:02:51]Hello.

[00:03:07]Hello. Excuse me.

[00:03:09]Sir.

[00:03:14]Hey, cute man.

[00:03:18]Just sit there.

[00:03:20]Key toss.

[00:03:38]So, just left Helsinki for Tallinn, Estonia. That's the third second country besides my own I'm visiting so far.

[00:03:49]And I have never been. So, it's going to be my first.

[00:03:53]I'm excited.

[00:03:55]Everything is going well.

[00:03:59]Things are good.

[00:04:10]I'm in Estonia.

[00:04:14]Never been before.

[00:04:16]First time.

[00:04:19]I haven't been to any of these Baltic countries.

[00:04:24]So, it's going to be very It's going to be very interesting.

[00:04:30]Just going to try to find my way out of here per usual.

[00:04:35]And I wish the weather could have been a little bit better.

[00:04:40]It's very cold.

[00:04:44]But, that's bicycle touring for you.

[00:04:47]You never know what you're going to get.

[00:04:52]So, I'm not complaining. I'm just stating facts and wishes.

[00:04:58]I believe I will get my fair share of hot weather and I will be complaining about that instead.

[00:05:03]Don't you think that?

[00:05:07]Woo!

[00:05:08]A little wobbly.

[00:05:11]So, the plan now is just to get I wish I could stay and uh explore Tallinn a little bit more.

[00:05:22]Most definitely, but I'm still new at this.

[00:05:28]And it's pretty late.

[00:05:30]So, in my world, the only thing that exists is trying to find a place to sleep tonight.

[00:05:37]Cuz I really can't be living at hostels all the time.

[00:05:41]I most definitely don't have the money to do that.

[00:05:47]And where is the fun in that?

[00:05:49]Wild camping is fun.

[00:05:51]Wild camping is fun, he said with conviction.

[00:05:56]But the feeling coming in here to the harbor and everything and just looking at the skyline.

[00:06:03]I'm going to be using my uh selfie stick more later when I'm 100% comfortable with this.

[00:06:13]So, I can show you around a little bit more. I feel like just watching my solar panel can't be much fun.

[00:06:19]Now, I missed my turn, I guess. No, I didn't.

[00:06:23]I just took an alternate route.

[00:06:26]So, now I have connected the microphone.

[00:06:29]I've actually edited my first video.

[00:06:32]I guess this will be video number two or three. Three, I guess. Three or And I discovered that I need to speak more clearly.

[00:06:43]But because I can't hardly hear myself sometimes what I say.

[00:06:48]Learning by doing. Learning by doing.

[00:06:56]So, now I also have uh the microphone connected.

[00:07:01]Bluetooth.

[00:07:03]And hopefully the wind noise will be much reduced.

[00:07:08]I absolutely hate riding in cities.

[00:07:15]It's nice because you see a lot of nice things, but have to concentrate so very much, so hard on uh not dying.

[00:07:24]As per usual, I'm not sure I I'm allowed to ride here.

[00:07:28]He is, so I am.

[00:07:31]Nope.

[00:07:34]Yeah.

[00:07:40]Everybody's walking in the in the of the cycling lane. Chinese. Hello.

[00:07:49]Thank you.

[00:07:56]I think it's graduation even here in uh I have to fix my bell.

[00:08:05]These guys graduated long time ago.

[00:08:12]I'm kind of regretting my decision here.

[00:08:16]I mean, I've been to Finland so many times before.

[00:08:20]So if So if I instead pay a higher price to go to Tallinn directly, I would have saved some of my cash.

[00:08:29]I live off of saved money.

[00:08:33]And uh then I could have stayed here a little bit longer in Tallinn to explore. I wish you really wish I could stay here and explore.

[00:08:44]But I'm a little bit under the time pressure because I promised my friends that I'm going to meet them in uh Greece. And now I'm at the wrong lane again.

[00:09:01]So I do this.

[00:09:05]Now I'm in the correct lane. Thank you.

[00:09:08]And here's this guy again.

[00:09:10]Whoops.

[00:09:20]Because Tallinn seems like just as a big nice city as as uh Helsinki and Stockholm, I might say.

[00:09:31]And so much people.

[00:09:36]This is not great for my blood pressure.

[00:09:43]I love country roads.

[00:09:45]At least I've been here now.

[00:09:47]It's not like that time when I was on a plane flying over Paris.

[00:09:53]I could literally see the Eiffel Tower.

[00:09:56]I could see Paris, but I've never been to Paris.

[00:10:01]Hey little lady, please step Yes, thank you.

[00:10:05]But I've seen it sort of in real life through the window of an airplane, but I haven't been there. Mind blown.

[00:10:17]You're so deep, Alex.

[00:10:20]I am maybe perhaps not world's best reader of maps, either.

[00:10:27]So, that could be a problem.

[00:10:30]But when you're watching the road all the time and trying not to be dead, then you have a tendency not to watch the GPS.

[00:10:43]But now I'm on the right course again.

[00:10:46]Thank you. Oh, look at this. Oh, I'm going to tilt the camera so you actually see something.

[00:10:52]Okay.

[00:10:57]So lush and green.

[00:11:03]Now the motor is only using 40 watts of power.

[00:11:06]That's nice.

[00:11:09]But there's no sun to speak of, so the battery is full of charge and full on in the in the hostel.

[00:11:22]Looking at the map, we are going to cross this street.

[00:11:27]It's a full body workout wrenching this bike around.

[00:11:35]Okay, still on course. Nice.

[00:11:38]I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

[00:11:41]If it sounds like I'm complaining, that's just my natural sound.

[00:11:49]I have this certain dialect when I speak.

[00:11:52]It sounds like I'm complaining even if I'm telling a joke.

[00:11:56]So, I am not complaining.

[00:12:01]Sometimes I'm just stating facts. I accept I have accepted my faith.

[00:12:10]I'm actually very happy.

[00:12:14]Oh.

[00:12:16]I mean, look at these roads. I mean, Europe is fantastic. It's so beautiful everywhere. Look at that the old on the left and the new on the right. Huh?

[00:12:29]Perfect mix.

[00:12:30]Now I'm feeling a little bit more relaxed, less traffic.

[00:12:35]There I go again, sounding like I'm complaining.

[00:12:38]I'm stating facts. One thing I've noticed both in Finland and here, there are a lot of e-vehicles like e-mopeds and uh scooters.

[00:12:51]They're very fond of them.

[00:12:53]And why not? Don't want to run over this lady.

[00:12:59]She might get hurt.

[00:13:03]And I might destroy my bike and I don't want that. I'm blabbering like a little idiot.

[00:13:09]Now take a right turn. Now I can concentrate on navigating.

[00:13:14]Why did I speak like a Russian? I don't know.

[00:13:16]Okay.

[00:13:18]Now I'm going to do some bike aerobics. Nice setup.

[00:13:23]Thank you.

[00:13:24]Whoop.

[00:13:25]>> Where are you from?

[00:13:27]>> Uh, Sweden.

[00:13:28]>> Okay.

[00:13:28]>> Yes.

[00:13:29]>> And uh how long you are riding?

[00:13:31]>> Very, very long.

[00:13:33]Uh I have been riding for a week.

[00:13:36]>> Are you from uh Stockholm or >> Yeah.

[00:13:39]Okay.

[00:13:40]I ride it from uh uh Stock- No, from Västerås. It's a 220 km from Stockholm.

[00:13:45]>> Okay.

[00:13:46]>> And I'm riding to South Africa.

[00:13:49]>> Oh, really?

[00:13:50]>> Yep. Yep.

[00:13:51]>> Nice.

[00:13:51]>> Yes. So, to Cape >> in uh South Africa?

[00:13:54]>> Uh Cape Cape Town.

[00:13:55]>> Okay.

[00:13:56]>> And then What?

[00:13:58]>> To the point >> Yep.

[00:14:00]>> Wow, wow. Did you take the west route or >> The west route, yes.

[00:14:04]The east route feels a little bit unsecure.

[00:14:07]>> I know. Then there was just a guy who did like the record from the whole western >> Yeah, a German guy.

[00:14:13]>> Uh it's Adrian like that. Yeah, I guess it's uh 200 >> I saw a video on YouTube. There were two German guys. They started from North Cape.

[00:14:22]>> I know, not not this one.

[00:14:24]>> Okay.

[00:14:25]>> Because they uh they didn't uh they uh used the flight used plane at some point.

[00:14:31]>> Okay.

[00:14:31]>> But this guy did uh from top of Africa to end only riding.

[00:14:38]>> Cool.

[00:14:39]>> He did like He did the record like last month or something.

[00:14:41]>> Oh, how fast how fast was he?

[00:14:44]>> I don't know, but the the record it He was the only one who has done it, so uh >> Oh, okay. So, he's alone with a record.

[00:14:52]>> But this is quite fast as well. He's like uh It's uh >> Was it a month?

[00:14:56]>> He did races as well.

[00:14:57]>> Okay. Was it a month or >> I I don't remember.

[00:15:02]>> He was in prison for a week, I remember.

[00:15:04]>> Yeah, yeah, in Congo.

[00:15:06]>> Do And he still put in a record. Even though Okay.

[00:15:11]Okay.

[00:15:13]So, yeah.

[00:15:14]>> Yes, you have a long ride.

[00:15:16]>> Yep.

[00:15:17]Yep. I have a long ride. I'm still learning. My ass is hurting like crazy.

[00:15:21]So, I'm uh >> So, you're riding >> I have those pants in the bag.

[00:15:26]>> Okay. But, with this saddle, it's also it's >> Yep.

[00:15:29]>> I have this saddle, and it has to be very precise.

[00:15:31]>> Exactly.

[00:15:32]>> And you have to tune it, and you'll find it.

[00:15:34]>> Yep. I found it pretty well now, but I'm I already have this horse.

[00:15:39]So, it's I tried to sleep for 2 nights in Helsinki to heal. So, it's it's a little bit better.

[00:15:46]>> You have sometime you develop this uh thick skin on your ass.

[00:15:52]>> Yep.

[00:15:53]>> [laughter] >> I'm going to look like a baboon when I'm when I'm finished.

[00:15:57]I'm thinking of getting the Ergon saddle. They're apparently very popular among bike touring.

[00:16:04]>> So, different ones. You have a long way to >> Yes.

[00:16:08]So true. So true.

[00:16:09]>> You're riding to Spain and taking the ferry or >> Uh I'm going to Greece first, and I'm going to have vacation with my friends.

[00:16:17]So, I'm going to be there in August.

[00:16:19]And from there, I'm going to back up to Italy, and then down to Tunis, Algeria, and then Spain, and Morocco.

[00:16:30]And that way down.

[00:16:32]>> You can check those RMK spots.

[00:16:35]>> Mhm.

[00:16:36]>> They're you can camp there. They're like open camp spots.

[00:16:39]>> RMK?

[00:16:40]>> Yeah.

[00:16:41]It's like a national >> Cool.

[00:16:44]>> And they're like quite good.

[00:16:46]>> Yeah.

[00:16:46]>> Is there a special map I should check up app or something?

[00:16:50]>> They have an app as well.

[00:16:54]But, they're also on the Google Maps.

[00:16:57]>> Okay. You can find it on Google Maps?

[00:16:58]>> Yeah.

[00:17:00]I don't know. I haven't >> That This is why you always should talk to the people I mean who live here.

[00:17:05]>> Yeah.

[00:17:07]But, the setup is crazy as well.

[00:17:09]>> Yeah. It's a e-bike.

[00:17:11]>> Yeah.

[00:17:11]>> But, only 90 W. Only 90, very little.

[00:17:18]Okay.

[00:17:19]>> Uh >> let's see what that code >> Uh, sure. If I If I What What should I search for in Google Maps if I'm going to find these places?

[00:17:28]>> RMK.

[00:17:28]>> RMK? RMK?

[00:17:31]RMK?

[00:17:34]RMK, yes.

[00:17:37]>> Yeah, tel- telkimisala means like, uh, camping spot, basically.

[00:17:40]>> Cool. Thank you.

[00:17:41]>> is the Those are look at after this like fireplace place.

[00:17:45]>> Maybe you can camp there.

[00:17:46]>> the I appreciate this a lot. Thank you very much.

[00:17:50]>> The more south you get, then you can also use this warm showers.

[00:17:53]>> Yeah.

[00:17:54]>> You have that?

[00:17:54]>> Uh, yeah. I've I've actually tried to contact two people already, but no reply so far.

[00:18:00]>> In Tallinn, it's, uh, I think I'm on >> No.

[00:18:04]>> But they have notifications at the moment turned off because I'm doing renovation.

[00:18:08]>> Yeah, okay.

[00:18:08]>> Uh, but the more south you go, then it's super helpful.

[00:18:11]>> It's, uh, yeah. Most definitely.

[00:18:14]>> But yeah, when you go in because there's a RMK places, uh, most of them don't have any water.

[00:18:19]>> I have a lot of water.

[00:18:21]>> Yeah, but they have usually like, uh, this, uh, loo, toilet thing, yeah, and, uh, table and fireplace and something.

[00:18:28]>> Cool.

[00:18:28]>> have like a shelter as well.

[00:18:30]>> Yeah.

[00:18:30]>> Yeah.

[00:18:31]>> Super helpful. Thank you, guys.

[00:18:33]>> May I take a picture of the bike?

[00:18:34]>> Yeah, of course.

[00:18:35]>> Yeah, yeah.

[00:18:36]>> You can take out your phones and scan this code.

[00:18:39]>> Easy. And now I can uh transfer all my money.

[00:18:43]>> Yeah?

[00:18:44]>> [laughter] >> I haven't thought of that.

[00:18:49]I haven't thought of that, actually. I thought I was just pretty smart. Yeah, look what I've done.

[00:18:54]So, I'm going to film, uh, one I film I film I'm filming you now.

[00:18:59]>> [laughter] >> So, little bit of this conversation is going to be in the video, gua- guaranteed.

[00:19:03]>> That's okay.

[00:19:04]>> Because that's If I mean, when I watch other people YouTube, I love interactions with pe- when they meet people and talk other people.

[00:19:12]>> Yeah.

[00:19:13]>> That's what's interesting. Some they just film themselves and but but what about that place and this place, you know?

[00:19:19]>> Yeah.

[00:19:20]>> It's very different.

[00:19:21]>> Yeah.

[00:19:22]>> So, thank you. But, I need to get going.

[00:19:24]>> Yeah. We as well.

[00:19:25]>> Yeah. You're going to >> My nephew finished his kindergarten.

[00:19:29]>> Okay.

[00:19:29]>> to be there at 10:00.

[00:19:30]>> Ah, graduation. Yes.

[00:19:32]>> But, okay. It's nice to meet >> Thank you, guys. Bye.

[00:19:38]That was exceptional.

[00:19:41]R and key places.

[00:19:43]So, I'm going to be looking for one of these while I am at the S when I get out of town.

[00:19:50]That's also an advantage of having several navigation apps is that you can >> [snorts] >> have your navigation running on one app and do like Google search on the other app.

[00:20:03]So, you don't interrupt your ride. [snorts] I finally made it out of the city.

[00:20:09]Talking That sounds stupid to say because I I as I said, I really want to see the city.

[00:20:17]But, that have has to wait. Have to wait.

[00:20:21]Uh, I'm thinking of a spot to sleep tonight.

[00:20:25]Close to the road, I don't mind. I have earplugs.

[00:20:28]I'm looking at this forest here.

[00:20:31]And if you look at the map, it's only green green green everywhere.

[00:20:38]And it's not that very much it's not that dense, either.

[00:20:43]I don't know if you saw anything on the map, but I'm going to try to go a little bit further and try to find a nice side road and pitch my tent cuz the time is 20 minutes past 8 18, I almost said.

[00:21:02]That's military time for some people.

[00:21:05]Uh, normal for the rest of us.

[00:21:08]Just kidding. Uh, it's um 20 minutes past 6:00.

[00:21:15]I need to find a place.

[00:21:19]It doesn't get dark here, really, this time of year.

[00:21:24]Problem is uh the mosquitoes and all of that stuff coming out.

[00:21:30]Yep.

[00:21:31]Those guys were super nice.

[00:21:33]I really really enjoyed talking to them.

[00:21:38]I love it when you get advice from locals.

[00:21:41]That's the best way to get to know something new about the place is talk to the people who actually live there.

[00:21:49]And you have if you have a look at the map, I don't have no clue if you can see this or not, but it's only green.

[00:21:58]I'm going to make a run for it. Test.

[00:22:01]Uh, it's getting late.

[00:22:04]This is absolutely perfect. Look Look at this little glade here.

[00:22:09]Shielded from the wind with the trees.

[00:22:12]Flat ground.

[00:22:16]I could uh hide easily hide here.

[00:22:20]It's not legal to wild camp here in Estonia, I believe, but I don't care.

[00:22:31]As long as you're considerate, you're not trashing down the place.

[00:22:36]Take everything with you when you leave.

[00:22:39]Be a good human, and I don't see any problem with it.

[00:22:44]This is what I'm talking about. I think I'm going to pitch my tent over there.

[00:22:50]It's a turning point in this journey today, I feel, because now I'm actually heading south.

[00:22:56]Before I when I left home, I went to Stockholm and then to Turku.

[00:23:03]I went north and had to cycle south to Helsingborg.

[00:23:09]But now when I'm in here in Tallinn, outside of Tallinn, south of Tallinn, I'm actually at the same latitude as my my own hometown.

[00:23:21]But from now on, I'm cycling south to Greece.

[00:23:27]And I'm very much looking forward to this.

[00:23:30]And the pain in the the other parts of my body are less.

[00:23:35]So, I'm starting to enjoy this a lot more.

[00:23:39]I didn't enjoy it the first stint always, of course.

[00:23:43]But because of the pain, it took away some of that excitement and that joy. So, I'm going to pitch my tent, say goodnight, and uh let's try to make an outro here.

[00:23:54]Uh see you in the next episode. And if you like what I'm doing, support me by subscribing, liking, commenting. And ask me anything because I read every comment.

[00:24:06]I can easily say that because I haven't got a single comment yet because I haven't uploaded a video yet. But by the time you see this video, there should be at least two.

[00:24:16]Uh I'm going to do technical videos in the future also, where I go over my electrical system on the bike because it's quite nice and simple.

[00:24:27]And my philosophy regarding e-biking because I don't think of this as an e-bike as you may have understand already because I use so such little power. But it still helps me quite a lot.

[00:24:40]And the fitter the more fit I get, the the less I will be dependent on the motor.

[00:24:47]So, that's my philosophy.

[00:24:51]Ah, now I'm rambling again. Okay, guys.

[00:24:54]See you. Take care. Remember to be good human.

[00:24:58]See you in the next one. Bye.