This was my second cycle tour (the first being Icleand in 2016). Starting out with friend Philip Stinis, we cycled south through the Lofoten Islands in Norway, then east to Umea on Sweden’s east coast. Philip departed for home from Sweden while I caught a boat to Vaasa, Finland. From Vaasa, I followed the coast into Helsinki, where I caught another boat across the Baltic to Estonia. From Estonia, I cycled east and then south along the Russian border before crossing west again and into Latvia, where I finished in Riga, logging in over 1200 miles total. A few notes about each country:

Norway – most of the cycling here was through the Lofoten Islands, absolutely stunning scenery

Sweden – our route went through endless beautiful forest and lakes, and we even ran across some Reindeer.

Finland – While the cycling itself was a little bland compared to Norway and Sweden, I really enjoyed the cities here – Rauma, Turku, Helsinki

Estonia – Estonia will go down as one of my favorite countries ever. Read more about why here.

Latvia – Castles, nice scenery, and a a few days in Riga, Latvia was a nice place to finish the tour.