I started this blog in Brussels back in 2016 as I wanted to fulfil my storytelling needs in a form of a blog.

After a decent start I often struggled with words: I could go to a place, take nice photos but then felt lost for words. Went to a town. Took photos. That’s it.

Then we moved to Vienna. Again, a lovely picturesque city with plenty of things to see, but then … what?

Where is the story?

Maybe I was always lacking an angle? It’s easy to go to a place, take photos but then putting it in words: Why am I here? How does it feel? What is special about it? What should I write about it?

Is it interesting? Does anyone want to – and here comes a point – to read about it? In general: Do people have the patience to read anything anymore? Or even watch a clip more than 10 seconds?

Dad blogs? No.

I would have had an easy angle to blogging: I was a house hubby, a stay-at-home dad and dad blogs were popular at the time.

But I wanted to keep my son out of the limelight and would have felt uncomfortable riding with the Nordic Daddy theme.

Back to base

After returning to Finland in 2020, I perhaps became even blinder to the surrounding beauty.

– Yes, there is lake, sauna, forest, sauna, lake, silence and so on. Nothing special to an average Finn.

Travel or Bicycles?

However, I started cycling a lot more and buying & restoring 1990s vintage mountainbikes, of which there are plenty of posts on this blog.

Actually, one reader commented that my “travel blog” had turned into bike-nerdy one. Fair point, a deviation from the start. Not that this was ever to be a travel blog as such.

Youtube

Then I got my first GoPro MAX 360 camera. I got all excited about that as a medium of storytelling and filmed stuff while learning on the go. I did a lot of chest-mounted footage on bikes and riding.

I stayed behind the lens a long time, until January this year (2026) when I did a race report with the on-board footage and the lens directed at me.

It’s really hard to speak to the camera actually. I totally understand now, why several takes are needed when filming content.

Talking to the camera – to you, the audience to be exact – is a skill and one does get better with practice. Still, I’m taking my baby steps as a content creator in front of the camera.

Give or take?

Whether it is one’s thoughts, face, voice or any other format, you still expose yourself for the world (the internet) to judge: This is me, you can shred me into pieces if you choose to.

This is me, you can shred me into pieces if you choose to.

It’s a vulnerable position to be in and takes some courage to do. Also, is it worth the possible backlash? Are the rewards, bigger than the cost?

One Youtube creator said about editing that every minute of the completed video takes an hour of work. Having done this for a while, I do not doubt.

With my content on Youtube I want to tell stories, show places and things. Hopefully someone gets something out of them.

Remains to be seen.

Thank you to all my readers, old an new.