As many Finns have, I've jumped on a bike this summer. In fact, the number of Finnish cyclists have increased by a tremendous twenty percent. The bike sales, especially ones for children, have skyrocketed. That makes sense, when during this pandemic we’ve been advised to remain socially distant, but to remember the importance of movement. Do note that the trend of cycling has been on the rise in Finland in recent years, but evidently, has now reached its peak.
At first, I attempted to ride my mother’s heirloom, a gearless bike. After enduring the dripping sweat on a long, uphill road to the local grocery store - I gave up. The effect? I bought myself the cheapest, and most beautiful, electric bike on the market. It may not be as effective for my fitness, but my goodness, it is wonderful to bike to a small lake and sometimes make longer trips around our village with a little electric help. The truth, the act of cycling (electric, or not) will be here to stay.
What more I see of value is the old, yet functional sewing machine we dug out from the back of our darkest closet. Ill need to use it for minor repairs of various cloths. Most of my summer clothes are still parked in Budapest as I came to snowy Finland mid-March, starting endless meetings on Zoom, Skype and Teams and all those digital communication platforms.
During my childhood days, some of my subjects in school was housework, sewing and woodwork. I especially enjoyed woodworking, but thankfully, I remember something about sewing as well.
The machine is still waiting for me on a side table but when those rainy days come, I will turn it on.
As I’m writing, the Finnish summer is at its best. In the south, the sun rises before four o'clock in the morning and does not set until eleven o'clock at night.
The north outshines us all, as there, the sun never sets.
Happy summer days to you all – and take care!
- Cita Högnabba Lumikero, the director of FinnAgora