Alright; this Finnish woman is biking from NYC to Chigago, from there to Las Vegas, there to Mexico, and from there God knows where and from there finally to Argentina! And why? She wants to meet Conan O'Brien!!! (With the help of the publicity she'll gain.......[Alright that wasn't the nr.1 reason but still...])
http://www.hillsdale.net/stories/120506/ne...061205014.shtml
QUOTE
Conan: Call Jenni
Finnish woman pedals across U.S. in year?long trip
Jan Bellamy, Staff Writer
517.437.6016
Christmas brought Jonesville a lost child Sunday night ? beautiful, blonde, blue?eyed and Finnish.
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Yes, Virginia, exciting things do happen in Hillsdale County. Just ask the band of angels at the Pink Panther Restaurant on U.S. 12, where the sign ?EAT? shines as a beacon to the hungry stranger.
?We?re sitting there drinking coffee, and all of a sudden this blinding blue light comes through the window,? said Becky Quigley of Jones?ville. ?I?ve never seen such a bright light.
?In walked this young girl, so young, the farmers all said, ?oh my god, it?s a runaway! Someone call 9?1?1?.?
Chrissy Coles, a cook at the eatery, said Monday she was really worried about the youngster sitting alone at a table near the window.
?She kept switching around, first sitting on one foot, then the other,? said Coles. ?She was just trying to get her feet warm.?
Waitress Betty Dearth took over a glass of water and a menu.
?But all she wanted was something warm to drink,? said Dearth. ?I told her what we have and she asked for coffee. Just black coffee.?
As the young woman warmed her hands, wrapped around the coffee cup, she served up her story to her 10 new best friends.
?My name is Jenni Tuomivaara,? she said softly. ?I?m 27, from Finland, and I?m riding my bike from New York City to Argentina.?
Coles admitted she thought that was a little crazy. But crazy or not, the young Jenni found herself surrounded by people with her best interests at heart.
?She?d ridden from Saline to Jonesville Sunday and stopped to ask for the nearest motel,? said Quigley, ?but I convinced her to stay with me and my three kids. I told her it would be a real adventure for them.?
Jenni insisted on riding her bike, with its bright?blue headlight, through the dark Sunday night from the Pink Panther to Quigley?s house in the village of Jonesville. Late into the night she laughed and talked with her hosts, watching scary movies into the wee morning hours.
Monday morning she awoke to her new role as adopted local celebrity.
?I really don?t know what to say,? she shared. ?I?ve never been interviewed during my trips.?
A born traveler, Jenni has visited 29 countries in her 27 years. You might say she?s addicted.
?I?m an auto mechanic,? she said, ?but I decided to go to work in a grocery warehouse because it offered better opportunities to take time off.?
As a citizen of Finland, Jenni gets five to six weeks paid vacation every year. And once every 10 years, she can take off a full year, with half pay.
Her one?year Sabbatical started in October, which is why she?s bicycling across Michigan in a snowstorm.
?I think I?ll be in Sturgis tonight,? she said Monday. ?Then, Chicago. And I hope the weather isn?t too bad to see friends in Minnesota.?
From there, Jenni will pedal her Trek road bike to Las Vegas for Christmas, though she admitted that?s optimistic.
?But I really want to be some place warm for the holidays,? she said. ?It will be my first Christmas away from my family.?
By the end of January, Jenni will meet friends in Cancun, Mexico. Then, she?ll continue pedaling her way to Argentina.
Why Argentina?
?Well, I want to learn to speak Spanish really well,? she said. ?And I really liked Central America when I visited last year and learned a little Spanish.?
Jenni is no stranger to the rigors of the American road. Six years ago, she zipped through 17 states in a mostly East Coast travel plan. The secret is traveling light and keeping in touch with a web site that caters to people who travel often and stay with each other as time requires, she said.
Jenni visits libraries on her stopovers, checking in on the travel?group Web site, looking over email and adding to her own blog: www.myspace.com/jenniejee.
She acknowledges being a bit scared.
?But if I weren?t scared,? she explained, ?I wouldn?t feel so great about this trip once I?ve completed it.?
Jenni admitted publicity might help with one tiny little fantasy she has: meeting Conan O?Brien.
?On his late show, Conan O?Brien is always teasing about Finland,? she said. ?He shows pictures of our president, a woman, and says the two of them look just alike. I might like to talk to him about that.?
Finnish woman pedals across U.S. in year?long trip
Jan Bellamy, Staff Writer
517.437.6016
Christmas brought Jonesville a lost child Sunday night ? beautiful, blonde, blue?eyed and Finnish.
Advertisement
Yes, Virginia, exciting things do happen in Hillsdale County. Just ask the band of angels at the Pink Panther Restaurant on U.S. 12, where the sign ?EAT? shines as a beacon to the hungry stranger.
?We?re sitting there drinking coffee, and all of a sudden this blinding blue light comes through the window,? said Becky Quigley of Jones?ville. ?I?ve never seen such a bright light.
?In walked this young girl, so young, the farmers all said, ?oh my god, it?s a runaway! Someone call 9?1?1?.?
Chrissy Coles, a cook at the eatery, said Monday she was really worried about the youngster sitting alone at a table near the window.
?She kept switching around, first sitting on one foot, then the other,? said Coles. ?She was just trying to get her feet warm.?
Waitress Betty Dearth took over a glass of water and a menu.
?But all she wanted was something warm to drink,? said Dearth. ?I told her what we have and she asked for coffee. Just black coffee.?
As the young woman warmed her hands, wrapped around the coffee cup, she served up her story to her 10 new best friends.
?My name is Jenni Tuomivaara,? she said softly. ?I?m 27, from Finland, and I?m riding my bike from New York City to Argentina.?
Coles admitted she thought that was a little crazy. But crazy or not, the young Jenni found herself surrounded by people with her best interests at heart.
?She?d ridden from Saline to Jonesville Sunday and stopped to ask for the nearest motel,? said Quigley, ?but I convinced her to stay with me and my three kids. I told her it would be a real adventure for them.?
Jenni insisted on riding her bike, with its bright?blue headlight, through the dark Sunday night from the Pink Panther to Quigley?s house in the village of Jonesville. Late into the night she laughed and talked with her hosts, watching scary movies into the wee morning hours.
Monday morning she awoke to her new role as adopted local celebrity.
?I really don?t know what to say,? she shared. ?I?ve never been interviewed during my trips.?
A born traveler, Jenni has visited 29 countries in her 27 years. You might say she?s addicted.
?I?m an auto mechanic,? she said, ?but I decided to go to work in a grocery warehouse because it offered better opportunities to take time off.?
As a citizen of Finland, Jenni gets five to six weeks paid vacation every year. And once every 10 years, she can take off a full year, with half pay.
Her one?year Sabbatical started in October, which is why she?s bicycling across Michigan in a snowstorm.
?I think I?ll be in Sturgis tonight,? she said Monday. ?Then, Chicago. And I hope the weather isn?t too bad to see friends in Minnesota.?
From there, Jenni will pedal her Trek road bike to Las Vegas for Christmas, though she admitted that?s optimistic.
?But I really want to be some place warm for the holidays,? she said. ?It will be my first Christmas away from my family.?
By the end of January, Jenni will meet friends in Cancun, Mexico. Then, she?ll continue pedaling her way to Argentina.
Why Argentina?
?Well, I want to learn to speak Spanish really well,? she said. ?And I really liked Central America when I visited last year and learned a little Spanish.?
Jenni is no stranger to the rigors of the American road. Six years ago, she zipped through 17 states in a mostly East Coast travel plan. The secret is traveling light and keeping in touch with a web site that caters to people who travel often and stay with each other as time requires, she said.
Jenni visits libraries on her stopovers, checking in on the travel?group Web site, looking over email and adding to her own blog: www.myspace.com/jenniejee.
She acknowledges being a bit scared.
?But if I weren?t scared,? she explained, ?I wouldn?t feel so great about this trip once I?ve completed it.?
Jenni admitted publicity might help with one tiny little fantasy she has: meeting Conan O?Brien.
?On his late show, Conan O?Brien is always teasing about Finland,? she said. ?He shows pictures of our president, a woman, and says the two of them look just alike. I might like to talk to him about that.?
