The aim of the tour is to have fun and enjoy the ride; equally important is to take a message to the people along the way that transport doesn't have to involve petrol or high speeds. To this latter end, several presentations are made along the way. This year the message was accompanied by dancers and a classical septet. But the bikes themselves are the biggest attraction. From Jarmo Laine's "Perspirator", an enclosed battery-assisted vehicle, to the famous Hipparion, a front-wheel, lean-steering trike built by Esko Meriluoto, the "exhibits" are a fascinating collection of lovingly built and passionately ridden machines.
By no means all the machines are owner-built - many people come along riding commercially available bikes.
Because some of the bikes are experimental, there is a support vehicle. Most people carry the essentials on their bikes and put their overnight stuff in the support vehicle.
My GTO has a Rohloff rear hub and a SpeedDrive front chainwheel, so I have no oily, bendable derailleurs to worry about. The seat is integral, with no cushions to fall off and the steering is underseat. The only preparation I did for the GTO was to remove the nasty sharp pedals, remove the fragile bits (bottle holders, mirrors, lights, cyclocomputer), and run the flag down into the seat.
Preparing the Windcheetah took longer. It survived four loads and four unloads in this state. It takes about 15 minutes to half an hour to do this and the same to get the trike back into a ridable state. Some of these steps need the appropriate tools, of course.