South of St Petersburg, the flat marshy plain of the Neva lowland suddenly steps up onto a limestone plateau. Geologists call the edge a glint or bench, and here, near Russko-Vysotskoye and Kipen, it forms a low but noticeable escarpment, the northern edge of the Izhora plateau. It is one of the natural features included in the wide UNESCO listing of St Petersburg and its surroundings, which recognises not only palaces and canals but the landscape the city was built against.
The plateau is made of ancient Ordovician limestone, and water filters through it and bursts out in springs at the foot of the bench, feeding clear streams and small lakes. These springs were once vital for the imperial palaces and villages, and many are still visited by locals filling bottles. In spring the woods along the bench are full of wildflowers that like the lime-rich soil, and in summer the fields above are thick with grain and hay. Nearby, the Duderhof heights rise above the plain, the highest ground in the St Petersburg area, with views across to the city on a clear day.
This is gentle country to ride, with long straight roads across fields, birch woods and villages of wooden houses, punctuated by towns with Soviet apartment blocks. Road quality varies a lot, from smooth highway to patched secondary roads with deep potholes, and traffic around the city can be heavy and impatient. Summer nights here are very short; around the white nights of June it barely gets dark at all, and you can ride late in a soft silvery light. Winters are long, dark and icy, and motorcycle season effectively runs from May to September.
At the time of writing, many governments advise against travel to Russia, and entry, insurance and payment can be complicated for foreign visitors, so check the current situation carefully before planning a visit. Fuel stations are frequent along main roads, and Gorbunki and the villages nearby have shops and cafés. The palace parks of Peterhof and Ropsha are close by, and Fort Totleben out in the Gulf of Finland marks the far edge of the old defences of the capital.