Ligovsky Prospect is one of Saint Petersburg's long avenues, running south from Nevsky Prospect near Moscow Station, through old tenements, markets and railway yards toward the edge of the city. Its name comes from Ligovo, and the avenue follows the line of the old Ligovsky Canal, dug in the early eighteenth century under Peter the Great to bring water from the southern springs to the fountains of the Summer Garden. The canal has been covered or filled over most of its route, but the street still traces it, a straight line through the city's grid.
The avenue has many layers. Near the start are the old brick warehouses and the cafés of the railway district, while farther out, post-war housing and big factories take over. In the siege of Leningrad, from 1941 to 1944, the front line was only a few kilometres south of this district, and trams carried people to the factories under shellfire. Memorials, plaques and street names recall the war, and visitors often notice how many people still lay flowers.
Saint Petersburg is a city of five million, so fuel, food and workshops are everywhere, but riding in the centre is slow, with trams, cobbles and heavy traffic. Rails are slippery when wet, so cross them at a right angle. White Nights in June, when it hardly gets dark, are a special time, though the city is busy with visitors. Early morning, when the avenues are empty, is a lovely time to ride, with pale light on the stucco.
Outside the centre the roads open up. Highways to the south, such as the one toward Gostilitsy, run through flat, wooded country with a few villages, and summer weekends bring a rush of city dwellers heading to their dachas. Rain is frequent, and the weather can turn from sun to drizzle in minutes, so bring a jacket. Autumn turns the birches yellow, and winter is cold and dark, with ice and snow on the roads.