Revda is a small Ural industrial town on a river that bears its name, with a reputation that is better than the one its neighbours have. It sits about fifty kilometres west of Yekaterinburg, and its story is that of many Ural towns: in the 1730s, an ironworks was built on the Revda, with a dam and a pond, and a settlement of workers grew around it. Later, copper smelting became the main business, and the Sredneuralsk copper smelter, which operated for most of the Soviet period, left a heavy mark on the surrounding landscape, with bare hills and damaged forest. In recent years, the situation has improved, and the woods are slowly returning.
The town has about sixty thousand residents, in a mix of Soviet blocks and older wooden houses, around the pond at the centre. Pervouralsk, the larger neighbour just to the east, claims a famous monument: an obelisk on the boundary between Europe and Asia, on the old Siberian road, which draws travellers to stand with one foot on each continent. It is a few kilometres from here, and worth a photo stop. The Urals are a very old range, worn down to low, forested hills, so the border is a gentle one, and you cross it without noticing.
For a rider, the roads around Revda are pleasant rather than thrilling. They roll through spruce and birch forest, past ponds and old ironworks villages, and the traffic is moderate, with commuters from Yekaterinburg and the odd heavy lorry. The surface is generally fair, but can have frost damage, and the corners are gentle and open. On weekends in summer, city dwellers head for the lakes and forests, so aim for weekdays or early starts. Weather can be changeable, with sudden storms in July, and the autumn forest is golden.
Fuel and food are easy. The town has petrol stations on its main roads, and supermarkets, cafés and basic hotels, and for anything more complicated, Pervouralsk and Yekaterinburg are close. A café by the pond serves a decent soup, and in summer you can sit outside and watch the anglers.
If you are heading west, this is a good place to top up the tank and the stomach. The Urals ahead are wilder, and services are sparser.