Segezha is a paper town, and you smell it a few minutes before you see it. It sits on the Vyg River at the southern end of Lake Vygozero, in forest and lake country that has supplied Russia with timber for centuries, and the huge pulp and paper mill by the water has been the town's reason for being since the 1930s. About thirty thousand people live here, in a mix of Soviet apartment blocks, wooden houses and some leafy streets that run down toward the river. It is not a pretty place, but it is a real one, with the manners of a working town, and a good supply stop on the long highway to the White Sea.
The history is partly written in that mill. Before the Revolution there was only a small settlement here, but the timber and the river made it attractive to industry, and the great plant grew steadily with new equipment through the Soviet years. Today it is a part of one of Russia's largest forestry groups, and the logging trucks that rattle down the highway are part of the same chain. The forest around is spruce, pine and birch, dotted with lakes and bogs, and the autumn colour in September is fine.
For a rider, Segezha is on the main road north, the highway that links St Petersburg to Murmansk, and the surface here is generally good, with long straights, forest on both sides, and a steady procession of lorries. Care is needed in wet weather, because the dark asphalt gets slick, and deer and elk sometimes wander across at dusk. Summer brings long light and biting insects, and winter is long and snowy. The best months are June to September.
Fuel and food are easy. The town has several stations, supermarkets, cafés and a few hotels, so it makes a natural place to fill up and eat before pressing on. Nadvoitsy, about fourteen kilometres north, has its own aluminium smelter and the falls of the Vyg, which are worth a look if you have time. The Belomorsk-Baltic Canal runs through the area, linking Lake Onega with the White Sea, and traces of it appear along the road.
Eat a proper meal, buy some water, and watch the light on the river. It is quiet and honest.