The south shore of the Gulf of Finland west of St Petersburg is a strip of dachas, palaces and old military ground, and the place marked here as Maximov's Datcha sits within it, a couple of kilometres from the town of Lomonosov.
Lomonosov was known until 1948 as Oranienbaum, and its palace ensemble is one of the great estates of the St Petersburg area, part of the city's World Heritage listing. It was begun by Prince Alexander Menshikov, Peter the Great's favourite, and later expanded by Catherine the Great, whose Chinese Palace is one of the most exquisite rococo buildings in the country. Unusually, Oranienbaum was never occupied by German forces during the Second World War. A coastal bridgehead around the town held out throughout the siege of Leningrad, supported by the guns of Kronstadt across the water, and the rides that pass through here link that bridgehead with the old sea forts and coastal batteries scattered along the gulf.
Kronstadt itself, the island naval fortress founded by Peter, is now reachable by road over the flood barrier, a long dam with a tunnel under the shipping channel that runs from the north shore to the south near Lomonosov. Riding across it on a clear day, with the gulf on both sides and the domes of the Naval Cathedral ahead, is one of the more memorable things you can do on two wheels around St Petersburg. Wind on the dam can be strong and gusty.
The roads along the coast are a mix of busy highways, especially in summer when the whole city heads to the dachas, and quieter lanes through birch and pine woods. Surfaces vary from smooth to badly potholed, and the riding season is short: snow and ice from November to March, and long, light evenings in June when the white nights make it possible to ride late.
Lomonosov and Petrodvorets, home of the famous Peterhof fountains, both have fuel and plenty of places to eat. Anyone planning to ride here should check current entry rules, insurance and travel advice carefully, because the practicalities for foreign riders have changed a great deal in recent years.