Dubki simply means little oaks, a common name for a patch of woodland, and the ride titles connect this spot with the Oranienbaum Springboard, which is the south shore, across the water, where a Soviet bridgehead held out through the siege of Leningrad from 1941 to 1944 while the city itself was encircled.
The north shore has its own character. It is a coast of sand, reed beds and pines, with a long cycle path, small ports and, a few kilometres east, the huge glass tower of the Lakhta Center, which rose in 2019 as the tallest building in Europe. The contrast between the old coast and that spike on the horizon is hard to miss. In winter the shallows freeze and people walk or ski far out on the ice, and in the white nights of June the sun barely goes down.
Riding here is easy but not exciting. The main road along the coast, the Primorskoe highway, is a busy trunk, and the side roads through Lisiy Nos and Lakhtinskiy are short, suburban and patched. Watch for tram lines and potholes, which are worst in spring after the frost. Early mornings are calm and the light over the water is soft, and autumn is the best season, with clean air and golden birch.
Lisiy Nos has fewer than five thousand people, so fuel is not guaranteed in its small streets, but the city's petrol stations are close, and Lakhtinskiy has more services. Expect to find coffee kiosks and small cafes near the beach in summer.