Every road out of Saint Petersburg to the north-west ends up in Finland or in the memory of it, and the Vyborg highway is the old way. It leaves the city through the northern suburbs of Shuvalovo, Pargolovo and Parnas, passing parks, lakes and rows of tower blocks, and then continues over the Karelian Isthmus to Vyborg, a town that belonged to Finland until 1940.
The isthmus has been a war zone more often than it deserves. Before the Winter War of 1939 and 1940, the Finnish border ran along the little river Sestra, only some thirty kilometres from the centre of Leningrad, and the city's northern outskirts were within reach of artillery. During the siege of the city from 1941, the front stood just beyond this area, and the Blockade Ring of trenches, concrete batteries and earth forts was dug through the woods. The names on your ride, such as Northern Battery No. 4 and Petrovsky, belong to this chain of defences.
Shuvalovo is named after a noble family who owned land here, and the area around the Lakes of Ozerki has long been popular for summer walks. Parnas, a neighbourhood of tall apartment blocks, is not a place for sightseeing. The best use of this stop is to see the nearer side of the city's northern defences and then to ride on into the quieter forest country a little further north.
The riding itself is plain. The main highway is wide, fast and full of lorries and commuters, with speed cameras and sudden changes in speed limits, and the pleasant riding is on the side roads through the pine woods, where silver birch and sand dunes give the isthmus a Finnish feeling. Winter is long and the roads are icy from November to March, while late June, with its white nights, is the most memorable season. Mosquitoes and ticks are numerous in the woods in summer, so wear long sleeves.
Shuvalovo has about six thousand people, with a handful of shops and petrol stations, and Parnas and Pargolovo have more, so fuel and a quick meal are easy. Local food leans toward soup, dumplings and sour cream, and the cafes along the highway are cheap and plain. Check the rules for foreign travellers in Russia before you plan a trip.