Sergiev Posad Radonezh and Abramtsevo

A culturally dense northern ride anchored by the Trinity Lavra and old villages.

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Why this ride

A culturally dense northern ride anchored by the Trinity Lavra and old villages. The road: Yaroslavl Highway and regional roads. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Moscow start

   Moscow does not do small. It has more than ten million people, a ring road, the MKAD, that encloses a space bigger than many countries' capitals, and a centre that is arranged in concentric circles like the rings of a tree. At the middle is the Kremlin, the red-brick fortress on the Moskva river, with its golden-domed cathedrals and its walls, and beside it Red Square, with the colourful domes of St Basil's. The city was first mentioned in the chronicles in 1147, and grew from a modest wooden stockade into the capital of a vast empire.

   To ride in Moscow is to be reminded of its scale. The Garden Ring and the Third Ring carry huge flows of traffic, drivers are fast and aggressive, and motorcycles filter between lanes at speed. The best time to explore on two wheels is a summer evening, when the light lasts until late, the traffic eases, and the bridges over the river are lit. The skyscrapers known as the Seven Sisters, built under Stalin, rise from the skyline, and from Sparrow Hills, the high ground near the university, you can see the whole city spread out in a haze. The metro stations, designed as underground palaces, are worth leaving the bike for.

   From the city, a favourite day trip leads north-east to Sergiev Posad, about seventy kilometres away, where the Trinity Lavra of St Sergius, the most important Russian Orthodox monastery, stands inside white walls with blue and gold domes. The road passes through forest and farmland, and pilgrims fill the monastery on holidays. It is a good outing for a long day, with plenty of cafes in the town and stalls selling painted wooden toys, a local craft.

   Fuel is found everywhere in the city and along the main roads, and the cafes range from cheap canteens to fancy restaurants. Summers are warm and can be thunderous, while winters are long, dark and very cold, with snow from November to March. Before planning any trip, check the current travel and entry conditions carefully, as they change often and can affect insurance, border crossings and the practicality of riding in Russia.

2. Radonezh stop
3. Abramtsevo stop
4. Sergiev Posad stop

   Sergiev Posad is the spiritual heart of Russian Orthodoxy, and the Trinity Lavra of St Sergius, its great monastery, is the reason. It was founded in the fourteenth century by Sergius of Radonezh, a hermit who became the most revered saint in Russia, and it grew into a fortified complex with white walls, blue and gold domes and towers painted in bright colours. It withstood a long siege by Polish forces in the early seventeenth century, and its fame as a centre of pilgrimage has never faded. Today it is again an active monastery and a UNESCO site, with crowds of pilgrims at weekends and on feast days.

   The Lavra's central church, the Trinity Cathedral, holds the relics of St Sergius and an icon of the Trinity by Andrei Rublev, though the original is now in a Moscow gallery and a copy is on view. The Assumption Cathedral, built under Ivan the Terrible, has a blue ceiling spangled with gold stars. In the grounds, there are a spring said to have healing water and a large bell tower. Women are expected to cover their heads in the churches, and photography is limited in some places.

   The town is also known for toys. Sergiev Posad was one of the centres of Russian wooden toy making, and the first matryoshka dolls were reportedly made in the region in the 1890s. A toy museum in town has historic examples, and shops along the main street sell painted wooden dolls, spoons and ornaments. The town has more than a hundred thousand people, with a busy centre and a lot of Soviet housing around it.

   The road from Moscow, around seventy kilometres, is a major highway, busy with commuter traffic and trucks, so leave early on weekends. Beyond the town, the roads toward Pereslavl and Alexandrov are quieter and pass through fields, woods and old villages, with wooden houses and small churches. The surface varies, with patches of rough asphalt, and the best weather is in late spring and early autumn. In winter, the snow and frost make the domes look even more striking, though roads can be icy.

   Fuel and food are easy in the town, with stations on the main road and cafes near the monastery, serving pies, soups and tea. Semkhoz and Skoropuskovsky are smaller places nearby. Take a scarf for your head and a bit of patience for the queues.

5. Khotkovo finish

Where this sits

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