Why this ride
358 km from Molodezhnoye to Molodezhnoye, about 5 h 04 of riding. On the way it passes Ropshinskoe Highway, The Blocade Ring and back through Ropshinskoe Highway. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort «Ino» and The Blocade Ring
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 358 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 04
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 104 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 104 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort «Ino»
In pine woods on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, west of the resort strip of Zelenogorsk, lie the shattered concrete remains of Fort Ino. It was built from 1909 as part of the defences of Saint Petersburg, a key battery of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, designed to close the gulf to enemy fleets with heavy guns. When Finland became independent, the fort ended up on Finnish territory, and under the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 its fortifications were to be dismantled, which is why what remains today is mostly blasted concrete, scattered among the trees and dunes.
Read the complete Fort «Ino» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort «Ino» is where the day begins. Next is Ropshinskoe Highway.
2. Ropshinskoe Highway
Ropshinskoe Highway is the road that leaves the Gulf of Finland behind at Peterhof and climbs gently south towards Ropsha, and for a ride that starts and ends here it is a good place to look at a map and understand the ground. You are on the edge of the Izhora upland, a low limestone step above the coast. It never looks like much from the saddle, a few tens of metres of rise through birch and pine, but in this flat country that step decided who could see whom, and that mattered enormously in the last century.
Read the complete Ropshinskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ropshinskoe Highway comes up about 104 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Blocade Ring.
3. The Blocade Ring
The Blockade Ring stands on the south bank of the Neva, east of Saint Petersburg, close to where the Road of Life began its journey toward Lake Ladoga. It commemorates the siege of Leningrad, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944, roughly 872 days, and the corridor that kept the city alive. When Shlisselburg fell in September 1941, the city was cut off by land, and the only lifeline ran across Ladoga, by boat in summer and over the ice in winter.
Read the complete The Blocade Ring write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 176 km into the recorded legs you reach The Blocade Ring. Next is back through Ropshinskoe Highway.
4. back through Ropshinskoe Highway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ropshinskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ropshinskoe Highway, late in the day. Next is Fort «Ino».
5. Fort «Ino»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort «Ino» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort «Ino». That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort «Ino» to Ropshinskoe Highway
Fort «Ino» → Ropshinskoe Highway is 104 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ropshinskoe Highway to The Blocade Ring
Ropshinskoe Highway → The Blocade Ring is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
The Blocade Ring to back through Ropshinskoe Highway
The Blocade Ring → back through Ropshinskoe Highway is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Ropshinskoe Highway to Fort «Ino»
back through Ropshinskoe Highway → Fort «Ino» is 110 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.