Why this ride
From Strel'na it runs 420 km to Strel'na; allow about 6 h 23 of riding. It goes by way of Primorskoe Highway, The Road of Life and back through Primorskoe Highway. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln and The Road of Life
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 420 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 23
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 61 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 61 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Historical Centre of the Village of Streln
Strelna is where Peter the Great first looked at the Gulf of Finland from the south shore and decided that his new capital needed a country palace worthy of Versailles. He began a residence here in the early eighteenth century, before settling on Peterhof, a few kilometres to the west, and the estate was later developed by his daughter Elizabeth and then given to the Grand Duke Konstantin, whose name it still bears in the Konstantinovsky Palace. In the 2000s the palace was restored and today it is used for state receptions and conferences, with the grounds open to visitors on a part-time basis. The historic centre of the village is a small area of old streets near the shore.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Village of Streln write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln is where the day begins. Next is Primorskoe Highway.
2. Primorskoe Highway
Zelenogorsk used to be Terijoki, a Finnish resort town on the Gulf of Finland, and it belonged to Finland until the Winter War of 1939 to 1940, when this stretch of the Karelian Isthmus passed to the Soviet Union. Before that, Terijoki was a place where Russian aristocrats and artists kept summer houses, and the wooden villas that survive among the pines still have some of that air. The Primorskoe highway runs north-west from Saint Petersburg along the shore to Vyborg, and this is the part of it where the road threads a sandy, forested coastal strip with dunes on one side and wet pinewoods on the other.
Read the complete Primorskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Primorskoe Highway comes up 86 km in. Next is The Road of Life.
3. The Road of Life
On the south-eastern shore of Lake Ladoga, east of Saint Petersburg, a road ends at the water. This is the start of the Road of Life, the supply route across the ice that kept Leningrad alive during the siege of 1941 to 1944. The siege lasted 872 days, from September 1941 to January 1944, and it cut the city off from nearly everything except the lake. In the first winter, when Ladoga froze, trucks and horse-drawn sledges began to cross the ice with food and fuel, and on the return journey they carried out women, children and the sick. Lorries broke through the ice, and bombing and artillery attacked the route, but it kept going.
Read the complete The Road of Life write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
171 km in you reach The Road of Life. Next is back through Primorskoe Highway.
4. back through Primorskoe Highway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Primorskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Primorskoe Highway, late in the day. Next is Historical Centre of the Village of Streln.
5. Historical Centre of the Village of Streln
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Village of Streln write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Historical Centre of the Village of Streln. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln to Primorskoe Highway
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln → Primorskoe Highway is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Primorskoe Highway to The Road of Life
Primorskoe Highway → The Road of Life is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
The Road of Life to back through Primorskoe Highway
The Road of Life → back through Primorskoe Highway is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Primorskoe Highway to Historical Centre of the Village of Streln
back through Primorskoe Highway → Historical Centre of the Village of Streln is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.