Why this ride
A 499 km round trip from Strel'na - roughly 7 h 36 in the saddle. On the way it passes Forts of the Island Kotlin, Lindulovskaya Roshcha, The Road of Life and back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln and The Road of Life
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 499 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 36
- 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 34 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 34 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 Forts of the Island Kotlin.
2. Forts of the Island Kotlin
Kotlin island carries so many forts that the usual way to describe it is as a single stone ship moored in the middle of the gulf. The whole island is fortified, and you can see the evidence from the water, from the road and from the air: low batteries, round towers, harbour walls and the great forts built on artificial islands in the shallows. Many carry the names of tsars and grand dukes, and some, like the fort known as Alexander I, have a more sinister reputation, since it was used as a research station for plague bacteria in the early twentieth century and is still called the Plague Fort.
Read the complete Forts of the Island Kotlin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Forts of the Island Kotlin comes up 62 km in. Next is Lindulovskaya Roshcha.
3. Lindulovskaya Roshcha
Out on the Karelian Isthmus, in a landscape of pine, birch and sandy soil, stands a grove of larches that looks entirely out of place. The Lindulovskaya Grove was planted in 1738 by an admiral, Fyodor Soimonov, who wanted to grow shipbuilding timber for the Russian navy, and he chose Siberian larch, a durable and rot-resistant wood. Some of the trees are nearly three centuries old and very tall, and the grove is protected as a natural monument, the oldest planted larch forest in Russia. Walking among the trunks, with their orange-grey bark, and the soft light filtering through the needles, is surprisingly moving.
Read the complete Lindulovskaya Roshcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
124 km in you reach Lindulovskaya Roshcha. Next is The Road of Life.
4. 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
The Road of Life, about halfway. Next is back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha.
5. back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lindulovskaya Roshcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha sits at 249 km, about halfway. Next is back through Forts of the Island Kotlin.
6. back through Forts of the Island Kotlin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Forts of the Island Kotlin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Forts of the Island Kotlin comes up 311 km in. Next is Historical Centre of the Village of Streln.
7. 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
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln closes the day.
Leg by leg
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln to Forts of the Island Kotlin
Historical Centre of the Village of Streln → Forts of the Island Kotlin is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Forts of the Island Kotlin to Lindulovskaya Roshcha
Forts of the Island Kotlin → Lindulovskaya Roshcha is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lindulovskaya Roshcha to The Road of Life
Lindulovskaya Roshcha → The Road of Life is 116 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
The Road of Life to back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha
The Road of Life → back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha is 116 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha to back through Forts of the Island Kotlin
back through Lindulovskaya Roshcha → back through Forts of the Island Kotlin is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Forts of the Island Kotlin to Historical Centre of the Village of Streln
back through Forts of the Island Kotlin → Historical Centre of the Village of Streln is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.