Why this ride
From Kronstadt it runs 264 km to Kronstadt; allow about 4 h 34 of riding. It goes by way of Terioki, The Village of Olgino, Moskovskaya Road and back through The Village of Olgino. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Northern battery No. 1 and Moskovskaya Road
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 264 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 34
- 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 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. Northern battery No. 1
Kotlin Island is a long, thin sliver of land in the Gulf of Finland, and Kronstadt, its fortress-town, was founded by Peter the Great in 1704 to guard the sea approaches to his new capital. It became the base of the Russian Baltic Fleet, and ring after ring of forts, batteries and ramparts was built on the island and on artificial islands around it. The Northern Battery No. 1 is one of those fortifications, a low military work on the north shore of Kotlin, part of a defensive system that went on being added to for more than two centuries.
Read the complete Northern battery No. 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Northern battery No. 1 is where the day begins. Next is Terioki.
2. Terioki
Terioki, or Terijoki in Finnish, is the old name of Zelenogorsk, a resort town on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about fifty kilometres from St Petersburg. Until the Winter War, it was part of Finland, and before the revolution it was one of the favourite dacha destinations for the wealthy of the imperial capital, who came by train to spend summers among the pine trees and sandy beaches. After the Soviet Union took the Karelian Isthmus in 1940 and again in 1944, the Finnish population left, and in 1948 the town was renamed Zelenogorsk, the green hill.
Read the complete Terioki write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Terioki comes up about 61 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Village of Olgino.
3. The Village of Olgino
On the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, just beyond the city's edge, Olgino is a place of pines, sand and low wooden houses, a seaside suburb that grew up a century and more ago as a retreat for Saint Petersburg families who wanted fresh air and the beach without travelling far. It is part of the World Heritage Site that wraps the historic city and its surroundings, which includes not only palaces but villages, parks and landscapes like this one.
Read the complete The Village of Olgino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 105 km into the recorded legs you reach The Village of Olgino. Next is Moskovskaya Road.
4. Moskovskaya Road
Moskovsky Prospekt is the long, straight avenue that runs south from the heart of Saint Petersburg towards Moscow, and the road you are on is the oldest piece of the highway that links the two capitals. The first paved road between them was laid in the early nineteenth century, a line of stone and gravel across marsh and forest, and it still carries the traffic that gives the two cities their rhythm. The city that lines it is a very different Saint Petersburg from the one on the postcards: wide streets, heavy Stalinist buildings and long perspectives of tower blocks.
Read the complete Moskovskaya Road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Moskovskaya Road, about halfway. Next is back through The Village of Olgino.
5. back through The Village of Olgino
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Village of Olgino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Village of Olgino sits at 124 km, about halfway. Next is back through Terioki.
6. back through Terioki
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Terioki write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Terioki comes up about 215 km into the recorded legs. Next is Northern battery No. 1, 31 km on.
7. Northern battery No. 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Northern battery No. 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Northern battery No. 1 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Northern battery No. 1 to Terioki
Northern battery No. 1 → Terioki is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Terioki to The Village of Olgino
Terioki → The Village of Olgino is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Village of Olgino to Moskovskaya Road
The Village of Olgino → Moskovskaya Road is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Moskovskaya Road to back through The Village of Olgino
Moskovskaya Road → back through The Village of Olgino is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Village of Olgino to back through Terioki
back through The Village of Olgino → back through Terioki is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Terioki to Northern battery No. 1
back through Terioki → Northern battery No. 1 is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.