Why this ride
A 155 km round trip from Pushkin - roughly 2 h 52 in the saddle. On the way it passes Dudergof, Izhorsky Bench, Ropshinskoe Highway and Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Babolovsky Park and Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 155 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 52
- 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 18 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 18 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Babolovsky Park
Inside a ruined palace in a quiet park south of Saint Petersburg sits one of the strangest objects in Russia: a gigantic bath carved from a single block of granite, more than five metres across, made in the early nineteenth century by the stonemason Samson Sukhanov for the Babolovsky palace. The palace, a small Gothic style residence built for Catherine the Great's favourite Prince Potemkin, was later rebuilt and then ruined during the Second World War, but the bath was too heavy to move and remains inside the shell of the building.
Read the complete The Babolovsky Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Babolovsky Park is where the day begins. Next is Dudergof.
2. Dudergof
South-west of St Petersburg, the flat land of the Neva lowland rises unexpectedly into a pair of wooded hills, the Duderhof heights, the highest ground for many kilometres around. Their name comes from Finnish, and they have long been a landmark, used for military observation since the eighteenth century and as a summer retreat for the people of the capital. In the nineteenth century, the imperial army held its summer manoeuvres around nearby Krasnoye Selo, and the officers' villas and parade grounds became part of the social life of St Petersburg.
Read the complete Dudergof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dudergof comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Izhorsky Bench.
3. Izhorsky Bench
South of St Petersburg, the flat marshy plain of the Neva lowland suddenly steps up onto a limestone plateau. Geologists call the edge a glint or bench, and here, near Russko-Vysotskoye and Kipen, it forms a low but noticeable escarpment, the northern edge of the Izhora plateau. It is one of the natural features included in the wide UNESCO listing of St Petersburg and its surroundings, which recognises not only palaces and canals but the landscape the city was built against.
Read the complete Izhorsky Bench write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 38 km into the recorded legs you reach Izhorsky Bench. Next is Ropshinskoe Highway.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov.
5. Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov
Lomonosov was called Oranienbaum until 1948, and its history is a story of ambition. Prince Alexander Menshikov, Peter the Great's close friend and favourite, began a grand palace here in the early eighteenth century, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, and the name, meaning orange tree, came from its greenhouses. Later, the estate passed to the imperial family, and in the 1760s Catherine the Great had the Chinese Palace built in the park, a small, richly decorated pavilion with painted ceilings and exotic interiors. The ensemble is part of the UNESCO listing of Saint Petersburg and related monuments.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov 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 Town of Lomonosov sits at 69 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ropshinskoe Highway.
6. 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 comes up about 99 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Izhorsky Bench.
7. back through Izhorsky Bench
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Izhorsky Bench write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 117 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Izhorsky Bench. Next is back through Dudergof.
8. back through Dudergof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dudergof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dudergof, late in the day. Next is The Babolovsky Park.
9. The Babolovsky Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Babolovsky Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 155 km.
Leg by leg
The Babolovsky Park to Dudergof
The Babolovsky Park → Dudergof is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dudergof to Izhorsky Bench
Dudergof → Izhorsky Bench is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Izhorsky Bench to Ropshinskoe Highway
Izhorsky Bench → Ropshinskoe Highway is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ropshinskoe Highway to Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov
Ropshinskoe Highway → Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov to back through Ropshinskoe Highway
Historical Centre of the Town of Lomonosov → back through Ropshinskoe Highway is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ropshinskoe Highway to back through Izhorsky Bench
back through Ropshinskoe Highway → back through Izhorsky Bench is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Izhorsky Bench to back through Dudergof
back through Izhorsky Bench → back through Dudergof is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dudergof to The Babolovsky Park
back through Dudergof → The Babolovsky Park is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.