Why this ride
96 km from Pavlovsk to Pavlovsk, about 1 h 58 of riding. The stops in between: Pulkovskaya Observatory, Dudergof and back through Pulkovskaya Observatory. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa and Dudergof
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 96 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 58
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa
Countess Yulia Samoilova is the sort of figure that the nineteenth century produced in numbers: rich, independent, beautiful, fond of artists and impatient with convention. She was a society woman who spent much of her life abroad, especially in Italy, and who is remembered in Russian painting as the muse of a famous artist. A villa on the southern edge of Saint Petersburg's estates bears her name, and it sits in the quiet country between Pavlovsk and Gatchina, in a landscape of old parks, small rivers and pine woods.
Read the complete Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa is where the day begins. Next is Pulkovskaya Observatory.
2. Pulkovskaya Observatory
On the Pulkovo heights, the low ridge south of St Petersburg, an observatory has been watching the sky since 1839. It was founded by Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, the German-born astronomer who became its first director, and it quickly became one of the leading observatories in the world, with the largest refracting telescope of its day. The Pulkovo meridian, running through the observatory's main building, served as the reference for Russian maps for many years. Struve also led the measurement of the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of survey triangulations stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea, which helped determine the size and shape of the earth and is now a UNESCO site.
Read the complete Pulkovskaya Observatory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pulkovskaya Observatory comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dudergof.
3. 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
about 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Dudergof. Next is back through Pulkovskaya Observatory.
4. back through Pulkovskaya Observatory
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pulkovskaya Observatory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory, late in the day. Next is Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa, 19 km on.
5. Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa to Pulkovskaya Observatory
Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa → Pulkovskaya Observatory is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pulkovskaya Observatory to Dudergof
Pulkovskaya Observatory → Dudergof is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dudergof to back through Pulkovskaya Observatory
Dudergof → back through Pulkovskaya Observatory is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory to Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory → Yu.P.Samoilova's Villa is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.