CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
A one-way ride of 119 km, Bolderaja to Ainaži - roughly 2 h 00 in the saddle. The stops in between: Saulkrasti and Salacgriva. It crosses from Latvia into Estonia - carry ID and check the toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
13 km on Vidzeme Seacoast Road.
Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states, and it wears its history on its facades. The old town, with its cobbled lanes, Hanseatic merchant houses and church spires, was founded in 1201 by the German bishop Albert, and for centuries the city was a leading trading port. The district of Art Nouveau buildings, built in the early twentieth century, is one of the richest in Europe, with more than seven hundred buildings decorated with masks, sphinxes and swirling ornament. Both areas are on the UNESCO list. About 740,000 people live in the city, so there is no shortage of fuel, hotels or food.
Read the complete Riga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Riga is where the day begins. Next is Saulkrasti.
Saulkrasti means sun coast, which is a bold name for a place on the Baltic, and the town has spent more than a century living up to it. It lies about forty kilometres north of Riga, on a strip of white sand backed by dunes and tall pine woods, and it began as a string of fishing hamlets before the railway brought holidaymakers from the capital in the late nineteenth century. Today it is the main seaside resort of the Vidzeme coast, a town of wooden villas, a long beach promenade and a pier, with a gentle, slightly old-fashioned air.
Read the complete Saulkrasti write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Saulkrasti comes up about 48 km into the recorded legs. Next is Salacgriva.
Salacgrīva sits where the Salaca river meets the Gulf of Riga, close to the Estonian border, and it has lived on fish for as long as anyone can remember. The river is known for its lampreys, eel-like fish that run upriver in autumn and are caught in traditional weirs, and the local people hold a lamprey festival and serve them grilled or smoked, an acquired taste that locals love. The harbour is full of boats, and the smell of smoke from the fish houses hangs over the town. Salmon, herring and sprats are also on the menu, and a plate of smoked fish with rye bread is the town's best advertisement.
Read the complete Salacgrīva write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 106 km into the recorded legs you reach Salacgriva. Next is Ainazi.
Ainaži is the last town in Latvia, and the road that ends here sits right on the border with Estonia, with the Estonian town of Ikla just across. It is a quiet place of about thirteen hundred people, set on the shore of the Gulf of Riga, with a harbour, a few streets of low wooden houses and a long, sandy beach backed by pines. The next town of any size is Salacgrīva, about twelve kilometres south, which has the fuel, shops and cafes, so top up there. Ainaži is the end of the Vidzeme Seacoast Road, and it feels like it: calm, a little windswept, and happily forgotten.
Read the complete Ainaži write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Ainazi closes the day.
Riga → Saulkrasti is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Saulkrasti → Salacgriva is 58 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Salacgriva → Ainazi is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.