Cycling in Russia

[GIOS]

I've been a bit here and there but Russia is somewhere I've never considered to cycle in. Until now of course. Eastern Karelia has beautiful surroundings and decent road conditions. Of course precautions need to be taken because of the local driving customs etc. (Any advice, hint etc. is appreciated.)

I've planned to do the route in three days because entering and leaving Russia can be quite time consuming and sometimes frustrating. To save time I will take an IC train from Helsinki to Imatra and start my journey there.

Day 1: -> Imatra - Svetogorsk - Vyborg
Day 2: Vyborg and it's surroundings
Day 3: Vyborg - Hamina ->

And then once again an IC train but this time from Hamina to Helsinki.

Tell me what do you think.

 

[raybo]

This page has 5 links to information about bike touring in Russia.

I don't know if any will be of interest to you, given your short tour and destination, but I thought I'd post them anyway.

 

[GIOS]

This page has 5 links to information about bike touring in Russia.

I don't know if any will be of interest to you, given your short tour and destination, but I thought I'd post them anyway.

Found some great info about visa applications, water quality and road conditions. Thank you!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

In Russia bicycle rides you!

 

[GIOS]

In Russia bicycle rides you!

 

[Gravity Aided]

Watch a bit of YouTube about Russian Drivers as well. Russian Drivers Compilation is best.

 

[jdtate101]

If you've never applied for a Russian Visa before, prepare for an experience. You have to get them at the embassy in London which is famously inefficient. There will be a huge queue from very early in the morning, so either get there early or be prepared to pay one of the 'fixers'. These are companies that will fast track your application for a fee, which probably also includes the bung for the official in the visa dept. I had to go to Moscow on business and got it done within the day, but only by paying £90 (this was several yrs ago). People in the queue who didn't want to pay had been trying several days.

BTW the stories of Russian driving standards are very true....just shocking.

 

[GIOS]

If you've never applied for a Russian Visa before, prepare for an experience. You have to get them at the embassy in London which is famously inefficient. There will be a huge queue from very early in the morning, so either get there early or be prepared to pay one of the 'fixers'. These are companies that will fast track your application for a fee, which probably also includes the bung for the official in the visa dept. I had to go to Moscow on business and got it done within the day, but only by paying £90 (this was several yrs ago). People in the queue who didn't want to pay had been trying several days.

BTW the stories of Russian driving standards are very true....just shocking.

I currently live in Southern Finland so the application process itself should be quite painless. Crossing the Russian border with a bicycle is the main question. I've heard that sometimes the border officials don't allow pedestrians through due to "restrictions".

 

[smith4188]

I've just sorted a Russian visa. In July I'll be cycling from Estonia to Moscow then to St Peterburg and out to Finland. From memory the visa plus agency fees was £170. I'm in Spain at the moment and so it was cheaper to use an agency than to fly back and live in London while I sorted the visa. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for the passport back. It's somewhere in the postal system, which is a bit worrying. What's your bit of Finland like?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I...What's your bit of Finland like?

it has a lot of trees! (spend 6 weeks there in Autumn 2011). trees more trees and then some more trees.. and then some lakes, but I did get to see the freshwater ringed seal over west a touch. (cycled down the finnish side of the russian border from the barents sea (Grense Jaksobselv) to Kumho and the headed 'inland' towards Helsinki via Joesuu and Savonlinna. Loved the Finish transport museum at Jakokoski. We did meet 2 cyclists (one russian one from yorkshire) but they used the Kirkenes crossing point in Norway, so not much help there I'm afraid.

 

[e-rider]

at a guess, I'd say drunk drivers could cause a problem and potentially wipe you out!

 

[GIOS]

Finland is mainly plain commercial forest but the coastal areas are actually quite beautiful (and Lapland of course). Archipelago trail is something you have to experience.

 

[GIOS]

Here is some typical Finnish cycling scenery:

I used to live in Provence and miss everything from the weather to the local people.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

be prepared for a lot of this type of scenery then. (we cycled down the Finnish side of the Russian coast.)

The far north was much more open and much nicer in our experience, as well as having some views.
These are as close to the Russian border as you can get without crossing it.

 

[Kokozz]

But if you are going to be in Vyborg, why not t visit Saint-Petersburg? That's a beautiful city, especially in summer. The most wonderful, you can ride during white nights in the city or join some of city bicycle rides! I saw one recentle, that was a lot of fun!
http://www.friendsplace.ru/blog/veloparad-druzei/