Tallinn to Latvia: I came up with a cunning plan

September 19, 2013

I spent the next couple of days cycling south towards Latvia and to be honest, it wasn't actually very interesting. It would have been much nicer to go out to the islands to the west of Tallinn and if you are coming to Estonia I highly suggest that you do that. The reason why I didn't was because the weather didn't look too clever and how good can an island be in the rain? Even Barbados is probably miserable in a downpour. Also there was the question of time, as the leaves on the trees were turning all those pretty reds and yellows which, on the one hand look quite lovely and on the other scream 'winter is coming, winter is coming!'

A swing bridge which certainly did swing when I rode my heavy bike across

Those autumn colours urging me to head south quickly

I have no idea what this was. It passed me with the little yellow robotic machine driving randomly around on the grass verge and the truck driving slowly alongside it. If anyone can shed any light as to what in the name of sanity this was in aid of, please do.

The view from the look-out post on another nature hike that I did

I had a little swim here, it was pretty cold

And the award for 'Greatest Bus Stop in the World' goes to... Estonia!

On my last night in Estonia I was cycling on a quiet road by the sea towards another free campsite when a man on a bike said hello and spoke with me. He was an incredibly nice man but he told me he had lived in Germany and preferred it there, he thought Estonia really wasn't a very nice country at all. I could not have disagreed more.

The next morning I cycled to the border with Latvia. When I had entered Estonia I had not been able to get a picture of myself holding up eleven fingers in front of the Estonia sign because the sign had been on a wall behind a fence which was difficult to get a position to pose with (and also a little bit because of not having eleven fingers.) But now as I was leaving I saw that there was an Estonia sign that it was possible to pose with, and because there was nobody around I came up with a cunning plan to get my country-sign picture after all:

ESTONIA SUMMARY

Time: Five days, six nights

Distance: 522 kilometres

Best bits: Great cycle routes, great bus stops, great information boards, great free campsites, great nature, great, great, great!

Worst bits: When a little old lady came along out of nowhere and saw me jumping around with a bare foot in the air

Top touring tip: If you are thinking of doing a short bicycle tour, particularly a first bicycle tour, I highly recommend Estonia for its flatness and fantastic bicycle routes, and all the other great things already mentioned.

19/9/13 - 110km

20/9/13 - 92km

21/9/13 - 144km (10km in Estonia)

Today's ride: 212 km (132 miles)
Total: 6,190 km (3,844 miles)

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