Day 7 - Gdynia to Leba

Day 7 of my ride Riga to Leba

Up early for the last day of cycling. Got completely lost getting out of Gdynia as Google maps had me going down roads that were actually off limits. Had me going around in circles trying to find ways around all the heavy industry.

Eventually found a great bike path though sadly it led back to Gdynia. Also picked up my second puncture, down to my last spare inner tube (really need to carry a functional puncture repair kit as backup)

The route north was typical of what I have come to expect of Polish bike routes. A mixture of wonderful bike roads combined with utter horrors that even a mountain bike would struggle with let alone a bike like mine.

Once I got to Puck it was almost wall to wall seaside towns connected by a variety of roads of varying quality. However once I was within 30km of Leba they all vanished and it was back to sandy forest roads. Went past the crash of a B17 which was fairly recently found in the woods

So glad to eventually reach the hotel. Even got the same room I was given back in 2016. If I want to be a perfectionist I could plan to cycle Turku to Tallinn via Saint Petersburg but otherwise that's the Baltic sea finished

925km this trip. Not too shabby for an old man

Day 6 - Brainewo to Gdynia

Day 6 of my ride from Riga to Leba

Best days ride yet. Roads were quiet and when there was any traffic everyone was courteous. Lots of holiday resorts so lots of families on bikes.

A few ups and downs and the occasional leap of faith as Google maps directed me down tracks which last time in Poland gave me nightmares particularly when I came into Leba from the west

Quaint little cable ferry just on the outskirts of Gdansk and then hit the outskirts. Gdansk is actually part of a tricity as it's 3 merged into 1. Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia. My route took me through the middle past the old town. I had no idea that it was so beautiful and historic.

The ride from Gdansk to Sopot took me along the coast through resort after resort. What a gem and I had no idea how lovely they are. Chatted with a young man selling coffee so he did warn me it was as a great ride. I must bring Susie here as it's only an overnight ferry from Nynashamn outside Stockholm

Arrived in Gdynia to find hotels were in demand as it's the Iron man this weekend. Found a hostel but can't do sharing again so opted for the whole room. It's clean, has a bed and shower and is close to all the amenities so what more do you need.

Take a look at a map of Poland from 1939, it's quite interesting. Gdansk was Germany then and known as Danzig. In fact Germany lost 25% of here land after World War 2to mainly Poland and Russia. All of the Poland I have cycled through both this trip and in 2016 used to be Germany

Strange to think that tomorrow is my last day of cycling after which I have finished cycling around the entire Baltic Sea. Ok I would like to me a perfectionist and do Turku, Helsinki, Saint Petersburg and the to Tallin but that can wait. When I started all this I didn't really believe I would get to finish it.

Day 5 - Neringa to Braniewo

Day 5 of my ride from Riga to Leba

This ride had 2 objectives. First was to pretty much finish off my circumnavigation of the Baltic and the entire Swedish coastline. The second was to include Kaliningrad as it's so much easier to bypass as it requires visas as it's part of Russia which a very hard border. Will have used to that when we Brexit. So today I crossed in one day. Not only 150km but also 2 border crossings which can take ages according to some of the blogs.

Up at 4am as I really needed an early start. Had a broken nights sleep as it was so hot. Said goodbye to Ludwig who I was sharing the room with along with 2 young ladies. Still find mixed dorms weird but nobody seems to care nowadays.

Getting out of Lithuania was very straight forward. Getting into Russia was a lot harder and what I didn't know is the Russia doesn't do summer time so my arrival at 5am was actually 4am for them. Very fortified and a good 600m from the Lithuanian border post. First think I heard was the incredibly load air conditioning before I realized it was millions of buzzing insects. My paper work was in order so I was waved through. About 3km down the road another barrier across the road and lots of barbed wire fencing, cleared sand strip and spotlights. Think the guard was asleep as he wasn't there. His dog barked woke him up so he waved me through and his dog chased me. Ha frikkin ha.

Saw a moose, deer and at least a dozen wild boar. Mosquitoes for 20km. Once I was off the Nida peninsula got some cash and bought some breakfast and water. Drank 7 litres today! Getting into Kaliningrad was a challenge. Zero bike roads and some of the suggestions from Google maps were just plain wrong. Road down some pretty big roads but drivers were considerate.

Kaliningrad was nice. Went round the old town. Grabbed a chicken wrap made Russian style and it was very tasty

Passed loads of war memorials both before and after the city which brings home the huge human cost by the Russians to take the city. They used 1000s of tanks and 1.5 million troops. Very moving

Arrived at the Polish border in baking hot weather. Applied factor 50 twice so hope I haven't gotten burned. Long queues but as a cyclist both Russians and Poles waved me to the front and I was able to jump the queues. Once in Poland found my hotel for the night.

What a day! I've cycled across Russia in 1 day!

Day 4 - Nica to Neringa

Day 4 of my ride from Riga to Leba.

Had a bath last night which was a luxury. Nice room, great food, even had a decent sleep. 

Up at 0400 and out on the road by 0445. Dramatic purple lightning far off to the East which settled into rain. What a relief to have some normal weather.

Good bye Latvia and hello Lithuania. 

Reached Klaipeda just as it was starting to warm up after the rain had stopped. Took the ferry over to the Nida peninsula and had a wonderful 50km through endless woods tucked behind some amazing beaches. Truly awesome cycling and its rides like this that just really hammer home the joys of being in the saddle!

Slumming it tonight in a hostel sharing a room with 5 others so wish me luck. Big day tomorrow as I'm cycling across Kalinigrad and will need to cross 2 borders and I don't want to be stuck in Russia. I have heard horror stories of getting in and out of this Russian enclave!

Day 3 -Ventspils to Nica

Day 3 of my ride from Riga to Leba.

Awesome nights sleep as I was so exhausted from yesterday's ride. Today i feel like i had so much more energy 

Skipped breakfast and was on the road by 0445 leaving behind a very sleepy Ventspils. 

Today's ride was so different from yesterday's as it was primarily through farmland with plenty of things to see including 20kms of roadworks. 

Again by lunchtime the thunderstorms had failed to arrive so it was just hot and humid. Thank goodness I have plenty of factor 50. Had to stop many times just so I could get out of the Sun and lie under a tree as the heat just sucks out all the energy. Must have drank 6 litres today during the ride. 

Stopped for lunch at a supermarket and had some good old Latvian cafe food. Thank goodness for pictures and Google translate as I was able to order edible food. More roadworks in the afternoon before arriving at Nica which is where I am staying tonight.

Lovely hotel, really comfortable and good food. 

Day 2 - Engure to Ventspils

Day 2 of my 900km ride from Riga to Leba.

Terrible nights sleep as my cute wooden cabin from last night turned out to be a sauna!

Early start to try and beat the heat almost worked accept I was too slow to get out on the road. Was a hard ride too as this was my 3rd bad nights sleep in a row.

Only 3 days ago i was in Scotland with Susie and my flight from Edinburgh to Stockholm was cancelled so I was given a replacement flight via Amsterdam. It was delayed, arrived at some awful time of night and managed a few hours of sleep to catch the early morning connection to Stockholm. Then rushed to the ferry and had bad weather so didn't get a great sleep and now had a night in a sweat box

First half was fine enough and was actually quite interesting but the 2nd 80 km was tough as the road was boring and never-ending. Nothing to see except endless trees.

On top of all this the weather and humidity is a killer! and it all conspired against me. However after 11 hours I finally made it though I have to be honest it was a tough day and the hotel I eventually found looks a tad rough so no idea of the sleep i'm going to get. Hopefully i will just crash and wouldn't care!

Day 1 - Riga to Engure

Day 1 of my 900km ride from Riga to Leba. 

Trip over was actually a bit rough and I made the mistake of having a cabin at the front of the boat. The motion was a bit much so i had to go up top to get some fresh air!

Late start due to the ferry arriving at 1100 (because of the bad weather they had to slow down) and also reduced mileage as no real hurry atm. Have 7 days to cover the distance so with an average of 150 a day could do it in 6. 

The ride out of Riga was interesting as any attempt to leave a big city is. Got lost a few times and had to avoid some big roads but eventually found the way out and followed the coast. Lots of smoked fish booths very much like when i entered Riga so obviously a big thing here.

Early stop as I needed to stay somewhere with evening meal options as it seems most camping is self catering around here. Stayed in a lovely old guest house, actually in a log cabin in the garden, which was a bit like a sauna. They did however have a shared kitchen so could grab some food at my convenience.