tales of wander

When I first thought to do some bike touring, I wanted a self-guided, semi-supported tour where I am responsible to get myself from place-to-place, but someone else gives me the route and transports my luggage to the next stop (basically, I wanted to pay someone to do the logistics and nothing more). These kinds of bike tours do exist, but for various reasons, didn’t work out. I was still intent on doing a cycling tour of some kind, so I found a compromise: a self-guided, fully supported tour. This one offered more support than I wanted, which takes away some agency because they transport me from place-to-place, give me routes, and I ride in specific locales. The result is more like a series of “day hikes” than true bike touring, but it fit my time and budget, so I thought, it’s my first bike tour…why not give it a try? 

On the first day of the tour, I’m introduced to my bike. Despite this not being true bike touring, the bike is, without question, an honest-to-goodness touring bike. I immediately try to lift it and struggle to do so with both hands, estimating it must be ~50 pounds. For those not familiar with the different types of bikes, a touring bike is made for long distances while hauling gear. It prioritizes comfort and durability at the expense of weight (and therefore, speed). For comparison, my bikes at home are made of lightweight carbon (prioritizing speed at the expense of comfort) and probably weigh under 20. I could easily lift one above my head with one hand.

I assess the bike further. It’s a green machine—the unmistakable shade of Kermit the Frog. It has a heavy-duty bike rack and bright orange heavyweight panniers (to transport all the stuff that I’m paying someone else to transport…so my road-cyclist mind quickly calculates its unnecessary weight; cha-ching! goes the mental calculator). I ask the guy about the tires. He tells me they’re not tubeless, but reinforced and essentially puncture proof. He says this like it’s a good thing, but reinforced anything = heavy (cha-ching!). I get on the bike to familiarize myself with its sheer girth. It’s got a squishy saddle that I can bounce on…and you guessed it, comfort = heavy (cha-ching!). Okay, stop that. I can see I’m going to need a mental adjustment here. If I continue thinking like a road cyclist, this is going to be excruciating. I need to downshift. Think S-L-O-W and steady.

I ride around to test the gears, lumbering around like I’m in the driver’s seat of a Buick station wagon full of children. I do a few loops, a quick check of my GPS course and map, then I’m on my way. The first 30 minutes are when the real mental adjustment occurs. The weight is cumbersome. The saddle too soft. The flat pedals are going to kill my knees. Then, ever so slowly, the surroundings trickle into my consciousness. Thick forest lines each side of a pristine road. There are no cars, the sky is exquisitely blue, and the day is amazing. An occasional, quaint farmhouse dots the landscape. Before I know it, a broad smile spreads across my face. It feels great to be pedaling, no matter what the bike. And damn, what a place to do it in.

Here are highlights of my rides:

Lahemaa National Park (Estonia)– 35 mi to Sagadi Manor. About 90 minutes east of Tallinn is Lahemaa, Estonia’s largest national park with 288 square miles and 170 miles of coastline that borders the Gulf of Finland. Riding through Lahemaa is simply breathtaking. The incredible scenery easily distracts me from thinking about my bike—it offers everything a nature-lover could want: dense forest, wetlands, nature reserve, and even beaches. It isn’t all wilderness—there are approximately 24,000 people who live in the park in a number of quaint villages that are delightful to visit via bike. Some houses leave boxes of apples on the side of the road to share their orchard’s bounty with random passersby. I take a few to fuel my ride. 

After a day of riding, I can safely say that 35 miles on a bike of this weight feels like 70 on my road bike. I am sore in surprising ways. 

Lake Peipus (Estonia) – 43 mi to Varnja, then to Tartu. Lake Peipus is Europe’s largest “trans-boundary” lake, with the border between Estonia and Russia running through its middle. I cycled a route on the Estonia side, which ran parallel to the shores of a lake so massive that it looks more like a sea. Part of the route took me through villages of the “Old Believers,” who descend from a group of Russians who were exiled in the 1600s due to religious persecution. The land is fertile here and many of the homes sell vegetables outside their homes—onions being primary among them (this isn’t known as the “Onion Route” for nothing). I love riding through the main village road, looking at the different stands outside of the homes, many with their own unique character. Some offer just a few bunches of lackluster onions, whereas others really get into it, with stuffed dolls, tree cozies, and cookbooks on display with their favorite onion recipes.

“Estonian Switzerland” (Estonia) – 27 mi from Otepaa to Sangaste. I have a few choices of routes today, one of which is longer and includes gravel (my fave!). The ride starts in a gorgeous park with a well-paved pathway. Otepaa is a popular ski destination, which becomes apparent as off-season skate skiers whiz by me on their roller skis. Eventually, I hit a main road that climbs past the ski resort and delivers me to the gravel road…which is gorgeous. It’s the powder-day equivalent of gravel (gravel cyclists will appreciate this: not too thick, not too pothole-y, not too many washboards). I couldn’t ask for better. I’m passed by cyclists riding proper gravel bikes and choke back a feeling of bright green envy. The gravel road climbs up a long, steep hill that culminates in a watchtower that offers a view of the surrounding forest. It’s a bit insulting to climb the tower’s 10 flights of stairs after riding up the hill in a Buick, but whatever, it’s a gorgeous view with forest as far as the eye can see. Eventually, after riding through more countryside, the gravel sadly comes to an end as it joins a road that will eventually take me to Sangaste Castle. 

The rides continue…