I spent a fantastic weekend in Vetepere with some friends, and of course I did the trip on the worst tracks I could find. To give you an idea, I’ll first share a picture of the dirty bike after the trip.
Compared to the south of Finland, in Estonia it was easier to find unpaved roads that were also longer and more challenging. There were less houses by such roads, I crossed few other vehicles and even less pedestrians or byciclists. I guess the later has something to do with the fact that it was raining all weekend.
The trip started crossing taking the Eckero Line ferry to cross the sea between Helsinki and Tallinn. I had an entertaining ferry trip talking to a fellow biker that transformed a Honda Gold Wing into a cafe racer. There was also a 1st generation Africa Twin in a state worth of taking a picture and sharing.
My plan was to stay east of road 2 (E263) going south-east and looking for dirt roads. My experience with the main roads of the baltic countries is that they have too much traffic for one lane per direction and overtaking is not for foreigners. I didn’t have a detailed plan and I was using My Tracks to record my trip, but it proved to be unreliable and it missed some parts. Fortunatelly, I remember the main things.
I first went east on roads 1 and 11 to Pildiküla. A totally worthless loop that I should have avoided on road 2. The second attempt went on roads 303, 201, 156, 202 and 310 to Pikavere. Nicer roads between fields and trees but smooth curves and still asphalt.
Finally, the first dirt road was the 124 from Pikavere south to road 12. Wide, in good shape and with smooth curves, it allowed driving at a good rythm. Back on asphalt I took road 12 east to Alavere, and then 137 to Voose. The 137 was slightly narrower and curlier than the 124, and it was the first road I considered worth of a picture.
But the best part was going south from Voose on forrest tracks and dirt roads. The tracks were curly, bumpy, full of puddles and went through beatiful forrests. I don’t know exactly the route I took because there was a network of tracks and My Tracks stopped recording, but I remember I took many turns and dead-ends. A couple of times I couldn’t continue and the conditions were so bad it was difficult to turn my heavy long motorbike around. I worried about getting stuck or dropping it. I was in off-road heaven and I left a lot to explore, I should go back there.
I saw signs indicating routes for byciclists but I only crossed a SUV, probably because it was raining. From Vahesaare lake to the south the track improved and somewhere it becomed road 177. It’s by the lake that I took this nice picture.
At that point I realized I missed my destination, mostly because of Google giving me the wrong location. It was getting late and I had to make a big loop through roads 2 (E263), 156, 5, 141 and 142. Main roads and mostly asphalt, a route not worth of comments.
During the weekend I stayed at a house next to Simisalu watchtower. A nice place that would be great if it had separate showers for men and women.
For my return trip I decided to go straight north, and I actually found long straight roads that took me the coast pretty fast. I first went on roads 142, 131 and 141. Right before Soosalu I went off-road through Mõnuvere to Peedu.
The fun of such straight roads with broad visibility and no traffic is that they allow to drive at a good pace. A little bit more of the 141 north and from Lehtmetsa I went on the same direction on a good dirt road.
I stopped at Mägede liivakarjäär, a small lake with a sand beach that must be great in a hot day.
I continued to Aegviidu and the track became nicer and more challenging.
From Aegviidu, north-west, west and north to Soodla veehoidla reservoir. The tracks were long and straight similar to the ones near Mõnuvere. There are almost no houses by such tracks, they seem to be used only by the wood industry or something related to the forrests.
The reservoir is a beatiful place for a walk. It is where I took the picture of the dirty bike at the begining of this article.
My last off-road stage of the trip continued north through Härmakosu, west of Rehatse MKA until Kuusalu. Soon after I left road 13 I became suspicious of the “grey asphalt” I saw there and previously in other parts of my trip, so I decided to stop and have a close look.
This was my first experience with gravel roads. In general, they offer a good grip and that’s why I confused it with asphalt. But don’t get confident, they also have patches of loose gravel which are impossible to spot. I almost learnt it the hard way.
Next to Rehatse MKA the road was good, straight and really wide. I crossed other vehicles as I was approaching more populated areas of the country.
From Kuusalu I avoided road 1 by taking the 260 west, and then I decided to approach the coast going north-west through the 266 to almost Kaberneeme, and then the 263 and 260 south-west to Jõelähtme. Asphalt all the way, smooth curves, houses, traffic, and I hardly saw the sea. Not sure if the route is worth for road bikers, but not for me. At least I found a nice area to have a house by the beach.
The last stage I recorded took me through Rebala and Ülgase to Kallavere. Same as before, only more solitary. I was running out of time for the ferry so I filled the tank, jet-washed the bike, and headed to Tallinn‘s port. I arrived just in time.
Estonia is a paradise for off-road riders. There are many areas to explore, challenging roads to follow, and beatiful landscapes to enjoy without going too far from Tallinn. It left me wanting to go again, perhaps before this season ends. Few years ago I went to Saaremaa by car and I loved it, it would be worth to go again by bike.