Leg 1: Tallinn to Paldiski
I toured Estonia with two friends from 4-10 July, 2014.  Here are some of the things we saw and lessons we learned.  We elected to take a counterclockwise tour from Tallinn to Pärnu through the islands based on a previous tour report and our interest in the Baltic Sea.  We broke the trip up into five segments to be covered in five days.  Our group represented a broad range of touring experience, so we wanted to go for a shorter tour.

Briefly, Estonia has excellent cycling infrastructure and its combination of flat topography, mild weather and reasonable prices make it an excellent location to bike tour.  Distances between major towns is manageable and, during the summer, there is in excess of 19 hours of daylight per day.

We all flew into and out of Tallinn and, if we had it to do over again, probably would have added a day and cycled back from Pärnu to Tallinn (instead of taking a bus as we did this tour).

Leg 1: Tallinn to Paldiski

Vabriku Hostel before the start

Distance: 37 mi/60 km
Climb: 867 ft/264 m

I planned the route with ridewithgps.com and you can view it here.  We wanted to start with a fairly short day to get our bikes and bodies sorted out without a lot of pressure.  We left our accommodation  (Vabriku Hostel) at 0900 and found a very cool cafe to have a small breakfast (F-Hoone).  Getting underway, we noticed that Estonia had very many bike lanes and followed one for quite a long distance to the west.  The signage was excellent and the road/bike lane condition was also very good.  The weather was warm (84F/29C) but there was some coastal fog.

On the road to Keila Waterfall 

We stopped at what would have been a fantastic overlook, but the fog was very thick and we could just make out the shore below.  Overall, the weather was very strange since it was unseasonably warm, but the fog was persistent.  The wind was the wildcard for this tour since the terrain would offer few hills.   Luckily, we had a gentle breeze out of the south, perpendicular to our track.  It cooled us a little but did not impede our progress.

One of the things we wanted to see on the way to Paldiski was Keila Waterfall.  We found it more by accident than design and ate a a really nice bar/restaurant at the falls.  This began

Lunch at Keila Waterfall.  Staying hydrated is important

The outhouse at lunch

 what would become a normal experience in Estonia for us.  The food was filling (meat and potatoes), delicious (heavy on the dill) and very reasonably priced (our price references are Germany and Portugal).  Lunch cost 4 euro per person plus 1.5 euro for a big beer.  Not bad.  We also discovered another common Estonian situation outside of cities: outhouses.  Though indoor plumbing is plentiful enough, there were a good number of outhouses at places we stayed at and ate at on this trip.  I imagine during a harsh winter, a trip to the restroom must be quite an adventure.

Keila Waterfall.  The water was cola-colored

Some dirt roads en route to Paldiski

After departing the falls, we headed a little inland, skipping the coastal route.  This allowed us to see some of the local vacationing areas and summer camps.  We rode past forested areas with summer homes and lodges. This area looked like a perfect retreat for busy Tallinnites.  We got our first taste of dirt roads as well, finding many in great condition with tree-lined flanks.  This would have been like many of the forested areas I have ridden through previously, with one difference: this place was nearly completely flat.  Where there were hills, none was above 3% grade, perfect for a first cycle tour.


As we crossed the peninsula where Paldiski resides, the terrain opened up and the forests thinned out.  As this happened, the breeze stiffened a bit and started to come at us from ahead.  It would be hard to call it a strong breeze, but it impeded progress ever so slightly, especially when we would hit a particularly exposed stretch of road.  It bears noting here that of the three bicycle rigs we had, two were set up with large rear panniers and a handlebar bag.  The third was set up with two large panniers on the front and two nearly-empty, small panniers on the rear.  We ran 28mm touring tires one one rig and 30mm CX tires on two rigs.  These were more than sufficient for the road conditions we

The cliffs at Paldiski Lighthouse

encountered throughout the tour with small exception.  We did get into some deep gravel which caused us some consternation later in the tour, but for this first leg, things could not have gone much better.

Our destination, Paldiski, had been a Soviet submarine base.  It was a bit of a drab town which is now trying to remain economically viable as a port facility.  We could see recent EU investment in port facilities, but, beyond that, the town did not look like there was much opportunity.  There are two restaurants in Paldiski and we ate at the more formal of them.


Again, we found the food to be yummy and cheap.  The only real thing to see in Paldiski is the lighthouse and cliffs at the end of the peninsula.  Riding from town to the point was about two miles and was a pleasant ride.  Unfortunately, the fog remained thick that day and there was little of the Baltic we could observe.