S3D7 (Day 35) – WE DID IT!

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Our final day was the shortest one yet, a mere 41 miles. We were only going to the Russian border and not all the way to St Petersburg. Actually, no one in our group was cycling beyond Narva, Estonia … they will take a coach into St. Petersburg, while we take a taxi to Tallinn, Estonia to fly back to Paris.

The actual cycling on the Napoleon Epic Cycling Tour started in Paris and ended at the green flag at Narva, Estonia. Riders took a coach from Narva to St. Petersburg. Our final ride today was only 41 miles. We’ve come a long way Baby …. Russia here we come!

The original Napoleon Cycling Tour 2 years ago went from Paris to Moscow … as did Napoleon. But Napoleon was turned back, and Ride & Seek had already decided the roads, and traffic, weren’t worth the risk. So this year’s tour not only ended at St. Petersburg, but the cycling ended at Narva, Estonia.

Alutaguse to Narva, Estonia and the Russian Border

  DAY #35 of 35   Estonia   2,250 miles total

For us, due to Shauna’s scheduled shoulder surgery, we would have had only 1 night to spend in St. Petersburg. Given that the Russian visa application process is a pain in the a$$ (list all of the countries you’ve been to in the past 10 years, pay $375 each, and send off your passports to the Russian Embassy), we had decided in advance to turn around at the border and begin our journey home. Everyone else packed up their bikes when we arrived at Narva, walked their luggage across the border, and rode in a coach for nearly 3 hours to St. Petersburg. For us, it was just not worth the hassle for 1 night.

It is not just the Russian visa process that is a nightmare; so too is the border crossing itself. Apparently it can take up to 10 hours for vehicles to make it across the border! As it turns out, the tour leader, Ben, did not make it to any of the last night festivities in St. Petersburg … he was stuck at the border for hours as bureaucrats tried to suss out whether he was up to shady business (selling bikes?!) or not.

On The Road To Narva

This is it! Slept like a kid on Christmas Eve, waking up and looking at the clock a few times early this morning. 41 mi to go to the Russian border and the completion of our Epic #Napoleoncyclingtour. It was looking like we were going to get a little wet, but we lucked out and stayed dry.
We were mostly on a busy road that had a well-delineated shoulder. With the friendly Estonian drivers, it was a pleasurable ride.
Once we turned east and rode along the Baltic Sea, we were on quiet roads lined with woods and dotted with parks.
As we arrived at Narva, we couldn’t help but notice some of the Cold War relics, such as what appeared to be a watch tower turned into an antenna.
Arrival at the end of the road (literally). The riders got busy breaking down their bikes for the trip to St. Petersburg and onward.

Once everyone arrived, we all walked over to the Narva River.
With Michael and Alex toasting to a successful finish.
And there is Russia! Just across the Narva River.
It seemed a bit surreal to be at the end of the ride.
But we were definitely happy to be here.
YAY!!!! 😊😊😊😎😎😎
A yoga pose to top it off. It’d been awhile since Shauna tried one of these… she blamed the lack of perpendicular lines on faulty Russian architecture in the background.
Ben – the Napoleon Epic Tour Leader – looks like he is about to be shot out of the cannon.
He was actually orchestrating the final group photo.
Which turned out quite nicely, if we do say so ourselves. 5 weeks is a long time to spend with (previously) strangers. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people. Lifelong friendships were formed on this epic adventure.

It truly has been an epic journey.

A few friends have asked about the numbers of people, how many finished etc., so we spent a little time to tally it up.

    • 22 riders (other than guides) cycled at some point during the 3-stage, 5-week journey.
    • Of those, 4 people always intended to only cycle 1 or 2 stages, and did so.
    • 5 people cycled all the way from Paris to the Russian border: Ruth and Keith Sherrick from Florida, Chris Yeo and Mari Chourre from the UK, and Mike Kennedy from Scotland.
    • 4 of those cycled every possible mile of the trip; Mike skipped the optional loop to the Malbork Castle.
    • Everyone else either left early due to injury (2) or family circumstances (1), or rode in the van at some point due to illness, injury, rain or relaxation… including us.
    • We skipped out on 45 miles on Day 6 when we were wet and cold, before we bought some rain booties, gloves and arm warmers at the next bike shop.
    • Our personal total was 2,250 miles; everyone’s varied slightly – for instance we rode a few extra miles twice to make sure we completed our Century rides.

Our Route

Dylan Reynolds, the owner of Ride & Seek, raced to the Tallinn airport with us. We were all on the same flight and made it just in time for a quick celebration.
A shot from our plane of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, with a population of about 400,000.
Zooming in on old town, the part of Tallinn behind the old fortified walls of the city. We had visited the old city in 2011.
Our group went on to St. Petersburg for a final celebration dinner. Chris and Penny Yeo, avid cyclists from the UK, and the senior members on the trip at 71 and 73, in a memorable pose that reflects the lovely couple they are.
Colette and Richie, our favorite Ride & Seek guide team couple. Well, also the only Ride & Seek guide team couple we have met so far. 😜 But they are so lovely, and we became fast friends.
And a final farewell toast to our new friends and to the EPIC Napoleon Cycling Tour.

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