Cycling in Estonia

Well, we've finally managed it - we're doing some cycling around in Estonia. We met the very helpful people at City Bike, who have provided us with some rather flash bikes, and advice to spend our time riding around the island of Saaremaa. Usually they organise a route, and suggested accomodation along the way, but somehow we've managed to dodge most of their good intentions, and we're now winging it around the island. They helped us book the first night, which was very handy as most of the people at our bed and breakfast don't speak English!

After getting our bikes and leaving City Bike richer by about 35kg of our luggage (we seriously owe those guys), I managed to get us lost in Tallinn for the second time in as many days, before Ro navigated us to the bus station. The bus driver was a bit non-plussed by our bikes, declaring that 'We have a seriouuuus probleeeem'. However, a decade of travelling to downhill races in inappropriate transport meant that I soon had the bikes stashed. The bus driver may have even smiled a bit.

We got off the bus at Virtsu, before getting on the ferry (or more precisely, in the loading lines for the ferry, not the best place to perform the reverse of my disassembly trick. I think I saw the bus driver smile again...) However, after that it was all smiles. The ferry was smooth and new (I think we just saw a news item saying that it just started service, but maybe they were just putting a red rope on it - my Estonian is pretty poor), and we started following the signposted cycling route once we got off. The islands of Humu and Saarema are picturesque and unspoilt, as well as being delightfully flat.

We're spending tonight at a beatiful bed and breakfast in Koguva, an historic fishing village. The houses are still thatched around here, and apparently most of the residents are descended from the original inhabitants. The cycling holiday is starting well!