Latvia confirms itself as a very creative place for accommodations, with an ex-prison, an ex-hospital and now a sauna!
We also spent one afternoon in Jurmala, some 30km away from Riga and with beautiful and crowded sand beaches.
I was surprise to notice that the Baltic Sea is warmer than the North Sea (currently: 20C vs 17C!) and that swimming in it doesn’t require a long wet-suite.
Back to the cycling part, we left Riga in the late morning and took the A2/E77 highway.
Yeah, driving in the highway is legal here, and it was supposed to be nice for cyclists as well but to be honest it was quite shitty.
The emergency line was OK but every time there was an exit/entrance the bikes were indicated to follow complex paths often ending up nowhere – so after few detours we decided to stay on the highway avoiding cars instead.
Also, the highway isn’t the most inspiring view, but the long uphills and downhills were providing some variety.
In the last 10K we gained elevation reaching Sigulda, a place we heard many good things about.
I confirm that it’s a very nice place.
First of all also this time the accommodation was very interesting: an ex-school! It was so cool that we decided to spend there two nights.
Second, Sigulda proved to be a quiet place with a beautiful nature. On the second day we had a cross-country cycle of about 20 km along the river Gauja, and I was complimented multiple times by Cloudio for my legendary tunnel-vision.
The valley is mosquito-infested so beware!
All the pics:
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