27 May
- 2016 -
Author
Andis Pikāns
2016-05-27
Finally, the time has come! Today we start the expedition for foundation 1836, in which we will conquer 1836 kilometers on off-road motorcycles around Latvia and mark the most interesting roads, trails and spots on the border.
We start on the dam of Mangaļsala and continue to Salacgrīva, where we have arranged accommodation by river Salaca in the home of Fredis’s friend, Verners Lazdāns.
The dam of Mangaļsala or as it is called-the West dam- was built from 1850 to 1861. The construction was supervised by Alexander II, tsar of Russia. There are memorial stones on the dam that were set up during the Imperator’s visit in 1856.
There are parts of the river Daugava coast fortification in Mangaļsala coastal forests and they are under the protection of State. The first sights of Riga that are revealed to ships.
Alfrēds or Fredis, a big fan of off-road riding, has joined me and Renārs in the first part of the expedition and feels like a fish in water on the sandy forest ground. On the way to Saulkrasti we have to pull our rides over train tracks twice, because the trails that could be so great for riding tend to have dead ends. We will not ride on the beach because it is not suitable for auto and moto vehicles. Our Husquarnas are roaring softly, the ride brings joy, and we often sense a scent of lilacs. We take the highway for a short period of time after Saulkrasti, but, after that, we continue to Tūja on beautiful forest trails.
20 km before Salacgrīva, we enjoy a sunset by Red Cliffs next to the sea.
At around ten o’clock in the evening, tired and happy, we roll into the backyard of Verner’s beautiful cottage. Our host has prepared Pilaf. 146 kilometers today.
