Tying all that camping gear to the back of a 600 cc bike was a challenge without my well-used Rokstraps from home. But after a hardy breakfast of scrambled eggs and salami, black Lithuanian bread, lingonberry jam with milky white farm cheese, and some smoked meat that was identified to be “wild bore and some other stuff,” I was off.

Having visited Latvia in the past, I made up some time by running up the Via Baltica, a well-paved and heavily travelled road connected the Baltic States to the rest of the EU. It’s a good road with a half-lane on each shoulder to be used for bicycles and as a “being passed” lane. Having seen this in some other countries, I took advantage of it to make time. As you approach a car or truck from behind, they move half of themselves into this “mini-lane.” You then have the middle of the road to pass and if you don’t time it quite right and approaching traffic apears, they too pull over into their “mini-lane”. The pass is executed, everyone stays alive, and most folks don’t give it a second thought. 

Latvia has a very long and beautiful coastline along the Baltic and I found a nice secondary road that traveled along the sea past campgrounds, evergreen forests, and rustic summer homes. The smell of balsam, fir and pine filled the air. It was beatifully clear and unseasonable hot. I crossed into Estonia at a small village where the remnants of the pre-EU border outpost still stood as a reminder of those early post-Soviet years when the Baltics fought to re-establish themselves as ethnic and political nationalities.

Evergreen forests are an important part of Baltic identity. Many years earlier, the Russians clear cut much of the old growth forest in these little countries. Later re-forestation often relied on fir, pine, spruce, larch, aspen and birch to create large open forest areas. They also happen to be the perfect habitat for wild berries and mushrooms. Cars — sometimes as many as 40 or 50– can be found parked along the road, as families wander the woods with their baskets collecting arboreal treats. These are treasured and taken home or sold at the roadside for extra cash. I had left with six hard-boiled eggs, some bread and two cucumbers so a stop for a basket of berries was not part of the program.