Cycling Moscow’s Courtyards and Lanes
You know a city is not one for two wheels when a few bike racks appearing on the streets is news, as it was earlier this year. Nevertheless, things are changing: every year there are more and more cyclists on the street, and this week Bank of Moscow is set to launch its equivalent of Boris Bikes, docking stations around town where you can pick up a bike for a small fee and drop it off at another spot.
Trying to cycle around a town where a six-lane road is almost cozy is not everyone's idea of fun. But the city is also built on courtyards and small lanes, and can be navigated with but a fleeting contact with the jammed roads and highways.
Cycling on the pavement is illegal, of course, but often advisable. It's a rare policeman who will stop a cyclist, although expect things to change if the fine goes up.
Surprisingly, Muscovites are fairly accommodating to cyclists. Very few shout at them to get on the road, as would happen in the West - perhaps because they understand that if you're crazy enough to ride around the city, then riding off-road is almost acceptable.
This route takes you from the historic area of Khitrovka, near Kitai-Gorod, to Tverskaya.
Khitrovka to Pokrovka
From Khitrovskaya Ploshchad, take the small, rickety road that goes around the square, which is now cordoned-off, until you get to Khitrovsky Pereulok. Then, go into the lovely courtyard immediately on the left. Heading up, you emerge onto Maly Tryokhsvyatitelsky Pereulok. Turn left and continue to the end of the road. Turn right twice to get onto Bolshoi Tryokhsvyatitelsky Pereulok. About halfway up on the left is one of the nicest courtyards in Moscow. Check out the plaque that marks where artist Isaac Levitan lived. This will bring you onto Khokhlovsky Pereulok. Go left, down the hill, past the church and you will see a footpath that winds into Kolpachny Pereulok. Turn left there, and you get to Ulitsa Pokrovka.
Pokrovka to Myasnitskaya
Turn right onto Ulitsa Pokrovka. Before the church, turn left and enter a large courtyard dominated by a two-story building lying in ruins. Once you have circled the old building, wind your way to an arch. Past the arch is a gate onto Potapovsky Pereulok.
One option is to enter the courtyard of the Center for Reproductive Health, just past No. 6, which will get you onto Arkhangelsky Pereulok. This won't help you get to Tverskaya Ulitsa, but it will annoy the security guard there, who barked "Where are you from?" to a passing cyclist.
"England."
"Yeah, I'm from California, how did you get in here?"
Otherwise, keep going along Potapovsky Pereulok, which then becomes Krivokolenny Pereulok. Avoid the first courtyard on the corner, a fond refuge for the local homeless, and take the second, which will bring you onto Myasnitskaya Ulitsa.
Myasnitskaya to Bolshaya Lubyanka
Turn right, cross the street via the crosswalk and enter the arch on your left into a peaceful courtyard. Head for the top right corner, and you will reach a sports area. Take the steps on the right, which will bring you to Bobrov Pereulok, which will then lead you onto Milyutinsky Pereulok. Turn right, then left onto Sretensky Pereulok.
Bolshaya Lubyanka to Tverskaya
Go straight and enter Ulitsa Bolshaya Lubyanka and turn left. When you get to a crosswalk, cross and head down the first road on the right, Bolshoi Kiselny Pereulok, which has very little traffic and is a downhill ride. The reason for the lack of traffic is the two police posts at the start and end of a very serious and ugly building at the end of the street, which houses part of the federal guard service that deals with the president's communications. The guards, unlike those near Potapovsky Pereulok, had no worries about a cyclist going past. It might be advisable to slow down, though.
This takes you into Ulitsa Rozhdestvenka. Cross the road and check your brakes before going down Nizhny Kiselny Pereulok, as it is a steep hill and the road has no top surface. Take the last courtyard on your left, turn right at the end, then cross the road past the City Duma - this is the busiest road you should cross - and head over to Ulitsa Petrovka through the arch in front of you. This courtyard will lead you onto Stoleshnikov Pereulok. Turn right, go straight for a few hundred meters, and you'll be on Tverskaya Ulitsa For the thirsty, there's a new Jean Jacques on the way.
By The Moscow News