It took me 16 days to travel around Latvia and I covered 2761 kilometers, though the actual length around Latvia is around 1866 kilometers, I went more inland and even at one point crossed the border and was outside Latvia. It was my summer vacation and I wanted to make the best out of it, and I succeeded! This was my best adventure so far! Here’s how it all went down.
Preparing and planning
To be honest I at first I was planning a road trip abroad but since covid had its own plan then I was stuck inside Latvia and unsure whether the borders would be open by the time when I’m ready to go on an adventure, so I decided on the safeties thing – travel inland. Traveling around Latvia was on my bucket list and I guess this was the best time to do it.
It’s not a long distance to travel, 1866 kilometers can be done in a week, hell, it can even be done in 3 days but that’s not the way how I travel. I like to take things slow. I don’t like waking up early, I don’t like or want to ride many kilometers in one day, I don’t want the rush and stress. This is my vacation and I want to rest as well before jumping back into my day job, btw my day job is in front of the pc screen and brain muscle is needed, so that’s why I like having my vacations away from that.
The route was simple, clockwise around Latvia’s border. The first thing that I did was open Google My Maps and I started marking interesting points around the border. I marked a lot of old military objects since Latvia is filled with them and I’m interested in them as a military person myself. I marked a lot of historic places and even asked my friend historian to mark a couple of places because he had already ridden around Latvia in 2016.
I marked beer breweries and pubs/taverns so that I could tase different meals and beverages. Of course, I marked a lot of museums, scenic places, and interesting objects and I ended up with a map with a lot of points. I knew that I’m not gonna visit all of these points because then I would need a whole month for this trip. So that’s all I did, I did not create a road map because things change when you’re on the road and the best option is to head from one point to a different and plan the route on the spot depending on where you wanna go. You can read more about my planning in a different post: Planning to ride around Latvia.
Getting support and sponsorships
Before setting out on this journey I did a full gear upgrade not only on my bike but also on my kitchenware and outfit. I reached out to some of my friends and brands that I wanted to bring along with me and these people and business owners were happy to support me on my journey by providing me with much-needed equipment. So, my suggestion here is to reach out to your beloved brands and if they’re interested in your story and journey they might just sponsor a product.
With Richard from Greasy.lv With Pifs, my friend who gifted me a more than 2000 year bog old oak wood cutting board My friend and mechanic Kārlis, who prepared Bruno (my bike) for the big adventure 
With Rihards, a blacksmith who crafted my unique chefs knife, the handle is from the same 2000 year old bog oak tree 
My OUTDURO stickers made by Andris from 55art.lv Packing all night before setting out on my adventure
Upgrading accessories on my BMW G650 xChallenge motorcycle
I upgraded my motorcycle with a couple of accessories that would help me battle the elements and would also make the ride more pleasant.
- My mech made a custom kickstand with OUTDURO logo on a larger plate so it wouldn’t sink in soft ground.
- Added SW-Motech hand guards for extra protection
- Oxford heated grips. Even though it’s summer, it gets cold real fast when you’re wet.
- Ultimate Addons Samsung S8 Phone Case. I used two phones, one phone was for navigation and the other for everything else.
- Waterproof and dustproof light switches from SW-Motech.
- Custom-made luggage plate for my Enduristan Tornado 2 Pack Sack
- Kriega fork seals.
- Fiskars knife with sheet, attached within reach.
- SW-Motech Auxilary lights.
Custom OUTDURO kickstand SW-Motech hand guards Oxford heated grips and Ultimate Addons Waterproof Phone Case Water-proof light switches Custom luggage plate Kriega fork seals A quick DIY Fiskars knife sheet attachment SW Motech auxilary lights
Travel alone or in a group?
At first, I thought I would travel alone or maybe max with 2 or 3 other friends but I ended up attracting many people not just from my club “apPasaule” but also my friend historian who was a great addition since he could tell more about the history in an interesting place.
I like to travel in groups but it’s a lot of work and a bit of stress when you’re the one leading the group because you have to think about things like complexities of a route because some riders are less experienced than others and this also creates a bit of pain for those who are more experienced. You also have to think about more stops for food, water, gasoline and so on. You also get a lot of questions like when is the next stop, how long are we riding, where the hell are we? So you kinda start feeling like a guide and it puts a chore on you.
But then there is the good side of traveling in a group. There’s more joy when you can share it with the group. We called our selves team even though some of us rode together for the first time. It was the ups and downs that we went through that bonded us closer to each other and made us better friends. It made the evening experience cooking camp meals together more interesting when everyone’s involved and this brings us to my next big thing – preparing your own meals.
Women are more caring, so it’s always nice to have them in company, someone who looks out for you when you have a boo boo injury on your hand 
My friend Jānis, who’s always been by my side in good and bad adventure times. Taking pictures in a group is more tedious Duo adventures both with a Lelde And duo adventure with Mārcis With Nauris and Paula
Motorcycle rider with a kitchen set
Making food over a campfire is one of my favorite things so that’s why I brought along with me a whole kitchen set that included a cast iron pan, a smoker, a waffle maker, a large pot, a cutting board, plates, bowl, knives, spices, and other kitchen utensils and things.
The best thing about having so many kitchen utensils and traveling in a group is that you can share the love of making food together and thus bond with each other. This is exactly what happened in this adventure. Since people joined and left frequently and I was the only one to ride the whole distance from start to finish then I had to quickly bond with new companions for me to have a good time with them and I found that making food was the perfect way to do it.
At first, everyone was a bit shy to involve in the food-making process, just asked me if I needed any assistance and so and of course I gave them tasks to do it but it quickly turned to people making ideas about what food we could make next or what way we could prepare the food and even at a level where I’m barely off my bike and my kitchen bag is already open and everyone is working together to prepare a meal.
This is what I would recommend to all motorcycle riders who have luggage systems… take more food-making tools with you, learn how to prepare a new meal together with your rider buddies. Use the advantage of a motorcycle to carry more than just a gas stove, a pot, and a spork. Don’t settle for noodles. You’re going on an adventure! Why not prepare an adventurous meal?
A smoker from MUURIKKA can smoke your fish And also smoke any other meat Fresh smoked fish is the perfect snack with beer Burgers is the easiest food to make while travelling on a motorcycle, in this case it’s lamb meat burgers Sometimes you’re out of luck and have to snack on whatever you have with you. In this case a can of meat, bread and beer. Always keep dehydrated food rations somewhere in the bottom of your bag. That’s a great backup meal.
Food at the cafes, inns and pubs
Another goal of this around Latvia motorcycle ride was to taste the food in local cafes, inns, pubs and being guests in friendly places that took us in and prepared meals for us. So every morning we cooked our own breakfast but for lunch, we would stop at the local cafe, inn, or pub whichever was closest to the route. We also had separate points that we pre-scheduled and arrange with friends to take us in and have them prepare a meal for us.
Such occasion was when we were in the northern part of Latvia, where my friends hunting collective friend took us in and prepared a game meat stew.
Latvian traditional cold soup in (cafe “Cambuse”) Latvian traditional cold soup at friends inn (Z/S Kalēji) Shashlik in Latgale (Guest house “Citrons”) Two big pork chops (Taverna) Hamburger 6/10 (Cafe “Dzintariņš“) Hamburger 7/10 (Pub “Zaķu krogs“ Pizza in the middle of forest (Forest cafe at DabaLaba) Hamburger 2/10 (Forest cafe at DabaLaba) Game meat burger 9/10 (Wild’N’Free meat)
Sights and interesting objects around the border of Latvia
As I already mentioned then at first I created a Google map with all the locations and sights that I found along the border and I wanted to visit. I knew I wouldn’t visit all of them because they were so many but at least would have many different options to choose from based on the mood and that’s exactly why I didn’t pre-plan any routes only separate section that I found that could be interesting because they either go along rivers, lakes or objects that are scenic.
Most of the places I visited were scenic places, lighthouses, watchtowers, historic places from world war I and world war II, and of course many ruins from soviet times.
Minhauzens Beer castle? Lenins head! Hitlers bunker in Latvia! Friendship mound at Latvian, Belarussian and Russian border cross. Big Liepnu hill watchtower, definately the highest I’ve been. Abandoned Soviet fueld depot base that used to store 600 000 tons of fuel for war machinery Old church in a parish called Egypt in Latvia! Sutras pyramid! Smaižu burnt church, the only church in Latvia that is made out of cement.
Battling the elements
Even though it was summer and we’re in Latvia where there is no extreme weather I still managed to get wet, cold, muddy, dusted, and even over-heated. I experienced all these elements in two weeks. Going from extremely hot and dry weather to a lot of rain and one point getting super dusty.
Looks like there’s no escaping rain Two phones make it easier to snap a quick pic and navigate further All that dust! Was following my companion a gravel roads.
In conclusion
Latvia has so much more to offer in scenic sights to see, museums to visit, and history to learn about. I feel like I’ve learned more about my home country and I feel grateful for being born here and having the chance to experience all that this country has to offer but I want to travel further, see more, and experience things that I could never experience here in Latvia, like high mountains, desert plains, and remotes areas.
If you ever travel to our through Latvia then make sure to visit at least some of the points that I’ve marked on the map. If you need a guide or travel tips then feel free to reach out to us and we can arrange something. Also, OUTDURO would gladly invite and hang out with fellow travelers by hosting a bbq & beer party.
Our near future plan is to create more local trails and maps for other local and foreign travelers. These maps and trails would include interesting sights seeing the scenery, objects, museums, monuments, watchtowers, and much more.
