Fontanka ZSD Festival — the best City Bike Festival

During the season, our city hosts several large-scale urban events for cyclists, runners and other athletes. My favourite festival is the ‘Fontanka ZSD’. The idea for this festival came about a few years ago, after the construction of an motorway that connected the southern and northern parts of the city. This motorway is called ‘Western High-Speed Diameter’. This name is usually abbreviated and the abbreviation reads ‘ZSD’.

The central section of this motorway runs over the Gulf of Finland. The views of the bay are magical, especially at sunset. But you can't be distracted by the beautiful views when travelling in your car on the motorway - you have to keep your eyes on the road. Pedestrians, scooters and cyclists are not allowed on the motorway. There is only one day a year when this rule is broken. On this day it's the opposite, no cars are allowed on the track. You can only access the track on a bicycle.

This year the festival was held in May, and it was a great start to the cycling season. In our city March is a winter month, the weather in March is cold and snowy. April is the start of spring, but cycling in April is not always pleasant. The weather is unstable, then warm, then cold again. The paths in the parks are slowly cleared of snow and then take a long time to dry. That's why ordinary people's bikes (not sportsmen's bikes) rest until May, and sometimes even June. The approaching date of the Bike Festival is a great excuse to get your bike ready for the season and get out for a few training cycling.

The cycling route is not very difficult, and people of different ages, with different levels of training and on different bikes take part in the festival. The length of the route is 15 kilometres. At the end of the cycling season 15 kilometres is a short walk, but at the beginning of the season these numbers are perceived differently. The course includes three high bridges and one tunnel.

There were two starts in total, with the first cycle race starting at four in the afternoon and the second starting at six in the evening. The second ride looks more appealing because the views towards the bay are more interesting in the evening. But I decided it was preferable for me to have some time to complete the course. So I opted for the first start.

Cyclists were waiting for the start of the race in a large plaza next to the shopping centre. Several areas were organised to entertain the participants and solve possible problems. There was a bike workshop from one of the city's bike shops - if there were any technical problems, they could be solved quickly.

I arrived early, about an hour before the start of the race, and it turned out to be a very good decision. There were a lot of people wishing to take part in the cycling festival, and having enough time to get into the territory and take a comfortable place was very useful. Finally, the signal to start the cycle race was sounded and the rows of cyclists began to climb up the multi-lane motorway.

The first mass stop happened at the very beginning of the route. Almost every participant decided that they should stay at this spot for a few minutes to admire the views of the bay and take selfies. A little further on, several special photo spots were organised.

Soon the weather started to deteriorate - the skies remained clear ahead, but the rain was catching up with us. Fortunately, the day was warm and the short spring rain didn't spoil anyone's mood. Moreover, the rain was really short - in half an hour the sun was shining in the sky again.

I had set myself up for a long route, but the time flew by. The climb to the last bridge was over. I glanced round the course - somewhere there, at the very beginning, cyclists are lining up for the second, evening start. And all I had to do was head downhill. I stopped briefly at the side of the road to take another look at the panorama of the bay.