Zig zag course through Georgia

Location: Tblisi
Km on the clock: 5,953
 
I was super excited when I entered Georgia. I was ready to see something new after cycling across Turkey for roughly six weeks. I pedaled along the road to Batumi. Small rinsing waterfalls dripped down the mountains to my right, the silent Black Sea was to my left and cows crossed the streets constantly so that I had cycle in slalom. I turned left, passed the Airport and followed the cycling lane on the promenade alongside the Sea into the city until I reached the Alphabet Tower.

Approximate scribble of my route

I checked into M55 hostel in the city center. Throughout my trip people told me that Batumi is known for its casinos. "It's the Las Vegas of the Caucasus", they said. Well, I'm not a gambling person but now I was excited to see and experience it.

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I found a casino which demanded only a 20 Euro buy in. Many others asked for 100 Euro and above. Although I won a couple of Euros on the casinos penny slots, I lost my whole credit throughout my stay. However, I wasn't really sad about it because as long I was gambling I was allowed to eat from the buffet and was able to order countless drinks. That was a pretty good deal to me. The few Euros that I won I donated into my fundraiser to equip school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan.

From Batumi I cycled a zig zag course on country roads through the green and mountainy country. Climbing up the road to Okatse Canyon was the first bigger challenge but I got rewarded with some amazing views in the end. Here I got a first idea what it means to cycle through the Caucasus region.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Okt 19, 2019 um 2:01 PDT

It was a Sunday when an ATM in Khoni ate my credit card. I was devastated since I didn't have any more cash in my pocket and had no clue what to do. All I wanted to do in this moment was to smash the ATM. Guga, a local guy, realized my desperation and invited me to stay with him and his family for the night so that I could try to get my credit card back the next day. Tamu, a friend of Guga who speaks fluent German, helped me to interpret at the bank managers' office and luckily I got my credit card back. Thank you guys! That was amazing! Khoni people are the best! ;)

Via Kutaisi I made my way to Katskhi to visit its famous pillar. I climbed up a misty mountain road and passed numerous cow herds that grazed on the lush green meadows. I turned into a rocky road which soon turned into a mud path. I left my bicycle behind and hiked the last few hundred meters to the Katskhi Pillar which is for sure a unique sight. A single monk lives in the small Georgian Orthodox monastery complex on top of the 40 meters high cliff.

Cycling through the mountains in the Imereti region was challenging. Outside of Chiatura I pushed up my bicycle up a road with a 14 percent incline. It got off my bike and slowly hiked it up the mountains as it was drizzling.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jun 9, 2020 um 10:25 PDT

At sunset I arrived at a village community center and asked the guys who hung out on the patio if there's a hostel or a hotel nearby. Only one of them spoke very little English. He was a bus driver and told me that his Friend Rezi would like to invite me to stay with him and his family. They helped me to load my bike into his mini bus and drove a few kilometers back the direction that I just came from. We arrived in a village, walked into a backyard and entered his cozy house. His mother and brother welcomed me, offered me chair near the oven which created the center of the living room to warm up and to dry my wet clothes. Their cat snoozed under the oven. His mother created a feast for dinner. I got a huge portion of fried potatoes and beans. There was also fresh bread, cheese, tomatoes and a big pitcher of grape juice on the table. For dessert we had delicious walnut dish and a few glasses of homemade wine. It was delicious.

I expected to place my sleeping bag on the floor in the living room which would have been more than fine but got offered a bed in their guest room. Thanks again for your incredible hospitality.

Rezi's friend, the bus driver, offered me a ride to the next town in the morning. I gladly accepted this offer and we loaded my bicycle again into his mini bus. Loud music resounded out of the speakers as we bombed over the curvy mountain roads.

From Gomi I continued my way to Gori - Joseph Stalins place of birth. Guided tourist groups came out of the Stalin museum, strolled around his house of birth and the Stalin statue. It felt bizarre to me that this house still exists and especially that there was statue of him. There are estimations that 20 million people died under his dictatorship. That made me wonder how it would be perceived in the western world if Hitlers house of birth would still exist in Austria and if there was even a statue of him? I've a feeling that would be more than controversial.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jun 10, 2020 um 10:19 PDT

Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, lays on the banks of the Kura River and the Kartlis Deda (Mother of Georgia) towers over the city. I stayed a few days in a hostel in the old town. Some modern architecture is blended into the cityscape, artists played traditional music or tried to sell their works on the streets and the many restaurants, bars and cafes make it easy to have a good time here.

I met Lukasz, a cyclist from Poland. Together we went to the national stadium to see a football game of Dinamo Tbilisi. To our surprise we got the tickets for free. Thus we got to see Tbilisi win against Torpedo Kutaisi in a nearly empty stadium. I really liked Tbilisi. It's a great place to visit. The entire county is an amazing place to travel. I'll for sure come back in the future.

After a few days I finally held my Iran visa in my hand. It was already my second attempt to get it. So I was more than happy to have the chance to visit the old Persia soon. I left Tbilisi the next day and cycled in direction south to the Armenian border.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jun 11, 2020 um 10:57 PDT

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