On the crossroads of civilisation – Georgia, mountains to coast
Bike Touring Collection by Manivelle
5
Tours
21:00 h
273 mi
18,725 ft
Born from a longing for the mountains but from a desire on the other hand, from an acquaintance, Tamara, music teacher, pianist, Georgian, in love with her country who one day told us, if you're curious, you have to "discover Georgia".
So in the company of Alain Puiseux for edition 19 of the magazine '200', we took a flight to Tbilisi and then crossed Georgia to Batumi, by land and on the most beautiful, high roads – some of them felt like they've never been ridden before.
From small roads winding around summits softened by the winds, to gravel paths straddling the valleys, this trip will remain engraved in my mind as one of the most wonderful that I have been able to achieve, defined both by the immensity of its nature and by the kindness of the people there.
if you need it, depending on the season, you shouldn't be too picky when it comes to allowing yourself the relative comfort of taking a hotel, if it can even be called that!
We chose the month of October to celebrate a certain tradition of winter travel (ok, pre-winter ...). At this time of the year, there is less tourism than in the summer, and above all a period of transition where things in life seem more raw, more beautiful, like a last breath before protecting oneself once and for all. With the snowy period too, it's a good time to discover the true nature of a country and its inhabitants.
In this Collection you'll find the complete route and notes, so now it is your turn to discover this region at the crossroads of all civilisations.
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Last updated: May 25, 2022
Tours & Highlights
- 06:2356.0 mi8.8 mph7,500 ft4,150 ft
Tamara, the technical advisor, translator and georgeo-Auvergne mother from Samshabati, advised us on a route. She became our mom for a trip.
Georgia is as big as Switzerland. It is shaped like a rock horse without legs, or a wedge sunk to the ground and horizontal under the club foot of Russia at the…
by Manivelle
- 05:3158.2 mi10.5 mph3,800 ft3,050 ft
At the end of the climb, a pass, its transmission antennas and another plateau, another valley, very wide. The one that took us to Tsalka Lake. Served by rare perpendiculars to the main road, increasingly rare villages, and increasingly poor. On our right, the white barrier of the Greater Caucasus and…
by Manivelle
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- 02:5745.4 mi15.4 mph975 ft3,400 ft
We arrived in Akhaltsikhe in the afternoon and a valley later, in a beautiful winter sun. More gorges, a castle near a confluence, where the blue smoke from the chimneys seemed to have always been at home. The Ottoman fortress of Akhaltsikhe dates from the 12th century, it was renovated in 2012 with…
by Manivelle
- 06:0952.5 mi8.5 mph5,500 ft5,100 ft
Outside, near the railway tracks, the cold and the night invade the street. From the walls of the fortress yesterday, I saw the valley we are going to take, trying to guess the pass that awaits us at 2000 meters above sea level, at the top of an unpaved road. It was still closed by snow yesterday. Tamara…
by Manivelle
- 61.1 mi-- mph975 ft4,575 ft
We are invited to eat warm, in the kitchen. In the morning, we will just have to let ourselves go down to the sea, and Batumi, on an endless false flat. All we have to do is find this plague of traffic, all the way to the seafront and its cycle path.
Families of Russian tourists take selfies on an electric…
by Manivelle
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Collection Stats
- Tours5
- Distance273 mi
- Duration21:00 h
- Elevation18,725 ft
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