Greetings from Hong Kong
We are off to Georgia – the balcony of Europe – God’s country as the Georgians like to say.
The Georgians were feasting and toasting God just about the time when God was handing out the last countries to the different peoples of the earth – and they ended up, through wine inspired flattery and an apparent miscalculation by God, with the country he’d saved for himself.
They have in return, built a lot of houses for Him, on hilltops across the land.
Georgian Chappel, Mestia, Svanetti
Humans of Ushguli, highest village in the Caucasus and Europe.
There was a massive feast later in the evening with plenty of wine and cha cha passed around in goat horns and people extolling via long and emotional toasts: the country; the God who made the country; the women folk who gave birth and raised the fine people of the country; and of course the sporty cycling portion of those people who were appreciating Gods creation so intimately and up close.
In Georgia, the eating is all done at night time. Breakfast barely exists. One hotel told us that breakfast started at 11am . They growled something about sleep deprivation and torture when we tried to have it brought forward to ten am. We are a cycling company – and cyclists like to start early – but this hotel was suffering none of our attempts to change the Georgian culture.
We BYO plunger coffee and BYO jam for situations like this, as Georgian hoteliers in the deep countryside don’t like foreigners telling them how things should be.
There’s a very very long wikipedia page devoted to all the people who have tried to change Georgia through acts of aggression and war.
Chess is a national obsession.
The Mongols invaded at least 15 times. We know as we did our reccy with a descendent of Ghengis, named after the war mongering Timurlane (ruler of the Uzbek empire), who loved to remind any Georgians he met of the 23 Mongol conquests.
Our guides laughed along with him and called him Goba (their nickname for Stalin, who was a Georgian ).
The Svans off Ushguli however were having none of this.
They live high in the mountains with fortified watchtowers attached to their homes.
Never invaded by a foreign power they shouted at Timor, banging their fists hard on Reza wooden table, knocking over the goat horn, and spilling wine like it didn’t matter.
This is a picture of a modern Mongol (Timor) at the base of one of these watchtowers.
Notice we are all now on the outside.
Hanging outside the watchtower.
And this is the view from where we were sitting – Ushguli with Mount Shikara in the background. Russia lies beyond.
The road onward from here to Lentekhi is the most fun you will have on two wheels.
The pass is only passable in summer, but I do fear it will be paved, making it passable for regular old cars in the next few years.
The road to Lentakhi
Our next trip starts in 4 days on the 29th in the capital Tbilisi and due to a few recent enquiries we are gently opening the door to entertaining the possibility of taking bookings for a ride from August 9th – 20th.
This date is still settling into the idea of being a Georgian odyssey.
Have your say
Special Spontaneity Deal.
We have one car seat spare on this next trip starting on the 29th June which we would love to fill and are therefore offering a MEGA deal of twenty percent discount to lure that one spontaneous, adventurous soul aboard.
Otherwise keep your eyes opened for an upcoming date for Georgia 2020.
Check out www.bikeaways.com where the calendar of rides is right there on the front page.
Links
If you cant make the trip – follow us on facebook where posts will be attempting to emulate these magnum Photographers shooting a Georgian Spring, or on Instagram where upcoming trips are previewed with three evocative and hopefully inspiring photos and a series of convenient posters advertising the dates.
List of Wars Involving Georgia
Magnum Photographers pictures of Georgia
And for those of you who read all the way to the bottom of the page – THIS is one of my favourite musical moments from Georgia.
Sublime Georgian music