Difficult bike touring in Georgia and Turkey.

Climbing a mountain in East Turkey enjoying a beautiful view.

Difficult Bike Touring

Arriving in Tbilisi, where my adventure pauses for winter, the only emotion I felt was relief. Relief simply that I had survived the past two weeks. The past two weeks were by far the toughest of the trip, challenging my resilience and mental strength from the moment I woke up until I grinded out the last pedal stroke of the day. 

My photos and words could never accurately demonstrate the challenges and difficulties I went through, and will have an entirely different meaning for me, but I hope, to some extent, this post shows some of the difficulties lying beneath the facade of remote and beautiful landscapes.

 

Difficult bike touring.

After hardly any punctures the entire trip, they became a daily frustration. The roads were covered in metal debris from blown-out lorry tires. I nearly ran out of repair patches!

A cold difficult morning and a puncture.

Waking up to discover a puncture. The cold made the rubber stiff and very difficult to fix. 

A foggy morning on the road.

In the south of Turkey, I had repeatedly been warned it was going to get cold up north. ‘Good’, I’d nonchalantly replied each time as the 35°C heat continued to sap my energy.

A very cold and difficult bike touring selfie.

I had under-estimated just how cold...

A cold night camping with frost on tent.

Waking up one morning to a thick frost. I even had to wait for my zip to thaw out before I could open it.

Frozen bike helmet made it difficult bike touring.

Not a helmet you want to put on!Frozen bike handlebars.

Brrrrrrrrrr...!

Difficult bike touring road is steep with lots of switchbacks in Artvin, Turkey.

The cold weather came at the same time as some big mountains! I had many horrific steep climbs to tackle...

Steep roads made it difficult bike touring.

... that just went on...

bike adventure with a very steep road and lots of switchbacks in Turkey.

and on...

Steep road made difficult bike touring with lots of switchbacks.

and on!

Nomad walking through mountains of East Turkey.

Where was this man going?

Triumphant but difficult bike touring in Turkey.

Feeling victorious tackling some steep mountain roads!

Steep and difficult bike touring in mountains of Turkey.

Yet another painfully steep road!

Cold and snowy mountains of Turkey made it a difficult bike touring adventure.

I rose to some high mountain passes covered in snow.

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I was super remote, really in a different world.

Difficult bike touring at the top of the mountain pass in Turkey.

Reaching the top of mountain passes brought a huge sense of relief...

 

Very muddy roads made it difficult bike touring.

The roads were often woefully atrocious.

Puddles and potholes spanning the very remote road in Turkey on the bike touring adventure.

Sometimes impassable.

Feeling triumphant after difficult bike touring to the top of the mountain pass in Turkey.

But the sense of achievement,

Beautiful valleys and mountains for bike touring in Turkey.

Beautiful valleys and mountains for bike touring in Georgia.Beautiful views,

 

Friendly sheep farmer in Turkey.

and the warmth of people like this farmer,

Friendly hospitable and generous people on this adventure.

These builders,

Friendly and generous families selling fruit at the road.

Or this family, are what kept me going through the hard work.

Language barrier adventure when travelling in Georgia into McDonald's

Then I got to Georgia, and the language barrier became a challenge! This is the McDonald's menu!

 

If you managed to read it this far, here is a video for you to enjoy of a traffic jam in Georgia. It's rather unlike what I was used to.

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2 Replies to “Difficult bike touring in Georgia and Turkey.”

  1. Hey Josiah!

    That few last weeks were indeed a challenge. Make me believe that winter must be ride somewhere else more south and near the warm beaches… very inspiring trip mate ! Thank you… hope you will let your British life to join me somewhere i am starting tomorrow with Eric but he will 3eave in Athens back in NYC

    1. I think you’ve got the right idea absolutely! Who knows, maybe our paths will cross somewhere warm!

      So happy you acted after our meet and our starting on your own bike trip! Go and pass on that inspiration and have a great adventure! Can’t wait to hear all about your experiences!

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