Day 150: Tbilisi to Gori

Liverpool 4 – Barcelona 0

Let’s face it, nothing gets bigger than that today. I’m normally the pie eyed optimist, but I didn’t see Liverpool keeping a clean sheet against Messi and Suarez… and scoring four goals. Over the moon – Champions League final here we come again.

Our little apartment in Tbilisi was a house full of character. Squeezed into a corner plot, none of the rooms were rectangular and it had a lovely quirky feel to it. It even had a courtyard in front perfect for storing the bikes.

We headed off to the bike shop in the morning to pick up Tiger’s bike. Lado from Velo+ had driven his scooter over to the Georgian Cycling Federation to pick up the new derailleur and the mechanic had it fitted and running smoothly in no time.

Lado and his mechanic really saved our trip - getting us back on the road again so quickly

It was almost midday by the time we were riding – but we were still pretty determined to do a full 80km day today as we have a ferry to catch on Monday, so we can’t get too far behind schedule. We rode out of town before we stopped for lunch, bread, eggs and tomato that we’d bought yesterday, and found a lovely spot by the river to eat it.

Picnic spot by the river

…plus shade for the bikes. The perfect venue.

Then it was grinding time. The road was steadily climbing next to the river, and the villages got smaller and smaller. Soon we were out of the trees and on windswept grasslands and, for once, the wind was behind us.

There’s still signs of some Soviet architecture, even in some quite rural villages.

Rolling green hills, the perfect temperature for riding, a smooth road and a tail wind. Champagne cycle touring today.

There was hardly any traffic too - so we got to block the road and take a picture

Some of the hills were pretty steep. I swear this is a real photo from a flat camera!

It’s a mystery to us why the water supply is all above ground. It seems it’s more likely to freeze in winter and looks awful. I’m sure it’s easier to maintain, although many Georgian villages are only recently getting 24/7 water supplies. Anyone know why the pipes are in the air?

Finally, around 5pm, we made it to our guest house, and were served a selection of home made wines and spirits to try. The perfect end to the day!

Our guest house and our host, George.