South Caucasus – Georgian Military Road to Gregeti

Let‘s not talk about the breakfast again, LOL. I set off after 9 a.m. for my daytrip of today. Sunday morning, little traffic. I had one destination for today: ride ip the Georgian Military Road to Stepantsminda in the high Caucasus mountains. Today should be the day with least rain, maybe later in the day. It is located close to the Russian border. The Road playes an important role, up to this day. It is one of the two passes over the Greater Caucasus mountains between Russia and Georgia. The Georgian Military Highway is a historic 200-kilometer (124-mile) mountain road connecting Tbilisi, Georgia, to Vladikavkaz, Russia, across the Greater Caucasus range. It is linked with the control of Imperial Russia over the South Caucasus in the 19th century. Currently it is the only open Russian border post in the South-Western part of Russia.

The first part was a motorway, later a good country road. With higher altitude, road conditions got worse, of course, but were acceptable. I feel that the XBR is running too rich again, like she did during the last trip, inclusing on the Transsiberian Highway. With rising altitude this gets worse. It can‘t be a dirty air filter anymore, so the only conclusion is the the carburettor jet is a bit too large. Well, I‘m not in a hurry, I apply a very relaxed speed, altough the decreasing power at higher altitudes was very noticeable.

First I rode in a river valley with lofty mountains to the sides. Then the mountains got higher and higher. The beautiful views got more and more.

At 40 km from the destination, I passed an enormous new bridge leading into a huge tunnel that was not yet open. I deduced from a sign with many Chinese characters that this was probably a Chinese project of the ‚New Silk Road‘ programme, provinding a shortcut to the alpine mountain road with some hairpins that was in front of me. You can see the importance of this North-South connection when you study the truck numberplates: Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Armenia.

Slowly, the XBR and I were fighting our way up until we reached a large ski resort (Gudauri) that seemed to be very popular also in summer. Just like a French ski resort, just somewhat less fancy. I wondered what the altitude was so I checked the GPS….oh, 2200 m! That was higher than expected, no surprise the XBR was panting so much. Higher and higher went the road until it peaked at 2390 m and lead down to the valley in which Stepansminda is located.

I stopped more and more to take pictures, the decision to avoid any stops was right, the weather would change so let‘s enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. In Stepansminda, I took a turn and ascended the small road to the highlight of the day: the Gregeti Trinity church at an elevation of 2170 m, dating from the 14th century. Probably one of the most iconic sights and attractions of Georgia.

I parked the XBR and visited the complex, surrounded by hordes of tourists. When I returned to the bike, it started to rain. Perfect timing. Let‘s get out of here, there was blue sky to the south. I crossed the Jvari again, the rain had stopped. So did I to take some pictures. Not far down, I stopped at the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument that is a large round stone and concrete structure overlooking the Devil’s Valley. Inside the monument is a large tile mural that spans the whole circumference of the structure and depicts scenes of Georgian and Russian history. The views are spectacular.

I filled up in Gudauri to have peace of mind for the rest of the day. I rode down the hairpin road again, feeling a bit like in the Alps. Down in the valley, I passed a signed;;;;and turned around. What? Hofbräu beer in Georgia? Munich’s best beer in this surrounding? I need to investigate this. The place looked 100 % legit, perfectly original like a Bavarian beer place; This must have been installed by the brewery itself. The menu hosted mainly Georgian food, but that was all right. I ordered a small beer and something small, just some sausages…which turned out a enormous portion, Georgia style. But the beer was excellent, just like back home. They even matched Bavarian grumpiness perfectly.

I checked the weather app…oh! I’ll be riding in the rain later, let’s get going. The only stop I permitted myself was at Ananuri castle. The view over the dam lake is quite something.

Soon, the rain started with some 40 km to go. To my surprise, the was a huge traffic jam for no obvious reason. I man, huge. I rode for 10 km along the standing car and continued when the queue extended to the motorway. Sunday afternoon return traffic? The remaining 25 km to Tiblisi were also very slow. While filtering, I noticed some strange vibration from the back, hmmm. Only the last 7 km went at a normal speed. Back at the hotel, I checked the back of the bike….whoa! The swingarm had a lot of play8 This is not possible! Could the famous Emil Schwarz bespoke bearings have caved in?? I could see the axle move a bit….wait a minute….I picked the spanners and tightened the nut….now, fixed! Phew, that was a close shave! The wheel seemed all right now. Good.

Back in the room I had to plan the next days and the visit to Armenia. I checked the weather situation and the places to visit and the accommodation options. In the end I will do the same thing again: ride to Yerevan, reserve one day for a city trip and one day for a road trip to the eastern part of Armenia. As I was still pretty full from the sausages, I just wanted something small. It was already late so I chose to go to a wine restaurant next door. I ordered a missing Georgian dish, probably the signature dish of Georgia called Khinkali dumplings. The accompanying red wine was excellent. Guess what, I thought it was a snack, but the plate was pretty full.

Tomorrow I will enter Armenia.