Bugs and flies for breakfast

A nice break in the shade of a tree

About having bugs and flies for breakfast, talking with hands and noises, a cow-protection shield, the subculture of touring cyclists, and a lot of wind.

Friday, 15^th of June 2012

Even though we camped in the shadow the temperature inside the tent raised so quickly that we fled outside before 8 am. We packed all our bags, waved goodbye to the horse on the neighboring field and the cows on the street and made our way east. We passed plenty of street stands where the seller offered yellow, yellow-red and dark red cherries, sour yellow and green small fruits, motor oil, hammocks, strawberries, cucumbers, bread, tomatoes, earthenware dishes and many more things. For breakfast we bought some yellow-red cherries and a hand full of the yellow sour fruits on a stand. The sellers tried to talk to us in Russian but we did not understand. We tried to talk in English but they did not understand. So we agreed on the only language we had in common: hands and noises.

Where?

It was pretty hot so we made a lot of small breaks to fill our water bottles, drink, eat and just sit in the shadow. We spend the entire day on the street and in the evening – just in time for the half hour or hour of rain that comes down every evening – we arrived in the town Kutaissi.

Kutaissi City Center

Kutaissi is Georgia’s second capital city and just as Batumi it is full of modern buildings in the center and grey big soviet multistory buildings on the outskirts. With our couchsurfing host Archili we did a lot of sightseeing in Kutaissi and also went to the Sataplia Nationalpark, Gelati, Motsameta and the impressing Promotheus cave.

Archili’s father’ house

One night we went to a little village 25 km outside town, where we ate delicious Kinkali in the garden of a farm house. The garden was full of trees and plants where they grew wine, hazelnuts, strawberries, cherries, parsley, dill, garlic and small yellow plums. Afterwards we drank some homemade wine.

Towards Jurrassic park – did you know it is situated in Georgia?

We left Kutaissi on a windy day. Guess where the wind came from! Yes, as usual it blew directly into our faces, so that we were covered with flies and bugs just like the number plate of a globetrotter’s car. Great – we did not even have to stop to have breakfast, instead it flew directly into our mouths. Yammi!

Traditional outfits right outside Kutaissi

We barely cycled for seven heavy kilometers when we had to stop. Roberto’s gears decided to strike – again. We have had plenty of those small problems so we we are trained in unpacking the bike quickly. But what then followed was new. By Batumi we have had problems with the cluster (the back gear). This time the front chain rings misadjusted themselves.

Street shopping

Many other cyclists we meet have a lot of experience repairing their bikes. Mark from England even took classes to be prepared for everything. We left home with some tools and ignorance. Fortunately bikes work very logically. So we tried out. Moved a screw and saw what happened. Moved another one and tried again. We went on like this for three hours – yes you read that right, three long hours. None of us wanted to cycle back to Kutaissi, search for a bike shop and repeat cycling with headwind. So we kept trying and trying. We did a real good team work and managed to fix the problem. It took a while, yes, but it also raised our self esteem knowing that with enough time we can fix most of our bike parts.

Not far from Kutaissi

On the way to Zestaphoni we met Norbert and Frieda from Germany. They love alpine sports and go cycling for 6-8 weeks every year. We stood on the side of the street in between of a street cow gang and could have a relaxed chat without worrying for the cars. Our cow-protection shield worked perfectly. Both are 63 years old and just came from Iran and Armenia. They gave us the great tip to not follow a small street through the mountains but stick on the main road. Thank you so much! You saved us from sinking in the mud and carrying our bikes through streets that appear more like rivers!

Frieda and Norbert – who saved us from getting stuck in the mud. They are our heroes of the day!

Just another ten kilometers later we meet two French cyclists who started their trip in Bangkok. In front of his bike one of them had a long stick. “For the aggressive dogs”, he explained, “I don’t want to kill or hurt them, I just want to frighten them a little”. Maybe we should get one of those too.

Vincent, Camile and Roberto

Vincent and Camile wore strawhats, flip flops and looked quite casual. Norbert and Frieda were dressed in special cycling dresses. I am happy to see that in the subculture of travel cyclists everything is respected. Whether you cycle 200 kilometers a day or 20, whether you like to sleep outdoors or indoors, whether you go lightweight or carry massive kilos, everybody finds their own style and the way of travel that suits him.

After passing Zestaphoni the 50-kilometer’s-mountain’s ride was said to start. As usual I was a bit frightened. Soon I found out that there was no reason for that. The road was in a very good condition and the hills were never too long. In fact we even cycled downhill a lot.

The perfect camp spot

We stopped in a restaurant to ask for some cheap food to go but then we saw the prices and the river fish in the menu. We were both hungry and willing to find a place to camp soon, so we asked permission to camp at the riverside behind the restaurant. There was no problem at all. Happily we ordered fish, potatoes, onions, a funny vanilla soft drink and a big bottle of beer. It was delicious and enough for both of us and it cost less than 20 Lari (10 €). Camping and use of bathroom included.

What a great day. Hardly 50 kilometer’s cycled but a lot learned. Now there are only a couple of mountains and a piece of flat land till Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia.