It is forbidden to tease people with mouth-watering touring pics and then fail to deliver. No matter what size the mountains are.

Georgia, Caucasus

Georgia Caucasus

Georgia Caucasus

Georgia Caucasus

here in Canada, you still see the odd Lada, but very rare now.. They were sold in the 80s and later, but most of them rust away quite well in our climate and saltiness.
One of my friends dad bought one back in the late 70s, I remember it even came with the "turn handle" to put in a hole in the front bumper and start it by hand. His dad even had it converted to run using both gasoline and propane, had a separate propane tank in the trunk and a knob in the car to switch it from one to the other.

copied Fiats. We also had the little 4x4 Lada's here also, Niva maybe? They also rusted like no tomorrow.

Yes, they also have propane versions in Georgia Some cars to come....

it is interesting how a graveyard style or customs can really give a bit of insight into the culture of a region or country, or at the least show the differences cultures have in this universal human place.
Mexico 2018

That mask is priceless!

and the electric fuse box? ))

2 euros 25 and be very very careful putting your fingers near it.

Sarajevo '84 bobsleigh track

That's pretty cool, unique and a reminder of the mess that place became not so many years after the games.

Tabatskuri lake, no? I put up my tent in the woods on the left. Remember a few serious dog scares coming down from the pass, the one with the military.

yes, such a beautiful place ... we slept in a guest house this time, Armenian family, great people.
coming from the pass there are some serious "kamikaze" dogs!

the first picture with the truck is taken at the north side of Paravani Lake.

Georgia Caucasus, Mountain picture = Zekari Pass, from the flat valley 46km and 2230m climbing.

str, cmaw and others-- it is interesting how seeing someone else's photos trigger one's own memories.

-the electric box clock etc photo makes me remember back in the 80s when I lived in Central America, how the simple cold water showers usually had a simple way to get hot water--there was a basic electric swing type switch to connect a connection to turn on a heating element in the shower head. This was all exposed, wires,contacts and everything, and while standing under the running cold shower, you would reach up above the shower head and pull down the red handle to connect the wires putting electricity to the heating element. It worked and I was never electrocuted, but all this exposed electrics and standing naked in water certainly made you feel vulnerable each time you did it....

- your 46km and 2230m of climbing day -- this reminds of me similar climb days from my past, a bit less altitude but heavier bikes, and now that I am older, I find I feel just as exhausted with half the climbing metres from even just 6 or 7 years ago. Oh well, c'est la vie and that's okay, I just accept doing less and feeling just as tired, it is still great fun though.
Age is also a big incentive to carry less stuff !

-serious dog scare stories, thankfully I do not have too many, but man o man we do remember the scary ones don't we?

Ooof.

These days, age, injuries and general decrepitude being what it is, it'd take a solid set of car keys to get me up that climb.

Beautiful countryside, though. And many of the people look still well-connected to the land and a "simpler" life ... and all the richness and awareness that brings. Much of the urbanized world has lost most of that, for the average person. And we're the poorer for it.

Love the photos str . Keep 'em coming, whenever you think of it.

Most of our social life has become very limited in our moderen world, limited that we are not open to spontaneous encounters, all has to be planed. Not a generalisation of course.
When I tell people here that we have been 4 weeks in Georgia they go: ""what?¿"" but is it not dangerous¿? no, its. not )) its my third time and I always met open hearted people. ""but it looks like a poor country"" ..... No, they are not poor, they maybe do not have the economical power we have, but they live a god life.

Thanks you.

P.S. Abano Pass = 33,5km all off road, 2349m climbing. ))) impossible to do it in one day.

a option is to sleep here, at approx 1800m. took that video in 2019

I am electrician and electric ingeneer )) I saw a lot of things, working now 40years. )) the fuse box behind glass is ok, looks cool. I have seen pictures of the shower you talk about, these showers really look scary ) thinking that you have a shower just under 230V huuuuu

how old are you? if you want to tell. I am 61 now, just go a bit slower. same for my wife, I have habe been and I am still impressed how she went up and up and up ....
tours like these are of course not about distance... but thinking that we did a bit more than 1000km and just under 16.000m climbing with apron 70% off road, hat off to her ))
dogs this time I did really not care anymore, 99,99% of them come VERY FAST and LOUD, but then stop 3m before you. I got used to it, maybe also the dogs got used to some cyclists passing there from time to time ,)

That's what I meant, by the earlier remark. They're living a clearly "connected" existence, in ways the modern, typically-western world simply isn't anymore. The land, community, family, focus on the things that matter (instead of the ever-changing list of trivialities that far too many people have on their 'to-do lists' in many places of the world).