Ashotsk

September 28, 2023

We had a really enjoyable ride today, one of the best of the trip. The weather was perfect and once out of Gyumri there was little traffic and a fairly new road that was nice and wide with a smooth surface. A short ride but it squeezed almost eight hundred meters of climbing in. It started off with a steady climb until the village of Pokrashen where we had a few switchbacks taking us up to just over two thousand meters. After that a drop of a hundred and fifty meters before climbing to two thousand one hundred meters. Then it was mostly flat until Ashotsk. Here we used the last of our Armenian dram at the local grocery store keeping just enough over to pay for our digs for tonight.

The countryside here is quite different to the canyon through which we entered Armenia.

At the dip between the two climbs we spied a very Banksy-esque mural. The message it gives is so pertinent during this turbulent time in Armenia. We have seen so many things glorifying military matters in both Georgia and Armenia that this was a breath of fresh air.

The wide open spaces in this part of Armenia are very reminiscent of the high altitude areas in South Africa. Along with the blue skies that we had today helped make the ride so enjoyable.

We are spending the night in a rude hut built by the Swedish government about forty years ago for cross country skiers. The Russian couple who run it live across the road. They used to be top skiers and the gentleman told me his sons were world champions.

Tomorrow we head for Akhalkalaki in Georgia and will probably spend two nights there so that we can visit the cave city at Vardzia.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 1,696 km (1,053 miles)

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Scott AndersonThis looks like the prettiest ride of your tour.
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1 year ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo Scott AndersonIt was also the least populated so far - another plus!
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1 year ago