to Tavildara: half a restday to regroup - Racpat RTW 2015-2017 - CycleBlaze

July 7, 2016

to Tavildara: half a restday to regroup

"I saw a red cape go around the corner" Rachel says. We are at the police checkpoint at the bridge crossing the river to Tavildara. "Are you Ruskies?" jokes the policeman and he eventually gives us back our passports.

We woke to thunder and rain then wait until the rain lightens up to pack up. This is when it's nice to have the tent we have because we pack up the inner tent completely and leaving the rainfly up to keep as shelter while we fix breakfast of coffee and porridge. The rain stops, we finish packing up and set off.

The road is muddy with lots of waterfilled potholes. We can see two sets of fresh bike tracks and think these must be Will and Jo. There must have been previous strong flooding as many sections of road have been washed out and with the recent rain, streams come down the hillside and cross the road. After days of thinking about riding the right side of the road, today was about finding the best line to ride, helped by seeing which route the cyclists ahead of us took. About 10kms, we crest a rise in the road to a village and see Will and Jo about to set off. They had also stopped here at a shop for a long break. They will continue on past Tavildara, so we might not see them again.

We cross the bridge at Tavildara about 11:30. Turning right at the round about, then up a slight hill to the next round about turning left, we get to a red light at the stoplight. The "pink" hotel is across the street and has a nice courtyard. The room is clean, the toilet and bathroom are downstair, but who cares when there is hot water for a shower!

The afternoon gives us plenty of time to do some bike maintenance, take a decent warm shower, wash our clothes and go grocery shopping for the next couple of days. It is still a bit surprising to have un-interrupted power, but with that and our sim-card we are able to process our photos and update this blog.

This was a much needed break, tomorrow we leave Tavildara at 1600 meters and start up the 3250 meter pass. We will be wild camping on our 21st wedding anniversary. Hard to believe a year ago we were in Gori Georgia.

Roads are muddy this morning, but the sky is clearing.
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Getting ready for another stream crossing. The Keen shoes are perfect for this.
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A bridge was washed away here sometime ago, leaving the village across the river isolated.
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Many spread-out villages line the road. There is hardly any traffic, most people we see are walking.
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Will and Jo passed us sometime last evening. We have been seeing their tracks in the mud and finally catch up to them when they finish a lunch break.
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Rough road.
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Portrait.
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Rough road.
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Girls posing for their picture. They actually ask to have their photo taken.
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Tavildara with a beautiful mountain behind.
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Bridge crossing into Tavildara.
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Our hotel. Nice garden, good food and a photo of the president.
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Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 18,785 km (11,665 miles)

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