Through the north of Armenia

After we had once again subjected the bikes to a thorough technical check in Tbilisi, we were able to continue south again. The exit from Tbilisi worked surprisingly quickly and smoothly on good roads. From time to time we heard light thunder noises, which could not be identified exactly. It could have been distant thunderstorms, rumbling freight trains, or Azerbaijani artillery, who knows. The landscape was unusually barren by Georgian standards up to the border. The border crossing went quickly and smoothly - another new country, another new alphabet! In Armenia, we first drove along the Debed River through an increasingly beautiful river valley. The roads were good, the people friendly and the volume of traffic was low - cycling for pleasure! What immediately caught the eye as a difference to Georgia: there are significantly more vintage cars from Soviet production on the road here. Only occasionally did modern SUVs (often with Russian license plates) interrupt the illusion of time travel. The arrival of autumn could no longer be overlooked, which was also reflected in the increasingly wet and cold weather. We continued towards Yerevan via the cities of Vanadzor, Dilijan and Sevan. What struck us in the settlements: smaller villages are very pretty and well-kept, but the larger cities are in what feels like a much worse condition than in Georgia. Many prefabricated buildings from the Soviet era are waiting for repairs, and combined with the cloudy, rainy weather, the sight was a bit gloomy in places. We were a bit surprised by these quite clear differences between Georgia and Armenia. With regard to the assessment of the current war in the Ukraine, we were also able to determine differences - but in this respect rather unsurprisingly: while sympathies and antipathies are clearly divided in the neighboring country to the north, this is naturally not so easy in Armenia, for which Russia is the protecting power. Russian state television was then running in a living room accordingly... However, young Russians who have settled here were omnipresent in the cities - we also met a man from Moscow on the way, who had even used his touring bicycle over the Caucasus to here. In terms of landscape, the route in northern Armenia offered variety: While dense mixed forests and meadows still dominated up to Dilijan, a wide, bare steppe stretched out again from Lake Sevan. An absolute highlight when cycling to Yerevan: suddenly the peak of the mighty volcano Ararat appeared on the horizon, which rises from the plain to over 5,000 m (16,400 ft). A tremendous sight!

In the outskirts of Yerevan: the three “G”s

During our stay in Yerevan, the current situation in Iran came to our minds. We talked about it with Andi and Simon, two cyclists from Germany over pizza and beer. At the same time, lively discussions also took place in some WhatsApp groups for cyclists. The conversations during Matthias's visit to the hairdresser summarized the situation well: The hairdresser says that Matthias is not the first German bicycle tourist to visit him. To be honest, we would have been surprised. We are many, especially on this route here. His two buddies, who had already traveled to Germany this year, join him later. All three are from Lebanon. The hairdresser advises against cycling there (the Foreign Office too, but they actually advise against anything more than a package holiday on the Moselle...). We talk about the possibilities of continuing the journey. One of the two buddies thinks that we should take Russia. "Soon too cold," Matthias objects (and certain other reasons, he thinks...). "Right," says the other. "Iraq," says the barber. "Only the northern part is really possible at the moment," Matthias objects. "Then only Iran remains," says the third. And is (unfortunately) right. In order to buy time (always works if you don't know what to do next), we first cycled to Goght, a small town south-east of Yerevan. The campsite there is a draw for many overland travelers and a good place to stay. Neighboring towns Garni and Geghard have a lot of sights to offer. The area was one of the easternmost reaches of the Roman Empire and Garni was home to a 1st century temple until 1679, a replica of which can now be seen here. Just north of the temple, the Azat River has uncovered massive formations of basalt columns that offer a spectacular picture. In Geghard there is an Armenian Orthodox monastery from the 13th century, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Next to the main church there is a cave chapel carved into the rock which offered excellent acoustics when a monk sang there.

Nothing is as constant as change of plans

After a few days of back and forth thinking (which for us - by far - represented the mental low point of this trip so far), we decided in Goght not to go to Iran at the moment. The decision was very difficult for us because the security situation for individual travelers in Iran is currently difficult to assess. WhatsApp groups report the arrest of cyclists who appear to have done nothing but ride a bike. In contrast to previous arrests of foreigners, this has not yet been confirmed by corresponding agency reports. Ultimately, we decided not to test this ourselves at the moment. Some or many cyclists certainly still have good experiences in Iran. However, we ourselves cannot muster the assurance to do so at this point. Another reason for our decision was that we like to visit inner cities with their sights, which Iran travelers currently advise against. We didn't want to leave that out. So we are not going to the south of Armenia and then on to Iran. Instead, we took the train from Yerevan back to Tbilisi and then to Batumi. From there we cycled the short distance back to Türkiye, where we took a bus back to Cappadocia (more precisely Aksaray, the southernmost city on our trip so far). We will now continue our journey to the Mediterranean coast and then to Cyprus. From there we want to go to Israel and then cross the Arabian Peninsula. Since all ship connections to Israel have been suspended or abolished, we will unfortunately have no choice but to fly there, which unfortunately represents a mistreatment of the environment and the bicycles (the question is not whether, but how badly the bicycles are damaged). Unfortunately, however, we had to accept that the possibilities for overland travel in Europe and Asia are becoming increasingly limited, be it due to closed borders under the pretext of COVID-19, wars or political crises. It's not a good time for Eurasia. (Absurdly, by the way, with reference to the pandemic, some countries allow entry by plane, but not by land or sea. Hmm, which means of transport can spread diseases the fastest around the world? Exactly...)

About cycling on this section

From Tbilisi to Yerevan: From Tbilisi we followed road No. 6 to Marneuli and then No. 7 to the Sadakhlo-Bagratashen border crossing. The two roads are in very good condition (in some places brand new), but rather narrow, which is why the traffic density between Tbilisi and Marneuli became quite uncomfortable. Watch out for the street dogs: on our entire trip so far we have registered the highest potential for aggression in the south of Georgia. Compared to their Turkish and western Georgian relatives, the dogs here seem to be considerably less "two-wheeler socialized". However, the ultrasonic "Dazer" proved to be helpful. In Armenia we followed the M6 road to Vanadzor, then the M8 to Dilijan and finally the M4 to Yerevan. The roads were in surprisingly good condition and the traffic was never uncomfortably heavy. A tip for the M4 between Dilijan and Lake Sevan: according to other cyclists, the longer tunnel is very poorly ventilated and narrow. We therefore bypassed it via the old pass road. The additional meters of altitude are worth it: the old road is in a reasonable condition and almost completely empty, as long-distance traffic flows through the tunnel. From Lake Sevan you can then use the very easily passable hard shoulder of the M4 to Yerevan. The small mountain road H3 to Geghard was then also easy to cycle on and never too steep.

By train from Yerevan to Tbilisi, from Tbilisi to Batumi and by bus from Batumi to Cappadocia: In order to get back to Cappadocia (more precisely to Aksaray) from Yerevan after our rescheduling, we first used the night train between Yerevan and Tbilisi. It is best not to buy the tickets just before departure (counter in Yerevan Central Station), because if all the beds are occupied, no more tickets will be issued. A separate bed must be booked for each bicycle, i.e. you pay double the price with a bicycle. In our case, the train staff also instructed us to stow the bikes on the beds (the handlebars had to be adjusted lengthways and the front wheel had to be removed - tools and, if necessary, transport safety devices for the brakes should therefore be kept ready). This also coincides with the reports of other travelers. According to our research, there are currently no advisable alternatives on this route, because it should not be possible to take your bicycle with you in the marshrutkas. The fast train from Tbilisi to Batumi (tickets at Tbilisi Central Station) was significantly more spacious, which made it easier to store all things. Taking the bicycle with you here (as of October 2022) only cost 5 Lari per bicycle (to be paid directly on the platform to the train staff), but we had to remove the front wheels again so that the bicycles count as luggage... Since cross-border buses from Batumi to Türkiye probably require travelers to go through border clearance themselves with their luggage, we simply cycled the short distance from Batumi to the border ourselves. From Kemalpaşa (a few kilometers behind the border) there is a direct bus every day to Konya (including via Trabzon, Samsun and Aksaray; departure in front of the “Lüks Karadeniz” office, tickets online or from the bus staff). The bicycles were stored lying down in the luggage compartment of the bus (excess baggage fee (as of October 2022) 400 lira).