It’s too late for the Çoruh

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Bryan Keith

A slow, rotten death that I had the opportunity to experience firsthand.  A mistake and disaster on the scale of Glen Canyon.  It’s over 200km from Muratlı to İspir and just about all of it is or will be flooded.  This is Turkey’s Çoruh River Project that I’ve mentioned previously in this space.  Even though it’s now largely an industrial zone, I was still overwhelmed by the grandeur, magnitude, and beauty of the long, steep, twisting Çoruh River Canyon.  One section (site of the 4th large dam counting from the bottom) goes on steep, dark, and narrow for many kms — reminiscent of Granite Gorge in the Grand Canyon.  I’m not sure if this project has its David Brower equivalent, but many people will die wishing it never happened.

There used to be a wild river in a wild canyon by bryandkeith on flickr
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Fall colors, the military again, and rain: a return to Borçka

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Bryan Keith

I left Tbilisi on election day.  The build-up had been somewhat exciting with marches assembling almost daily in the streets below Kris and Kristen’s 11th floor apartment.  It was a polarized campaign, and happily the Georgians pulled it off fairly well from what I’ve been able to understand.  The ruling party’s out.  The billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, head of the Georgian Dream coalition, will likely be the next prime minister.  I couldn’t get a photo of him so you’ll have to settle for one of his house:

Bidzina Ivanishvilis house by bryandkeith on flickr
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Auto-touring eastern Georgia with my parents

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Bryan Keith

On my parents’ first day in Georgia we went to the tourist information office in the National Museum in Tbilisi to pick up some maps.  As we were getting ready to leave, a woman walked across the foyer smiling at us, gushing, “oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”  It was Emily who my parents knew from previous travels in Spain.

DSCN0138 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Friends in Georgia

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Bryan Keith

Georgia.  My first new country since entering Greece last December.  Finally getting somewhere, I guess.  Thankfully that’s not the goal.  Several people — Snežana, Kris and Kristen, fellow cycle tourists — had all warned me that Georgians were the worst drivers in the world.  “But have any of them cycled in India?”, I wondered.  It can’t be that bad.  Yeah, right.  Imagine the chaos and insanity of India’s roads at high speeds, very high speeds.  It seems Georgian drivers have a death wish and no regard for anyone on the road, including themselves.  It’s awful, the worst drivers in the world.

Not all the roads are bad.  Some big highways have 4 lanes and shoulders — no problem.  Some little highways are littered with rocks, potholes, and cows, forcing low speeds — no problem.  Some country lanes have almost no traffic at all — truly wonderful riding.  However, I felt it was a bit of a miracle to survive some stretches of the busy two-lane roads.  The coastal road between Batumi and Sarpi was nasty, and a ~30 km stretch west of Gori was probably the most dangerous cycling I’ve ever done.

DSCN1628 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Secret agents, closed border, military pursuit, saved by a coincidence

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Bryan Keith

One more tour through Artvin and a quick rest with Ferda in Olimpos.  That was the last of my plans for Turkey.  I estimated three days from Kemalpaşa to Meydancık, not realizing just how big the climbs were.  Aren’t I used to these mountains by now?  Day 1 was a tiring 900m steeply up from sea level.  Day 2 — 1700m, and day 3 — 1800m.  Seriously?!  That kind of itinerary is possible, but not for me, not on a heavy touring bike, not so quickly.

It certainly felt like the tropics here by bryandkeith on flickr
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