Tom emailed me last week to tell me he was going to follow an old man on a horse to a hot spring at 3000m. That sounded like my idea of fun so I decided to go to Yerevan and do it. I went to the bus station in Ortachala in Tbilisi at 9.30 am and cycled practically straight onto a Marshrutka (transit van minibus). This dispelled my fears of being able to take the bike in the cramped little bus. I was lucky this time whereas the previous time I had taken a Marshrutka, I had waited for 6 hours for the bus to leave because there were not enough passengers.

Tom, David and I went for a bike ride into the Caucasus mountains of Georgia. I'd been planning it for a while and I wanted to get some proper riding in before the snows descended. Tom arrived on the Sunday but leaving was delayed until Tuesday. To pass the time we decided to build up my new Kona Caldera frame, ate Khinkali (Georgian dumplings) and deejayed in Tbilisi at a cafe at the TV tower.

Bicycle Critical Mass Tbilisi, Georgia for Climate Week

On 24th October cyclists, walkers and skaters gathered outside the Philharmonia theatre in Tbilisi to parade down Rustaveli as part of Climate Week combined with the 'Tbilisoba' or Tbilisi's day- a yearly traditional celebration.

Bicycle Critical Mass Tbilisi, Georgia for Climate Week

On 24th October cyclists, walkers and skaters gathered outside the Philharmonia theatre in Tbilisi to parade down Rustaveli as part of Climate Week combined with the 'Tbilisoba' or Tbilisi's day- a yearly traditional celebration.

Weddings, unlike lightning, strike in the same place twice...

This is the first post in a while to the Ride Earth blog because I've not been cycle touring recently.

I returned via Public transport back from France to Tbilisi  at the end of the summer. I met Tom in Venice and we spent a long and strange evening sleeping on a bench drinking wine with two German girls and a American / Iranian guy. One of the girls had a Georgian name from her ancestry.

Weddings, unlike lightning, strike in the same place twice...

This is the first post in a while to the Ride Earth blog because I've not been cycle touring recently.

I returned via Public transport back from France to Tbilisi  at the end of the summer. I met Tom in Venice and we spent a long and strange evening sleeping on a bench drinking wine with two German girls and a American / Iranian guy. One of the girls had a Georgian name from her ancestry.

Memories from Iran

I wanted to write something more about my experience in Iran. At the time I didn't write much on the blog. But I did write a lot in my diary which will appear in a book in the future.

Some experiences stay in my mind in particular. They started at Agarak, the Armenian-Iranian border. I remember arriving, riding next to the border fence, feeling scared cycling over the bridge of the river signifying the border, the border guards poised with guns on tall turrets. After tentatively pedaling across the 'No man's land', and going through the administrative process, I felt relieved, I had managed to get across the border even though the border officers tried their best to nullify my visa. Perhaps my passport was fake because it said 'Great Britain' instead of 'England' and it also said 'Ireland' which wasn't England either. Anyway, I got through and I had a pant-tearing ride down a wind-tunnel of a valley. Steep pointy mountains. A scary, exotic but exciting place on first impressions.

New Kona Caldera Mountain Bike Frame

On Monday I received a shiny new Kona Caldera aluminium hardtail mountain bike frame from Kona.  They supported Tom and I with our Explosif frames. However, my frame came a cropper in New Delhi when it snapped near the rear dropout (after 16k of riding loaded with luggage). I was able to get it welded immediately at a local welder. I've even been riding the frame off-road for the last 3 months, but I don't trust the weld for holding up with the bike loaded up with luggage.

Long time since I wrote, I know. In fact I've been spending a lot of time in front of a computer. I've been writing every morning and now have written 95000 words of my book. I met one of my sister's friends a couple of days ago who has just finished writing a book she wrote during university, a total of 150000 words. I was very impressed with her ability to be that organised and find somewhere peaceful to write during university! The book is a novel called 'We All Fall Down' and she is sending it to publishers now.

10 things I've learnt from writing a book so far

I'm now 55,000 words into my book's first draft and I've learnt a few things which I thought I'd share:

1. Get up early in the morning to write. e.g. 6 am. I tried writing late at night and got into a counter-productive routine of falling asleep at 10.30 pm, waking up at 2 am and working for a couple of hours - maybe that's your ideal time to write. But I've found the morning to be best for me.


2. Give yourself the chance to write the 'crap first draft'. I was listening to a podcast by Merlin from 43folders.com. Talking about productivity + being afraid of not having the ability to succeed he spoke of an author who always gives herself this chance, and then from that she might craft it down and only use a tiny fraction of the original draft, but in order to get it all out she doesn't restrict herself. No matter what you will write, you'll have to go back and do lot's of crafting and editing.


3. Keep a really tidy workplace - with good lighting, no distractions (and no alternative things that can easily be ventured into).


4. Music. I'm very fussy with what I listen to when I write. Some things have been working and some not. For example, Chopin's piano sonata's, Vangelis's soundtrack to Antarctica, Igor Stravinsky- The Firebird, Mike Oldfield's Music of the Spheres is perfect and Hans Zimmer's The Last Samurai soundtrack. If it goes a little bit too epic, cheesy, choral, floral, frenetic, catchy or whatever then it starts to be distracting.


5. Read, read, read. I'm presently reading A Walk in the Mountains of Georgia by Tony Anderson.


6. Take notes and keep a detailed journal whilst you travel. I kept a journal throughout my journey so far. It's been absolutely vital for remembering details. From reading it back, it triggers further memories, and I'm able to weave the storyline. It's an incredibly rewarding experience as I am able to research further into stories and information I noted at the time- like retracing the route.


7. Look at photos and video. I took a lot of photos so far and the podcasts that were produced at the beginning were brilliant for taking me right back to the moment and what I was thinking and feeling. They have been very useful for writing. After all, a picture tells a thousand words.


8. Don't try to do too much at once. I write for a maximum of 2.5 hours. I'm normally writing from 6.30am to 8.30am. But it depends on the individual.


9. A rest is good. Sometimes it's good to take a couple of days off and come back to your writing really refreshed and enthusiastic.


10. Sometimes its good to plough on. On the contrary, I find it sometimes good to force myself to keep writing, because sometimes you might be being over critical, over analysing. For me, it takes me a short while to get into the zone, so I try to suspend judgement and keep writing until I'm sure I am going to stop.

One more:

I drink tea, not coffee. I drink coffee for websites. Drinking tea is more calming. I don't want my thoughts bouncing around like a pinball machine when I'm trying to string them out on the page.

Delhi to Georgia

After leaving the Iran embassy having been rejected for the visa a second time, I cycled over to the travel agency, and booked a flight to Istanbul. Flying is not the best transport for me because I feel that it cuts out the point of travel which is the adventure of meeting people and having a valuable experience. It is also the most polluting and inefficient mode of transport.

Getting things clear

I've been working a lot on creative stuff recently. My profession is in the field of web design. I've been posting artwork onto the Ride Earth flickr photo album, and other creative nuggets of inspiration and perhaps they don't belong there.

My photos headline on Citizenside.com

I heard about a public-driven journalism website from a friend, http://www.citizenside.com and I uploaded some photos I took of the 'cells' that appeared all over the main street, Rustaveli, Freedom Square and around the Parliament building yesterday morning.

These metal framed cuboids covered in plastic sheeting are housing protesters claiming the president Saakashvili has been wrongly imprisoning people. When I took photos some people were still sleeping on makeshift beds inside the symbolic cells.

I was pleased to see my photos validated by the website and they appeared on the front page getting lots of exposure!  The link to my story is here.

A life without goals is going nowhere

Being in a new location, and having hatched new plans I'm finding myself at that stage of tilling the ground and sowing the seeds to hopefully grow into burgeoning new projects.

Writing etc

Writing is going ok. It's new territory and a new challenge and I'm enjoying it.I have written about a previous adventure before- a mountain bike ride from Inverness to Fort William in May 2006. You can read that account in the earlier blog archives. I feel that my writing then was particularly stylised to appeal to a highly surreal sense of humour, which is my truest sense of humour as a Brit. I intend to include some of this where appropriate but not quite to the same extent because 1. I'd rather be writing more about my experiences, memories and I have more extensive journals this time so less filler and 2. I think it would make some people go 'eh?' e.g. those of the readership who aren't British... (esp. the French).

A new mission

So, I'm hanging up the panniers for a while and I'm living in a flat with Fanny in Tbilisi.

I decided to write up my journals into a book which will cover my journey from England to India and Nepal.

Demonstrations in Tbilisi

I arrived back in Tbilisi in Georgia just in time to witness a demonstration in a similar mould to the one Tom and I witnessed when we arrived for the first time back in January 2008.

50,000 people gathered on the main street, Rustaveli, outside the front of the parliament building. There is a large stage with a banner proclaiming the purpose of the demonstration 'Saakashvili for Resignation'.

Saakashvili has been president since he came to power through the 'Rose Revolution' of 2003. This was the bloodless revolution that displaced president Eduard Shevardnadze.

The reason for the demonstration is because of the Russia-Georgian war that occured in August 2008.

The Paradox of Choice

I watched this today and it really struck a chord. Luckily I think I've worked a certain amount of what he is saying out over the past few years and been able to act on it.

Youtube video: Is cycle touring becoming boring?

In response to a Youtube video: 'Is cycle touring becoming boring'?

Back in Tbilisi- On the lookout for work

"Build it up, tear it down"

"A period of expansion, and a period of consolidation"

How not to get an Iran visa twice

Turn up to the Iranian Embasssy having just arrived in New Delhi and say you want to get a visa.

Tell them your nationality (bad decision if British)

Things I love about Travel

1. Freedom


2. Friends


3. Sharing interests


4. Witnessing reality


5. Challenge


6. Independence


7. Achievement


8. Transferable skills


9. Cycling


10. Serendipity


11. Trusting the process


12. Becoming a better human being


13. Creating a visual representation of my experience through photos and video


14. Hopefully creating something to communicate my experience to others (which is a great reward if achieved)

Holi Smokes Batman!

Last week it was the Holi festival where people throw colourful powder and drench each other with water. I took a cycle ride through the Mehrauli area near the Qutab Minar monument just as the festivities were peaking in the morning.

Arsy Versy

Found on a page about the meaning of vice-versa (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/vice-versa.html)

A similar term, 'arsy versy', has now become archaic. For example, from Richard Taverner's Prouerbes or adagies with newe addicions, gathered out of the Chiliades of Erasmus, 1539:

"Ye set the cart before the horse - cleane contrarily and arsy versy as they say."

Bureau (desk) crazy

I'm not talking about Ikea but the bureaucratic situation I face regarding visas.

I'm in Delhi, I got a Pakistan visa about 2 weeks ago. I had applied for an Iran LOI (letter of invitation - required for the visa, through tour agency Stantours.com for a princely sum) and was waiting for the little code of confirmation to come through so I could go to the Embassy in Delhi and pick up my visa.

Words that make sense, bureacracy that don't

Taskmaster burst the bionic zit-splitter
Breakneck speed we drown ten pints of bitter
We lean all day and some say that ain't productive
That depend upon the demons that you're stuck with

Quoted

"Everyone believes very easily whatever he fears or desires." — Jean de La Fontaine

Photos from Varanasi

 

10 Things i don't do enough of

1. Pursue my music production interests+ meet likeminded people

2. Paint and draw - making art in general

3. Spend time with mum, dad, sister, grandparents, in fact my entire family

Wisdom of the Day

“Every era has a currency that buys souls. In some the currency is pride, in others it is hope, in still others it is a holy cause. There are of course times when hard cash will buy souls, and the remarkable thing is that such times are marked by civility, tolerance, and the smooth working of everyday life.” - Eric Hoffer

Words of Wisdom

"Basically you have to suppress your own ambitions in order to be who you need to be" - Bob Dylan

Frustration

Having arrived in Delhi, I had been wishfully thinking that I would pick up Pakistan and Iran visas again and make my way by public transport back to Turkey.

I left Kathmandu and cycled through the smokey diesel traffic of the suburbs up out of the valley. I was not used to the mountains but glad to be back on a gradient and off the flat.

I arrived last night in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. The country holds great intrigue for me and my initial impressions do not disappoint.

Kathmandu is a relaxed and historical place which, I get the inkling, has a great deal to offer for those who are willing to hang about and dig deeper below the surface chaff of tourist internet cafes, craft, clothes, trekking and book shops.

I was taking photos of a beautiful sunset after a long day's ride when I chanced upon a couple of Hindu nuns who were standing outside their school / orphanage.

Varanasi

Breakfast is required.

Slept in police station last night. Roti and Aloo Gobi - Chappati and fried cauliflower and potato.

India republic day today.

The police had a little ceremony putting the flag up, then ate loads of jelebi (gooey sweets).

I cycled to Varanasi. Whilst getting there was too busy thinking about how great it would be and missed the turning cycling 13 km past it.

Many truck crashes because of the fog which took until 10:30 to clear.

Crazy traffic both human and mechanical!

Donating a bike

Last night, I was taking some photos of an amazing sky and I met two Hindu nun teacher volunteers.

It turns out that one of them walks 1 hour to work each day so I thought she would be a good candidate for a donated bicycle.

Today, we went to a bike shop and bought a Hercules ladie's bike complete with granny basket and rack.

Photos and full story to come.

1. Eat fresh local fruit and vegetables when possible.
2. Get up early (6.30 is a good start)
3. Use lateral thinking
4. Involve people
5. Be sure to record the details.
6. Be polite, respectful and listen in the face of (one or all of, what I may consider to be) hysteria, stupidity, staring, begging, crowding, bad English etc. Basically try not to be an insensitive ****. Try to end meetings with a warm feeling and positive experience having been had.
7. Camp/sleep outdoors where possible.
8. learn a language.
to be continued.

Macho, ego says: 'what if you regret not continuing East?'

My heart says: 'Go back to Georgia and then see what happens'

My realistic head says how? -

3 onward travel options:
1. Nepal, Tibet, China
2. Pakistan, Central Asia
3. Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Georgia

1. = Expensive, painful...
2. = Waiting until May to cross KHH and a whole bunch of (fairly easy to get) visas.
3. = Going back the same way seems strangely sensible (in a lateral thinking 'reversal' kind of way) - e.g. more photos, filming, different routes, following up on my post-travel-pak-iran thoughts.

I must admit I am very intrigued about Pak and Iran and I now view them with less crazed hysterical paranoia having been there once.

Amritsar, through Punjab, Bathinda, to Bikaner in Rajasthan. Then down to Nagour, Jodhpur, and Mt Abu. Onto Gujarat to Amdavad, Surat, and down to Daman and then Bombay.

From Bombay I left the bike and took the train with Fanny to Goa, then we went to Kannur in Kerala, Calicut, and Sultan Bathery near the Muthanga Wildlife Santuary. Onward to Mysore, then Hampi and Gokarna and back to Bombay.

Memory Loss

I was in an internet cafe this morning, feeling crappy and depressed. I woke up this morning with a head full of heavy thoughts about my future travel plans,  feeling worried.

I connected my hard disk to the computer and as what often happens I spent a good hour wrangling with it to try and view files. On newer computers it seems to work fine, whereas older ones insist on throwing wobblies.

Breaking Point

I was cycling through Bombay traffic about 15 minutes ago and suddenly snap- there goes my front derailleur cable frayed into a throng of discombobulated threads.

It makes me reminisce of the gradual process of wear and weakening that lead to the point of fracture.

The bike, somewhere down in my instincts begins to take a living animal existence, and when it breaks, it reminds me that we all erode and age and causes me to confront my own human frailty and mortality.

I intended to get up again at 5 this morning like I did yesterday. However, unfortunately today there was no mosquito to bite me and make me feel a bit strange and thus like getting up. Only my alarm clock which I was able to ignore twice. Eventually at 8 I naturally woke up. I jumped out of my tent which is pitched in the flat to dodge the mosquitos (and prevent me from getting up).

8 Days at an Ashram

I feel a bit like I haven't been telling the full story through the blog in terms of what's been going on. This is mainly because I've had to do everything from internet cafes and time and expense are a factor.

December involved a decision to get off the main highway and spend some time exploring the smaller villages and towns.

On reaching a city called Bharoch I went to look for somewhere to camp down a small road. After pedalling down a quiet road lined with banana plantations and small farmsteads I realised i was next to a huge river. I propped up the bike and gazed in awe at the wide Nermada river and palm forest disappearing in the hazy distance.

I just had a thought whilst uploading photos to Flickr. None of them exist in a physical form. I'm getting high on my own pictures. I think some of them are good but then I would wouldn't I.

France, Brittany – St. Pierre – A Photo Essay

Check out more photography at http://www.andywelchphotography.co.uk