I'm organizing a 100 km road cycling trip in Tbilisi on July 20th, 2018 after the Open Government Partnership global summit wraps up. And I want you to come with me.
Here’s what to expect:
- A 100 kilometer “out and back” ride from Tbilisi to Manglisi (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manglisi) and then back to Tbilisi.
- A support van/car + riding guide + water from Geo Riders (https://www.georiders.ge).
- Total elevation gain of around 1,200 meters, or roughly 4,000 feet. I would classify this ride as “some climbing” but nothing crazy or exceptionally difficult, especially with the climbing spread out over 100k. From Geo Riders: “The route is mix going up and going down, left and right, we take 1200 meter altitude up, it's going in amazing nature.”
- A rental road bike (from Geo Riders: “Canyon - Scott - CBT Italia – Giant”).
- We will stop for lunch somewhere during the ride (our guides will sort it out for us). Lunch is included in the cost.
- Exact start/end times are TBD, but assume we’ll leave after breakfast and be back before dinner. And I presume the pick-up/drop-off point will be at one of the main summit hotels; we’ll confirm that closer to the date.
- Cost will be around 100 euros. This includes the rental bike, guide, van support, water, and lunch.
Who this ride is good for:
- Crazy people like me who ride a road bike regularly/way too much and are comfortable with rides of this length/duration (or more).
- Semi-regular cyclists who’ve gone at least 60-70k before and who want to accomplish something new! If you’ve done 60-70k before and are generally comfortable with a bit of climbing, this is your chance to do something great! If you hit your limit during the ride, you can always hop in the van for the remainder of the journey.
- Riders who ride with “clipless” shoes and pedals. This is not an ideal ride for sneakers + flat pedals.
- Riders who aren’t completely anxious riding on roads (as opposed to dedicated bike paths). Once we leave Tbilisi I imagine the roads will be generally quiet. But if you’ve never ridden on roads with vehicles before, this probably isn’t the first road ride you want to do!
Things I don’t yet know (but will confirm before July):
- Whether you’ll need to bring your own helmet or whether Geo Riders can provide helmets (plan to bring cycling shoes + your pedals regardless).
- Whether you’ll need to bring water bottles or whether Geo Riders can provide bottles.
- Whether we’ll receive .gpx files ahead of time for Garmins and other bike nav devices.
I’m pretty excited that this will be a unique and fun experience; when else are we going to have a chance to ride with support in Georgia?!
Interested and want to join? Please email me to confirm a slot/ask questions: nathaniel@integrilicio.us