Epic bike ride in Armenia

29-30 July

After our relaxing stay in Sandra’s oasis in Goght we have to head back north to Hrazdan.

Unfortunately, we cannot find any attractive alternatives on the map for the route that we already did to get to Goght, so we should bike the whole route in opposite direction. Alternatively, we can get a train from Yerevan to Hrazdan, but the signs aren’t good. Although I find some information on internet, Sandra isn’t capable of confirming the existence of this train, let alone the schedule. We still want to give it a try and book a hotel in Yerevan close to the train station. We go to the station the night before and find a schedule indicating that the train should leave at 8 am, exactly what we expected based on the internet data. However, when we arrive the next day a man seems to warn us that no train is coming (he is shaking his head, which is universal language). The station looks quite shabby and not used for quite a while, so we assume that the train starts from another station in Yerevan (which was the actual information from internet, however, a station with that name we couldn’t find on all maps that we checked). We have no other choice but to ride the whole thing to Hrazdan back, but while doing that we pass by the second station on the line and ask there for information. Surprisingly, there is someone around and he also speaks a word or two of English and he explains that the train only rides from Friday to Sunday. OK, well since it is Monday today, we now know for sure that we will have to bike. And so we do. It is extremely warm that day (38-39°C) but we make good progress. When we arrive in Hrazdan we leave the main road and ride into a valley to find a place to camp and to get closer to the ride of tomorrow. We head for a sporting accommodation that we have found on Google Earth and which should have a swimming pool and enough space to pitch a tent. When we arrive, we are really tired and worn out by the heat and the guardian is happy to let us in. However, to be sure that it is OK he calls the manager and then I know, this is not gonna work. Indeed, the manager does not agree, most likely we do not fit into the concept of his/her enterprise, even though we are rather sportive, but not so spotless as his/her facility. So, we cycle back along the same road to find a wild camping spot. There are actually plenty, along the road a lot of spacious picnic terrains are available, although none of them have a swimming pool. There is one terrain empty and we will soon find out why. We are welcomed by a family and with the aid of Google Translate we ask whether we can pitch our tent, which they confirm. The boy then says: ‘Money’. Well of course we will pay some money, but we soon find out that the lady expects us to pay 20’000 Dram (almost 40 Euro), which in Armenia is the price of a (very) good hotel (with swimming pool), whereas her terrain only has ground, no water, no WC, no shower. The lady clearly wants to take advantage of the situation, but we know that there are enough camping spots, so we leave them alone. 100 m down the road we ask at another picnic site and we are advised to look for a spot somewhat deeper in the side valley. No money asked at all. While we are putting up our tent a man and a lady arrive. What we understand from the conversation is that they have seen us riding back and forth and they guessed we are looking for a place to sleep. So, they ask us to stay with them. Fortunately, not all Armenians are so unwelcoming as the lady 100 m down the road. Since it is too much hassle to get to another place we thank the man and woman for their offer and stay where we are.

During our ride back to Hrazdan we come along a hotel that has never been finished. There are many unfinished projects in Armenia or used buildings that are abandoned and are crumbling down. 

Building on very high legs. It seems to belong to the dam of the lake that is hidden behind the trees. It is unclear to us what the super high legs are for.

The next day we have a bold plan. We want to go to Vanadzor and to avoid even more cycling back on the same road we came, we want to cross right through the mountains via the Margahovit Pass (2628 m), using a road that is painted white on the map. This is quite a risk, because we have hardly any information on the condition of the road, apart from one description on internet on a MTB Website that says that it is the best MTB trail in Armenia. We have also calculated that the average steepness is 8.5% and the altitude difference up and down is 900 m. We have quite some experience now with rough roads, but this one turns out to be our biggest challenge so far. It starts out relatively easy (but steep), but after a while the road becomes more and more rough. After a stony and rocky stretch, we cross grasslands, with grass so high that we even can’t see the base of our wheels anymore. The tracks of the car wheels get so deep that our pedals hit the ground bordering the tracks. There is no room for swinging out, we just have to follow the track precisely. There are huge rocks to conquer, a mountain stream to cross, mud pools and very steep curves with deep muddy jeep tracks, that would make the jeeps bend over 45°. In summary, there is a lot of pushing involved, sometimes so steep that we push one bike together. When we are eating lunch it also starts to rain and since we haven’t had rain for a long time Martin can’t remember anymore where his rain coat is. He finds it in the fifth bag, although he has only four. At that time the rain had already stopped 😂

After a lot of hard work, we finally arrive on the pass. We are welcomed by curious horses and surprised cows gathering around a small lake. We quickly proceed because the sky is turning quite dark. Again, a lot of stones and mud and to make the ride more heroic it indeed starts to rain. And hail. And thunderstorm. The road makes long traverses, one in the direction of the heart of the thunderstorm, the other away from the thunderstorm. It is a scary situation and although I should concentrate on the biking I do see the lightnings in front of me. We simply proceed, there is nowhere to hide. Fortunately, after an hour or so, it stops raining and we also enter a dense forest. Now our challenges are branches from trees hanging over and a sandy surface that is completely washed out. It has banked curves (this is fun) and sometimes, very tricky, patches of quicksand, that once make me make a quite sudden stop. We have to balance on curly, narrow ridges of hard sand and after a while we really get the hang of it. And of course we are constantly attacked by flies and other insects, but since we are still wearing our complete rain suits, we are this time not defenseless targets.

Finally, we arrive on the ‘normal’ road, which still doesn’t bring the relaxation we need, because it is a concatenation of small pieces of asphalt and huge potholes. But at 5 pm we then finally arrive in our brand new hotel in Vanadzor with swimming pool. It is twice as long as I am, but who complains?