Bush Camping Begins

Sebinkarahiser to Kelkit
August 5th
118km (2,393m vertical)

Last night, we had a group meeting to discuss bush camp etiquette. Going forward, we will generally be camping in places without running water or other facilities. Even rest days will sometimes be camping, although they should have running water. This really is going to be an expedition. Overall, we'll be in bush camps 50% of the time, regular camps 20%, and hotels 30%...and most of the hotels will be in China.

After yesterday's water shortage, I bought a 1.5L bottle of water to keep in my trunk bag...just in case. I also brought my little umbrella on the bike, so that I could have some shade if I stop en route – which I do frequently while waiting for others at the top of climbs.

Beautiful rocky mountain cliffs this morning and a lot of climbing, but not nearly as bad as yesterday afternoon. The cool mornings are much better to ride in than the hot afternoons. Once we enter Georgia, the time zone will change so that it will get hotter later in the day...which will be great.

At around the 30km mark I managed to shift into my large chain-ring and large cog at the same time. (i.e. toughest gear on the front and easiest gear on the back.) This is something that you are never supposed to do...and I'm really shocked that I managed to do it. In any case, my chain immediately locked up and I could no longer turn the pedals. Fred, Mike, Nicole and I poked and pulled at the chain for 10 minutes without any luck. It was completely under tension and would not move an inch. I ended up breaking the chain (with a special tool), removing it entirely, putting it back on, and joining it with a special link that Nicole was luckily carrying with her. (I had one two...at the bottom of my permanent bag...on the truck...right beside my emergency spare spoke. I put both of them on my bike at camp this afternoon.)

The rest of the ride was uneventful. The road was tar and chip, which made my hands sore from all the bumps and vibrations. We were going slightly uphill, into a headwind, in the hot sun, on a rough road...not great cycling.
Our first bush camp is actually really nice. We're at the side of the road, in a small woods, with plenty of shade. There's even an old well with a pump, so that we could get water to wash ourselves. (I suppose that this technically makes it one step up from a true bush camp.)

Rugged landscape:

I love roads that crawl across the landscape like this. This photo also gives a sense of how big the mountains are:

Stream of brightly coloured cyclists coming up a hill:

Fred and Mike helping me with my chain problem:

Our camp in a little woods: