So, the very day had come. The choice is made, supplies are bought, the weather, as always in Cyprus, is cloudless, and we are storming 3.5 km of elevation (some of it on dirt roads, to boot). Back home, we decided that we would somehow manage such a task, inspired by a track called bezumstvo i otvaga, which features not 3.5, but a whopping 5 km of elevation gain through the exact same places we were heading to. I have no idea if some unknown biker actually rode it, but it's hard to believe.
Ready!
Fire!
Athletes in Daugavpils joke that we're looking at getting our knee joints replaced with artificial ones, but we got enough sleep, rested up, and are full of energy. If not now, when?
As a warm-up, I dashed to a nearby bakery (Aleksandrs had dragged the groceries on his back for 10 km from Polis the day before), stocked up on local sweets — not quite the traditional ones yet, since we hadn't quite entered the holy of holies: the dwelling of the fierce highlanders.
It all started off easily and pleasantly – with asphalt featuring an insane incline angle. That way we rode almost all the way to the restaurant recommended by the host of our apartments. It would've been nice, of course, to have a leisurely lunch there with exquisite delicacies, but alas – the road calls. I probably forgot to tell you why we had such an urge to storm these wretched kilometers. The thing is, along this entire route there are practically no hotels or other guesthouses. At least neither Google Maps nor Booking.com, which we used to book our humble abodes, suspected their existence.
Pretty soon the views became quite lively
A preserved rarity – it's amazing that there's an actual telephone inside
In most European countries, phone booths have long been just a place to make mobile calls + they distribute Wi-Fi.
Before long, we came across the solemn ruins of a Georgian monastery along the way
In short: grass and weeds were growing, an eminent earth-digger (aka researcher) Vakhtang Jobadze arrived from the States, found the famous Gialia monastery, and told everyone. In 2006, more Georgians arrived, this time straight from Georgia, on a government mission, excavated the ruins, and built a dome over them. They also whipped up a plaque to go with it, in three languages no less.
I liked the dome the most – it's huge, and the echo underneath it is the coolest thing I've ever heard in my life.
Fortunately, the monastery was on our way – we are not such art lovers as to make a detour when there is still a lot of hell ahead.
Aleksandr is not amused
Despite the skeptical expression on Sasha's face, the climb was going pretty briskly and without unnecessary drama. 200 meters up, rest. If it's a really tough stretch, then 100 meters up, rest. Just like grandmas climbing up a five-story building, except they rest on every floor, and we rest on every sixtieth. Don't forget that we're also lugging our bags with us. Luckily, our wisdom knows no bounds — we have no stupid tents, no sleeping bags, not even any fur coats, just a little camp stove and spare undies.
Driving off a cliff into the bushes is forbidden!
We probably drove past signs like that on the island about five times: let's assume they're only for cars.
Spring!
You might not be able to see it, but I get the shivers just remembering the angle here
Rybakov has softened up
Dirt road
As you can see, 15-20 kilometers of the route close to the beginning is on a dirt road, rocky in places, excellent in others. That's why they tried to fleece us for so much money. Picked the wrong guys to mess with!
Spring again
When you observe such scenes throughout a single day, you end up in a slightly bewildered state.
Don't forget, we climbed up from sea level, from zero meters. And this isn't even a kilometer of altitude yet. You look and think: “were we really down there just a few hours ago”?
There it is, the intermediate goal. This is exactly where they asked 120 euros for. Stavros Psokas, at your service.
There is no trusting them about the 1128 meters, because our navigators say otherwise
My eyes, however, agree
Made it to the Kykkos monastery
By this point, fatigue was already taking its toll, plus we're godless heathens, so we didn't go wandering inside; I just took a quick peek, and Sasha stayed outside altogether.
Though generally speaking, there is stuff to look at
But the road awaits us!
The final kilometers were somewhat of a struggle, even though they were on asphalt. The speed dropped down to an outright walking pace. Thanks to Rybakov, he pulled me up the hills behind him. It's no secret that riding behind someone is psychologically much easier, even if it's slow, and if it's fast — the air resistance is lower too.
Sasha, on the other hand, should probably thank the energy drinks he was pouring into himself in moderate amounts. Already after sunset, we made it to the mountain village of Pedoulas. Although the name doesn't sound too euphonious to our ears, the village itself is structured very curiously: even though I've been to the mountains, I've almost never seen such dense, layered buildings at different heights (except maybe in Vietnam).
At first glance, it seemed that the village extended downwards for about eight hundred meters. To bike up that much every morning is an enterprise for masochists, so we, despite being godless heathens, practically started praying that our hotel would turn out to be higher up. We got devilishly lucky; we only descended about 50 meters and found ourselves on the “main” street. In quotes because in the sort of multi-story hamburger that Pedoulas and the nearby villages represent, it's hard to single out anything as main, except, perhaps, the churches.
Nevertheless, I'll reserve the right to call the street main, if only for the reason that it had several hotels and a shop (of which there are relatively few in the area).
The 80+ year-old hotel owner himself, who also served as the receptionist, came out to meet and check us in. Having successfully occupied a tiny and ascetically furnished little room, we headed to the shop, where the saleswoman told us that our receptionist was simultaneously the mayor of the village (or the head of the village council, if you will). That's the interesting way the Pedoulians live. Any way you slice it, it's nice when the top dog in the village turns on the hot water in the entire three-story hotel especially for you (we were the first clients that day).
To sum it up, I'll say the day was a success. According to my navigator, we conquered 2 km 200 meters of elevation gain; according to Sasha's (which is more accurate), about two; and we left indelible memories in our minds. Humans are social creatures, hardwired to solve surrounding problems in physical reality, which is why such a struggle against nature and oneself in the fresh air, overcoming difficulties in company, brings people together and etches into memory for a long time like little else. It's good that we are in pretty good shape (even though it was still only spring) and know our limits. A person is always stronger than they think, but for everyone, there comes a moment when they just can't go any further. On this day, full of madness and courage, we felt like we were already approaching that moment, but still not entirely close. We'll get to 'close' in the upcoming episodes.
