Apsheronsk is a railway-and-oil town of about forty thousand people tucked into the forested foothills of the Western Caucasus, on the Pshekha River, with Khadyzhensk a short ride to the northwest and Neftegorsk, an oil settlement, to the south. It is the staging post for the ride into the Guamka Gorge, a famous narrow canyon cut into the rock, and it works as the practical lungs of the route: fuel, food, a bed and a mechanic if you need one.
Do not expect charm from the town itself. It is a Soviet-era working place of apartment blocks, markets and filling stations, with a station on the Armavir-Tuapse line that has hauled goods and passengers to the coast for a century. The name comes from the Apsheron Regiment, a Russian military unit from the Caucasian war, and the town grew where the army and then the railway wanted it. The oil is real too: the Apsheronsk and Neftegorsk fields are among the oldest in Russia, and you will see pumpjacks nodding in the fields and forest clearings, which is an odd and rather beautiful sight with mountains behind.
Out of town, the riding gets better quickly. The road south follows the river through mixed forest of oak, hornbeam and beech, with the valley closing in and the surface variable but mostly decent. Corners are medium radius and flowing rather than tight, and you can keep a steady rhythm. Traffic is light outside holiday weekends, though trucks use some stretches. The Guamka Gorge itself is a short distance from the main road, and the locals know it for its narrow limestone walls, and the rock paths that lead in from the road. Spring and early summer bring the best green, autumn the best colour, and winter can bring ice in the shaded sections.
Nature around here is rich. The forests host deer and wild boar, bears keep to the higher slopes, and in summer the hills hum with insects and birdsong. The river runs clear and cold over stones, good for a quick splash of water on the face on a hot day.
Fill up here before heading in. Past the last villages the roads thin out, and phone coverage drops in the narrow gorge. Pack a warm layer, because the mountain air cools quickly in the evening, and allow time for the ride out.