Borjomi has been selling its water for longer than most countries have had a currency. The town sits in a narrow, wooded gorge of the Kura River, in Samtskhe-Javakheti, and the mineral spring that bubbles out of the ground here has been famous across the Russian empire and the Soviet Union for the better part of two centuries. The water is warm, salty, slightly sulphurous and very much an acquired taste. Locals will tell you it cures nearly everything, and the green bottles appear in shops from Tbilisi to Tashkent.
The town is a pleasant mix of Soviet-era sanatoria, wooden villas and busy cafes along the main street, all squeezed between steep forested slopes. At the end of the main street is the Mineral Water Park, where you can taste the spring for a small fee and where a path leads up through the trees toward warm sulphur baths. The Romanov family fell for the place too. A summer palace at nearby Likani was built for a grand duke in the 1890s, and the royal connection helped make Borjomi fashionable. Beyond the town, the huge Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park offers hiking, bears and some of the best beech and fir forest in the Caucasus.
The riding in and out is relaxed. The road follows the river gorge with gentle bends, tree cover and cool air, a nice contrast to the hot plains further east. Tarmac is generally decent, though trucks use the same route, and speeds are moderate. The turn toward Bakuriani climbs out of the gorge into higher pine country, and this is a ride for a leisurely lunch rather than fast corners.
As a stop, Borjomi is very well provided. It is a town of about fourteen thousand people, so there is fuel, pharmacies, supermarkets, and plenty of restaurants, including places serving grilled trout, khachapuri and local cheese in a leafy setting. It is a sensible place to refuel body and bike before the climb. Parking for motorcycles is easy, and many guesthouses will let you park in a yard. Come in early autumn when the leaves turn, or in summer when it is shaded and cool, and leave your expectations of fast, empty roads at the door.