Grigoleti is a strip of pine woods and black sand on Georgia's Black Sea coast, squeezed between the sea and the great reed beds of Lake Paliastomi, a few kilometres north of the resort of Ureki and a short hop south of the port of Poti. It is a holiday place for Georgian families rather than foreign tourists, with guesthouses among the trees, wooden cafés and a beach that stretches as far as you can see. The sand here, and even more at Ureki, is dark and magnetic, full of iron-rich minerals washed down from the mountains, and locals swear it does wonders for aching joints. After a long day in the saddle feel free to test the theory.
This is the edge of ancient Colchis, the land where, in Greek myth, Jason and the Argonauts sailed to steal the Golden Fleece. The river Rioni, which the Greeks called the Phasis, meets the sea at Poti, and Greek colonists really did trade along this shore. The wet lowland behind the coast is now protected as part of Kolkheti National Park, a landscape of peat bogs, alder forest and lagoons, and it sits on one of the major migration routes for birds of prey between Europe and Africa. In autumn the skies over Batumi, further south, fill with raptors.
The main coast road from Poti south towards Kobuleti and Batumi passes right by, and it is mostly flat and straight, but Georgian traffic will keep you awake. Overtaking is a national sport, minibuses stop wherever they like and cows stand on the asphalt with total serenity, especially around dusk. Roads in good condition can suddenly have deep potholes. The best riding in the region is inland: up into the hills of Guria behind Ozurgeti or north into Samegrelo, where the forests of the Colchic rainforest climb steeply into the Caucasus foothills.
Poti is the nearest real town, with fuel, markets and banks, and Ureki has smaller petrol stations along the main road. Food on the coast is simple and good: khachapuri, grilled fish, fresh cheese, and the Megrelian dishes from just up the road, which come with walnuts and a properly fiery kick. Summer is hot and humid, so think about the early morning and the evening for riding, and leave the middle of the day for the shade of the pines.