Kutaisi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and it knows it. This was the capital of ancient Colchis, the land the Greeks said held the Golden Fleece, and in the myth it was here, in the court of King Aeëtes, that Jason and the Argonauts came with Medea's help to take the treasure. Later it was the capital of the kingdom of Georgia and then of Imereti. On a hill above the Rioni river stands Bagrati Cathedral, an eleventh-century church whose controversial restoration cost it its UNESCO status. Just outside the city, the twelfth-century Gelati monastery, with its gold mosaics and the tomb of King David the Builder, is still on the World Heritage List.
The town itself has a lazy, slightly decayed grandeur. Soviet-era buses rattle past Art Nouveau balconies, and the Green Bazaar sells everything from walnuts and churchkhela to pickled vegetables and cheese. The local speciality is imeruli khachapuri, a round flat bread filled with cheese, which beats the boat-shaped Adjarian version for many people. Mid-morning it is a good excuse to stop, and Georgian wine, poured generously, is a standard part of lunch. Not far away the Soviet sanatoria of Tskaltubo, once hotels for workers, are now decaying but still atmospheric.
For a rider, Kutaisi is a base and a gateway. West and north the road runs toward Zugdidi and then up the Enguri valley into Svaneti, one of the great mountain rides of the Caucasus, with its stone towers and high passes. The roads are mostly paved but vary a lot, with potholes, stray cows and drivers who overtake on blind bends, so ride defensively and stay alert for animals on the road in the evening. Weather is mild and often wet, especially in the spring, with summer thunderstorms rolling in from the Black Sea.
Everything you need is here. The city has well over a hundred thousand people and a lot of filling stations, shops and guesthouses, and international flights land at the airport nearby. Fill your tank before heading north, and buy water, bread and snacks, as services thin out fast. Georgian hospitality is real, and a rider who stops to look lost will usually be offered tea, or something stronger.