CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
79 km from Tbilisi to Tbilisi, about 1 h 45 of riding. On the way it passes Mtskhetis Jvari, Historical Monuments of Mtskheta, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and Samtavro Church and Monastery. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,100 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
For about 25 km this is Georgian Military Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
1 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Tbilisi spreads along the Mtkvari river in a bowl of dry hills, and its first impression is of balconies. Old houses lean over narrow streets with carved wooden verandas, sulphur bathhouses sit under domes of brick in the Abanotubani district, and on the ridge above, the ruined Narikala fortress watches the city. The name Tbilisi comes from a Georgian word for warm, and the story says that a hunting king found hot springs here and decided to found a city.
Read the complete Near Tbilisi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Tbilisi is where the day begins. Next is Mtskhetis Jvari.
Jvari, the Georgian word for cross, stands on a rocky bluff above the point where two rivers meet, the brown Mtkvari and the greener, faster Aragvi. The church dates from the end of the sixth century, and it is a small, dark, stern building, almost square, with a design that influenced much of Georgian architecture later. The reason it stands where it does is a legend: in the early fourth century, Saint Nino, the woman credited with bringing Christianity to Georgia, is said to have raised a cross of grapevine on this hilltop, and the king converted soon after. Georgia calls itself one of the first Christian nations, and this is where that story is anchored.
Read the complete Mtskhetis Jvari write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Mtskhetis Jvari comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historical Monuments of Mtskheta.
Mtskheta is the old heart of Georgia, and the whole town is listed by UNESCO. For hundreds of years before Tbilisi became important, it was the capital of the kingdom of Iberia, and here at the meeting of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, in the early fourth century, King Mirian converted to Christianity. Archaeologists have found remains of a royal citadel, tombs and Roman-era graves in the surrounding hills, showing how much older the settlement is than the churches. The town is still the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Patriarch, and a place of pilgrimage.
Read the complete Historical Monuments of Mtskheta write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
At least about 37 km into the recorded legs you reach Historical Monuments of Mtskheta. Next is Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.
Svetitskhoveli is the great cathedral of Georgia, and its name means the life-giving pillar. The story goes that after the crucifixion, a Georgian Jew named Elioz brought Christ's robe back to Mtskheta, where his sister Sidonia died of grief clutching it. The robe could not be removed from her hands, so she was buried with it, and a cedar grew from her grave. Saint Nino cut the tree down to make seven pillars for the first church, and the seventh is said to have risen by itself and hung in the air until a prayer brought it down. The present building was raised in the early eleventh century, in a time of great confidence in the Georgian kingdom, and it has been the burial place of many kings.
Read the complete Svetitskhoveli Cathedral write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, about halfway. Next is Samtavro Church and Monastery.
Samtavro Church and Monastery sits at 23 km, about halfway. Next is back through Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Svetitskhoveli Cathedral write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Svetitskhoveli Cathedral comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Historical Monuments of Mtskheta.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historical Monuments of Mtskheta write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Historical Monuments of Mtskheta. Next is back through Mtskhetis Jvari.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mtskhetis Jvari write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Mtskhetis Jvari, late in the day. Next is Tbilisi.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Near Tbilisi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 79 km.
Tbilisi → Mtskhetis Jvari is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mtskhetis Jvari → Tbilisi is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.