Why this ride
A 156 km round trip from P’ot’i - roughly 2 h 59 in the saddle. It goes by way of Grigoleti, Nabada and back through Grigoleti.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pitshora and Nabada
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 156 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 59
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Pitshora
Close to the Black Sea coast of western Georgia, north of the port city of Poti, the land dissolves into marsh. This is the Colchic lowland, where the Rioni and smaller rivers have built a wide plain of peat bogs, alder swamps and lakes, and Pitshora is one of the wetland areas protected here as part of the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands World Heritage site, listed in 2021. The rains are heavy, the air is warm and humid, and the vegetation is lush in a way that feels almost tropical, surprising if you think of the Caucasus as dry mountains.
Read the complete Pitshora write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pitshora is where the day begins. Next is Grigoleti.
2. Grigoleti
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.
Read the complete Grigoleti write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grigoleti comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nabada.
3. Nabada
Georgia's Black Sea coast has a wet, green corner that few people think of when they think of the Caucasus. The Rioni river, the ancient Phasis of the Greeks, empties into the sea here, and around its mouth lies the Kolkheti lowland, a flat, humid country of alder swamp, peat bog, reedbeds and shallow lakes. Lake Paliastomi lies just south of Poti, and the Colchic rainforests and wetlands, listed by UNESCO in 2021, preserve a remnant of the forests that once covered the whole plain. This is the land of Colchis, where the Argonauts came for the Golden Fleece, according to the myth, and on a misty morning with the trees draped in lianas it is easy to believe in it.
Read the complete Nabada write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 78 km into the recorded legs you reach Nabada. Next is back through Grigoleti.
4. back through Grigoleti
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Grigoleti write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Grigoleti, late in the day. Next is Pitshora.
5. Pitshora
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pitshora write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Pitshora. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Pitshora to Grigoleti
Pitshora → Grigoleti is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Grigoleti to Nabada
Grigoleti → Nabada is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nabada to back through Grigoleti
Nabada → back through Grigoleti is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Grigoleti to Pitshora
back through Grigoleti → Pitshora is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.