Sometimes you need to drive long ways to see a Mack truck

[Vladislav]

So after long winter months I finally went on a trip to a country I wanted to visit for a long while - Iran. Some prep work was required for. Visa was easy to achieve for a Russian citizen, but I needed to arrange paperwork for temporary import of my motorbike into the country since I planned to use it for my journey. Speaking short I found Iranian guy on the net who helped me with that for some money and the deal turned out smooth. 

The first stretch of the trip was nearly 1800km of a highway in Russia I could cover in two days ending up in a motel right near the border to Georgia (the country, not the state of the US). Actually I drove exactly that path one year back and posted the most interesting subjects on here. So now I just duplicate a few remarkable points. 

You need to go over a mountain pass from Russia to Georgia crossing the Main Caucasus ridge, nearly 2500m high above the sea. The weather was cool in that morning and right about the time I started entering the mountains it started raining. Not really hard in the beginning though. But than closer to the highest poing rain started being quite moderate and the temp dropping down. I sure was afraid of ice and looked up a forecast which was "promising". That turned out it was almost +2 Celsias near the top and wet snow started falling from a cloud I was actually in 😀

[Vladislav]

Turned out not really bad since it was snowing for a few hundred meters and stopped when I actually passed the highest point. Probably that cloud was stuck at that side of the mountain and didn't go to the other. I wasn't a cloud riding my wheels so went down from the mountain suffering much harder rain though. My clothes were waterproof but some water was sleaking under them anyway and it was coldddd!!! 

Also I had to have my helmet's screen open being not able to see the road otherwise. Drove nearly 100 km of serpantine that way after which rain stopped its deal and I could achive a city of Mtsheta (a neighbourhood of Gergian capital Tbilisi). There I stayed for a couple of days to slack up and wait for more rains to pass by before continue the ride. The city was quite ancient as many othet places in Georgia so I just enjoyed walking the streets, eating fresh barbequed beef and making pics. 

[Vladislav]

Ok, hit the road agian and passed the most of Georgia in one day since the distance wasn't large. Saw many scenaric environment and enjoyed riding beautiful mountain roads with very light traffic, smooth pavement and uncount sharp corners. Seeing no police or road cams interested in the speeds I rode 😀😀

[Vladislav]

[Vladislav]

That day the first evidence of Mack trucks appeared. That F-model was going up my way in the opposit direction. Lucky chain of events was it was going up hill so slow, I recognized it early enough, the were no vehicles behind me, the bike's brakes were fast. So I was able to stop, take a phone from my pocket, switch it on and make a pic. The driver flagged me and continued approaching the hill with smoke and sound. The plates on the truck were Iranian. 

I also mentioned in my old post that Gulf company has its fuel stations in Georgia. So here's a pic of one I passed by this time. 

[Vladislav]

That same day brang me even more luck. While reaching a city close to the Turkish border I saw a whole lot of trucks parked and sure they took my attention. Made a U-turn, came in, made pics and had some conversation. 

Yes, I studied Persian to some grade during a couple of last years. Not a perfect talker at the moment but can ask a few basic things. Sure the truck-related ones were in preference. 

[Vladislav]

Ok, currenty on my way. In a hotel right now, cutting time for making this post. You probably know how you can suprprizingly be short on time while on a holiday😀 

Much more to continue. 

[tjc transport]

safe travels Vlad!!!

we will be patiently awaiting your next round of pictures. 

[harrybarbon]

Thank you for the wonderful photos and take care. Enjoy the ride home.

[Freightrain]

I am in awe of your trips Vlad.  Looking forward to more updates.

[other dog]

Thank you for sharing with us Vlad! Great pictures!

[mechohaulic]

posts and pictures such as these remind us there is so much more of the world most don't realize. wonderful pictures. I can't make it out to see things such as the grand canyon ; thanks to pictures posted, I had a short "vacation" around other side of globe.

[70mackMB]

Vlad, Fantastic pictures and the story to go with them. Just as you have done with your other trips. Thank you for letting us see where we will never go.    .....Hippy

[JoeH]

Interesting air filter pipes on the R model, I knew the rear cab corners were different on Iranian R's but hadn't noticed the different filter housing ductwork.

[HarryS]

Thanks for taking us along. As others have said I admire your sense of adventure and ability to find Macks wherever you go.

[BOBWhite]

My great grandparents Immigrated from Pfeifer Russia (Gvardeyskoye now, along the Volga river) to Pfeifer Kansas (USA) in the late 1890s or early 1900s. Thats not far north of Georgia if I'm reading this map correctly. Very cool to see where they came from! Thanks for bringing us on this cool trip! 

Also the Georgian language has always looked so cool to me, it looks like an alien language.

 

[Vladislav]

Many thanks for all the comments, guys! 

It's always nice to learn some one has interest in what you do. 

[Vladislav]

Have a bit of time now to share one more portion of the adventure. Came into Turkey from Georgia. So some pics of Turkey are posted. And some pics of turkeys in Turkey too. Since it happened so I saw a turkey in Turkey 😀 

Crossed the border and the road already started climbing uphill representing beautiful scenaries and finally a sign of 2200-something meters above the sea level. Didn't even looked like a mountain pass, just an avarage road along slightly hilly but generally flat area. You can see the lake on the picture which looks quite common on that sunny day. But if you look at the background there are mountains with snow heads. And those mountains doesn't look high. The reason is the lake was nearly 1500 meters off the sea already. Absolutely new experience to me. And as I was told sun radiation is much more active at those higths. So I should be care if sunbathing. There was quite cool for such an activity then though. Catched some local mosque along the way. Something ordinar for Muslim part of the world but not typical for me. 

[Vladislav]

Reached a city of Dogubayazid that same day where I was going to have a "day off" since that day wasn't a working day in Iran and I couldn't arrange the paperwork for the bike.

Was happy to look that ancient castle of Ishak-Pasha (or Iskhak-Pasha?) once more regardless I well observed it a year ago. There was a hotel just in a couple hundred meters from the castle so I inhabitated a room there and had some relaxing time.

The city was in nearly 40 km from Iranian border cross and there was a road off the castle into the mountains which I tracked on a map roaming left to right over the mountains and ending up to the main highway at half a way to the border. I asked the hotel crew and was told that was a dirt road but possible to cruise with my ride. So I tried a fortune and made nearly 25 km of that wild environment which turned out as a real mountain road with really steep hills and beautiful scenaries. It was also about a no men land with exception of two willages were I met 3 or 4 dogs, one man and these turkies. 

The mountain with a snow on the top is the small Ararat. The big Ararat can be seen to the left but its head was covered by clouds. 

[Vladislav]

The castle looks the most attractive in the evening on my mind and the weather was perfect for a good picture of it. I bought a magnet for my fridge from a guy and he brang me a tee from that boiler the locals call a "samovar" - absolutely Russian term they catched up from somewhere and use in their language. That same guy made a foto of me too. 

[Vladislav]

Than on the next day I took my ride to the border and saw two F-models going in opposite direction. My phone camera had wrong settings at the moment so the truck with a container was catched only from its back. Not a big deal as it already seemed to me since it was 4th F-model with orange cab I met in 3 days😀 

To be continued. 

[Brocky]

Vlad, Thank you much for including us Americans on your trips. It is countryside we will NEVER see ourselves. All these pictures are greatly appreciated..

[mrsmackpaul]

Great stuff Vlad, a very different part of the world than what most of us will ever see

Safe travels and keep the photos and stories coming

All very enjoyable

 

Paul

[mechohaulic]

this shows how "one sided " news networks are!!  watch news end up with negative thoughts of Russia  and bordering countries. only thing shown is bombs/ war . pictures shown here make a person want to take road trip on beautiful vacation.  Thanks again for the pictures.

[GA_Dave]

Great photos!  Thank you for sharing them with us.  Safe Travels!

Edited May 24 by GA_Dave