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Tom's Wedding in Yerevan
October 6, 2009
Tom’s wedding happened on the 19th September. I went off to Yerevan on the 15th in the hair-raising Marshrutka (minibus). Continuing the theme of having to wait for public transport I sat 6 hours for the Marshrutka to leave when too few people turned up. I moved between 3 different Marshrutkas, and saw the world through the eyes of a Marshrutka driver, hanging about in the dust outside the train station.
Tags: Armenia
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Staying with a Stone Mason in Yazd and Seeing Zurkhaneh on the Way to the Pakistan Border
August 21, 2009
After Isfahan the landscape between the big cities was bare and remote but the roads were extremely good quality. I choose to take the highway because I wanted focus on my goal of getting to India. After cycling a one of my longest days and being towed the last thirty kilometres by a guy and his girlfriend on a motorbike I was dropped off at a big mosque on the outskirts of Yazd.
Tags: HistoryVagabondingArchitectureIranCycle touringTravelWriting
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Through the Desert to Isfahan
August 21, 2009
The emptiness of the desert spaces was in it’s way very beautiful with nothing to distract and nothing man-made. With no input it felt very meditative. Long trains of thought went through my head, which kept me occupied and sometimes I recorded them into my dictaphone. My bike was set up really well and I had a strong feeling of flowing with little effort, completing long distances. It became the norm to start early, push big gears and put in a long day.
Tags: Iran
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Staying with fellow cyclist Couchsurfer Karim in Tehran
August 21, 2009
Couchsurfer Karim has been hosting me for the last 1.5 weeks whilst I waited for my Indian visa. He had previously cycled from Tehran to Scotland. His mum was Scottish and dad Iranian. His dad had worked in construction, building roads in South Iran. We got on like a house of fire, having rambling conversations about just about anything, but particularly cycle touring and future adventures. He was also an incredible cook, and I was treated to daily feasts of delicious rice, bowls of Osh (chickpea soup), and Chello kebab.
Tags: Iran
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Cycling On From Tehran Alone and Staying With a Family
August 21, 2009
The ride out of Tehran was a leap into the unknown for me. I had been killing myself worrying about the crossing from Iran to Pakistan and the perceived danger of Southern Iran. Now I was actually making tracks towards that point, it didn’t feel that bad. Life was carrying on. No groups of terrorists emerged from the desert. No one tortured me because I was English. No Americans bombed me or water-boarded me.
Tags: Iran
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Crossing the border into Iran and sleeping on the roof in Tehran
August 21, 2009
At Agarak on the Armenian-Iranian border, I remember cycling next to the border fence. I felt scared continuing over the river bridge to the border crossing. Guards looked down on me from towers above, guns in hand. After tentatively pedalling across the ‘No man’s land’, I entered the administrative building. The border officers tried their best to nullify my visa by claiming it was fake because it read ‘Great Britain’ instead of ‘England’ and ‘Ireland’ which wasn’t England either.
Tags: Iran
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Two Months in Tbilisi, Georgia off the Bike
July 13, 2009
I spent April, May and June in Tbilisi but I’m now in UK to visit my family. I’ve been writing up my journal into a book each morning. I am currently on 95000. I met one of my sister’s friends a couple of days ago who has just finished writing a book she wrote during university. She wrote a total of 150000 words. I was very inspired by her ability to be that organised and find somewhere peaceful to write during university!
Tags: georgia
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Motivated to Progress Creative Projects
July 13, 2009
I have made a deal with myself to give my creative projects the attention and craft they deserve. My projects: Design portfolio (andrewwelch.info) Organise and release music ( at http://andrew-welch-music.blogspot.com/) T-Shirts and artwork (zazzle.com/truefocus) Photography organisation (using Picasa 3, with input from Aurilien) My new mantras: Be organised Finish one thing at a time Avoid distractions Craft Plan time I’ve been inspired by GTD, 4HWW, Lateral Thinking and 7 Habits books.
Tags: Tbilisi
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Getting involved with the Local Mountain Biking Communty in Tbilisi
July 13, 2009
I’ve been dedicating a lot of time to my passion for mountain biking. It became very clear to me, whilst meditating on my bike in India, that I should help to start a cycling project in Tbilisi. Georgia is perfect for mountain biking with wonderful countryside and many paths. Of course the culture, food, drink and friendly people are perfect for tourism. Tbilisi, as a city, has excellent mountain biking within a 5 minute cycle from the city (could be less if you already live up the hill!
Tags: Georgia
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Crazy Tbilisi Weather and the Roof Falling in
July 13, 2009
The weather in Tbilisi over the last 2 months has been bizarre to say the least. When Tom and I arrived in Georgia in Winter of 2008, it was the coldest winter for 30 years. I would hazard a guess this summer has been the wettest! There were violent thunderstorms practically every day for 2 months. I experienced the full brunt of these on multiple occasions whilst out riding. In addition, I had a pretty serious disaster in my flat, caused by the rain.
Tags: Georgia
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CENN presentation on Climate Change
July 13, 2009
I made a presentation on the 1st July at a CENN (Caucasus Environment NGO Network) in the New Art Cafe in Tbilisi. It was an informal event to raise discussion about climate change. The intention was to find out what the people of Tbilisi think about it and what part they might play in the solution. Cycling is Great and some other stuff about Climate Change from Andrew Welch on Vimeo.
Tags: Georgia
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Bus to France with Georgian Dancers
July 13, 2009
I caught a bus full of Georgian Folklore dancers all the way back to Lyon in France via Turkey, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and France. We spent a day in Venice and went swimming in the sea in Greece which made a welcome break from sleeping on the bus seven nights in a row!!! I must say a huge thank you to Zaal and Aurillien for their kindness, taking me on the bus.