Goderdzi Pass, Georgia

Well today we made it, we climbed to Goderdzi pass, 6643ft (2025m) above sea level. This is now the highest climb of the trip. ⁣
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The road continued to be tough this morning and with a very thick mist the views were not what we hoped for. It was a little disappointing, but we made our way to the top and once we started rolling down the mist cleared, the blue skies were back and it warmed up beautifully. Suddenly the feeling of elation was back. ⁣
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There were a couple offers of lifts this morning – trucks/cars stopped stopped and offered to take us up the hill, but we declined each offer. It’s hard, I fantasised about shoving the bike in the trailer, and just being done with it but we set out to ride and we were determined to make it to the top! ⁣
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Sometimes I ask myself why it matters so much, but it just does! I can’t bear to think about laying in bed later that day, regretting that I gave up on the challenge.⁣
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As we descended and the mist cleared we were treated again to beautiful views – and it was clear to me – this is why it’s important to push and cycle no matter how tough it gets. ⁣
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Psychologically, the views are more beautiful this way! ⁣
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It has been a tough road. I’ve walked a lot, Stew cycled all but a few metres and stopped regularly for me, sometimes walking back down the hill to push my bike up with/for me.⁣
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When it was misted over we wondered if we’d have done this if we had known the views wouldn’t be at the top and we reasoned we would. Before we even saw the blue skies again the road was worth the challenge, worth the adventure. Things change quickly – just 300metres down a mountain and it all felt worth it again. Sometimes it’s rewarding to take the hard road.⁣