Summer '05: I did a bunch of small trips around the Marmarik river valley area. That's in the area between Hrazdan & Hankavan. Very nice riding areas. There's a bunch of trails that lead to Vanadzor & another bunch that lead to Aparan. I did these rides as a loner again. There's no shame in being a lightweight Mr. S. As you see I finally got to updating this page.
My last ride was Hrazdan-Hankavan-Aparan-Yerevan. It took all day. I recommend hopping on a bus part of the way to Hankavan (at least to Meghradzor). Hankavan-Aparan village of Dzorglukh was an awesome experience. A little too grassy on the way up & rocky on the way down but that was my choice of path. I know better now. Aparan-Ashtarag leg is a great downhill road ride.
Meghradzor-Vanadzor is another nice all day ride. This valley has alot of potential. Hopefully in '06 I'll have some more riding discoveries.
I forgot to mention I did the '05 rides on a Chinese dual shock bike I bought on the local market for $100. Piece of crap. I highly recommend bringing your US bought Chinese over a local purchase. Chain links kept popping off (till I hammered em down) & inner tubes had funky valves (can't read pressure & may need special pump).
August 97: I did a trip across Armenia on my mountain bike in August 97. It was
great. The mountains of Zangezeur were awesome. The canyons were more
Majestic that the Grand Canyon. It was not as dangerous as I expected.
Every car driving past you on the main highway honks at you. A day or
2 later someone you see by a bazaar at the side of the road says
"remember me, I honked at you yesterday". Who didn't. There's plenty
of ice cold water along the main highway towards Iran. I took about 2
litres of water storage with me but I recommend 3 litres for non-camels
Yerevan to Tatev took me 3 mild days (10 a.m. to dark at an easy pace).
The locals were really stoked on my wheels.