Georgia vs Azerbaijan

These two countries  gave me very different experiences.
1) Corrupt police
In Georgia I saw hardly any police. This added to the anarchic feel on the roads and in the towns. Whereas  in Azerbaijan  police and surveillance cameras seemed to be everywhere.
I was quickly waved through Azeri customs and was 100 km down the road when a young officer and an older, plain clothes colleague stopped me. After the usual pleasantries they said I had to pay a fine in dollars for not wearing a helmet. I protested, they held my bike and said I couldn't continue unless I paid up. After 20 minutes they realised I wasn't going to pay and let me go. Later I checked on Google, Azerbaijan  does not have a helmet law, it does have corrupt traffic police.
2) Stray dogs
Georgia has more dogs that snap and snarl and chase you up the road. But if you shout "No" or "stay" in a teacher's voice they normally stop. I was amazed that they can understand English.
3) Hotels / hospitality
In Georgia I accidentally stayed in a brothel. Not recommended if you want a good night's sleep. Outside of the capital cities (Tbilisi  and Baku) there are very few hotels. Late in the day I got to the outskirts of a big town in Azerbaijan and asked at a petrol station where the nearest hotel was and was told there wasn't one but I could stay there in a back room. The 24 hour station was run by four young lads who bickered and bantered like the Inbetweeners; funny, but I didn't get much sleep.

Today in Baku I was trying to find the ticket office for the ferries across the Caspian Sea. A pretty Azeri cyclist stopped and told me someone at her cycling  club could help so we went to the café where they were meeting. There were loads of friendly, interesting English speakers so I spent the morning with them.
This is typical of Azerbaijan, as I cycle kids hand me bunches of grapes, lots of people wave and offer cups of tea or food. The Azeri people have made this leg of my trip a fantastic experience I won't forget.

The  old town in Tbilisi was my favourite part of Georgiia

Azerbaijan is not the strictest islamic country

After having his photo taken, this boy demanded money. He is destined to be a traffic policeman

Bacu - still smart from its European Games makeover.

I promised the lads from the petrol station i would feature them.

Tough Turkey

The last two weeks have been physically very hard. I caught the ferry to avoid Istanbul's vast urban sprawl and was soon in peaceful, rural hills. A lot of road signs were missing, as was the road surface in places. Locals gave me directions and many cups of sweet tea. Powered by sugar and caffiiene the climbs seemed easy. Next day I reached the proper mountains, in the heat of the afternoon, with melting tarmac and little shade they were draining. As I crawled up at snail's pace the driver of every other passing car, lorry, motorbike or tractor would wave, hoot their horn or shout "hallo"; by the time I had waved back for the two hundredth time I just wanted them to leave me alone.
Next day I drank water from a great loking water fountain, within hours I was regretting it. I kept going for three more days although I had lost my appetite and was running on empty.
One rest day in the beautiful old city of Amasya turned into three rest days as my stomach bug returned. Several locals had told me not go to far into central or eastern Turkey due to terrorism and the mountainous terrain. Of the the two I was more scared of mountains and so planned a flattish route to the Black Sea. The road turned out to be a tiny, twisting farm track deep into the mountains, I had to back-track and stayed overnight at a teacher hostel. It took two more days of hard riding to reach the coast.
It was a relief to look out over the flat sea rather than wave after wave of mountians. I met another turkish cyclist who had spent one day riding in the mountains before deciding head for the easier coastal road. We rode together to the border town of Hopa. Tomorrow I will go to Georgia.

Great views of Istanbul from the ferry.

The most opulent hotel I have stayed in, so far.

Some of the caves and old houses in Amaya

Locals helping me with directions and coke.

 The Black Sea - a welcome sight.