Velo-Satori

Meeting the group at the Feodosia railway station. We check the bikes, distribute food and equipment, and without wasting time let's hit the road. The bike ride starts off fun - the road almost immediately (20 minutes along the shady streets of Feodosiine are considered) rushing up - to the top of the Tepe-Oba ridge. There is something to see here: snow-white space eggs (radar installations), air defense parts, remains of a condensate hydraulic installation, an ancient lighthouse on Cape Ilya. From the southern slopes we look at the panorama of Dvuyakornaya Bay (we will return to it later) and jump to the next ridge - Uzun- Syrt, where the sky is usually complemented by the triangles of hang gliders, and the view of the Koktebel Bay and Karadag is empty will leave you indifferent... Here, at the Jonathan Livingston hang gliding club cafe, we will have lunch.

Having rested, we climb to the highest point of the ridge - to the gazebo “Starfall of Memories” (Koklyuk) and further we descend to the ex-capital of the Crimean Khanate - the city of Old Crimea. Overnight in abandoned gardens on the shore of a picturesque river

Old Crimea brings two historical and architectural monuments to the educational part of the route - the ruins of a madrasah (Muslim "university" of the Middle Ages) and the Armenian monastery complex of the 14th century Surb-Khach ("Holy Cross"). The next historical monument awaits us at the foot of Mount Bor-Kaya - a cave church of the late Middle Ages. Near the town of Bor-Kaya on the bank of the river Wet Indole - lunch. Then the road goes into the steppe Crimea, the landscape becomes flat, and in the haze on the horizon you can see the peaks of the mountains: along an almost flat road, without long ascents and descents, we are approaching White Rock. On the approaches to Belogorsk, the plain ends abruptly and brightly: with the vertical wall of the White Rock, the southern cliff of which rises 150 meters above the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu River. Overnight outside Belogorsk, on the Taigan reservoir, not far from the powerful Karasu-Bashi spring, where thousands of liters of water burst out of the ground per second! This, of course, is a little more than you need to prepare dinner...

The road goes through the Kok-Asan pass to the sea, and on this day the largest Crimean yayla awaits us: Karabi. Crimean yayls are sometimes called the “stone sea”. When you look from above - there are countless karst sinkholes that resemble waves, or maybe the craters of volcanoes on the Moon. Karabi always amazes with its harsh and deserted expanse: the only building here is a weather station: a post of the Control and Rescue Service, shelter in case of rain, fog, bad weather. We drive along the edge of Karabi. The river flows barely noticeably below. Suat, and in the distance the highest peak of Karabi, Karatau, is visible. Below it, in the beech forest at the source of the river Suat, we'll stop at overnight stay

This bike trip is not sea, sun and beaches at all (although there will be sea, sun and beaches too). This is an opportunity to give rest to the soul, look from above at the bustle, at everyday trifles, and maybe at yourself. Southern coast of Crimea with heights of 1000 meters and a rapid descent to a real, not stone sea. Serpentine dirt road – an unforgettable experience! And, the last push is the pass on the village Marine. Overnight accommodation 200 meters from the beach on the shore of a small river (aka fresh shower)

The morning begins with a rather difficult pass (asphalt, serpentine), but on the other side, in Kutlak Bay, we have almost a whole day of relaxation on the beach and a walking tour to Karaul-Obu. Along the way you can visit the ruins of an ancient fortress, built at the beginning of the 1st century AD The fortress had an impressive size - about two and a half thousand square meters and, in principle, was well preserved.

The climb to Karaul-Obu is not easy, but the landscape that opens will reward you for your efforts: sharp mountain peaks, steep rocky walls, cozy blue bays, green valleys... Outlandish tracts surround you: the gloomy hole of “Hell”, dousing you with a stream of icy air, a welcoming “Paradise” with picturesque pine groves, cheerful lawns among rocks Tooth, Elephant, Sofa, Falling. And below - two blocks leaned towards each other and created the “Gates of Heaven”. The path climbs up the rocks, turns into a stone staircase, carved out so long ago that even archaeologists find it difficult to say its age. From here begins a whole system of gorges - Taurus shelters. According to legend, Taurian old men, women, and children hid here during enemy attacks, when men went to war. It is also assumed that it was here, on Karaul-Oba, that the legendary Taurus temple of the goddess Virgin was located, a priestess in whom Iphigenia, daughter of King Agamemnon, served.

In the evening we return to Kutlak Bay - to bicycles and the beach :)

Having rounded Mount Perchem we find ourselves in the Sudak Valley. Here, first of all, we look at the Genoese fortress. It was under construction commissioned by the Genoese - that is, Italians from Genoa, and this is an example of military medieval construction, study which Italian historians come. After all, they did not have such fortresses. Now the Sudak fortress is the only monument in the world of military construction from the 14th century that has been so well preserved.

Having looked into the Middle Ages, we again go to the mountains. Along a quiet road hidden from prying eyes among the forest we overcome the pass and enter one of the most beautiful villages of Eastern Crimea - Kiziltash (now - Krasnokamenka). Kiziltash was a top-secret military facility, Feodosiya-13, in the very recent past, but its charm, of course, is not that. This village is sometimes called Crimean Switzerland. And there is a reason!

A few kilometers below we will spend the night near Echki-Dag on Lake Shchebetovskoye, and in the morning, for those who wish - a walking tour along Echki-Dag to look at the legendary Fox Bay.

After a not-so-short morning walk to the sea and Leaves Bay, we saddle up our bikes again and ride around Karadaga.

  Here the mountains are increasingly giving way to hills, there are no more serpentines, and the landscape is distinguished by soft lines and poetry. Koktebel: Mecca of artists, poets, musicians, creative people and simply art lovers. A hang glider triangle is circling in the sky, Crimean wine is sparkling in a glass, and we are relaxing! Cape Chameleon, Tikhaya bay: here you can relax, remember the adventures of the last days and try to believe that it was on really!

In the afternoon we drive to Feodosia. You can stop by another Genoese fortress and admire the sea in Aivazovsky’s paintings, walk along the Feodosia embankment in bicycle shorts :) Oh yes! - the bike ride is over!