Cycling Iran: Adventure or Risk? | Bikepacking Documentary

we're just uh 100 km away from  the Iranian border it is so damn   cold highest peak been to with a  bicycle yesterday we found a puppy [Music] [Applause] [ __ ] Crossing Borders and no internet  yep been there that's why I'm excited to   introduce holafly as the sponsor for this  video with their e sim service you wave   these no service moments a Cheerio  and Goodbye no matter where you go.  setting up the e sim is easy peasy  and they have different plans for   whatever you're up to in 197 destinations. if you're planning your next adventure abroad   with Holafly then get your 5% discount  by using the code GIANTCHEERIO link   and more details in the video description  and now lean back and enjoy watching [Music] is the pursuit of Adventure worth  risking one's safety and stability?  when faced with uncertainty how do we  decide whether to push forward or return?  in a world filled with conflicting advice and  warnings how do we determine what path to follow? we are ready departing from Yerevan the capital  of Armenia we set out on our journey towards   the Iranian border unaware that our decision to  cycle into Iran will be tested multiple times.  is it worth it? can we continue?  are we putting ourselves in danger ? what's the point?  these questions become Central to our Journey Our route takes us through southern Armenia. we are heading into a crisis region.  as discussed in my previous video the situation  in southern Armenia is fraud with uncertainty.  there have been attacks protests and resistance. we have been advised not to continue and   at the same time people were  encouraging us to head forward.  amidst the uncertainty we choose to continue into  the unknown but before we set off towards Iran,   there's still a few things to sort  out before we really get going. okay uh hijab done uh well it's not a  hijab but I bought a curtain and I'm   pretty sure this should be fine and  I also downloaded some vpns to stay   connected over there uh now we still  have to figure out how to get cash we're in a mall I'm trying to get US  Dollars uh but it's more complicated   than expected and I don't know why  but I wanted to withdraw some cash   and then go to a exchange uh thing but I  can't withdraw anything I don't know why   and it's really weird because we wanted to  leave tomorrow and now we just can't do anything Why on Earth do I need US dollar for Iran? none of our plastic cards work there due to   restrictions no withdrawals no card payments. plus you can only get Iranian rials that's   their currency in Iran and we've also heard  that the best way to exchange money in Iran   is with US dollars so we're withdrawing  Armenian dram and then exchanging it into   dollars is hoping it all falls into place. after a bit of delay we finally hit the road. it's going to be tough long ago we  had planned to arrive in Iran early   to escape the autumn and winter  but that didn't quite work out. when you're cycling and you know you  won't get dry all day everything's wet   the sleeping bag is damp everything  stinks a mix of sweat rainwater and   dirt kind of disgusting but what can  I say we chose all this ourselves yes we chose all this but what we  didn't choose are the calls and   WhatsApp messages from our families. we are told to check the news.  it feels like a Deja Vue as we had kind of  like the same situation when the protest   in Armenia took place due to the nagorno  karabakh conflict and what we are reading   now irritates us again. very shocking news.  attack on Israel. chaos in the world.  Iran portrayed as a potential  participator of the conflict.  uncertainty. should we keep going? what  awaits us at the border? our loved ones   want us to return. we don't know if  what we're doing is a major mistake.   we we decide to keep on going for a couple of  days and not to decide things out of hysteria. is the pursuit of adventure with risking  one's safety and stability? when faced   with uncertainty how do we decide whether to  push forward or return ?in a world filled with   conflicting advice and warnings how  do we determine what path to follow? [Music] as always after the rain the Sun  appears once more. a wonderful   Soul who once was a close friend of  mine used to say what's life without   its ups and downs its sorrows and  joys its rainy days and sunny skies?  so here we are setting off  with the Sun as our companion.  little did we know that this day would shape  our journey in ways we never imagined [Music] in the midst of some trash bags dumped next to  a highway in the middle of nowhere we stumbled   upon something peculiar. a tiny something.  a tiny white dot. we don't know what   to do with this little creature. usually Whenever there are stray   puppies there's a mother around or  other dogs but this one is all alone [Applause] we wanted to take this little snowball  with us to the next village where it   might have a chance to survive. the next Village is coming closer   we keep moving forward . Timo doesn't slow down.   I chuckle wondering if today's  the day when everything changes. [Music] [Music] good morning uh yesterday was a big day and we  found a puppy and he was so tiny so we stopped   and and uh we were searching for his mom or for  his his owner but uh there was nobody like there   was a box like uh a cardboard box and inside  this box there was a lot of um yeah dog poo   like uh baby dog poo and uh we think he just  uh set himself free by uh using his his teeth .  now the baby dog is with us. do you want to say hello?  we named him Oscar and and um yeah as we  are on our way to the border of Iran we   really don't know what to do with the dog  like we didn't know but now we have a plan.  so we will hitchhike all the way back to  Yerevan uh that's 140 km. then we'll go and   get him vaccinated and chipped and get a passport  and then I guess he's ready to travel to Iran.  are you ready Oscar? you ready? yes guess he's ready. so uh yeah   we're now uh three welcome to the family Oscar! so we set out to hit check back to the capital   of armania because apparently there are only  vets over there. I wonder if Oscar is our sign.  we will go with the bikes with  all our luggage and the dog and   then we'll just see what's going to happen. is this little ball our signal to not continue   towards the south of Armenia and towards Iran? is this our sign that we should turn back?  some might say yes. I don't know  but the fact is we're turning back. hitchhiking isn't working we spent the entire day  at two different spots trying to catch a ride.  the cars are full. jam-packed.  they're full of people and Furniture. the cars are full because many Armenians   had to leave their homes due to the conflict  in nagoro karabakh and are now heading Inland.  the cars are so full that no one stops to  pick us up all day we sit at the roadside   like idiots we smile we wave we hold up our  sign but the cars Vans and trucks are full.  full of individuals displaced by the conflict  in nagorno karabakh full of sorrowful faces. so we go back to where we started in the  morning we go back to reconsider our options. so uh we ready to cycle back to Yerevan uh  as yesterday nobody picked us up uh we will   just uh cycle back two or 3 days and I just uh  put the Yervan hitchhiking sign on the back of   the bicycle and maybe someone is just going to  pick us up uh so fingers crossed Ando let's go. we're on our way back to yerevan. cycling  uh for one day today's day two uh a lot of   elevation gain of course well let's see two  more days and then we're in yerevan and I   still have hope that someone's going to pick  us up but yeah ah fingers crossed and let's go. and again nobody will pick  us up on our way to Yerevan.  nobody. I was still hoping   to get a lift but it just didn't happen. anyway somehow we made it to Yerevan with   Oscar where we checked into a hostel and  began the search for a vet to vaccinate   and Chip him which will take weeks. weeks of waiting because Oscar is way   too young to get the vaccines. we spend our days trying to   keep up with the Whirlwind of news. the Hamas Israel clashes the Armenia   Azerbaijan tensions and the ongoing  protests in the streets of Yerevan. as I burn worried myself in the  history and current affairs the   gravity of the situation sank in deeper. it was a grim time and to be honest I couldn't   shake off this heavy feeling of Despair. in my mother tongue we have a word   for this ''WELTSCHMERZ''. Weltschmerz means feeling   a deep sadness or Melancholy because  of the pain and Sorrows of the world.  with the media portraying iron as a  significant player in the Gaza Strip   conflict I'm questioning whether it's wise for  us to attempt another journey toward the Border. there's even talk of a possible World War. the situation is grim but is this   a reason not to travel further ? does it make any difference if we turn back?  after weeks of waiting and considering  what to do we decide to once more   cycle towards the border of Iran. Timos Rim broke one day before we left.  for me definitely a bad Omen but as we found a  replacement within one day we started cycling. [Music] [Music]   good morning actually it's noon uh it's  our first night uh outside again after   spending weeks in Yerevan. a new adventure with uh the   dog right now we're cycling the same road  uh we already cycled for the third time. we went towards the Border then we  found Oscar then we cycled back and   now we we're cycling towards the Border again. I created a sign for uh hitchhiking or  hitch biking uh because um we are hoping   to get a lift uh just uh due to the fact  that we already cycled uh this route and   also it's getting colder and colder and uh  two and a half weeks ago we we were already   freezing our ass off and now it's uh yeah  2 and 1 half weeks later and it's getting   colder and colder and we really want to go  uh South we're all we're all uh ready to go.  all packed so let's go. that's where we go that's our direction. luck was on our side and in total  we got picked up three times hi it's okay or [Music] three rides which saved us a lot of  time in the cold mountains of Armenia.  three different people made  everything a bit easier for us. we were really thankful but still freezing  our asses off each and every [Music] night.  we also took another shortcut and went on a  stunning cable car ride the wings of Taff.  this cable car is even in the  Guinness book of records as   being the longest reversible cable way  in the world with a length of 5,750 2 m.  we were really trying to speed up our  journey towards the Border. winter is   coming and we really didn't want to be stuck  in any mountain range during winter [Music] pedaling ahead is hard but  that's what we're here for.  we want to Pedal,   we want to see it all with our own eyes . experience the countries we go through   with all our senses. we want to go further.  this means pushing forward. underneath the Sun during   cold days rainy days no matter what . we are getting closer to the border and   Joy arises. happiness fills our hearts. and then there was this very   last mountain pass to manage. the highest I've ever been with my bike. good morning in the morning we're just  uh 100 km away from uh the Iranian border  it doesn't sound that much  but it's still like 2000   or a little a little bit more than 2,000  M of elevation gain to to reach the Border  we hope that we get very quick to the border  of Iran and then continue cycling South and we reached not the top but uh like  we're halfway through look at this view it's   simply amazing seriously the elevation  gain was like I don't know out of my   mind so steep but uh yeah now we're  here we will call it day and stay here down there this is uh where we  started this morning one and a half   hours and then we will reach the peak. we'll uh reach a point of the 2,500 M  actually it is exhausting but uh  yeah we just uh we're just looking   forward to to reach the top and then  race downhill and uh get to Meghri. and there we are arrived on top  knowing that from that point on   it was all downhill towards the Border. I hesitate to bring it up but for the   sake of completeness I must mention two  more unfortunate incident that peppered. 3 days ago Oscar got stung by something and  for a short moment we honestly thought he   was dead and then the day before  heading towards the mountain pass  Timo's foot was scalded by boiling water  and he cycled the Meghri pass being in pain.  so we decided to spend some days in the final  town of Armenia 10 km from the Iranian border.  it was in Meghri a cozy Heaven  where we found a little Paradise.  a place where timo's foot could heal. I told timo that if one more thing happened   we would not cross this border. I mean I was joking not   knowing what was coming ahead. as the days slipped by the moment arrived to   pedal our final 10 km towards the Border. just 10 km separating us from a   country where we're eager to explore. we're now very close to the Iranian border   and by very close I mean very close. this is Armenia this is Iran.  10 more km a lot of headwinds and  then now we'll cross the border.  I was really excited almost  forgetting the joke I made earlier.  however we were getting closer to the  Border when something unexpected occurred.  with only 2 kilm remaining to reach the  Border we were once more forced to stop.  my gear shifting just uh stopped working. and uh yeah we just wanted to cross the border and   and uh I quickly wanted to adjust my gears and  now I [ __ ] it up and it doesn't work any more .  uh so uh yeah now it's uh YouTube  DIY how to uh adjust uh the gear   shiftings and uh yeah let's just see. I couldn't fix the problem because I   didn't know that the cable got stuck  in the shifting mechanism and ripped. I was trying to fix something I couldn't. and when I realized what was wrong we   didn't know what to do because, well  ,silly me didn't have a spare cable. we had two options. option one was to hitchhike   all the way back to Yerevan. 400 km and see if we could   find a cable on the way. we didn't see any other   bike shops on the map, except for Yerevan. I was fed up and asked Timo what else could   possibly happen. I was so fed up.  the second option was to fix the gear  and then ride the last 2 kilm to to   the border with a fixed gear and from there  hitchhiked 200 km to the first city in Iran. a sleepless night just in front of the Border. my head is spinning.  I don't know which way to go. is this our sign?  is the pursuit of Adventure worth  risking one's safety and stability?  when faced with uncertainty how do we  decide whether to push forward or return?  in a World filled with conflicting advice and  warnings how do we determine what path to follow? we've made a decision.  our decision to cycle into Iran  has been tested multiple times.  in my opinion we have passed the test. we are ready to cross the border. the pursuit of Adventure may  become uncomfortable at some point.  when faced with uncertainty I tend to  push forward rather than stand still.  in a world filled with conflicting advice   and warnings I follow the path  that I believe is the right one.

Channel: Giant Cheerio

Views: 37,060

Keywords: bike trip, bikepacking, bikepacking film, bikepacking trip, border exploration, cycling armenia, cycling iran, cycling motivation, cycling movie, gravel bike, gravel cycling, iran travel, love crossing borders, overland travellers, unconventional journey, unconventional travel, Iran, Travel iran, middel east, travel to iran, iran vlog

Id: dQLBHCxE0A0

Length: 26min 31sec (1591 seconds)

Published: Tue May 28 2024