Posts Tagged ‘China’

Day 214. 136km Hongyuan – Crossroads 209/G317

Posted: December 12, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
3

The world is a different place in the sun. The yurt filled valley was beautiful, bordered by low rolling hills, a wide meandering river in its centre. Then, over a small pass, and I find myself cycling down through a green, forested valley, sun and wind at my back.

The plains in the sun

The plains in the sun

It was many hours on the bike, trying to get through some kilometres (in an attempt to get to Shangri La to extend my visa). Beautiful views. Here are some photos.

Waiting for the dumplings

Waiting for the dumplings

The high plains

The high plains

The watershed

The watershed

The watershed

The watershed

The river going down

The river going down

Day 213. 98km. Abandoned Hut – Hongyuan

Posted: December 11, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
2

‘This is what it is all about’ I thought hurtling along in the sun on the flat smooth road, watching the high mountain plains and the Yellow River roll by. The absolute misery of the morning had turned with food in my belly and the sun on my back. The misery had now become adventure. I have been cycling for one year today and I am on the Tibetan Plateau. How awesome is that?

The plains

The plains

This morning sucked. I had another 16km to go to make it from my abandoned hut to the village where I wanted to have a late breakfast. The road can’t get any worse, I thought. Wrong. It was a mud bath plied by big trucks, ploughing through the slush. And the road climbed – always in the deepest slush. Bumping down a mini-pass I got another flat tyre – 7km out of town. It was raining, there was so much mud wedged between the tyres and the mudguards and brakes, that a tyre repair would have not been easy. I decided to walk. In the village I fixed the tyre, cleaned the bike, and had a horrible lunch of yak with rice. No chance of replenishing my chocolate supplies. This village had nothing that I felt like eating.

The mud

The mud

The roadworks continued, although much less severe. It was usually possible to find some bitumen to ride on, even it if meant weaving around rocks. After 89km, at my 4pm meal break, I was informed by the owner that the roadworks had ended. The sun came out, and the world changed. Fourty-two kilometres to the next town, and I ate up those kilometres to make my daily total almost 100.

P.S. I guess I must admit, the cause of the second flat tyre was as I had a fold of the inner tube inside the tyre. I guess I wasn’t at my best when I fixed the tyre in the abandoned hut.. ☺

Day 212. 114km. Hongxing – Abandoned hut

Posted: December 10, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
0

I wanted to post a 130km day. The Gods didn’t want that. An unexpected 60km of muddy road-works and then a flat tyre during the final sprint saw an end to that. It was raining and getting dark. I am in an abandoned hut a few hundred metres from where I had the flat tyre. The universe provided.

Evening flat tyre

Evening flat tyre

I guess I am a loner. Today I fled from a group of cyclists. I have seen them over and over the last few days – a group of about 10 Chinese cyclists. I ran into them on a pass this morning, and then a thousand photos were taken. I then continued up the hill, only to be passed by people planning to take photos of me climbing the hill with others in view. I just had to get away. I sprinted, passed everyone and fled into the tunnel at the top of the pass. They had to wait at the tunnel entrance for everyone to gather.

The cyclist group

The cyclist group

The photographers

The photographers

I like cycling with 1, 2 or 3 people. I like cycling away from the crowds, and away from the tourism activities offered by the tourism industry. I cycled straight past the lake viewing platform, and the tourist busses lined up there. The guided group of cyclists today gave me the willies. I am interested in my own reaction. Maybe I am a hermit.

I left the main road today on a major secondary road. The altitude profile was more or less flat, and there was going to be a tailwind. I set my sights for the 60km distant town. Well, there were serious roadworks the whole way. It rained. The tailwind stopped. There were no towns – or anything much on the way (except a few yurts). And it was hilly. Up and down and up and down. And then, a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere, 15km from the town. I know, at the start of this trip, I might have panicked. A flat tyre in the rain, getting dark, at 3500m on the Tibetan Plateau. Well, Mr Hermit didn’t panic this time (of which I am quite pleased), and found the abandoned hut – I am sharing the hut only with a very loud cat.

Day 211. 94km. Luqu – Hongxing

Posted: December 9, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
2

My body is used to the heat of the desert. At 3500m there is not much desert heat left. My attempt at making lots of kilometres today was foiled by a flat tyre and lack of motivation to cycle into the cold without a destination with a roof over my head known. 94km it is.

Wrapped up bike inspection

Wrapped up bike inspection

I had a welcome surprise cycling into a little village. Paro and Dwayn were there waving. They had seen me from the bus and had got out to see me.

Me, Paro and Dwayn

Me, Paro and Dwayn

The high plains

The high plains

Day 210. 104km. Xiahe – Luqu

Posted: December 8, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
0

The two young monks in front of us stood then dropped to their knees, then rose again. One was fast, the other (the one we saw yawning) was slower. The fast one was relieved from this praying duty by the head monk. The slower one continued. At six o’ clock in the morning, I am not surprised he was yawning.

The high plains

The high plains

My new friends Paro and Dwayn and I braved the early-morning rain to watch the monks. Then we had a nice breakfast of eggs, porridge and more. I don’t know what the monks ate. By eleven o’ clock I could procrastinate no longer, and I headed out into the drizzle.

Dwayn, Paro and me.

Dwayn, Paro and me.

‘Is the road flat?’ I ask the hotel manager who knows the region well. ‘Yes.’ Well, I discovered over again, what looks flat from a car is not necessarily flat. I was climbing or falling most of the day, but on excellent roads with little wind or a tailwind. My highest point was 3500m. My endpoint is 3100m. The scenery was grey and drab. I bet it looks stunning in the sun, but, with this weather, its head down and onwards. I will continue to take main roads until the weather improves. There are places to stay on the main roads, and bad-weather cycling is best on good roads.

New Video: From Holland to Australia by bike. Bishkek – Xiahe

Posted: December 7, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , ,
5

Time for a break and time for a new video. This stretch – a kilometre rich stretch – was dry, hot and windy. It was a lot of fun! I hope you enjoy the video. 🙂

Day 209. 37km. Wanggertang – Xiahe

Posted: December 7, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
0

They continue coming. Up the dirt path as I head down. Monks in red gowns. Old men and women in their simple clothes, propped by walking sticks. Wizened faces and old gowns. They have come a long way to walk this path, walk along the prayer wheel wall, and spin the wheels, symbolizing countless repetitions of prayers. The Labrang monastery.

Prayer wheels

Prayer wheels

Prayer wheels

Prayer wheels

The road continued, past the factories and the holiday yurt colonies. The guesthouses are perched directly opposite the monastery – on the road with its constant symphony of the honking of horns. Directly behind the pilgrims spin the prayer wheels. Pilgrims that have not been swept up in the materialistic tsunami, they seem from a different existence. In moments of quiet, they can hear the groaning of the wheels as their heavy weight rotates inside the prayer-hut. Then a cacophony of horns shatters the pathos. Angry and impatient drivers press to move forward. ‘I am here. I’m in a hurry. I am more important. Let me through!’ And one is returned to the ‘real’ world.

Labrang Monastery

Labrang Monastery

Today I passed 18000km. Tomorrow I rest.

18000km

18000km

Day 208. 99km. Qiyang – Wanggeertang

Posted: December 6, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
2

It was grey and the road climbed slowly. I am ready for my planned rest in Xiahe – a break from cycling and the endless honking of horns.

My camp spot

My camp spot

Busy town

Busy town

I am in the mountains. The signs also have Tibetan script. I was surprised to see similarities with the Hindi Sanskrit script. I hadn’t noticed that before.

Today was a day of tunnels (forbidden for cyclists), of a new bike pump (given to me for free from the lovely people at the Giant shop in Linxia) and my first super-cheap hotel found all by my little self – 3USD.

The Giant bike shop in Linxia

The Giant bike shop in Linxia

Fully loaded

Fully loaded

Day 207. 126km. Datong – Qiyang

Posted: December 5, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
0

I have mountains from close-up. I have lakes. I have (very) steep roads. I have tunnels. I have the Yellow River. I’m away from the cycling to eat the kilometres. From here the road goes up – on to the Tibetan Plateau.

A small mountain road at last

A small mountain road at last

It was time for another good-bye – this time with Wendy. She gave me a postcard with all the vocab (and Chinese characters) I need on my trip forward. All the ways of saying hotel or room as well as restaurant and ice-cream.

Farewell to Wendy

Farewell to Wendy

Today was all about the Yellow River. I saw it brown. I saw it blue. I left it’s valley twice on very steep roads, only to return later. I also saw the Yellow River as a lake, and cycled along the brand new road skirting its shores, complete with some massive tunnels. The road is so new, there are no villages, and so nowhere to stay or eat. Time to roll out the tent.. ☺

The Yellow River

The Yellow River

The Yellow River

The Yellow River

The Yellow River Lake

The Yellow River Lake

Day 206. 118km. Shibalipu – Datong

Posted: December 4, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
0

The main road with lots of trucks. There was a climb over a pass of 3000m, but I didn’t feel immersed in the nature. The Tibetan Plateau is approaching – there was a village with Tibetan script – but I’m not there yet.

Tibetan script

Tibetan script

‘This is the Silk Road’ said one of the Chinese cyclists that we met on the way. I have been on the Silk Road since Turkey, although this corridor through northern China is the climax. It is now a corridor with big freeways and roads and fairly bland villages. We are now less than 100km from Lanzhou – the capital of Gansu province. I intend to avoid it. Wendy will be going through to Langzhou tomorrow to catch her train. Our paths will diverge then.

Older Entries
Newer Entries