Posts Tagged ‘China’

Day 205. 82km. Wuwei – Shibalipu

Posted: December 3, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
5

They stood at the freeway exit with their SLR camera taking photos of us. Only this time, it as the police who had instructed us to leave the freeway. I was holding my breath.

Fixing the flat tyre

Fixing the flat tyre

They drove right past Wendy and told me to leave the freeway. She thought we could just continue on until she realised they meant business waiting for us at the freeway exit with their lights flashing. I acted dumb (not difficult) and let Wendy do the talking. I felt like their tone was different to me, the Weiguoren (foreigner). To Wendy, they acted like her (and our) guardian angel. There is no place ahead to sleep for many kilometres so you should leave the freeway here. Acting all innocent and grateful, we left the freeway. They now have some great snaps of the Weiguoren and the Zhongguoren (Chinese person).

I have some great snaps of the mass of people that looked over my shoulder while I was looking at Facebook on my phone. Every time I lacked my privacy, the camera went on. I might have irritated some of them. Damn. ☺ Actually, it all became a bit of a joke, and I took photos of the whole village looking over my shoulder.

Looking at Facebook over my shoulder

Looking at Facebook over my shoulder

The morning was spent in Wuwei fixing my Chinese mobile internet, getting some money and finding a bike shop to fix Wendy’s brakes. We both felt a bit stupid when the person at the bike shop fixed the problem in 10 seconds in front of our eyes. A brake cable had come out of its holder and needed to be put back in.

My flat tyre later in the day took about 30 minutes to fix. I was amazed to learn that Wendy did not have anything to fix a flat tyre, and had not had one. She watched on in interest as I fixed the problem. It is kind of weird to think that I was being looked on as the technical expert (!).

Our evening ride turned a bit problematic when we realised we had misread distances and altitudes and it got dark a long way from anywhere. Luckily, the cluster of shops called Shibalipu (= 9km shop in Chinese) popped up. It has a little hotel. It is not 9km from anywhere I know of..

Day 204. 136km. Fengcheng – Wuwei

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

The lights were out and the door was closed. There was a knocking from outside. Ignoring it didn’t make it go away. It was the police. Word had got around that there were foreigners in our little hangout.

The mountains in the distance

The mountains in the distance

Our host’s little spare room in the tiny little village was not immune to the watch of the police. Out passports were checked for about half an hour before we could return to sleep.

This morning was cold and rainy. This afternoon was sunny and pleasant. Our group split in two. Oliver and Mira wanted to take their time more, and Wendy (the new English name we gave her) and I wanted to speed along a bit more. Tonight we find ourselves in a rather luxurious but cheap hotel in the outskirts of Wuwei.

The farewell

The farewell

Day 203. 112km. Zhangye – Fengcheng

Posted: December 1, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
2

This morning four cyclists left the hostel in Zhangye on the road to Langzhou. This evening four cyclists arrived in a little village on the side of the freeway. In between we cycled in the drizzle through cultivated land, stopping to eat, drink, and clamber over the fences to get to and from the freeway.

The cycling group of 4

The cycling group of 4

Today was the second time we were refused entry to the freeway. This time, however, the alternative meant backtracking 15km. Instead, we cycled along a dirt track that ran parallel to the freeway until we found a hole in the fence. Today we just did the kilometres and called it a day. The Chinese cycling colleague helped us all find a house that takes guests that I would have never found. Now I know what to look for, I think I can find a place to stay everywhere in small towns far away from the police.

Oh. By the way, in my rest day (another one!) in Zhangye, we discovered that the road to Xining we wanted to take has been closed to foreigners for 30 years. This means another few hundred kilometres of the same flat plains towards Langzhou before climbing to the Tibetan Plateau. Sigh.

Day 202. 244km. Jinyuguan – Zhangye

Posted: November 30, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
7

How to cycle 244km in one day? Well, don’t plan it. Start at 2am, and cycle with the thought, I need to make the most of right now – there is no wind right now. I pushed, cycling the maximum speed possible at every moment. Living in the now, if you will. The feared wind never came, and the kilometres rolled past. All 244 of them.

244km in one day

244km in one day

It is dark. Everyone is sleeping. Everyone except the night drivers. It is the night shift. Just me and the long-distance truck drivers whoosing past in a blur of spacy multicolour light. And the desert – almost invisible in the shadows to the side.

The sky slowly gains some colour. I notice I can see the desert. The bleak, empty desert I now know all so well. And on the horizon I see some orange and pink. Then I leave the freeway at my planned exit. The only one awake, leaving the realm of the night shift.

Leaving the freeway at dawn

Leaving the freeway at dawn

And the speed continues. I need to make the kilometres before the wind comes. Only it doesn’t. There was even a slight breath of tailwind. I push the speed on. I was already clocking up an impressive distance. Then, suddenly, reaching Zhangye – something that I had never even considered – seemed possible. I flipped into challenge mode. I was going to cycle there in one day. And that is what I did.

Sheep in the river bed

Sheep in the river bed

On a side-note – I had a day off yesterday in Jiayuguan, where I went to look at the Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall

Day 201. 94km. Chijin – Jiayuguan

Posted: November 29, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
2

To escape the wind. Today I changed my route, leaving the freeway to what I suspected was a road through farmland with the accompanying wind protection. My mind was focussing on how to avoid the wind. And I have it – tomorrow I will be cycling at night! Night rider!

The long road

The long road

The road south to Yumen town looked on the map like it was through farmland (any roads on the map leaving the freeway with occasional side roads are usually farmland). Well, it climbed 500m across a desert plain to a ridge with a massive oil refinery. I was happy though – with almost no wind in the morning, I rocketed up the 500m, and had that altitude to ‘spend’ cycling down against the wind to Jiayuguan. No farmland though.

Police

Police

I passed the 17000km mark from Eindhoven.

17000km

17000km

A rest day is planned visiting the Great Wall and then I’m turning nocturnal!

Day 200. 79km. Shulehe – Chijin

Posted: November 28, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
0

There are spots of green in this desert. Trees, Corn and sunflower crops. And protection from the wind. Then the desert continues and the wind hits like a wall. With a small side component to the gale-force headwind, my non-aerodynamic luggage slams on the brakes. OK. OK. 7km/h it is.

Wind in the grass

Wind in the grass

I have read about cyclists who have taken busses to cross this vast desert. I have read how dejecting it is to get nowhere slowly with the terrible winds, and how they step onto the bus. I have always wanted to cycle all the way to Australia, without busses or other forms of transport (except when water makes cycling impossible). I can understand this dejection.

The weather forecast is for the same as far forward as it goes. Gentler winds (about 17km/h headwind) are in the morning. Stronger headwinds (30km/h+) are in the afternoons. There are still hundreds of kilometres to go. Cycling into the wind is not like normal cycling where you pedal, and have regular pauses from pedalling as you just roll along. With this wind, the moment I stop pedalling, the wheels stop turning and I have to step off the bike. It is a mind game. I still intend to cycle tomorrow. Let’s see if and when the bus beckons.

Exhausted after another windy day

Exhausted after another windy day

Day 199. 93km. Shuwei – Shulehe

Posted: November 27, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
2

There are not enough hours of light and I am not strong enough to clock-up 100km with a wind like this. Sometimes I just stop. In the middle of the desert. In the sun. And just drop my head over my arms on the handlebars. This wind is relentless and, at this speed, the desert is infinite.

Strong wind

Strong wind

Sometimes I take the freeway. Sometimes I take the parallel road. I change between the two (often acrobatically due to the fence that follows the freeway) when there is a shop of some kind. It means a well-earned break from the wind. Sometimes I duck into a water drainage passage under the freeway. The wind is also less there.

With a wind like this, I don’t really notice the surroundings – a lot of glare and a lot of sand. I focus on some podcasts I have downloaded, and stay inside my mental cocoon.

Dry desert

Dry desert

My goal of Yumen was just too far. Off my planned route was the town of Shulehe – and from where I was, it was perpendicular to the wind. That’s where I wanted to go! The road had lots of trees blocking the side wind, and it was magic easily passing 10 km/h, and even hitting 20! Straight to the expensive tourist hotel. Tonight, I deserve it!

Sunflower drying

Sunflower drying

Day 198. 92km. Tianshuijian – Shuwei

Posted: November 26, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
0

‘Mei you.’
There is a chatter of ‘weiguoren’ (foreigner). No hotel room for foreigners. Only the (4 star) official foreigner hotels are ok. After an hour of looking, I left Guazhou and off into the windy desert to camp.

The wind blowing the Chinese flag

The wind blowing the Chinese flag

It was slim pickings along the road regarding food. Not the restaurant every 10km I was used to. I left with enough water, ate some snacks on the way, and stopped at multiple melon stands to eat a melon or two. More than that was not on offer. Big town Guazhou was the first restaurant, and a multitude of hotels. Having travelled with Achun (who officially also needs to stay in foreigner hotels, being from Hong Kong) I was ready for an early evening and a long rest before the long slog into the desert. It was not to be.

The long desert road

The long desert road

After a further slog into the wind, I find myself in a dry creek bed near a little oasis village, only accessible from the road parallel to the freeway. I don’t think they get many people outside of the village here.. ☺

Day 197. 61km. Dunhuang – Tianshuijian

Posted: November 25, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
5

I lie windbattered and a bit confused in a tin shack at a parking spot on the freeway between Dunhuang and Guazhou. I am safe, and alone inside, listening to the wind howling outside. The headwind was dramatic as Achun and I crawled forward through the sheets of sand and dust to the first sign of life since leaving Dunhuang. And then Achun said that he was leaving, and didn’t want to cycle with me.

A windy melon stand

A windy melon stand

I am at a loss, and sad that Achun has left. I don’t understand why. He was a bit distressed yesterday evening when I really couldn’t eat what I had taken at the all-you-can-eat buffet. A ‘food-wastage’ fine hung over my head, but my western stomach couldn’t eat what I had foolishly taken. Was it my irritation when fixing a flat tyre just after we were about to leave this morning? I may never know. Anyway, I’m cycling alone again..

We stayed for 2 days in Dunhuang, resting and visiting the famous sand dunes. And they are huge! They rise hundreds of metres above the town – just the right thing for me. I’ve always loved running up and down sandhills.

The vast sandy expanse

The vast sandy expanse

The top of the sandhill

The top of the sandhill

On the way up

On the way up

Day 196. 125km. Liuyuan – Dunhuang

Posted: November 24, 2015 in China, Cycling
Tags: , , ,
2

Before us the road was infinite, to all sides the desert was vast. Grey pebbles and sand, the odd tiny scrubby bush. Grey below the horizon, blue above, and a scorching white sun burning us from the heavens.

The dusty road

The dusty road

Huang left before us when there was no obvious sign of movement from Achun’s tent. Several hours later Achun and I departed, and made our way along this often sandy, bumpy road, plied by massive road-work trucks. Away from the road-works, the desert was all encompassing. I love this barren landscape – this piece of parched earth – void of people. Just us, the sun, the earth, and the heat.

The dusty road

The dusty road

The dusty road

The dusty road

Arrival in Dunhuang – quite high on the Chinese tourist-Mecca list, was a jolt back to reality. Crowds of people perusing over souvenirs of polished rocks, bangles and bracelets, cards and t-shirts. A whole street of touristy restaurants at inflated prices. Dusty, sweaty (and probably smelly), we joined the masses, oozing past people as we slowly crept forward. We realised that we both don’t like this.
‘Food! Food! Sit down!’
A menu was thrust in our faces.
Whisk us away. Take us to a place where the wind, the sun and the clouds are our only companions. To a place where we are part of nature – not just observing it, consuming it, with thousands of others in a protective bubble of civilization. Take us away.

Bubble tea

Bubble tea

Older Entries
Newer Entries