July 31st (Saturday) Linxia (Gansu) 110KM
Posted: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 10:07:18
I don't know where to begin with today's synopsis. The first
half of the day was an eye opener in a positive way, and the second
half of the day was the most difficult day to date as far as communication
goes. Yesterday I had finally found the elusive 16" rim which resides
on this fold away bike built by Giant. I tried everything to get
this guy to sell me the tire but he wouldn't. Finally his niece
came down to try and help but we were not able to resolve anything
as he wanted to call the factory to see if the part was available
(it was 7PM). We all agreed that I would come back today and try
again but my brain was functioning to well as this is Saturday and
the chances of the factory being open were nil. They were very nice
and tried to help but we couldn't get anything done. Now it occurs
to me if you sell a product, especially something with a short lifespan
that you also provide parts for it or at the very least are able
to order parts very easily. This concept does not seem to be understood
in China. I wonder what the car dealerships are like? Oh the headlight
burnt out, too bad we don't carry headlights and have no clue where
to order them from. By the way what does order from factory mean
anyway. After that I hit the road and the thing is it's not there
fault and they really tried to help so I wasn't at all upset, I
just don't understand the thinking. So today's ride was going to
be a bit of a mystery as I was taking an unmarked road on the map
but it saved me probably 100KM. When I got to the turn off I was
pretty hungry so I stopped at this little place and this guy made
an awesome meal. The cost, nothing cause he saw my bike and I guess
he liked me. The meal was also quite massive as it had a full omelet
on top of noodles. Meals have been costing around $1 CAN lately
and noodles is the usual meal, but they are always different in
each place and always tasty. I can't seem to find dumplings anywhere
in Gansu! The mainland Chinese sure give me mixed feelings, some
like this guy are so generous and friendly and truly genuine. The
other extreme is arrogant ones who mock foreigners - buddy you don't
know your history do ya? Anyway this is the extreme stereo types
as many are also very shy towards foreigners. After that incredible
awesome meal I struggled back onto the bike with my pregnant belly
and headed for Linxia where I would stay two nights. Shortly after
leaving I crossed a large river and took some photos - really I
did. There was a little dude there and we made funny faces at each
other so I took a picture of him as well. He decided he wanted to
ride with the big boys so he followed me for quite a way, maybe
5 KM? He was a real nice kid and I conveyed that I was from Canada
but other than that we didn't comprehend each other very well. At
one point the poor kid bailed, so I stopped and waited for him,
I didn't laugh to much later but it was pretty funny. I'm curious
to what consists of his life from day to day. Shortly after he stopped
these two cheeky monkey's started to ride alongside me. The guy
that was riding the rear rack was mocking me to catch them and yes
pride got in the way a bit. I passed the bastards easily but to
my dismay they quickly caught up and gave me a good run for the
money. I had them on the hills with my 24 gears but they seemed
to catch me on the flats. I finally decided to go all out to discourage
them and this seemed to work but it left me tired. Those little
shits!!!!! Okay I know China is diverse but this part of the country
is almost completely Muslim. Every little town I passed had a brand
new Mosque or one being built. I'm sure this is due to religious
tolerance that is starting to come about very slowly. Before this
I had only seem the Mosque in Xian. No everyone is donning a little
Muslim cap. Around 80KM there is a massive hill but it was all downhill
in Linxia. I booked a hotel and tried to explain to the hotel staff
I needed to get me laundry done. They thought I wanted to do it
or one of the workers to do it by hand. Hmmmmmm 400,000 people live
in this city, I don't think a laundry mat is out of the question.
Anyway I gave up on them and started walking. I found one about
3KM later but they would wash my underwear??? I was like grab the
whole frigging load, through it in, forget about separating colors,
this is bike cloths.... anyway I really don't get it or just explain
very poorly. Also of note, laundry isn't cheap in china and in fact
cost around the same as Canada for what I was doing. Actually more.
Okay so I was a little pissed after that little drama and seriously
if I hand you a bag of dirty cloths and make a scrubbing motion
with my hands what do you fucking think I want done? One group of
people pointed me to the barber shop!!!!! Okay enough ranting, I
grabbed the local dish which is meat, vegetables and noodles in
a cat iron pot that they cook for you when you point one out. It
looked more appetizing than it really was but it was okay. Okay
I have one more rant but this one I can understand. I have spent
a good deal trying to explain long distance code, but not even the
operators seem to understand. To be fair though, in these small
towns I'm pretty sure they don't make any calls outside the country
or even county for that matter. Canada is 001 for anyone wanting
to know. Finally I am dying for a Keg Steak - that's all I can say!!!
G
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July 30th (Friday) Lintao (Gansu) 81KM
Posted: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 00:16:00
July 30th (Friday) Lintao (Gansu) 81KM
Mom, this ones just for you. I came across the most amazing countryside
in China to date. After leaving Weiyuan you climb up into to the
countryside past a dam and into terraced mountains covered in mostly
greens, yellows and reds. Past that the mountains are untamed and
covered in green bushes and trees. Winding up the highway I came
across two tiny villages, both about 500 - 1000 meters from the
highway which had clear mountain streams running through them. Almost
every other town or small village has housing within 2 feet of the
highway and this is no exaggeration. There was no garbage to be
seen and only a faint amount smoke coming from a couple of the small
houses. I tried to video this but only managed a few pictures as
I ran out of space on the camera and then the battery died. Beautiful
day!!!!
G
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July 29th (Thursday) Weiyuan (Gansu) 49 KM
Posted: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 00:05:35
July 29th (Thursday) Weiyuan (Gansu) 49 KM
Early in the day yesterday I was in search of the
infamous 16" rim for my trailer as I have know lost 4 spokes. I
had three of those repaired in Xi-an but cutting longer spokes to
fit but I want a spare just in case the tire goes kaput. Anyway
I was in the bike shop earlier trying to find a rim or spare spokes
but couldn't, this was harder than explaining anything I have encountered
so far. Anyway I went back to the computer place- this all happened
yesterday as mentioned- and sent some pictures via e-mail (Matt
has gone awol however - I figure he is out of town as it is now
August 5th that I am writing and I am in Lanzhou). When I finished
the guy from the bike store was outside looking for me as I guess
I wasn't hard to track down. All he had to ask is where did the
guilou go?
He said he had a rim for me which I should have
know better but I was jumping for joy! When we got back to the shop
he must have been confused as it was an 18" rim - doh! We walked
outside as he was determined to help and there happened to be a
little kids bike with a 16" rim. He wouldn't sell the rim but he
gave me 5 spokes off of it and guess what? he refused any money!
I shouldn't be surprised but I am.... anyway he wanted to get a
picture with me at the city gate so I obliged and offered to pay
for that, but no way!!! Anyway it was a real genuine gesture and
I was totally beside myself after.
Okay on with today (July 29th). It was starting
to rain as I left and had to assure the lady at the hotel that Canada
was a land of hearty individuals and a little rain was nothing.
A block away from the hotel the rain picked up a bit and I got my
first flat!!!!! I must thank Gary at Overtime sports for assembling
me such an awesome durable and cheap bike. I have traveled 2500KM
through all kinds of roads and only have had a flat and broken peddle
(the trailer was bought at MEC). Anyway I broke down the bike which
is like second nature and had the tire replaced in no time. I started
to pump it up and before I could stop and let the air out the seem
burst on the actual tire. Okay I got a little concerned as I only
brought two tires and I have already sent one back home -dumbass!!!
After replaced the tire and got going. Lintao is another 74KM so
it should be a good test for the knee.
Subsequently I have found a web site of another
Canadian who biked China in 1998. His back tire went out around
the same mileage but he said the front was still good after 4000KM
which is nice to hear. I will pick up a spare just in case though.
G
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July 28th (Wednesday) Longxi (Gansu)
- Rest Day!
Posted: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 23:47:06
July 28th (Wednesday) Longxi (Gansu)
- Rest Day!
After arriving in Longxi yesterday
I went to the hospital. Going to the hospital in China was quite
the interesting experience. Like everything I encountered so far
is a whole new type of language barrier. I knew all I really needed
was an ice pack (the one that came with my first aid kit sucked)
and some anti-inflammatory medicine (Ibuprofen -spelling). However
the doctor who checked me out got me some tape and two bottles of
what I think is painkiller but they look like rabbit pellets (yes
rabbit shit). Well it really wasn't that painful but unfortunately
the swelling has not really gone down. I was able to find a street
vendor with a frozen bottle of water (that took about half an hour)
which I think did more good than the trip to the hospital! Anyway
while I was in the hospital (yes I need sympathy) it started a bit
of a commotion as it seemed all of the interns gathered around to
watch. There was honestly 20 people standing around while people
sat in other rooms dying for medical attention. I have to admit
though this was pretty prompt service compared to Canada where you
need to have a serious life threatening injury before a doctor will
see you. After the hospital and getting the frozen water bottle
I retired to the hotel and read a book as I needed to rest. That
night I went out as my knee felt a little better and I always have
to check out the town no matter how tired I am etc. Well I grabbed
a bag of the local popcorn which had a sweet taste to it but sucked
because I like lots of butter on mine and then sat down near the
city gate. Within seconds of trying to take to a Chinese couple
I was seriously mobbed. It was actually kind of intimidating as
no one said anything and yet they were within a few feet of me staring
at me. I tried to continue a sort of broken conversation with the
couple but after about ten minutes I decided to go as I really felt
uncomfortable. I went back to the hotel and watched some soccer!
Today I walked around picking up
some necessity items (TP) from the local market. It is very hard
to describe the local markets here but I'm sure y'all seen them
on TV shows where they hawk everything from witches broomsticks
to lucky lizards (actually I haven't seen any lizards in China yet).
Basically they sell everything and then you walk a few stores down
and they're hawking the same items. Most of it is just junk and
if you stop to look the merchants are all over you. Anyway this
town is pretty small and not really worth a visit for the most part.
G
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July 27th (Wednesday) Longxi (Gansu)
53KM
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 21:20:47
July 27th (Wednesday) Longxi (Gansu)
53KM
Well I didn't get feathered but today
did start off with a bang, literally! The first section of road
a minute out of town was gravel and the bike slide out to the right
on me. It was probably just early in the morning being half asleep
but I rammed my left knee (problem knee) into the handle bars or
possibly the lock on the handle bars. It hurt obviously and was
right on the tendon above the knee cap. I was more mad that I had
done it at first but throughout the rest of the day it swelled up
and then finally began to stiffen. I arrived in Longxi and even
though Weiyaun was less than 50km away I knew there was no point
in continuing. I am writing this July 28th so it turns out I stayed
an extra day as the swelling hasn't gone down enough and I am still
a little stiff. I should leave by tomorrow. Finally the internet
place I am at allowed me to send some more pictures - you lucky
bastards!
G
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July 26th (Monday) Wushan (Gansu) 50KM
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 21:14:36
July 26th (Monday) Wushan (Gansu) 50KM
The Daxiangshan Grottoes were cool and for 10 Yuan
it easily beat out the Maijishan. Obviously these grottoes weren't
as hard to create and there are not that many but it was easy to
get around and see everything. The large Buddha which is about 30
meters high is actually viewable from the town of Wushan. There
was also a completely brand new section on the back side which had
tremendous artwork on everything from the door handles to the stairway
railings. I really enjoy seeing the artwork being recreated as it
is so timeless. Another bonus was there was almost no one there
except some monks and workers.
The first part of the ride was excellent for riding
and scenery with only a few sketchy sections. It was pretty flat
as well so I was wondering how lucky was I?
Well I didn't get feathered today in reference to
July 25th but I was mudded? It had poured rain the last night and
I hit this small town were the main drag, well only road through,
was completely flooded in the middle. There was a line of trucks
trying to get through and I thought it amusing enough to take a
few pictures. Well I quickly realized there were no side streets
and I would have to battle through the same mud in some sections.
I took the foot paths as much as possible but inevitably I had to
go through one of the bad sections. Well the trailer tire was dragging
and would spin and it was slippery and balancing that pig can be
a challenge on paved road. I got more or less stuck and had to get
off and pull the bike up the embankment. I started unclogging the
mud be hand and within 30 seconds an older gentlemen had showed
up with a stick and began helping - didn't say a word, he just smiled
and helped. Pretty soon a crowd had gathered and some sweet angel
had brought a bucket of water. I have so many mixed feelings about
China in general but they never cease to amaze me at their generosity
and there ability to drop what their doing and help a stranger.
It's very heartwarming. Anyway I slugged up the hill which was a
little drier and then onto pavement again.
Drive train was clogged again!!!!! ugh!!!!
I cleaned it best I could and then started looking
for a water source of any kind - puddles - river etc. I noticed
a spanking clean truck on the side of the road and pulled in to
meet the entrepreneur of the township. She had a generator and compressor
and for 5 Yuan I could clean my bike. Sweet! I cleaned it all up
and then re-oiled the drive train. Okay so things weren't so bad!
I kept moving and eventually pulled into a town
which I thought was Wushan (it wasn't). I ate lunch and then moved
on thinking I would reach Longxi next. Well I pulled into Wushan
- doh! - and decided to stop instead of riding another 50km. The
first hotel wouldn't take me once they saw my bike but I met another
Chinese friend Kang Hong Wei who brought me to a different hotel
were I cleaned up. We went to use the internet and while there I
asked if he knew where I could use the internet on a computer with
a cd player. He said no problem, so I grabbed my picture cd and
we headed over there were I sent some pictures!!!! No Shit really!
After that we went for some dinner which he wouldn't let me pay
for and I called it a night. Maybe tomorrow is the day I get feathered.
On a side note Lance won and ironically Team Mobile won - I'm stupid....
G
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July 25th (Sunday) Gangu (Gansu)
87KM
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 20:53:11
July 25th (Sunday) Gangu (Gansu)
87KM
Well I officially got tarred today!
I was having such a great ride too. It really didn't feel like 90km
at all which may have been due to the rest day. Around 60km into
it I did a 4km climb which was a nice paved road with a reasonable
incline. On the descent I encountered what looked like a gravel
section with oil of top to keep the dust down - HA! It was freshly
laid tar, the tar truck was maybe 500 meters up the road! Before
I realized it tar and chunks of gravel were flying everywhere (I
got covered) and clogging up the drive train. There was no way around
it as we were way up in the hills with no side roads. Apparently
two guys on the side of the road thought this was quite humorous
- I started thinking REDRUM!!! REDRUM!!!!!!!!!!!
Truly though I was seriously mad
and was inches away from getting off the bikes and pounding the
shit out of the little bastards. It really takes a lot to get me
mad but seeing my bike getting potentially fucked really lit the
fuse!
Anyway I stopped and sacrificed my
toothbrush and towel to clean the drive train as best as I could
(no brainer). The rest of the way was all downhill so when I got
to town I picked up some scrub brushes, detergent and small towels
for cleaning. I booked a hotel and then brought my bike into to
the alley where I spent a good 1 to 2 hours cleaning the bike. I
took off the chain and big ring sort off and cleaned every tooth
etc. so maybe this was another look on the brightside thing. The
gear looked very good and the chain didn't have too much wear considering
the km. After that I cleaned up - ouch - and almost no need to mention,
bike first, me second. Cleaning up reminded me of getting really
dirty when I was a kid. My mom wouldn't let me into the house unless
I scrubbed and hosed off in freezing cold water - see mom you really
prepared me for my adult life (just kidding). That night I tried
to stay awake to watch the time trials but couldn't manage. It turns
out Lance kicked major ass as did Ulrich. Is there anyone close
to these guys?
Point of interest to cyclists or
people who watch cycling:
There is a famous lake in China -
Qunghai. The Tibetans race around the lake with horses around this
time of year to encourage good agriculture I think. It is approximately
500km in circumference so a pretty long ride on horseback which
they still do to this day. Watching the good old CCTV5 I have been
following a bike race around the same lake with competitors from
all over. These guys are probably one level below the tour de France
riders but it would be interesting to watch or possibly compete
in. There was a Canadian team but they pulled out because one guy
got injured or something. Anyway tomorrow I will go see the third
of the fourth famous grottoes in China.
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July 24th (Saturday) Maijishan
(Gansu) Tourist Day
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 20:31:56
July 24th (Saturday) Maijishan (Gansu)
Tourist Day
I have mixed feelings about the Maijishan
Grottoes. I took the bus instead of taxi or biking which would have
been hell. It cost 20 Yuan which was reasonable as the ride was
about 1 and half hours. The drive was very scenic and it turns out
Maijishan is a Mecca for tourist attractions. Most are related to
nature and they have protected the are sort t of like Hua Shan in
Shaanxi province, so it's good to know China is looking toward the
future as far as preservation, even if it is only for tourist money
(ah too cynical I am). Honestly though China has an extensive amount
of natural beauty similar to the west coast of North America, they
just need to keep it clean and people will come here in droves.
There are two entrance fees to Maijishan,
25 Yuan to enter the park area which is very large and 32 Yuan to
climb up to the grottoes. On the walk way up to the grottoes you
see this peak shaped like the wide half of an egg with a giant carving
of Buddha on a shear cliff. You also see the stairways attached
to the cliff which people are trudging up and down. So at first
glance this looks out of this world. Unfortunately when you get
up there 90% of the caves ranging from a half cubic meter to 3 cubic
meters are all covered by doors with screen windows. So the place
is not camera friendly and some the smaller grottoes are impossible
to see in even with a flashlight. The stairs were pretty new and
I was kind of hoping they were still wooden and precarious, but
there nice and solid - damn! Don't get me wrong though I would recommend
seeing it as the mere construction of it is quit amazing. The brought
all of the supplies to the top of the mountain and worked their
way down. They built scaffolding which they dismantled after completing
each section, so the only previous access was by stacking ladders
as the caves are 100 to 200 feet above the ground. They also built
them during the succession of 3 dynasties (Wei, Tang and ummm...
forgot).
I had chatted with some people on
the bus ride here and on the way back all of the children wanted
to sit beside me (cuz I'm cool like Potter!). The kids really get
excited when they see a freak of nature but are always timid at
first, it's very cute. Anyway I got to sit next to the kid with
the bug collection (no bandages on his chin - that kid was hilarious!).
They were actually skins from bugs that he had collected. They had
pretty menacing looking claws. Anyway it was a good rest day and
there is a tonne more to see here next time I come back.
G
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July 23rd (Friday) Bei Dao - Tian
Shui (Gansu) 116KM
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 20:14:00
July 23rd (Friday) Bei Dao - Tian
Shui (Gansu) 116KM
Long ride with an enormous climb
(very steep) around 98KM but a great ride none the less. I was totally
expecting a tunnel but I guess this mountain was a little to thick
to build a tunnel, or maybe too expensive? Overall I made decent
time and the landscape was incredible. I basically followed the
Yellow River the whole way and at one point the markers were labeled
310 once again which is always pleasing to the soul when you know
your on the right path. I am not sure of the elevation gain but
it had to be in the 1000 to 2000 meter range. The surrounding mountains
were between 500 - 1000 meters above the road so I am really starting
to get some altitude compared to home. It was a really beautiful
ride and since the train followed the same route I would definitely
recommend taking the train to Lanzhou through this route.
I booked two nights as I am going
to bus over to Maijishan tomorrow which is about 30KM south of TaiShui.
There is also a local site near the hotel which I may check out
after but I am not sure what it is. The saddle sores have returned
but thanks to Bret's advice I am off to pick up some rubbing alcohol
and since I am updating this a week later, I can say it works! I
was also going to attempt to burn a CD which I managed to do and
a few days after was able to e-mail some pictures so ya'll should
have something to look at.
On a side note - remember I wrote
this on the 23rd:
Lance is running away with it again.
He really has a strong team unlike Mr. Ulrich (I'll eat those words).
The other day I think it was stage 12 and he pulled away from Armstrong
and was catching all of the pursuant cyclists easily. Each group
however tried to draft him and sapped his strength. If he had a
fellow teammate up there he would have one the stage although he
did break a little early as there 50KM to go. The final group he
caught were a bunch of poofters, he deliberately let them ahead
to lead and it slowed down the pace. So he had to do most of the
leading and by that time Armstrong was gaining. He placed third
that day but I really wanted him to win a stage. Anyway I don't
want to take away too much from Lance as great riders want to ride
on his team and he is probably one of the best riders ever. I was
definitely glad to see him take the yellow Jersey from the French
drama queen. Funny enough near the end of the stage Voeckler got
sprayed in the face with a water bottle from some fan. I don't think
it was intentional but his reaction was hilarious, it was like I
had a fucking bad day, lost the Jersey, now you spray water in my
eye and blind me 'what the fuck!'.
G
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July 22nd (Tuesday) Dong Cha (Gansu)
66KM
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 19:55:37
July 22nd (Tuesday) Dong Cha (Gansu)
66KM
Caught up on some notes and visited
the Tan Mausoleum. It was nothing spectacular but it was still worth
a visit. In 1992 they basically reconstructed the whole thing so
it gave me a better sense of how things might of looked. That being
said they did mix some of the different building styles from different
dynasties as they weren't 100% on how it was built. Within the main
temple there was some pictorials on the wall describing how Tan
was born and things he did when he was alive. Apparently his mother
mated with the gods and Tan was born with ox horns - ouch! (Yes
women can endure more pain). Of course he probably just had lots
of hair as a baby and his mother was probably a concubine of some
rich lord or something. During his life he did bring about positive
changes to agriculture, so he is kind of always associated with
farming and such. You can catch a cab ride right up to the top or
walk it as it is not that high and I think it was only 10 Yuan to
enter. From the top you also get a great view of Baoji.
After heading back down I went looking
for dental floss (practically unknown in China) in the grandiose
supermarket and manage to find the one use kind on a pick. Well
it was better than nothing so I went back to the hotel and packed
to leave.
It was 1PM by the time I got going
which I have to say again and again, the hottest freaking part of
the day, but I wanted to see the mausoleum so tough shit I guess.
The road immediately went into the hills and became a dirt road.
I keep telling myself "this is training for Tibet don't fret about
it" but once and a while I just scream an explanative. The downhill
oddly enough came to the expressway and the intended route (310
highway) just faded into thin air. I stopped there for some ice
cream and to take a little break as it was quite hot. The locals
wanted to know where I was from and where I was going and through
some fluke of miscommunication one guy thought it was okay to try
riding my bike. I noticed this when he was kind of skidding out
of control as you can't turn sharply with all the weight as the
front tire just won't stick. I kind of ran over and yelled at him
and told him to get off which he did but I figure he probably did
ask but I just didn't understand.
So up the Expressway I went and like
any expressway in the mountainous regions, they go through the mountains,
not over. I encountered five tunnels along the way which were all
kind of disturbing to my mental state, but one in particular scared
the shit out of me. Inside this particular tunnel there were motion
sensitive lights for the vehicles, but of course a bike wouldn't
set it off as who in their right mind would ride through a KM long
tunnel in pitch black. This tunnel followed the bend of the mountain
somewhat so I couldn't see the exit and this is one of the few times
I prayed for trucks to pass me. Shortly after entering there were
no vehicles so I had to stop as I couldn't see anything and the
bike light was useless. After a truck came the lights flickered
on and I started pedaling hard just to get the hell out of there.
Today was slow going to say the least
but I wonder what it would have been like without the tunnels? Anyway
I found a cheap/clean hotel for 30 Yuan ( $5CDN) around 6PM and
will ride the rest of the way into TianShui tomorrow (about 100KM).
I am writing this done by the river beside a van. There is some
guy down here who owns the van who has been THRICE divorced and
who is aware he has a 'Bit of a weight problem'. Fortunately for
me he is a motivational speaker and has helped the like of George
Foreman regain his "Dexterity'.
G
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July 21st (Wednesday) Baoji (Shaanxi) 79KM
Posted: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 07:50:12
As most places in China Baoji was
a bit of a surprise. I had intended to avoid it as it looked like
a bigger city and I couldn't identify the local tourist attractions
on the Chinese map. It turns out Baoji is the second largest city
in the Shaanxi province and two of the major attractions are in
the direct vicinity. It is also quite modern or lets developed as
far as the buildings are fairly new looking. However they are not
on the scale of Xian.
I found the first site just outside the city (Tiantai
Shan). I noticed it because there was green sign and a road leading
up into the mountain side. The entrance was full of Chinese tourists
so I figured I should inquire it out at the very least. I spoke
with a guy who was offering rides up for 10 Yuan as it was 8 KM.
Him and another guy who was standing around convinced me to go so
we all hoped into his motorcycle which was a three wheeler consisting
of the front of a motorcycle with a 4' by 6' box on the back on
a leaf suspension. We took the bikes as well and the driver precede
up the narrow road full of vim and psychosis (spelling?). He passed
just about everything and I leaned in the corners as I thought for
some reason this may help - I also kept my Helmut on. There were
several small villages on the way up and actually a few shrines
which we didn't stop at.
I was trying to figure out what I could see up the
mountain side and stumbled into a kind of tourist office where they
were creating tickets or something. It was 5 Yuan to enter and they
gave me a complete English book describing everything that was up
there. It was a 10KM route all the way around and I had been riding
all day so I hummed and hawed about it for a good 10 minutes. I
finally decided to do it and they stored my bike for me while I
put on the old flip flips which have now been everywhere. When I
got to the gate they refused to take money and sent me up with two
young students. They must have figured I wouldn't get far or something.
The two students were nice guys but I don't think they appreciated
the pace I was going at, ph well they were young and would recover
the next day.
We opted for the dirt path along the river which
went by a waterfall and ended at a lake. People as usual were amused
by the flip flops but hey their comfortable and I didn't feel like
digging out the runners. There was much flow to the river and the
lake was pretty stagnant due to the summer month's, but there was
a really nice strong wind up there which felt great. We went down
after that and I rode the bike out to the highway which was a total
downhill - nice!
After that I ventured into the city, grabbed a hotel
and wandered around looking for a place to eat. O walked around
the marketplace a few times before settling down for a place to
eat some dumplings and kabobs. I happened to sit right next to a
lady who was making noodles from scratch which was cool to watch.
She worked her ass off and never seemed to take a break. For those
who like dumplings, I believe Shaanxi is the home for them and they
taste pretty damn good! That being said the Chinese have a knack
for making most things taste good.
As with different parts of Canada or even countries
in general for argument sake, Shaanxi people are quite different
from their brethren in the Beijing or Shanxi provinces. They are
a little laid back and seem a little cleaner despite the poorness
of the province. I found the people of Beijing and Shanxi to be
quite careless and very hasty. The people of Shaanxi also seem to
be a little happier or maybe a little more content with things as
they are but that is only having seen 6 cities all on the southern
region.
Something I saw on the road today which was pretty
funny was this little town that had two stone pagoda's. It looked
like a tourist town so I had to check it out. It turns out both
pagoda's were very new and one even had a clock in it. It was 1PM
so I got to hear the communist propaganda spew out of it - just
guessing hahaha. Anyway it had a surreal feel to it and it was one
of the very few places with a Mao statue in the centre of town.
Werd!
G
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July 20th (Tuesday) Meiyuan? (Shaanxi) 50KM
Posted: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 07:20:5
This was kind of a rest day as my
left knee has a little tweak in it and right now there is no need
to rush the journey as I am ahead of schedule by more than a week.
This also allowed me to do some laundry and plan out my trip to
Lanzhou which is goal number 2. Lanzhou has many sites to see but
they are unfortunately spread out all over the place, so I want
to do as little back tracking as possible.
With the poorer provinces comes a lower cost of
living, 7 Yuan for dinner, 40 Yuan for the hotel and 6 Yuan for
breakfast which is basically less then $10 CAN if you add it all
up. The hotel I stayed in was being rebuilt and for some reason
the hot water worked but not the cold - well at least for the shower.
I ended up using the sink and this big water basin to rinse off
etc. What was also evident with this province is the road conditions
of highway 310 which was mediocre at best. I will be entering Gansu
in the next couple of days which is even poorer, so I guess the
roads should be pretty interesting the rest of the way. Something
I did see yesterday that I forgot to mention was the garlic town
I passed through - well not really but....for a 2km stretch there
were tonnes of shops that were weighing and bagging garlic. The
smell was totally intoxicating if you like garlic but it was just
trippy to see all of the mounds of garlic so far off the beaten
path. I guess you really are never to far off the beaten path in
China anyway. I stopped at 1999KM on my little odometer, so we are
racking up the K's pretty good so far.
G
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July 19th (Monday) Zhouzhi (Shaanxi) 105KM
Posted: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 07:08:41
Finally on the road again! Xian was
too much of a party place staying at the youth hostel. Don't get
me wrong, it was fun and I met some really great people who I have
exchanged e-mail addresses with. As for Xian, it rivals any modern
city and I liked it much better than Beijing as I can't compare
with smaller cities. There is definitely a little more character
to this city and I guess it is quite the shinning star for the province
of Shaanxi which is among the poorest. There are signs everywhere
promoting a strong future economy but the funniest signs I saw so
far were to promote safe driving. Word for word I can't remember
any but they went a little like this:
'No need to speed travel with haste
instead' (someone better explain what haste means to them)
'Even a man who is good to his family
is still not responsible if he doesn't drive with care'
At least I know I can know get a
job writing English signs in China.
G
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July 13th (Tuesday) Xian (Shaanxi) 43 KM
Posted: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:42:01 XIAN!!!!!!!!! 1818 KM!!!!!!!!!!
Okay I made it to my first goal.
I have been in Xian two days at this point and finally got a chance
to update the e-mail.
I am checking into Tibet stuff and it may be difficult
to ride across but it can be done and people have done it. I will
try and respond to people messages soon as everyone has been so
supportive. I really motivates me when I read those messages posted
on the site, so a big thanks to all that have written me.
Cheers!
G
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July 12th (Monday) Lintong (Shaanxi)
97 KM
Posted: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:33:39
The ride was more or less very smooth
and I covered a lot of ground quickly. I was also to leave early
in the morning which was a little cooler - of course cooler here
is like the hottest day in Vancouver!
My English map had marked the Terra Cotta Warriors
next to the wrong city and I am such a bad drawer no one could figure
out what I was looking for. I also didn't have the Chinese characters
for it so my Chinese map which is very detailed was useless at the
time. After stopping at a gas station and going through the same
misunderstandings one of the guys phoned his daughter who spoke
English. Within a minute I was on my way and knew exactly were to
go - I promise I will try hard to learn Chinese!!!!!
I rode to Lintong and found out the site was only
6 KM from town. I was going to bike it as I wasn't tired but I decided
to get a hotel.
For whatever reason I chose the first hotel which
was 100 Yuan a night (under $20 CAN) and right away I thought something
was weird about the place. I will explain in a bit but first I will
mention the Terra Cotta....
The Terra Cotta site was cool but not overly impressive.
However I was tired from biking all day and I had built this one
up in mind. Other people I have talked to really enjoyed it so again,
see it for yourself if you can. Because it was a little later in
the day two of the buildings were closed, one that shows a film
and the other with recreated artifacts. I did see all three pits,
pit one being the largest and most interesting. You can't get closer
that 20 meters but there was an ad for a tour that cost a little
more that would allow this. The pictures didn't really turn out
well either as I was a little shaky but you can get a jest of what
I saw.
In pit 2 there are 3 warriors that were extracted
and put in a Plexiglas display which was good for seeing the detail.
The actual Cottas are very detailed and amazing to look at. As for
the museum itself, it is a world class layout and the surrounding
lawns (yes grass!!!) and trees are beautifully laid out. It is sight
itself in China - kidding!
The biggest misconception I had about this place
was that the warriors were in caves in the side of a mountain. They
were actually pits that were dug in the flat ground and were carefully
concealed by stone pillars, wooden roofs, brick, straw mats, and
then finally earth. They are all in sections that have 2 meter dirt
walls between them so I don't think it would ever collapse.
Leaving the museum was a bit of a pain as an onslaught
of peddlers approached me. These ones were really aggressive and
were physically forcing their items on me. I quickly grabbed a taxi
and got the hell out of there as I hate that shit.
When I got back to the hotel I went back to my room
to lay down but let me back up a bit. When I first booked the room
they didn't want me to sign in or anything, they just wanted me
to sit on the couch in the lounge and put some slippers on. They
then wanted to store my shoes but I said no. There was no mention
of money etc. Next they wanted me to got to the shower room before
I got to my room but again I was like no let me put my stuff away
first. I came back for a shower in the YMCA style bathroom and ten
attendants stood around and watched me take off my cloths (I wonder
what they thought of the saddle sores - yuck!). They would take
them and place them in a locker as soon as I took off each item.
Then I walked over to the shower which one attendant turned on and
made sure the water was the right temperature - you get the idea.
After the shower there was a guy who was supposed to towel me off
but I told him to fuck off. I'm not homophobic but only two people
are allowed to towel me off, me and my girlfriend.
hmmmm.... this must be a men's club of some sort....
I went back to my room and another attendant came
in to see what I wanted next. There was no English menu but he got
the drift that I wanted to eat. He left and a little later a young
women came in. That's when I really started to realize what kind
of place this was - disgusting....
Anyway I mimicked eating food and opened the door
where the other attendants were waiting (get me out of here!). I
waved them away and went for some found in a local restaurant. The
meal was excellent and had beef w/oyster sauce on top of buck choy.
I went back to me room and locked the door and actually
had a good sleep. Normally I shower in the mornings but I just wanted
to get away from this place. I don't have a problem with the place
in the sense that some people like this sort of thing and will pay
for it. If the girls were paid well for their services as well,
I wouldn't have a problem with that either. However you know they
probably make no money and are totally exploited. I personally prostitution
should be legalized so it can be monitored by government for human
rights issues. Anyway I know in countries like Thailand it is a
million times worse. On a positive note I have a short ride into
Xian today which is my first major goal in the route.
G
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July 11th (Sunday) Hua Shan (Shaanxi)
26KM
Posted: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 23:52:58
Well just as I thought they charged
me for the deluxe room which was an extra 100 Yuan. Unfortunately
the hotel staff really don't get it. We are not all loaded with
cash and want to spend extra money for the deluxe accommodations
which one star quality in the west. Anyway....
Biking to Hua Shan (Shan = Mountain) was okay as
I am still recovering but I was in a bit of a bad mood from the
hotel issues. The travel book I am using right now really needs
some updates as ticket prices have always been substantially higher
than listed in the book. Hua Shan is 70 Yuan to enter and if you
decide to take the gondola on the east side, you can add 110 Yuan
for a round trip. I was walking up, so I entered from the west side
of the mountain.
I started up the trail around 12:30 and quickly
got to the main gate where you pay your fee. Generally speaking
if you are a rock climber or experienced hiker you may be disappointed
as it is stairs the whole way up. The granite cliffs are impressive
and the stairs are a little precarious in a lot of places. Personally
I wasn't disappointed with this as I figured it's a sacred mountain
and regular people want to visit it. The first section is stone
path for about 2 -3 KM. In the steeper sections there are stairs
on the side of the path. After that the next 5 KM is a stair master
special. I got near the top (the top is 2168M) and went to check
out the 'Feet Cliff' but that took my roughly 3 and half hours to
walk up (It says 7 - 9 in my guide book which is totally ridiculous).
the 'Feet Cliff' was a man made (wooden planks) traverse about 20M
long with a chain above it to hold on to. This was on a sheer cliff
that dropped a good 500 meters, so rock climbers would love to get
their hands on the granite here. To get to the traverse you first
climb down about 5 meters on these kind of dual bars cemented into
the cliff that act as steps. There is a dude at the bottom who takes
your picture if so desired. On the other side of the traverse is
a patch of land about 5 meters square with a little shrine cut into
the mountain. There are some Chinese characters engraved 50 meters
above it and there is also a large pine tree that people tie red
ribbons on. It hangs out over the cliff, so I guess the farther
out you tie one on the luckier you are or maybe very unlucky you
might be. There is no restriction on the amount people going across
and back so it is very chaotic. most people are scared shitless
and kind of slither along in their high heels. The only thing that
bothered me was the man made stuff as who knows how secure it is.
I shot a little video which turned out pretty good and left for
the top. Altogether that may have been four hours to the very top
but I was hustling.
The views from the top were stunning as the granite
rock juts out of the earth at such an abrupt angle. The next range
of mountain is all covered in forest and was really a beautiful
sight to see.
Something I forgot to mention about the way up,
there are probably at least 10 shops/restaurants and almost as many
washrooms. So if you wanted to take your time it would be no problem
and you wouldn't slow other people down.
Back to the story....
After the summit I climbed down to the west tower
for a different view. The view was great so I sat there for a while
and then walked down to one of the three hotels (no typo there!).
There was a foreign couple having a beer so I asked if I could join
them. They were from Norway and we actually talked for quite a while.
They were staying the night as this allows you to see the sunset
and apparently a very stunning sunrise (I will do this some day).
All the way down even as far as the entrance, people
were coming up (not a lot) and I was thinking how dangerous it was
during the day (very few had flash lights). There is some lighting
along the walk way in key areas but I think they would be screwed
if they fell and got hurt. Anyway this one rated really high in
my books and I would come back as I mentioned.
A tidbit on Tibet... I met a Belgium couple on the
way up who were also going to Lhasa. They confirmed that all foreigners
had to enter from Golmud (actually today I found out Chengdu as
well) and were to pay 2000 Yuan. This would only get you to Lhasa
but you were supposed to book a tour that would bring you back.
I have also heard that you must enter with at least a group of 5
people.
Interesting.....
G
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July 10th (Saturday) Tungguan
(Shaanxi) 1 Floor
Posted: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 03:08:50
Ummm... still have the shits......
At this point I decided to reach into the old medicine
kit. I am spending the entire day in bed and reading about Tibet
and checking my route a little more thoroughly. I also had to change
rooms as for whatever reason they put me in a deluxe room last night
which I didn't want. Booking a room in China at best can be trying
as they fill out a lot of useless paper work and always think the
foreigners have loads of money. Anyway I have a feeling they will
overcharge me, but I don't think they are being dishonest, they
just don't understand as I cannot communicate in Chinese (my bad
- should have studied harder!).
G
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July 9th (Friday) Tungguan (Shaanxi)
82KM
Posted: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 03:03:02
Yes Shaanxi province, not Shanxi.....
Well that was probably the crappiest day of riding
so far. The meal was great last night as mentioned, but it decided
to vacate my body from the rear hatch around midnight. This sucked
as I had finally gotten a soft comfortable bed as most are as hard
as a rock. I figured I could ride regardless so I left for Tungguan
around 11:30. I had zero energy and would often get cramps but they
weren't too bad. The ride was also a constant climb and even though
a long section of it was only a slight grade it was still demoralizing.
I really struggled today and still feel like crap. This also meant
my tolerance levels were pretty low and I unfortunately was rude
to couple of the drivers. I hate feeling like this and it is wrong
to be rude. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
G
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July 8th (Thursday) LingBao (Henan)
101KM
Posted: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 02:55:52
The first 10km started off nice and
flat, the next 10km was granny gear the whole way. I thought someone
was playing a cruel joke on me as I just kept climbing and climbing.....as
usual though, there were some incredible view points and this particular
highway rode over the top of a ridge. You should see some pictures
by Christmas time (they're coming I promise!).
The 108 actually veered west as soon as I left Xi
Xian so I actually rode on the 209 to Sanmenxia and then continued
on the 310 highway. Sanmenxia was an intended stop but after the
big hill it flattened out quite a bit. I arrived there around 2PM
so I decided to head to Linbgbao which was only another 50 KM. Just
before Sanmenxia you cross the Huang He (He = river) which is basically
a big muddy river. The banks extended almost the length of the bridge
(maybe 1 KM) but it was low when I crossed and the river was maybe
200 meters below the bridge. The highlight was the naked guy walking
around these pools that formed in these kind of steel footings below
the bridge. I figure they must stabilize the ground near the actual
footing or something. The naked guy, well I will send a pic....
When I arrived in Lingbao the first hotel was a
little pricey, so I went up the road (I never take the first hotel
unless it's the only one) to find another one. When I got to the
next hotel they receptionists were having problems understanding
me or vice versa, so they called someone down.
His name was Chen and ironically he had studied
English at Vancouver Community College. He spoke English very well
and offered to help me find a restaurant after I cleaned up - I
was playing in the mud all day with the dude at the Huang He - kidding.
We drove over too a restaurant and had some pork
ribs, a vegetables in garlic sauce and a spicy tofu dish which was
excellent! He bought dinner of course and then he gave me a tour
of the town via car as he was from Lingbao. It was a small city
of 1 million (I guess it is clean and has some money being invested
in it, so it's an official city) and there was a lot of construction
going on fixing up the city. It was actually pretty clean by Chinese
standards and there wasn't a coal truck in sight. Actually the frequency
of coal trucks really diminished after PingYao.
Chen owned his own business which he had taken over
from his dad. Normally it is very hard to get private business licenses
but I think they are changing this. From what I understand, they
built the gold and silver trim you see on some of the buildings
such as banks and fancy hotels. He split his work between Xian and
Lingbao and I think he does pretty good for himself. Anyway he was
a really nice guy and was very helpful in discussing my route to
Xian and general questions about Chinese culture in Vancouver. He
was there during the bus strike, and had to walk to school from
the Nanaimo station (werd!). He wants to go back someday, but it
is very expensive which totally sucks.
G
