Portrait of an LBX

By Andy

2010/06/11 — 149 km

Big day. I wake up abruptly to the alarm at 6:45 after the best sleep I’ve had over the last three nights — and that’s not saying much. I just can’t sleep in a tent. I have a hard enough time getting a good sleep in a comfortable bed these days, despite the daily physical exhaustion.

We get things packed up and get a reasonably early start down the wooded mountain corridor, where we pass dozens of “food and lodging” (食宿) places no longer offering either food or lodging. It’s amazing to think how much commerce used to go up and down this little, two-lane road (national road 國道320), which stretches from the Burma border near Ruili the whole way east to Shanghai, over 3,000 km away. It’s nearly empty now, unless the expressway that has since supplanted it is closed in one direction, in which case it’s a miserable, dangerous mess.

I can only imagine that’s what it was like back when G320 was the main trade artery between Lashio and Kunming, which would explain the dozens of now-derelict eateries.

Still a ways to go, although you never know with these signs, by Andy

After a breakfast of noodles at a Muslim restaurant (they make the best boiled noodles by a long shot when boiled noodles are all there is to be had!), we continue down the road. The valley gradually widens and we are on a wide highway of sorts. We pass two signs that seem to indicate that the expressway that parallels our national road can be reached to the left and that we should continue straight (have a look at the picture to the left and see if you agree with that assumption).

I continue ahead while Evan stops to take some pictures of local architecture and the murals on the walls and climb up a steep mountain for nearly a kilometer. When I get to the top though the road dead-ends at a toll booth. I approach and ask the woman at the ticket window, “This isn’t the expressway, is it?”

Oh, but it is.

“What happened to the national road toward Kunming?”

She gives me a confused look and calls another worker over. After a moment of consultation the man tells me, “You have to go back down the mountain and turn right.” (more…)

By Andy

2010/06/10 — 117 km

Little Weirdo, by Andy

This time we get out of our tents and packed up an hour earlier, although we still get on the road half an hour later than we would if we were in a hotel. Before we climb down from our plowed, planted perch, I check the altitude and find we’re at 2,390 m (7,841 ft). By the time we get on our bikes and climb to the top of the pass, we’re over 2,400 m (7,874 ft), the highest we’ve climbed on the trip, and possibly the highest we’ll get until we’re climbing up onto the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan province.

We find breakfast 18 km later in the valley, and I’ve already gotten my head in a steam about the insane traffic that still plagues us. Fortunately, when we pull into the restaurant I notice that the long strand of trucks, buses and SUVs is originating from the expressway exit in town, and breathe a sigh of relief that we’ll be free of the awful traffic and numerous near-death encounters until the next time they decide to close off the expressway in one direction for a hundred kilometers or so.

The day turns out to be fairly easy and uneventful, consisting of long cruises through green, rice-covered valleys and the occasional climb over into the next.

We stop for lunch around two, but Evan doesn’t eat. We’ve got metabolisms about as opposite as they come. When we continue after lunch, we find the Yunnan architecture that we’ve been marveling at so much (and which I’ve failed to mention to this point) has grown even more interesting. (more…)

By Andy

2010/06/09 — 82 km

After packing up and scampering down from our parched perch overlooking the national road, we climb the remainder of the mountain on which we camped and cruise into the next valley.

As soon as we hit the bottom, the air is filled with gray dust and I pull out my sunglasses. It doesn’t take long to discover the source of the dust: in the short valley and proceeding up the road for at least two kilometers on the next slope are tombstone-carving factory after tombstone-carving factory. Never have I seen so many hokey lion statues and dragons carved into mausoleum-sized rock structures. I guess the rock must be good there!

We find our first town and “breakfast” at the top of the next slope. When we first started camping on this trip in Hebei, we were pretty jittery about how it would work out. There were no natural forests to speak of, and we had no choice but to climb into one of the many tree farms, with trees planted in long, straight rows. No matter how far in we walked, we could still see the road. Given the strict residence and registration rules for foreigners in China, we were worried about being discovered. I don’t think Evan slept a wink the entire night. The next morning we were gone and on the road at first light.

Oh how things have changed. Now we sit in the tents until the sun gets unbearable and then lazily go through all the numerous motions of packing up all the gear and finally getting on the road.

At first we’re a little confused when the lady at the restaurant tells us there’s no breakfast, but it all makes sense when I see that it’s already 11:30. Well, that was a good 10 km before lunch! (more…)

By Andy

2010/06/08 — 72 km

Dali is a treat, although not in the most relaxing way, since there we meet up with a college buddy Rick who lives there. Our original plan calls for two days in Dali, but a stomach bug keeps us there for three.

After one last Western breakfast, we finally get on the road around 11:30. The combination of a day and night of spent sitting on the toilet and trying to hold my food in has left me utterly exhausted, but we need to be on toward Kunming, where our friend Aaron is coming in from Shanghai to meet up and ride for a week.

"Accumulate wealth for the nation; carry out the law for the people." Pay your taxes (more each year) or the law will be carried out for you, people!

Immediately upon leaving the Dali old town, we remember just where we are. After three days of snoozy little streets and cafes, the national road out of town is a rude awakening. Horns blare, the “hallos!” are back in full force, and there’s even a good strong wind blasting us in the face to welcome us back to the road.

Eventually, and this is like 25 km in, which is a tribute to Dali’s suburban sprawl, the four-lane concrete road narrows down to two lanes of bumpy asphalt, and we begin climbing into pine-covered mountains on an easy grade. (more…)

By Andy

We’ve done a lot of complaining about the cold lately. Those who follow our Twitter feed are probably getting tired of it. Part of the problem is that we’re in the midst of one of the coldest winters in 60 years for the northern hemisphere. I had written previously about how strange it was that we were riding through snow while on the same latitude as northern Florida. Somewhat reassuringly, in a schadenfreude sense, temperatures in Melbourne, Florida, even further south, hit record lows recently, bottoming out at 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

The other part of the problem is that we just haven’t been good Boy Scouts. Originally, we had intended to set out from Beijing in late August or early September and head south to avoid the winter. A lost passport and the addition of Alexis to the team nixed those plans, and we hit the road nearly a month behind schedule on September 23. For my part, I was completely unprepared for any sort of actually cold weather. The clothing portion of my original gear list reads:

1 pair Pearl Izumi biking gloves
2 pair Pearl Izumi bike shorts
1 Trek helmet
2 short-sleeve bike jerseys
1 long-sleeve bike jersey
2 synthetic short-sleeve shirts
1 synthetic long-sleeve shirt
1 smart wool long-sleeve shirt
2 pair zip-off pants
2 pair boxers
3 pair smart wool socks
1 waterproof jacket
1 pair waterproof pants
1 pair Merrel hiking shoes
1 pair Pearl Izumi bike shoes
1 Buff
1 waterproof helmet cover

(more…)