End of a mission 9/04/2011: Outskirts of Ziyang to Chengdu 129.07km

It was a perfect day to ride, beautiful clear sky, very little wind, not too hot or cold and most importantly smooth silky road not too hilly. My bike didn’t feel overly great, but i think that had something with the half a ton of mud that was clinging to it, i didn’t mind the day was too good after yesterday’s crappy weather and worse roads.

After lunch i decided to put on some music, i rarely listen to my music while riding but today it seemed fitting and only lifted my mood even more. There was a number of Chinese cyclists just out on a days ride with it being a beautiful Saturday. While climbing the only major hill of the day (climbed about 400m to 500m) a Lycia clad cyclist dared to overtake me, i decided he wasn’t going to get away from me, so on my fully laden steel tank of a bike i showed him how to ride a bike and kept right on his back wheel. He understood my game and tried sprinting away but i kept right on him. I wondered what he must have been thinking, a guy on a 50KG bicycle (who had about 1000km on him) keeping up with a guy on a bike no more than 10Kg with the rider dressed for the tour de France. The guy seemed about my age and appeared to be a keen cyclist so i was pretty pleased with my effort. Near the top though i stopped to take a picture of the stunning view, it was to be my last climb in china so i wanted to look at my effort. Going over the top the cyclist i had been chasing down was up there with a load of mates and gave me a big thumb up as i passed, then i headed down hill but the traffic was unbelievable heavy, seemed everyone from Chengdu comes here for a day out, it was manic and i even saw a few crashes.

I hit the bottom of the hill and the real build up to Chengdu, i was almost there now i jut had to navigate through a city i did not know. Luckily the cyclist i had chased up the hill was just behind me with his mates, he stopped and said they were all heading into the city and i could follow, so i did.  One guy spoke good English but there was still some confusion. I wanted to stay at a YHA hostel as they tend to be clean and of a good standard but did not which ones i had marked out were YHA’s. They did not quite understand and so took me to the University that they went to and really just wasted time. I got a bit fed up a decided to head to a hostel oi had marked. The main English speaking who told me to call him Mr. Wan came with me but where it was marked on my GPS there was nothing. I went into a hotel to use their internet and find out where the YHA hostels were. The one i was heading for was a YHA and was a little further down the road.

Finally finding it, firstly i bumped into a French cyclist then got in and was told there was only a double room available for a 100 yuan, it was quite late and i didn’t want to go looking around for other hostels so i hummed and harred hoping they would find a solution to suit. Just as it seemed hopeless somebody checked out of a dorm leaving me a bed. PERFECTO.

In the dorm was Leon and Mary both English but both had a travel bug. Mary lived in China and spoke Chinese where Leon was an eternal traveller, when he finished working as a teacher in south Korea he cycle back to England on a similar route as me. Kyrgyzstan was his favourite place and showed me pictures. It was not the Deseret i imagined it to be, it was more like New Zealand and look just amazing to cycle and camp in. They then invited me to join them for dinner and we were joined by a Chinese girl. We went Tibetan and it was the best food i have had in China but i loved it. Tibet is one place i will cycle one day but while China continues to repress the most amazing, holy, peaceful place on earth its not likely i will be able to cycle round. Chinas occupation of Tibet is something i truly deteste china for. They went in, and got rid of the essence of Tibet and banished his holiness the Dali Lhama. I could go on forever about the subject but words wont change anything, the rest of the world wont do anything about the injustice caused here but a civil war in Libya is more important. FREE TIBET!!!!!!

It was late by the time we had finished, the hostel owner promised me a beer which i took before bed, the end of cycling china but one day the mountains of Tibet and the Tibetan plateau will be conquered.

Where I’m going, I don’t need no roads. (would be nice though) 8/04/2011: Town 17km before Neijing to Outskirts of Ziyang 104.84km

I had decided just to get going today, without breakfast. I had no intention to hang around any longer as I was still a bit annoyed with last night’s events but before I could leave my stomach was feeling a little off so i had some clearing of the pipe lines to do.

The road was terrible all day, much like my stomach which had bloated out and was rather painful, a pain that was amplified over the rough road and its fair to say it took all my focus to stop a sudden leak. Eventually the pain got so bad I was seriously considering relieving myself by the road but there were too many people around. The pain in my bloated abdominal area was as bad as I’ve had it but luckily I came to a small town where I decided I would use the facilities of a nice looking hotel, the theory being a nice hotel equals a nice clean toilet.

I felt instantly better (better out than in), the pain had gone and considering how I was doing before I was making good progress. The road however was just getting worse, at one point it was completely gone say for a few planks of wood connecting the middle of a bridge and with the help of a few passersby we managed to get the bike across without dropping it.

I came to the only major town of the day, here the road was good and I stopped at a bakery for lunch and ordered a couple of fried eggs, egg sandwiches were on the menu. But my presence had caused a bit of a stir, a few people gathered to see what I was doing, then more and eventually there was a crowd of about 15 to 20 people stood in a semi circle around me and my bike. People spoke the occasional bit of Chinese to me but of course I didn’t understand. Things came to a head, I moved away to eat my food but everyone moved over with me, still in a semi circle just wanting to watch how a westerner eats I guess. I just wanted to eat in peace but I felt extremely uncomfortable with such a crowd staring at me while I tried to do such a simple thing. I couldn’t deal with it so I packed everything away and left to find somewhere quieter.

After lunch the road really got bad, it was wet, muddy and very slippy over the rutted road, also my back tyre had done almost 6000km so wasn’t in its best condition. My plan was to try and ride till the road improved; i hoped it would before Chengdu. The mud became so think it clotted between the wheel and mud guard so having enough when i thought i was through it i stopped and took the mud guard off, while doing this from nowhere a crowd gathered.

The bike felt much better and i powered on, i stopped briefly for a drink in a small town where again another crowd gathered but i was able to laugh and joke with this lot. There was a few policemen amongst the crowd and when i set off one of them pulled up along side in a police truck and offered me a lift to Ziyang, it was getting late but i refused, instead he drove in front of me for half an hour and led the way, a police escort i like. He pointed me down the road, we took a few pictures and i powered on again. The road was now tarmac but darkness was falling and rear lights were need. At 8pm i came to a small town where at the bakery i asked for a hotel, he pointed to an ally way where there was a set of about 30 steps i was going to have to clamber my bike dangerously up. I asked for a road round but the answer was negative, i would have to use the steps. As i tried pushing the bike up kept slipping but a couple of passersby helped me by pushing the back end of the bike. In England i’d imagine people would just walk by, wanting to help but the fear the offer could be taken the wrong way most would just carry on by, not here or in most places, people help without a word or expectation of anything in return, just good Karma. I got into the hotel which was charming in a grotty Chinese way, there was no shower so i grabbed some fried rice and went to bed.

Don’t talk to strangers 7/04/2011: Yibin to 17km before Neijing 130.9km

An interesting day, until the hotel was a good one, opposite to yesterday. All went smoothly but today I could feel a bit of tiredness setting in, while having lunch I could barely keep awake, just so I didn’t embarrass myself I got cycling before I had a power nap in the diner.

I was quite excited today as my map said there was a dinosaur museum which I was super keen to see. Since I was a child I have had a big fascination with dinosaurs like most kids, but most kids grow out of it I never really have, im still fascinated by them and would go out of my way to see something dud dinosaur museum on my map. Fortunately I didn’t have to go too far out of my way to get to this one, about a 100m, unfortunately I was almost hit by a car on a roundabout, the car didn’t stop luckily for me I had my brakes tight so I stop instantly right by the driver’s door who had also stop, I yelled a barrage of abuse at the driver, I think he got the point as he looked a bit petrified more at my reaction rather than the fact he could have taken me out.  The dinosaur museum was not quite what I was expecting, it looked an incredibly tacky tourist attraction in only a way that Asian countries seem to make something and it was a bit pricey to so I opted to give it a miss. I did hang around for a while waiting for the drizzle to stop.

When I got going again the road turn to crap in a way that china is so good at which meant reaching Neijing before dark didn’t look likely, nor did the option of camping either. I did find a hotel and to my confusion the owner showed me the room then wrote down 50 and 20, I think these were the prices so I pointed at the 20, and I paid 20 yuan. Before I could get showered or even sort my stuff out he ushered me to eat some food and tried giving me some awful tasting vodka type drink. While eating a crowd gathered, I got the feeling the guy was showing me off, I was being fed for free but the food looked like it had potential for a spot of food poisoning, I ate it all the same. By now I realized the owner was pretty drunk, I took my stuff up to the room and he and few kids kept bugging me. They left so I got showed then thought a quick picture of everyone then I’d sort my stuff out and get an early night for a big day tomorrow.  However the drunk owner had other ideas, first he took me to another room away from everyone except his grumpy son who he was trying to get to go to bed. After he achieved this ( I was very confused about what was going on, no one spoke English) he ushered me out side where we walked down the dark wet muddy street of the town. He kept talking in Chinese to me and I kept saying I don’t understand a word. I didn’t know what he had in mind but didn’t want to seem rude so went with it. He bought a red bull style drink which I thought was odd, I protested I didn’t want it but he gave it to me all the same then did the international sign for women. I finally got what he was doing, he was taking me to a hooker! I said I didn’t want it but he would take no, still we kept walking and he was on his phone a lot. We began to head back but stopped at an eatery where against my wishes he ordered two beers and big bowel of meat. He was trying to get my drunk, this wasn’t over yet, and every time he tried to fill my glass he would spill beer everywhere. Also I didn’t bring my wallet,  so I hope he wasn’t expecting me to pay, I didn’t want this anyway so I had no intention to, for what I could see he was showing me off or somebody back at the hotel was robbing me blind and this was a diversion.

Next it all made sense, why he was on the phone and stalling etc, a guy in a van came and he wanted me to get in. As a child your told never talk to strangers or get in a car with them, this was the same. It was late (for me anyways) and I guess he was going to take me to some whore house. I didn’t want any of it, so I refused but he wasn’t taking no so physically tried to get me in, I had no grip on the wet mud so just slid towards the van until I could grip onto the van and pull my arm back. This went on for 10minutes, my drunk hotel owner was beginning to get upset that I wouldn’t get in but there was no way I was going to put myself in that situation especially as I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on. I distanced myself from the van, the driver who looked slightly hacked off that he had come from where ever for nothing began to pull off. My drunk hotel owner started insinuating that I had made him look silly, I didn’t care I was pretty angry that he would take no for a answer so stormed back to the hotel and back to my room. I was worried he’d come knocking but I guess he got the point I was pretty hacked off with what had happened and left me be.

NEXT 6/04/2011: Truck stop just before Zhonghexiang to Yibin 107.67km

China finally almost broke me, in Yibin I came as close to having my head explode as I have ever come since leaving Australia and for this I am going to list everything I can think about this I dislike about China and the Chinese habits.

First though my day. I was pretty glad I wasn’t in the tent last night as it did rain and I really don’t like packing things away wet, its just not healthy. It was chilly again this morning but I soon warmed up with a long climb but this turned into a long decent of 28km which sent me through some tunnels that were almost 3km long, I can tell you going through those tunnels at 50kmph on a bicycle is a thrill. 

The day seemed to be going to plan, I was making good time but was hit with a setback when my target for the day was out of reach and then I was caught by the traffic police about 5km after crossing in to Sichuan province. They took my picture yet again, I should be a model, said it was very dangerous but being on the road with any Chinese driver is and put my bike into the back of a ute and took me to the next exit and set me on the road to Yibin which was my only option of a place to stay, (I wanted a hotel and a shower). 

Getting into Yibin I almost blew up, it was a typically busy Chinese city which I didn’t mind, lots of stalls and even rickshaws. I’d got here early so was hoping to get a hotel cleaned up and look around, this did not happen. The hotels I went to were either too expensive or the language barrier got in the way and they just waved me away. I began to get really frustrated, steam was coming out my ears and at one place it seemed to be going ok then she just began to smirk and waved me away. I had flames burning as well as steam, I started to yell ‘ why’ ‘whats the problem’ and stormed out. 

I called Loon to interpret and the little guy seemed to have it sorted it was 35 yuan for the night. Thanking him I got my passport but then after looking at my passport, a she made a quick call then started giggling again and waved me away again. There was about 4 onlookers all young looking guys and they seemed to be having a giggle to, I was ready cream them all I was beginning to blow my lid. I walked down the stairs after standing my ground and demanding an answer, but nobody speaks English, they talk to me as if I should understand Chinese and when they finally understand I don’t they try and write it down in Chinese, this arrogant process was really getting to me also. I called loon again and the problem seemed to be she couldn’t work out how to register my details with the police as has to be done. The deal seemed to be back on, somebody was coming to sort it out. The 4 guys were till hanging around, one was just staring so I eyeballed him, I was pretty pumped and confrontation was a way to release some tension, I took some pleasure in watching him then not know where to look. Im not a confrontational person but being stared at everywhere I went was another thing that got to me and now I was steaming with anger it was even worse. The guy who was to solve the problem ended up taking me to another hotel. I had been going from place to place for 2 and half hours now and I said if this one was no good I would go to the most expensive one I had found (it was mega luxury). This hotel seemed much better run, slightly more expensive and to overcome the registering problem we walked to the police station where at the reception there was a naughty boy in a naughty chair. It was a bulky metal chair, he had his hands and legs cuffed into it and a metal bar so he was unable to lift his legs or move his mid section, human rights china still has some way to go. Finally I was in the hotel, it was a communally toilet and shower and this is where I tell you what I dislike about the Chinese.

Chinese ways that boil me:

1. The habit of hawking and spitting, outdoors or indoors doesn’t matter, its bloody sickening to hear it and see it,
2. Toilet habits, if you go to a public toilet after a china man has had a number 2, flushing the result seems to be something not done, they just leave their sh!t for the next person who I guess just does his business on top,
3. Eating habits, imagine a pig tucking into a pile of slop, when the Chinese eat they make a similar nose, slurping loudly as they hog down their noodles and any bones in the meat are either spat out on to the floor or over the table, sort of things back in England you’d get the cane for,
4. Last but not least, driving, on the highway its not as bad but everywhere else its awful, pulling out you don’t wait for anything to go by just pull out in front im often playing chicken with these guys and if they continue I yell so they get the message, next is the use of the horn, its used more often than not, once to when they are approaching, again when they are close, again when they are alongside and normally once they have passed, finally overtaking, do it anytime blind corners doesn’t matter just beep the horn continuously so oncoming traffic can hear you, I have seen so many cars and trucks get caught out getting it wrong, they just have to stop in the middle of the road making the oncoming vehicle do the same but amazing not seen a crash, yet.

I am wrong to go at the Chinese like this, they have some very fine qualities and don’t assume every Chinese person is the same because they are not, I have just been pushed and pushed today but at the same time met some really genuine people who have gone so far out of their way to help something back in England I would never expect. Lots of things that I listed is just part of upbringing and culture, some are a bit much and I think out dated but ‘people are strange, when they are strangers.’ Still I have had my fill and ready to move on to the next country, Japan.

China is like Marmite 5/04/2011: Zhaotong to Truck stop just before Zhonghexiang 127.7km

I cant decide whether or not I like china, the roads are either great or awful, the people are either rude or super friendly, weather is hot or cold, accommodation is either spotless or dingy, hills are up or down, you get my point.

Today I had just about everything. After breakfast I went to a bakery to get some supplies, waiting to be  served an old women came and the lady served her before me, I got a bit p*ssed with this but it happens especially in Asia. Now my turn she seemed to get all flustered over the language barrier and just buggered off and a Bruce served me instead with no dramas. Everything seemed to get to me, the traffic the heat the hills on the road that is until going up a hill I grabbed on to a truck for a tow. Coasting up the hill the passenger leaned out to see what I was doing, he gave me a big thumbs up then indicated it was a long climb. He wasn’t joking, I only had a two or three figure grip and I had to push the pain barrier to hold on. He leaned out again to take a picture then once more to tell me it was all downhill then passed me a carton of milk as I went by. My mood was now lifted.

Riding along I could see ahead that I was about to lose the sunshine and it was about to get foggy. It got really foggy, it wasn’t a total bad thing but it got really cold. Approaching a tunnel visibility was at maybe only 10m, but there was a toll both at this tunnel, I wasn’t about to be sent back so I went for it, the fog was so thick I must have gone by like a ghost. The other end of the tunnel the fog was even thicker and it felt a lot colder. I put my jumper on and headed on a never ending downhill. I normally wouldn’t complain about downhill’s but it was so cold, it was a cold I have never felt before, it felt like it was coming from the inside. Seeing a place to eat summoned the guts to move my frozen fingers and pull the brakes. I sat around a fire getting warm then ordered a big bowl of rice and made myself a hot cup of tea. I had dropped below the fog now and it wasn’t so cold but I felt like my core temperature had dropped, I was cold from the inside, I put on a second jumper and it was almost an hour before I felt warm again.

I then just cycled and was having fun again, I did plan on taking the 213 which seemingly went over the mountains but the other route that the motorway followed was through a magnificent gorge. All day so far the road signs have all been in Chinese lettering and not the standard ABC so I missed the turn, fate had sent me on the main road. There was a minor road that ran alongside that I should have been on but again I had missed the exit to get onto that, the pure cycle tourist would take the minor roads really explore the back and beyond but I was just happy cycling along a good road. I don’t care when other cycle tourist say ‘there’s no point in doing it if you just cycle.’ Everyone is different and wants something different from it, I have great experience in my view so what anyone else thinks I don’t care, if I want to go flat out to get somewhere I will.

The road had dropped down from 2000m to 500m so you’d expect me to have covered some ground but a combination of the cold then a killer head wind meant it was just an average day. I did come to an exit off the motorway and to be honest I was ready to finish for the day but the town didn’t look like there was much going on never mind having a hotel, double mistake. Getting through a tunnel the other end of the town came into view, it looked picture perfect and seemed a great place to stop, then problem to arise was the motorway and the minor road split here, I was keen on the minor road as the route looked more interesting and if I exit the motorway there’s a chance I may not get back on and the road that I would have to take is a wet muddy dirt road.

However you never know what you’ve missed or about to gain. It was around 5pm and I had just come flying through a 2500m tunnel (not for the faint hearted, I pedal my heart out in those tunnels, its itch black at times and wouldn’t be a pleasant place to become road kill) and I was 5km from the next town on my GPS, I noticed a little diner which had a big grassy area and I was waved down by a guy who either owns it or works there. I asked about hotel in the next town, they indicated non, everyone who worked had gathered to see the strange westerner, then I pointed to the grassy area and played charades for tent. They were only to happy and even better gave let me stay in a little shed type building that’s connected to the diner. Later we dragged a bed in and I was given a bucket of hot water to have a wash in.  This was my marmite of a day and sums up China for me, I hate it but I also love it.