CHINA chapter 3 part I

Headwinds; ‘i have a cunning plan’

29/06/11:  Takeshikenzhen to 144km West of Takesshikenzhen 144.28km

The night’s sleep was awful till about 2am, i had some very noisy neighbours and despite my abusive requests to shut up they didn’t, so when i woke up i decided no rush and it wasn’t till 1030am by the time i was on the road after the hotel owners had kindly given me a red bull for the days cycling.

The wind had died down at least but through the day it did gradually build up but i found a jolly good solution to this problem which i explain later. For lunch i took refuge in a culvert under the road where i had some shade and i began to grow a taste for the Chinese food in air tight bags, such as chicken legs and eggs. As i was about to set off a slow moving agricultural vehicle was making its way by and with the undulations and head wind i made better time to either sit in their slip stream or grab a tow and when they pulled over for a rest i was given a bottle of water for my trouble before i carried on again.

It wasn’t long after i left them that i was pulled over by the police, after being given the army salute they wanted to see my passport taking pictures of my visa, entry stamp and information page. They made quite a few calls and asked me where i was going and which hotels i was staying at. I couldn’t answer the latter of those questions but they seemed satisfied (so i thought). A few more pictures were taken and i was released just in time for the big vehicles to come by in time for me to sit in their slip stream once more. Looking back the police car was now following me, i found this odd and obviously they were not finished with me. At the next set of shops i stopped to buy a bit more food and i was joined by the two policemen again this time i was handed a phone to speak to someone. I didn’t really hear much of what he said but this time they were happy and after buying me an ice tea they left me for good.

I carried on riding enjoying the day but the wind was now really getting up, i passed the big vehicles once again, we were now all old friends, and after a final break where i ate much of my remaining food  i carried on hoping to find a shop where i could buy a bit more for camping as all i have now is 4 packs of noodles and some nuts! I was really struggling into the wind but once again the big vehicles came by and this time i held on for over an hour almost falling asleep. By 730pm the signs to the next town appeared and i was 44km! It looks like the noodles will have to cover me so i found yet another culvert under the road to use as a camping spot, it’s a touch windy so i will set the tent up anyways.

The lazy fox

30/06/2011:  144km West of Takeshikenzhen to The Middle of nowhere 148.82km

As i am writing this a week after i had actually done the ride i don’t really remember much about the day other than i had tail winds for part the day, ate lots of food and was given a watermelon which made my stomach bloat to that of a women who is 8 months down the line. In the tent i felt pretty groggy after eating so much which i why i didn’t do this diary till now. Lazy Bugger.  

Cheating will be punished

1/07/2011:  The middles of nowhere to 130km North East of Urumqi 152.31km

Not a massively interesting day today though the temperature was significantly hotter than it has been, its the slow build up to the middles east where i am expecting the hottest weather of the whole trip. By the afternoon it was looking like being a big big day, i grabbed on to a fairly brisk moving truck which didn’t drop below 30kmph and i was on a undulating road. The down hills when the speed built up i let go and sat in the slipstream and played a game to keep up then grab hold again as the road began to go up hill slowing us both, hitting speeds of 50+kmph was never so easy. The progress was good and at this rate i was easy on for a 170km+ day but then the bike gods put a stop to my effortless progress by giving me a flat tyre on the front. As i have no spare tubes left and just cheap Chinese patches it took 2 failed attempts i got a bit hacked off and put the tube with the slow puncture back on. Getting moving again i lost all momentum, the bike felt slow and sluggish as i did and about 10km before i hit the next town i called it a day. The saddle sore was getting to me, drivers everything. The place i chose to camp was a dry ground that looks as if its very boggy and marshy when it rains but lucky for me it doesn’t look like its rained for a while though there was a showery looking cloud coming over but at worst it looked as though it would pass without too many troubles.

RedBull Gives You Wings

2/07/2011: 130km North East of Urumqi to Urumqi 134.34km

The morning was not a good omen for the day, it was raining as it had for much of the night and the dry firm ground around was now soft, wet sticky mud that i sank up to my ankles in and the bike clogged itself with mud as it sank in not allowing the wheels to roll. It took me 2 hours to get out of that field and you may wonder as i did why i didn’t simple carry the bike instead of going through the struggle of dragging it through. The answer is as easy as the solution, i wasn’t all that far from the road and the old saying the grass is always greener seemed to keep entering my head but it never was. When i had enough and removed my panniers the mud was so thickly coated to the bike i was unable to carry it without getting stuck myself but it did make it easier to drag. I then spent 30 minutes removing the mud just so the wheels turned freely and the brakes worked in which time i was approached but a couple of policemen who seemed unable to understand why half the field was on my bike.

As i was finally moving i felt like i had already cycled the whole day, i had little energy and no water. It took me an hour to cover around 13km when i stopped at a rest area (i was now on a motorway) to eat some food and rest a little to gain some strength. There was a sign that indicated i had about 115km to Urumqi, it was now 2pm and i decided i would go for it. As Popeye would down a can of spinach i did the same with a redbull and i was off. With the aid of a tailwind i rode flat out for 2 hours rarely dropping below 25kmph and i stopped for a quick break at another rest area where i pumped my front tyre up as it still had a slow puncture, had a little food another rebull and i was off like a rocket. I made the time up i needed so i got to the city at a reasonable time.

As i got to within a few kilometres the traffic really picked up until i blindly (i had no map) found my way to the city centre. I spent a while riding around looking for a backpackers to no avail so i decided to try a new strategy. I went into the most expensive hotel i could find (next to the Sheraton) asked for a map and the use of the internet, despite my appearance they were super helpful and i found a hostel to which they marked out on the map and gave me step by step directions. As i walked out i tried to pretend i didn’t realise i had left muddy footprints on the immaculate marble floor.

I found the hostel easy enough and before entering got chatting to an Australian and English guy who both live in China. Their names were Mike and Ian and mike was going to cycle from Urumqi to Beijing so we had a bit to talk about including the brooks leather seat. They said they were going to grab some food so after i showered i joined them. After a hearty feed we decided to go to a bar, while waiting for a taxi some crazy Chinese girl (though pretty) began to ask for our phone, we didn’t give her a phone as she seemed very dodgy. She began to have a rant at me not realising that Mike and Ian both speak and understand Chinese. Apparently she was saying ‘how am i meant to call you without a phone,’ which makes no sense what so ever. We found a taxi and the driver made us all sit in the back, very unusual but things got stranger when the crazy Chinese girl then jumped into the front seat. Mike and ian both were tracking the route of the taxi to make sure we weren’t about to be taken off somewhere else in case we were all now caught up in some scam.  The crazy girl kept yapping apparently saying ‘why come to china without speaking Chinese.’  Oh how little she knew. The taxi driver then missed our turning after an order from the crazy Chinese girl, we were in the midst of a scam and this is where it gets fun. To the shock of the crazy Chinese girl Ian began to speak his fluent Chinese telling the taxi driver who we guessed to be part of the scam to stop and let us out. The crazy Chinese girl then (with the look of a deer caught in the headlights) told us to leave which me and mike were already doing. We left without paying. Eventually we made it to the bar where after the first round of beers decided to go buy them from the bottle shop as instead of paying 30RMB a bottle we were now paying 3RMB. It was 5am by the time we left incredibly drunk, we witnessed a bit of a barny with the locals and a taxi driver, the old Uiger and Han feud still a sensitive one. We were invited in for a lock in by the Irish owner which was kind on ironic as we spent the bare minimum in his bar.

Getting a taxi back such was my drunken state i could not find my hostel even though i was stood outside of it, getting in i crashed out instantly on my bed.

Urumqi

3/07/2011 to 8/07/2011

With Ian and Matt who looked after me when
I was ill

I spent my first full day in Urumqi with an epic hangover one of which i was proud of as it has been a long time since alcohol induced pain was inflicted on myself, but the gash on my head remained a mystery to all. Matt (who i may have referred to as Mike before) had much worse luck, in his alcohol  induced state, he managed to part ways with 500Yuan and lose his i-phone in the taxi an act i repeated later in the day when we went for diner and leaving the taxi my phone fell out my pocket, realising quickly was to no avail as the driver was gone sharpish maybe realising his bonus. I was a bit gutted about this mainly because i have all my maps for the rest of the journey downloaded to that phone, but i bought the same phone a couple of days later though being china it had a few differences.

I applied for a Kyrgyzstan visa and had planned to leave on a Thursday the day after i was set to receive the visa but on the day of collection i had a pretty awful dose of food poisoning, thanks to some cream filed pastries i believe, which caused me to be violently sick twice and feel pretty dam awful with no one to look after me though when matt and ian discovered my plight they did answer my request of oranges and offered any assistance i may need. I spent the whole day laying down on the same chair, i watched the back to the future trilogy and did some research on what sort of food poisoning i may have, for those who want to know it was (i guess) Staphylococcus aureus but even now my stomach is still not right and i have been to the dunny 6 times today with ‘water stools.’

I didn’t do any sightseeing in Urumqi, i spent most the time hanging out with Ian and Matt who have been great company to have around and given me some great insights like why facebook is banned in China, its to do with the Uigers. . I successfully obtained a Kyrgyz visa so that leaves three more to get before i have free crossing borders, i hope, to England.

I had planned to get an early start tomorrow for the ride but as i still need to do some shopping i might take my time or put my clock back as a cheat as im still in Beijing time, which makes no sense here.