Sorry it has taken me so long to post this but things have been a little hectic since finishing and to be honest I was making the most of being finished! But here are the final instalments of the daily blog...which will be followed up in a couple of weeks by some retrospective thoughts from home I am sure.
07-Nov-08: First Signs to Beijing
China: Anyang – Rest Day
Our final rest day before Beijing was pretty low key. The story of the day comes from my hunting down a massage as per usual...I presumed a single doorway across the road from the hotel, marked by an illuminated and familiar image of a foot (ie. to denote foot massage), to lead me to a massage parlour. Beyond the doorway was 2 flights of stairs in a dingy stairwell which ended with another unmarked door. Behind the second door was a long hallway which looked like that of a hotel. I pushed the door open and immediately thought to myself ‘I am not so sure this is a massage parlour’ but just as I was about to back out I was greeted by a couple of young girls who confirmed my mimed query about a massage. And so I took them up on their offer.
As I walked inside I noticed a young couple inside a room through a doorway to my right which looked very much like a hotel room...I was beginning to be more sure that massage was not the only service offered in this establishment. I was led to another hotel style room containing a queen sized bed, a single bed and a television and was handed a towel and a pyjama style outfit. After having a cold shower and changing I made my way back to my room down the hallway, passing by a couple of seedy looking fat men in towels on my way. I was joined in my room by a young girl and given a very legitimate and good 90 minute massage. So I left happy, but still certain that the place offered more than just massage!
By accident we found a Peking duck restaurant for dinner and were treated to the whole fine dining experience. Our duck was expertly carved by a chef in front of us and the meat was then rolled up with plum sauce into little crepes by our waitress displaying expert command of chopsticks in completing such a task. It was a very tasty and enjoyable meal all around.
08-Nov-08: Holy Smokes
China: Anyang to Xingtai
133km, 6h 22min ride time
Today was a typical ‘in China’ riding day. The highlight being our post ride venture to find a ‘wang ba’ (internet cafe)...after a couple of failed attempts to enter internet cafes but being turned away it dawned on us that all the power in the street was out. And so we decided to wait inside the doors of one cafe which appeared to have just restored power. As we stood there watching the staff randomly flick switches in an attempt to restore power, there was a loud bang followed by a faint sizzling sound as cloud of white smoke started to surround a nearby computer monitor which had blown up. At this stage we presumed the cafe to be currently closed for business and went back to the hotel!
09-Nov-08: Crazy Game
China: Xingtai to Shijazhuang
115km, 5h 21min ride time
Manon put it well when she likened riding through these cities in China to playing a computer game, with obstructions and challenges being thrown into your path every few seconds. And I think that pretty much sums it up!
10-Nov-08: Medical Mistreatment
China: Shijazhuang to Boading
141km, 6h 31min ride time
Biggest news from today was Mr Mu, our lunch truck driver, hitting a local scooter rider. Ben who is trained in first aid was on the scene and treated the young lady when the accident happened. Apparently she had numbness in her lower back and tingling in her arms so Ben calmed her down and held her still, only to have the ambulance park 30 metres away and yank the patient up by her arm and make her walk to the ambulance!!! Mr Mu and our lunch van were taken by the police at lunchtime and not released until very late in the evening. Poor Mr Mu was very shaken up and upset by the whole episode.
11-Nov-08: Penultimate Day
China: Boading to Goabeidian
65km, 2h 59min ride time
Today was a short riding day, highlighted by an evening briefing on visas and the schedule for tomorrow. Visa’s are looking a little uncertain...with a few unable to get required extensions and quite a few of us on the group visa which needs to be split into individual visa’s in order for us to leave the country separately...will be interesting to see how it pans out!
12-Nov-08: Military Control
China: Boading to Beijing
95km, 4h 45min ride time
The schedule for our final day went as follows:
7.00am – Breakfast
10.30am – Lunch
10.45am – Convoy to Beijing Departs
12.15pm – Photos at Tiananmen Square
1.00pm – Drinks and Nibbles
2.00pm – Slide Show
2.30pm – PBS Visit for Visa extension people
3.00pm – Check In to Hotel
5.00pm – Bus Pick Up
6.00pm – Peking Duck Dinner
7.30pm – Peking Opera Highlights
9.30pm – Bus Return
So our final day instead of allowing us to savour the moment was rushed through from start to finish in Military fashion. Quite a few of us that followed the schedule and ate breakfast at 7am were late for lunch, not being able to ride the distance fast enough to keep on schedule. The whole day was a real anticlimax with no real opportunity to celebrate in a relaxed setting. However, nothing negated the fact that we were finally done!
I always envy and am very grateful to those who are able to sum things up in prose or song and during dinner both Joan and Jost presented their works in summary of our journey...
Melody: I left a little girl in Kingston Town
Written by: Dr Joan
In Turkey we had hills galore
And we huffed and puffed and huffed some more
Bud food was good and weather fine
With bright blue skies and sunshine
Chorus A
But I’m sad to say
I’m on my way
Won’t be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
For the Silk Road ends in Beijing now
Georgia was the next in line
But for her we’ll still have to pine
There was a war and bombs and tanks
That we missed it all we must give thanks
Chorus B
But I’m glad to say
I’m on my way
Won’t be back for many a day
My heart is light
My soul is taking a flight
For the Silk Road ends right here tonight
Azerbaijan was a mix
Of bus and bike and toilet stinks
Baku will remain the place
From which forever we will race
Chorus A
Turkmenistan is a strange country
Where no one seems so very free
Ashgabat is a Disneyland
But the desert just filled us up with sand
Chorus B
Uzbekistan was flat, flat, flat
And the Plov and Shashlyk kept us fat
Cotton grew in endless rows
As we pedalled on the Silk Route Road
Chorus A
Tajikistan went by in a blink
But the borders made our spirits sink
Ferghana Valley was very lush
And the new Mercs sped by in a rush
Chorus B
Kyrgyzstan with its mountain height
Made our legs got heavy but our hearts grew light
Such magnificent scenery
But the roads as bad as they can be
Chorus A
China’s still a mystery
Which astounds and shocks continually
From desert plains to mountain shrines
From the bustling cities to the coal mines
Chorus B
Here we are in Beijing
After things that made us cry and sing
The Silk Route will be forever one
Of the wildest things we have ever done
Chorus A
Melody: The Wild Rover
Written by: Stewart Sinclair / Jost Rovers
Well I’ve been a keen biker for many a year
And I’ve ridden my bicycle here and there
But this time I’ve ridden much more than before
And I never will cycle the Silk Route no more
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more
Through many a city in many a land
Istanbul, Ashgabat and Samarkand
To Osh via Kokand and also Kojand
To Kashgar and Dunhuang the Beijing as planned
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more
At the borders for hours and hours we’d wait
And the conflict in Georgia would not make us late
We’ve slept in the desert no showers and hot
No different to some of the hotels we got!
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more
I’ve cycled the rough road and also the smooth
And I’ve dodged the policeman at every toll booth
I’ve repaired the flat tyre, put lube on my chain
But I never will cycle the Silk Route again
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more
I’ve cycled the mountain, the hill and the plain
I’ve revelled in sunshine and frozen in rain
In camps by the highway I’ve put up my tent
And warm nights in hotels I’ve happily spent
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more
At breakfast each morning Ben described the way
And usually Shanny had something to say
Doc Joan took good care of our medical needs
And Miles made a banquet from road-kill and weeds
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more
I’ve cycled to Beijing from Istanbul
With memories fond my head’s completely full
And so I’ll return home with tales in great store
But I never will cycle the Silk Route no more
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more
So it’s no nay never, no nay never, no more
Will I cycle the Silk Route, no never, no more!!!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
It's the Final Countdown
31-Oct-08:
China: Xi’an – Rest Day
Where do I start? Well how about with the conclusion of yesterday’s news. Firstly, in the course of using the internet cafe to call home, during which I had to switch computers 3 times due to broken headsets and power failures, I managed to lose track of my purse containing about $300 and a credit card! The security staff at the internet cafe tried to be helpful despite not being able to speak a word of English and wanted to trawl through security footage...the cafe was so dimly lit that I could barely make out myself let alone a small purse and anyone who walked away with it...and what would I do if I did see someone walking away with it? So I let it go and got back online to cancel my credit card!
Secondly, the laundry service we put our clothes into to be washed managed to lose $200 worth of my clothing...not happy Jan! Thirdly, the sim card which I had just topped up with credit died and would not work. I’ve heard things come in 3’s...so it seems...
On a brighter note, today we went to see the famous Terracotta Warriors. I had seen the odd story on TV about them before but to see them first hand was astounding. They were constructed over a period of nearly 40 years to guard the tomb of a Chinese Emperor...and were subsequently destroyed during peasant riots. There are estimated to be around 7000 warriors in total, with about 2000 having been uncovered to date. Painstaking restoration work is carried out to reassemble the broken warriors and only one undamaged figure has been uncovered so far. Each figure stands 7 feet tall and has a unique facial expression and when unearthed is brightly decorated with paint...but the paint oxidises and loses its colour within 40 minutes of being exposed to air, hence why so many of the warriors remain unearthed...they are waiting to develop a technique of preserving their original glory.
We visited 3 archaeological ‘pits’ containing warriors unearthed and restored to varying degrees. Pit 1 was the largest, being the size of a football field and enclosed by an airplane hangar. This pit contained the original location where a farmer was digging a well and unearthed the first piece of a warrior in 1974. Since that time the farmer has found a new day job and can be found every day in the visitor centre signing copies of a book...and no photos please! I did snap a few pictures of the warriors and think they probably tell the story best, although it was hard in the dim lighting to get a clear shot.
On returning to the hotel at about 3pm, Ben held a bike shop and was finally offering to help people change over their old bike parts for new ones...and so most of us who have wanted to do this for months finally had our chance. It took a few hours of assisted mechanical work but my bike now has a new middle chain ring, cassette and chain...a very exciting achievement in my little bike obsessed world at the moment!
01-Nov-08: Close Call
China: Xi’an to Huayin
123km, 5h 42min ride time
As we expect to be the norm from herein, today was full of busy traffic and the odd close call. I had a lady hold out her arm right in front of me to hail a bus and she was so close that I had to duck to avoid crashing into her. I wasn’t so lucky when I had a slow speed collision with a motorbike who turned in front of me without indicating...in fairness I was passing on his right but in a country with no road rules you just have to make what you deem to be an appropriate call and in this case I lucked out. The old man’s front wheel went into a deep roadside gutter, momentarily pinning him to the ground and I did little more than slowly topple and scrape a little skin from my knees...so we were lucky!
Pedestrians are forever walking out into the road without looking to see if anything is coming. And even if they see us they mostly misjudge the speed at which we are moving and walk out in front of us anyway! Despite all the activity we managed to keep our eyes out and ended up being the only ones who did not get lost following flagging tape indicating a change of instruction. Four crucial turns were left out of the daily route instructions and the van was parked roadside to flag us down and point out the first of the new instructions to us...but aside from a second nearby turn they failed to mention a couple of additional turns to watch out for. Most missed the additional turns and ended up back at the Terracotta Warriors before being put back on the right track, after having done an additional 10km. Luckily I saw the flagging tape and we ended up being to first to arrive at lunch despite being the last to leave for the day, so it was nice to have something go in our favour.
Our hotel for tonight is next door to a Bowling Alley and so the staff (due to Miles being a keen bowler) arranged for a bowling tournament to be held. We had 4 teams competing and had a lot of laughs as most of us had not bowled in many years and some had never bowled. Despite my not having played for as long as I can remember I managed 3 strikes and 3 spares so was pretty happy...the other scores were all a bit hit and miss!
02-Nov-08: It’s the Final Countdown
China: Huayin to Samenxia
147km, 6h 46min ride time
Today was our 10th last day of riding...so it is now literally the final countdown till we reach Beijing. Our route today was a bit of a surprise to all of us, despite knowing about the long distance we had been told nothing of all the climbing it involved.
Long days occasionally spur me on out of desperation to not have the day turn into an extended nightmare of a ride. And so out of desperation and in the spirit of the Noosa triathlon being held back home today I rode the remaining 70km with renewed energy after lunch and into the hotel, arriving within 5 minutes of everyone else who had a half hour head start on us.
03-Nov-08: I Honk Therefore I Am...Coming Through!
China: Samenxia to Luoyang
126km, 6h 37min ride time
Today was a difficult day with a fair amount of climbing and an afternoon of headwinds. The focus however is now the terrible traffic. We are being driven to distraction by the amount of honking on the roads. The absence of any reliable traffic laws has created a chain reaction spiralling out of control in which honking excuses all wrongs...vehicles and people pull out into the main stream of traffic without looking...as a consequence the vehicles in the main stream of traffic honk at every potential intersection where someone could pull out, resulting in a constant din of competing horns.
Trucks and buses are the worst as they honk loudly and incessantly and in long and repetitive intervals whilst they pass through towns at high speed, not prepared to slow down or stop for anyone! I am sure the hearing in my left ear has been compromised by too much exposure to air horns. Amusingly and probably alarmingly, the best example of good driving today was a scooter using it’s indicator to turn, despite driving the wrong way up the road!
04-Nov-08: Vegetarian Bathing
China: Luoyang to Bo’ai
110km, 5h 13min ride time
The ride today was comparatively uneventful...the same old busy traffic and fairly flat terrain. The highlight of the day was arriving at the hotel, which is very nice despite the shower which is simply a retractable extension hose from the basin tap...like a vegetable washing tap seen in fancy kitchens. Consequently, having a shower involves removing all items that should not get wet from the room and closing the toilet lid so the seat doesn’t get wet!
05-Nov-08: Dumb Detour
China: Bo’ai to Xinxiang
85km, 3h 54min ride time
With an expected 77km distance to cover, today was practically a non riding day. The terrain and route had little to surprise us with exception of being sent on an unnecessary 8km detour. The van flagging the route got a little confused by some signage that had changed since last year and resulted in following a detour which added 8km to the distance but ultimately returned to the original road which we were following.
Despite having figured this out by the time we rode past, staff still directed us on the longer route because the riders before us had gone this way...we did not realise this at the time but it was bloody obvious as we rode out of our way only to return back to the road we were on. Their excuse was that everyone should follow the same route. The infuriating point being that by the time we reached them all the other riders would have been back on the road we were already on and still they told us to follow a path they knew full well was a waste of time. Sometimes their illogical and stupid reasoning baffles me to exasperation and I am thankful that my time in this little micro world is nearly over!
06-Nov-08: First Signs to Beijing
China: Xinxiang to Anyang
115km, 5h 31min ride time
We saw our first roads signs to Beijing today...how exciting! I am trying to come up with some new bit of information in each daily blog, but at this stage it is like trying to write a differing account of your drive to work every day. The environment changes little now as we are constantly on busy roads passing through one seemingly never ending heavily populated area.
The influence of the west is becoming increasingly obvious with branding like KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks becoming the norm now...and consequently obesity is now increasing. Actually, I was noting just the other day how little obesity has been present since day one of this journey. Having ridden across 2 continents and seen people from many walks of life has made it starkly obvious just how comparatively unhealthy our society is back home.
Our final rest day is in the city of Anyang, about 550km south-west of Beijing. We are staying in a hotel nearby to what appears to be a children’s hospital and consequently the surrounding area contains a proliferation of businesses catering to the needs of babies, children and new or expectant mothers. It is strange to see such a concentration of such goods and services as presumably due to China’s one child policy it has not been very obvious to this point. I saw a pregnant lady last week and she was the first I had noticed since entering the country.
China: Xi’an – Rest Day
Where do I start? Well how about with the conclusion of yesterday’s news. Firstly, in the course of using the internet cafe to call home, during which I had to switch computers 3 times due to broken headsets and power failures, I managed to lose track of my purse containing about $300 and a credit card! The security staff at the internet cafe tried to be helpful despite not being able to speak a word of English and wanted to trawl through security footage...the cafe was so dimly lit that I could barely make out myself let alone a small purse and anyone who walked away with it...and what would I do if I did see someone walking away with it? So I let it go and got back online to cancel my credit card!
Secondly, the laundry service we put our clothes into to be washed managed to lose $200 worth of my clothing...not happy Jan! Thirdly, the sim card which I had just topped up with credit died and would not work. I’ve heard things come in 3’s...so it seems...
On a brighter note, today we went to see the famous Terracotta Warriors. I had seen the odd story on TV about them before but to see them first hand was astounding. They were constructed over a period of nearly 40 years to guard the tomb of a Chinese Emperor...and were subsequently destroyed during peasant riots. There are estimated to be around 7000 warriors in total, with about 2000 having been uncovered to date. Painstaking restoration work is carried out to reassemble the broken warriors and only one undamaged figure has been uncovered so far. Each figure stands 7 feet tall and has a unique facial expression and when unearthed is brightly decorated with paint...but the paint oxidises and loses its colour within 40 minutes of being exposed to air, hence why so many of the warriors remain unearthed...they are waiting to develop a technique of preserving their original glory.
We visited 3 archaeological ‘pits’ containing warriors unearthed and restored to varying degrees. Pit 1 was the largest, being the size of a football field and enclosed by an airplane hangar. This pit contained the original location where a farmer was digging a well and unearthed the first piece of a warrior in 1974. Since that time the farmer has found a new day job and can be found every day in the visitor centre signing copies of a book...and no photos please! I did snap a few pictures of the warriors and think they probably tell the story best, although it was hard in the dim lighting to get a clear shot.
On returning to the hotel at about 3pm, Ben held a bike shop and was finally offering to help people change over their old bike parts for new ones...and so most of us who have wanted to do this for months finally had our chance. It took a few hours of assisted mechanical work but my bike now has a new middle chain ring, cassette and chain...a very exciting achievement in my little bike obsessed world at the moment!
01-Nov-08: Close Call
China: Xi’an to Huayin
123km, 5h 42min ride time
As we expect to be the norm from herein, today was full of busy traffic and the odd close call. I had a lady hold out her arm right in front of me to hail a bus and she was so close that I had to duck to avoid crashing into her. I wasn’t so lucky when I had a slow speed collision with a motorbike who turned in front of me without indicating...in fairness I was passing on his right but in a country with no road rules you just have to make what you deem to be an appropriate call and in this case I lucked out. The old man’s front wheel went into a deep roadside gutter, momentarily pinning him to the ground and I did little more than slowly topple and scrape a little skin from my knees...so we were lucky!
Pedestrians are forever walking out into the road without looking to see if anything is coming. And even if they see us they mostly misjudge the speed at which we are moving and walk out in front of us anyway! Despite all the activity we managed to keep our eyes out and ended up being the only ones who did not get lost following flagging tape indicating a change of instruction. Four crucial turns were left out of the daily route instructions and the van was parked roadside to flag us down and point out the first of the new instructions to us...but aside from a second nearby turn they failed to mention a couple of additional turns to watch out for. Most missed the additional turns and ended up back at the Terracotta Warriors before being put back on the right track, after having done an additional 10km. Luckily I saw the flagging tape and we ended up being to first to arrive at lunch despite being the last to leave for the day, so it was nice to have something go in our favour.
Our hotel for tonight is next door to a Bowling Alley and so the staff (due to Miles being a keen bowler) arranged for a bowling tournament to be held. We had 4 teams competing and had a lot of laughs as most of us had not bowled in many years and some had never bowled. Despite my not having played for as long as I can remember I managed 3 strikes and 3 spares so was pretty happy...the other scores were all a bit hit and miss!
02-Nov-08: It’s the Final Countdown
China: Huayin to Samenxia
147km, 6h 46min ride time
Today was our 10th last day of riding...so it is now literally the final countdown till we reach Beijing. Our route today was a bit of a surprise to all of us, despite knowing about the long distance we had been told nothing of all the climbing it involved.
Long days occasionally spur me on out of desperation to not have the day turn into an extended nightmare of a ride. And so out of desperation and in the spirit of the Noosa triathlon being held back home today I rode the remaining 70km with renewed energy after lunch and into the hotel, arriving within 5 minutes of everyone else who had a half hour head start on us.
03-Nov-08: I Honk Therefore I Am...Coming Through!
China: Samenxia to Luoyang
126km, 6h 37min ride time
Today was a difficult day with a fair amount of climbing and an afternoon of headwinds. The focus however is now the terrible traffic. We are being driven to distraction by the amount of honking on the roads. The absence of any reliable traffic laws has created a chain reaction spiralling out of control in which honking excuses all wrongs...vehicles and people pull out into the main stream of traffic without looking...as a consequence the vehicles in the main stream of traffic honk at every potential intersection where someone could pull out, resulting in a constant din of competing horns.
Trucks and buses are the worst as they honk loudly and incessantly and in long and repetitive intervals whilst they pass through towns at high speed, not prepared to slow down or stop for anyone! I am sure the hearing in my left ear has been compromised by too much exposure to air horns. Amusingly and probably alarmingly, the best example of good driving today was a scooter using it’s indicator to turn, despite driving the wrong way up the road!
04-Nov-08: Vegetarian Bathing
China: Luoyang to Bo’ai
110km, 5h 13min ride time
The ride today was comparatively uneventful...the same old busy traffic and fairly flat terrain. The highlight of the day was arriving at the hotel, which is very nice despite the shower which is simply a retractable extension hose from the basin tap...like a vegetable washing tap seen in fancy kitchens. Consequently, having a shower involves removing all items that should not get wet from the room and closing the toilet lid so the seat doesn’t get wet!
05-Nov-08: Dumb Detour
China: Bo’ai to Xinxiang
85km, 3h 54min ride time
With an expected 77km distance to cover, today was practically a non riding day. The terrain and route had little to surprise us with exception of being sent on an unnecessary 8km detour. The van flagging the route got a little confused by some signage that had changed since last year and resulted in following a detour which added 8km to the distance but ultimately returned to the original road which we were following.
Despite having figured this out by the time we rode past, staff still directed us on the longer route because the riders before us had gone this way...we did not realise this at the time but it was bloody obvious as we rode out of our way only to return back to the road we were on. Their excuse was that everyone should follow the same route. The infuriating point being that by the time we reached them all the other riders would have been back on the road we were already on and still they told us to follow a path they knew full well was a waste of time. Sometimes their illogical and stupid reasoning baffles me to exasperation and I am thankful that my time in this little micro world is nearly over!
06-Nov-08: First Signs to Beijing
China: Xinxiang to Anyang
115km, 5h 31min ride time
We saw our first roads signs to Beijing today...how exciting! I am trying to come up with some new bit of information in each daily blog, but at this stage it is like trying to write a differing account of your drive to work every day. The environment changes little now as we are constantly on busy roads passing through one seemingly never ending heavily populated area.
The influence of the west is becoming increasingly obvious with branding like KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks becoming the norm now...and consequently obesity is now increasing. Actually, I was noting just the other day how little obesity has been present since day one of this journey. Having ridden across 2 continents and seen people from many walks of life has made it starkly obvious just how comparatively unhealthy our society is back home.
Our final rest day is in the city of Anyang, about 550km south-west of Beijing. We are staying in a hotel nearby to what appears to be a children’s hospital and consequently the surrounding area contains a proliferation of businesses catering to the needs of babies, children and new or expectant mothers. It is strange to see such a concentration of such goods and services as presumably due to China’s one child policy it has not been very obvious to this point. I saw a pregnant lady last week and she was the first I had noticed since entering the country.
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