Day 216 (China): before Zepu - km marker 2780 on G315 (not much going on …)

by markus

daily distance: 125km
total distance: 12,020km
riding time: 6-7h

I woke up often during the night - rodents being around and some aluminum paper that they seemed to like. Couldn’t do much really as I couldn’t find where it was.

I met a Chinese biker - Ching Feng and felt ashamed at the major amount of equipment that I am carrying. This guy has gone back to basics for sure.

Brief stop in Yecheng - a rather nondescript city for the most part …

Late in the afternoon, I was still in the middle of the desert, a truck driver coming towards me stops, gives me some bread and moves on. Just like that. Out of nowhere. Then, when things became dark I saw a good spot to sleep - were it not for three people milling about in the same place. No longer a good place. The search was on - the desert was flat on either side, nothing to hide behind. And it was getting dark now. Finally, a little water tunnel, where I decided to hunker down. It was out of the wind and the cars weren’t much of a factor. Except for those voices I heard for about 20 minutes not far away. But they went away after fixing their car. Little did I know what the night would turn out like in the end. And it has nothing to do with these …