Day 240 (China): km marker 1738 on G312 - where G70 and G312 meet again after that one tunnel (how much is life worth in China?)

daily distance: 133km
total distance: 14,100km
riding time: 8-9h 

I thought about putting: “Police car giving me chase” as the headline for today, but the other one kept me occupied much longer. You will see what I mean. Plenty of things happened today.

I left my place, the temperature again lower than yesterday, now standing at -6C and again, it felt much colder on the bike. My core body temperature is mostly OK - it takes a bit to get warmed up, but the hand and feet are a bit iffy for a while. Today, I was also cold all the time. Maybe I am too skinny or just had a bad day. Who knows. But I was almost fully clothed all day long. Here is what my sleeping quarters were last night. The view was nice though.  

Early on I passed the 14,000km mark:

So, only 1,000km more to go. Or so you may think. But it seems that I can reach the ocean under my own steam. And it will be a bit more in the end.

In Jungchuan I saw this

and this

But I wasn’t allowed in as some local bigwigs were arriving and so I couldn’t go. Too bad. But I saw this … the food in the market was great …  

Back on the bike I was wondering whether I would be riding in a valley for the rest of the time. No sooner had that thought formed did I climb for a good long while. And then remain on a plateay with lots of people selling apples all over.

I then entered coal country. Big time coal country. The towns looked like this.

And this where things happened to prompt me to write the subject line. I was just coming into a part of town and saw someone directing a truck backing up into the street. He saw me, acknowledged my presence and saw me closing in fast. Yet he still directed the driver to back up into my lane. The other side had oncoming traffic. Too late to brake and come to a stop. Road slippery. Not good. Bike acrobatics and two near-misses. I was glad to have made it. But I was fuming. The guy saw me and still almost got me hit. And it wouldn’t have been pretty. I was yelling and screaming at him. He turned around and didn’t care. Didn’t give a damn. I was told by another guy directing traffic that I should move on, they had business to do. I couldn’t believe it. Now I understand that I am on the bottom of the food chain. But this was a bit much. And I wasn’t sure what made me angrier. The fact that it happened or that he didn’t care. I couldn’t do anything but move on.

I wanted to leave this town badly then. I was directed by police a certain way which proved to be wrong. Completely wrong. It meant a big detour to go back and over the hill. I didn’t feel like it. There was a tunnel and a highway. And there are always ways and means to get onto one. So I did. I knew I wasn’t allowed to. I did this with full intention. And hoped I would get by. Then, entering the tunnel I saw the cameras. More and more. Halfway through I thought I may make it. Then I heard the siren. Darn … I was in trouble. I was told to stop outside the tunnel and thought about the situation. What did I care? Would they fine me, throw me out of the country, go to court? Nothing of the sort. The guy said something, I said I didn’t understand - pointed away from the highway and he nodded and let me go. Good one.

Then he passed me again, there had been no way out. But nothing happened. I passed the highway patrol building and got by without a hitch. Then I was hunting for a spot to pitch, got my feet wet in the morast as it was dark and pitched randomly. But I knew it would be cold and the area was moist. Not good. I had little appetite, though I was glad that things worked out with the police. But I was still wondering how much life is worth in China.