Pedaling from the Black Forest to the Yellow Sea

daily distance: 137km
total distance: 12,529km
riding time: 7-8h

Yupian didn’t hold much in store for me … except for this statue (a version of which I had seen before) …

and this formation of policemen, which marched through the whole of the city. And I wasn’t quite sure of whether to take that shot or not. A hord of angry policemen on the chase …

Once out of the city, I thought I was on the wrong road. It was badly surfaced and so different from what I have grown used to over the last few days. The markers were there alright, but it was narrow and the asphalt broken all over the place. This was to last all day long, until I got to Minfeng. It was bad … and I sort of felt like I was back in portions of Central Asia. And I was tired. My tires seemed to be glued to the road, my legs weren’t willing to move any and I didn’t really know what to make of it all. I kept taking breaks needlessly … well, I guess they were necessary. But nothing seemed to make sense. The tailwind that I had in the morning sort of helped, but when the road is too bumpy, high speeds just aren’t possible.

It was then desert, desert, desert … all day long. Ugly desert too. Vast expanses of nothingness. This was about as good as it got.

Mingfen seemed to be OK, but there was a problem with finding a place. Most turned me away, ostensibly because I am a foreigner. The one place that would have had me tried to rip me off and so I left Mingfen again. I bought what I needed for dinner and the next day, headed out to find a suitable spot. Still no shower and no laundry done and 300km away from Qiemo. Ouch …

One of the readers asked me how I was doing these days and this question prompted me to think about this today. Actually, I am doing fine. There are certain times when it is difficult to be by myself … but for the most part I am really happy. Things are good. The bike seems to be OKish right now and I am doing well. I will have to take a break sooner than later as the distances that I am pulling at the moment are just too great.

Just FYI and if you are really paying attention to the markers and the distances, there has been a jump in the markings, dropping by about 45km between entering and leaving Mingfen. And believe me, that place isn’t that large.

I spent the night under the roof of a shed, about 10km past Mingfen - not far from a cemetery.

daily distance: 140km
total distance: 12,392km
riding time: 7h

I stepped out of my sleeping quarters and … it hit me. Or rather didn’t. There was a tailwind. And it was sunny. I was on the bike as quickly as I could and started on what should be a long day.

But it was just plain good riding. After a while I reached the town of Qira where the internet woes seemed to continue. But in the end they didn’t. It seems that there was someone who did what was necessary … puts in my details (including passport number, where did I have to do that before?) and that is it.

The rest of the day was desert riding, interspersed by inhabited places here and there.

Those tend to be interesting and much more attractive to me than the big cities. But look for yourself.

Finding a place before Yutian proved to be a bit tricky again. Trying to explain what a tent is when you don’t know the language isn’t easy. And even with a drawing or the picture talk booklet people don’t seem to be getting what you want. Instead, they invite you into their place (once again …).

As someone asked about the temperatures - it is mostly below freezing during the night and goes up to around 20C during the day. Most of the time I start riding wearing a solid layer of clothing which I am slowly shedding as the day progresses.

daily distance: 102km
total distance: 12,252km
riding time: 5-6h

In the room with my bike and a motorcyle I slept like a baby, had breakfast with Mehmet and his wife and some visitors and set out.

It was a nice morning, and it was supposed to be a short day. It wasn’t after all … I meant to stay in Hotan.

But that didn’t work out. The area was much busier than I had anticipated, but I was in Hotan before noon and looked for a hotel. Well … the Happy Hotel is not so happy. Described as a great place in the guidebook, it really isn’t. The owners were awful and so I decided to leave the place altogether after finding out that none of the internet cafes would let me on the net. Hotan is a busy and hectic place, so I left again. It has interesting statements in the form of statues.

I arrived in Lop soon thereafter and found an internet cafe without a problem, the place was not nearly as hectic and busy as Hotan.

As darkness approached I left Lop and found a place about 10km away from the town - a place where local workers were staying and was shown a room … and that was really it for the day.

daily distance: 130km
total distance: 12,150km
riding time: 6-7h

The night was bad … really bad. The wind had changed and it now blew directly through the little water tunnel I was in. It was a) cold and b) sandy. I woke up with my eyes almost glued together and couldn’t open them for a second. Then I realized what was going on. In the light of my headlamp I could see the sand driving at me. Giving the place up with nowhere to go was not an option so I created a barrier with my bags and hunkered down behind it. The sleeping bag kept me warm, that wasn’t an issue, but the sand kept coming until the morning hours. And again, I had trouble opening my eyes in the morning. Not a nice feeling. Now I know what sandblasting feels I guess. And sand was everywhere.

I shook myself out and got back on the road. I must have looked pretty awful as the people in the first town came to me and gave me some water to wash up. Then, lots of uneventful cycling until I got the first town - where I wanted to grab a bite in a restaurant. The cooks were amazing and wouldn’t let me pay for anything. The food was delicious to boot. Thanks guys …

It was another long day …. and it is sort of decision time. I am thinking whether to try to get to a place where I can renew my visa which means cycling like crazyor whether to just realize that I will not be able to get there under my own steam and take it easy. We shall see. Any input is appreciated.

In the afternoon I came by pommegranate heaven and at one point was waved over, given two pommegranates and set out again. Funny stuff that is happening and I certainly wouldn’t have guessed that this is the place for those delicious fruits.

 And this is what things look like for the most part these days …

And then my first sunset in days …

At night I came to a derelict place - but was welcomed by Mehmet and his wife. The two of them were funny as you can have it - and the Langenscheidt Picture Talk booklet that I have came in really handy.

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 …