| Our wake up call today was at 6am,
with breakfast soon after. This was a Chinese version of a continental
breakfast which was quite nice although there were several items people
were obviously avoiding.
We started cycling at about 7.40 am, with the temperature soaring. |
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| The first few miles were downhill
and then flat. We stopped at the tomb of one of the Chinese emperors. This was
a very dilapidated building which was closed to the general public. it soon became
obvious that we were not going to visit the Ming Tombs, as we had expected to. this
was a major disappointment and was, I suppose, the start of my realisation that this
wasn't going to be a sight seeing tour. You had to see what was available virtually
without stopping. We were allowed in to the area of the tomb and although it was
very run down it was explained to us that it would be renovated or at least
preserved in the future. You were able to see the size of the structure and marvel
at the architecture. Our Chinese guide Da Lee (I don't know if that is how it is spelt,
but that's how it was said) informed us that this tomb cost the equivalent of two years of
the then total income of China to build, and many people were made to help build it.
Part of the tomb was destroyed in the revolution but the main chamber was still
intact. |
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| Flat roads and villages were soon
to disappear with the road taking a decidedly upward slant. Adrian and I agreed that
these were probably the hardest and highest 'mountains' we had ever cycled on.
For someone living in Wales to say that they had never seen mountains
like it gives some indication of what we are looking at. The
climb was constant for 12kms. The gradient wasn't too steep but with the heat and
constant climb it was apparent that some people, including us, were going to struggle.
Everyone was drinking lots of water and we were very pleased to eventually reach
the top. It was here that we first realised how badly the heat and exertion were
affecting our breathing. It was very difficult to take a decent breath and any
attempt to take a deep breath caused a lot of chest pain. This
is it . Months of fund raising , good intention etc. and i'm goin' to die
at the top of a Chinese hill!!! First of all we really thought we were
on our way out but when others also complained of the same problem we were given a degree
of reassurance. |
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The only good thing about uphill
is the downhill! This was no exception. Long smooth descents that you can
really enjoy.
The temperature had now risen close to 40c and we were again cycling through small rural
villages. Alongside many of the roads were large numbers of bee-hives. The Bee
keepers were living alongside the hives in shelters ranging from basic tents to wooden or
sometimes brick built, single room huts. Travelling past large colonies of bees
isn't very nice when you are cycling, especially when you are going very fast and, if
there was ever an incentive to speed up if you are going very slow, this was it.
Bees kept hitching lifts inside the vents of our helmets and weren't very
grateful either. Several people were stung.
Our support vehicles had gone ahead of us and informed local schools that we were
soon to pass through the village. Many came out to cheer us on and some factories
also had their workforce out on the road waving to us. Everyone appeared very happy
and were very friendly. It was apparent that this was a quite poor community and
housing was very basic. |
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| We stopped alongside the road for
lunch which was a picnic. Food was well needed by now and the ham, tomato and cheese
sandwiches were soon gone, leaving a small cake and a banana to fill the rest of the gap.
This turned out to be our favoured way of taking lunch as sit down meals in a
restaurant left us feeling full up and ready to sleep instead of ready to ride. |
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The section after lunch was
through sensitive military areas where we were not allowed to take photographs or
stop ( We had to smuggle this passage out as I don't think we were
supposed to write either). People we pass look at us and marvel at the helmets everyone has to wear. In
China nobody wears a cycling helmet and very few wear crash helmets on motorcycles despite
these being compulsory.
The sewers in China often lead straight into rivers and watercourses and as you cycle
along the smell is often unbearable. There is no wildlife to be seen, including
birds, and this is very strange when you consider the type of landscape we are cycling
through.
Today has been a particularly hard day with over 79kms covered. We are both
shattered and glad to see what is without question the best hotel we will stay in during
our trip, The Badaling Hot Spring Resort. The bath water was lovely, coming straight
from a hot spring, and was much needed by all. The food was good and the beer was
very cheap. Why do people drink more when it's cheap?
What a day, we have travelled under our own steam over mountains we have never
attempted the like of before, been greeted by happy, smiling children and enjoyed
beautiful scenery. It's starting to sink in now. We are in China!! |
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