Nice Ride in Hubei

I rode from Shangqiu, Henan to Wuhan last Friday. I was on G106 for most of the trip. The portion through Anhui province was a collection of potholes and broken pavement rather than a road. When I started over the mountain pass to Hubei the road was nice and smooth and almost no traffic. The area was very scenic with beautiful mountains and small country villages. There were rice fields and water buffalo everywhere. The people were very suprised to see me and children who saw me coming ran to the side of the road to wave. Most were so shocked they just stared as I rode by. The one time I stopped a local did his best to talk to me in the local dialect, which I couldn't understand. I did manage to communicate to him that I was going to Wuhan. He seemed very happy and went on his way. This portion of G106 was the nicest and most relaxing ride I've done here in China. All I had to watch for was the occasional piles left by the water buffalo.
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