Since nobody wanted to join me for this ride, I decided to go out alone. I headed West again since I noticed that there are still more roads and trails out there, which haven't had my wheels on them

The first time I stopped was after 1 1/2 hours just to refuel the bike. I went on for another 15 km, stopped to re-fuel the rider and to tell my wife that I would be out of phone signal for the next 2-3 hours, where I was and where I was heading for - she wouldn't have been happy if she knew that before I left

I rode into a canyon-like valley, often not wider than the road. I reached a stone pit about 15kms into the valley where massive blocks were taken out and half a dozen men were living in a small camp.


Canyon-like valley


Abandoned village


Stone pit


The valley became more and more twisty and I thought several times I reached the end but there was always a next bend The valley widened when I climbed through 1000m asl, as signs of human life were present.


Is it the end or not?


Valley is widening


Riding in the valley


Signs of life


A look back


Evidence for life


I stopped to re-fuel the rider, next to a field where a farmer was working. Sure he came to see the bike and to ask me where I was going. I gave him a beer and asked him to write the name of the village where a turn off of the "main" road would lead to, so I could check it on the map later, but it turned out he couldn't write Luckily, another fellow came along who could write the name of the village.


Farmer's tractor


My friends from nowhere


The road I wanted to know where it goes to


Thanks buddy


Up ahead


A kilometer or so later, I passed a village, Mahuangyu, and thought to have traveled 100 years back in time. It is quite a large village and all was tidy and neat, simple however.


Mahuangyu 1


Mahuangyu 2


Mahuangyu 3


Mahuangyu 4


Mahuangyu 5


I left Mahuangyu behind and started to climb a pass, a very nice dirt road, just to my taste. After every turn I had an ever nicer view of Mahuangyu, the higher I came.


A view back to Mahuangyu


Another view back to Mahuangyu


View to the bottom of the pass


Close to the top of the pass - I had reached almost 1700m asl in the meantime - I stopped again to take yet another picture of that lovely village of Mahuangyu. As I stopped, I spotted a guy sitting at the roadside staring down to the village. I moved a few meters on and saw a hut made of dirt, which I assumed to be a checkpoint and the guy being the guard. He didn't take any action until I switched off my engine. Then he stood up, slowly walked into his guardhouse and came back out with a radio and a visitor list. He presented me the list, I filled in some fields, what made the guy very happy - probably his first foreigner on the list.


Another shot of Mahuangyu


Guard


Guardhouse


Visitors list


Not far behind the checkpoint I met the first moving motorized vehicle since I entered that valley. Shortly after that, I reached the top of the pass, not without taking another picture of, guess what, Mahuangyu


Final picture of Mahuangyu


Oncoming traffic - a rare sight in this area


The pass on the other side


Lonely Bike on the summit


360 Panorama - Click to get the original, huge


I spent like 15 minutes on the Top before I started to move on, down towards the main road (S241 in Hebei). Some more nice views before I reched civilization again.


Down I ride


On the way down


Bottom reached


Remains of a great wall tower


Mission accomplished


A final brake for rider refill before I took off for the long way back home, along the Southern shore of Guanting reservoir, across another pass back into Beijing and the final pass down to Changping in the very Northwestern corner of Beijing city.


The final pass, down to Changping





Speed and Altitude over time

A kml with the track can be downloaded from here.



P.S.
PM me if you want more pictures of Mahuangyu