Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work

[bikerdoc]

I made it into Xining yesterday and took the day off today. The forecast continues to say rain, rain, rain. I spent most of the afternoon searching forecasts and looking for a path around it, but it looks like rain all across Qinghai and Sichuan. I still have roughly 19 days to make it to Kunming, but I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and head towards Yushu tomorrow (I was planning to loop Qinghai Lake, but the loop is 460 km - and it's forecast to rain over there, so I think I'm going to use the one clear day to start moving south...

I feel for you, the past fortnight has seen some quite heavy rains and some light typhoons, though it is typhoon season here again. In amongst all the rain though have been some fine sunny days, which is great. Unfortunately though there past several days we've been experiencing really high humidity - which is uncomfortable to say the least. Makes it hard for one like me who likes to wear a fair amount of protective gear (jacket, boots, gloves, helmet and air filtration mask). Guess wearing all this gear in the humidity is one way to lose weight. hahaha!

Oh, and I'm with the other posters... more girls please ;)

[lulu]

Jeremy and me met pat,before yesterday,in siqu,sichuan

he and Jeremy had a hard night yesterday

they r in snow 1 hour,i was in a hard rain 3.5 hours,3 of us are fine,no ill...........

they go back 40 km to pick up their motos

its long story

at least we had nice photo and videos

[CrazyCarl]

Ah snow in the middle of summer. Gotta love the plateau!

Glad to hear everyone is okay and rockin it! You guys sure know how to make a reader envious!

Wits about you folks!

CC

[euphonius]

Dear Lulu,

Thanks for your first post in MCM!!!! I hope it will not be the last.

Whether you know it or not, you are a hero to many people in this forum, making such an ambitious ride without much experience but with a great attitude. I very much look forward to seeing more of your pictures, and hearing your stories!

Also very pleased that you, Jeremy and Pat are all surviving the angry weather. Stay safe!

best thanks again,
cheers!

[corporal_clegg]

Great RR. Great to hear how you (and the qingqi) are gettin' on. Look forward to an update

[Pat]

After a long stretch through Qinghai and Sichuan, I rode into Shangrila today and am back online. Riding with Jeremy and Lulu for a couple days was great - and quite an adventure.. they told me some of the stories from the last 100 days - and I can't wait to read their full writeup!

Thanks for all the great comments everyone - it's a good feeling to know that people are coming along the ride with me. The Qingqi has held up great.. despite the abuse that's been heaped upon it the past week or so. Updates are coming soon!

[MeowZeDong]

I'm so glad to hear you made it Pat! Your Qinqi totally kicks ass for withstanding it all. AMAZING. I'm sorry I missed all of you guys. Hope in the future it will happen....!

[robtho]

Thanks for posting your progress and looking forward to reading more on your trip and bike. I'm in the early stages of planning similar adventures in China and your RR encourages me to make it happen.

[LeeLee]

Can you post an updated map to give some visual reference from where you started to now?

[Pat]

Day 12: Lanzhou to Xiahe, Gansu



The previous evening, I had checked three different forecasts for Xiahe, home of the Labrang Buddhist Monastery, and gotten three different predictions. The next morning it was overcast, but not raining, so I decided to try for it. Weaving out of Lanzhou, I accidentally jumped on the express way, and rode past a hillside cemetery:




I made it several kilometers before hitting a toll booth where, as I weaved past the gate, a cop jumped out and promptly turned me around and sent me back in the opposite direction. The alternative to the express way was this little beaut of a road:




Heading southwest out of Lanzhou, the road started to climb a bit in altitude and past terraced fields:




Compared to Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, this area was much more populated, and I passed villages throughout the day:




A vegetable distribution center of some sort:




A boy and his grandfather:




This area was still very Hui, and I continued to see a lot of mosques:




Some in Chinese style:




Some not:




I hit a sequence of Hui towns where it seemed everyone was out walking the streets and going to the markets:




Some going to see the butcher:




I continued to pass villages:




And a creepy looking factory of some sort:




Before hitting Linxia, a major Hui city, the road turned south towards Xiahe. Heading south the road started to pick up elevation and I soon started seeing signs that I was entering a Tibetan area.

Tibetan script on road signs:




Change in style of clothing:




Seeing these young guys on the side of the road, I immediately stopped to ask for license and registration. Unfortunately, they didn't speak Mandarin!




The road started following a river:




And past this monastery:




I soon reached Xiahe, a city populated by Tibetans, Hui, and Han Chinese. I was surprised to see how small it was - with only one main road running through it. I followed the road past the main restaurant and hotel area, past the monastery, and into the Tibetan area of the city. There were monks and lamas of all ages everywhere:




Passing a large stupa, I stopped to take a picture, and immediately a few young kids came over:




They started playing with the GPS and the bike - pushing the ignition, starting the bike, and then revving the engine! I yanked out the keys as more people gathered around. One young monk asked where I came from, and recognized Ohio as the former home of LeBron James. He knew quite a bit about the NBA and we talked basketball while I tried to keep my eyes on the kids as they played with everything on the bike that moved. Eventually the crowd dissipated a bit, and I rode off to the edge of the Tibetan area:





And then turned around and went back past the monastery:




I found a hostel, checked in and went back out to find dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the main street:




Hard at work! GPS, atlas, baozi, fried potatos, and butter milk tea (It's like drinking a stick of butter!):