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  1. #11 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    C-Moto Guru fahni's Avatar
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    Day 5: Zoige to Maqu and Yellow River

    I left the hotel at around 7:30 in the morning and headed out north. I was happy that my bike purred without the hickups that the high altitude (I was cruising at around 3400 m) and the cold air (around 0 degrees in the morning hours) had induced during the last day and enjoyed the wide landscape with vast plains on both sides.

    endless plains by fahni, on Picuna


    cold mornings by fahni, on Picuna


    just another M/C pic by fahni, on Picuna


    cranes by fahni, on Picuna




    The road was perfect blacktop. Some mountains lured in the distance in the direction that I was going and I was curious if maybe today there would be a chance to crack the 4000m mark.

    mountains in the distance by fahni, on Picuna

    But when I arrived at the mountains I only climbed for a short while before I crossed a tunnel and then continued on the plains. In the small town of Liangmusi I had troubles finding the S313 because I could not believe that this little dirt road was actually a provincial road.

    dirt road by fahni, on Picuna

    But the locals assured me that this was the one. The first few hundred meters were pure mud but it got better afterwards (before it got worse again). I was riding in stunning scenery once more and stopped often to take pictures.

    no worries guys, keep it coming by fahni, on Picuna


    the little blue wonder by fahni, on Picuna


    awesone landscape by fahni, on Picuna



    The dirt and gravel road continued and after 2 hours of riding it I grew kind of frustrated (the first time I got into some kind of a dirt road paddy) because of slow going, the continuous bouncing and shaking, etc.

    bad roads by fahni, on Picuna

    I Passed by some ruins in the middle of nowhere:

    mud ruins by fahni, on Picuna


    But luckily I finally hit (patches of) blacktop

    blacktop again by fahni, on Picuna
    and rolled into Maqu at around 12:15 for a quick Lamian lunch before I went out to ride some dirt roads along the yellow river which is just south of Maqu.
    the yellow river by fahni, on Picuna

    After I crossed the river, the road went south-west and quickly changed to gravel again.

    a small roadside temple by fahni, on Picuna

    The scenery was impressive once again and there were Yaks, goats, groundhogs, some kind of hamsters, etc. on both sides of the roads all the way.

    little fella by fahni, on Picuna

    At a short driver discharge break, one of the blue three-wheeled trucks passed by with a monk at the back. As soon as the monk saw me, he told the driver to stop, walked over and started complaining how the government was destroying the Tibetan way of life. A VERY interesting conversation and I think the fact that the monk said it would be better if I don’t know his name and don’t take his picture already says a lot. I thanked him, wished him good luck and rode on to pass a monastery and continued on.

    a not-so-renovated monastery by fahni, on Picuna


    On that day I realized that I need to follow the brighter tracks on the gravel and sand roads as they are the ones where all the locals ride and thez know how to get through smoothly. It is all about reading the writings on the road…

    reading the lines by fahni, on Picuna

    My plan was to follow the road that runs all along the yellow river. (an impossible project as it turned out because it would have been much to long) but I took one turn to much and suddenly the road ended in some pasture.

    the end of the road as I knew it by fahni, on Picuna

    By that time it was about 1600h. I was hesitant to ride on at first. A local M/C cowboy passed by and I tried to find out if it was possible to continue ahead. I knew that there was a road maybe 6-10 km ahead but I was not sure if it was possible to reach it. The local looked at my bike and said something like “on your bike, no problem”. No way of pointing out to him that it is not the bike alone but the combination of bike and rider which make for good progress under offroad conditions;-)

    But then again, I had complete camping gear, enough fuel and water with me and if I could not get through could still backtrack. So I pressed on. The tracks became more and more narrow.

    getting narrower... by fahni, on Picuna


    ...and narrower by fahni, on Picuna



    At one point I almost dropped the bike in some mud puddle and then had to drive through some gate in a fenced off pasture. But still, I could see the tracks of motorbikes in the mud and even though going was slow it seemed possible to go on. Then suddenly the tracks ended at a steep ravine, maybe 50-100meters long with rocks and and all. The last local I had asked, had pointed at it and said that the road was somewhere behind there. So I pulled myself together, reved the engine and started climbing. My bike did well, it was only very weak because of the altitude. But after I had fought my way up, I was probably more out of breath than her…

    looking back at the ravine by fahni, on Picuna

    Anyway, from up there I could see the blacktop glimmering maybe 500 meters further down and I was happy and proud that I had reached it. But my happiness did not last long. I was following my google maps to the T now but suddenly was on this nice little road that was clearly marked on GM.

    I mean seriously, WTF? by fahni, on Picuna

    Following the course of the “road” as it was marked in google maps, it finally turned into something recognizable. But still it was mainly dirt and mud. Shortly before it became gravel again, I had to cross a big mud puddle and I was way too fast. Mud and water crossings are still not my favourite and I felt how the front tire started to swim and how I lost control of the rear. I almost dropped the bike but finally, I could still hold it even though I was standing in thigh-high mud and my boots were totally soaked. From then on it was basically the same gravel road which I had ridden before and I was pushing because it was getting dark. But by now, I had some experience on gravel and sand and I had learned “to read”, so going was much faster (60-70 km/h) and I reached Maqu again at around 1930 h where I checked into the next hotel I could find and had a very nice dinner at a restaurant run by a Tibetan family. There were two herders, the family (including an old granny with her hand prayer wheel) and me. They were very curious and asked a lot of questions, complained a lot about their situation… I had some delicious yak beef, some yak RouBing, butter tea, and beer and enjoyed it so much. Unfortunately my mobile was out of battery and so I could not take any pictures.

    Mileage on day 5: 342km
    ------------------------------
    JH-150GY-3
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  2. #12 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    foreign China moto dude bikerdoc's Avatar
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    this is a great story ...subscribed! bike and saddle bags and topbox seem to be holding up to all the punishment all right? Friend has had two sets of what appear from your photos to be the same saddle bags, first lots damaged significantly in an off so they were toast, and so a second pair were bought which have served well, but then he only usues them on big long rides. For the price he paid (taobao) he's been pretty pleased. So how about the rider - how have you taken the punishment? You've taken some awesome photos too that show off some great landscape... real countryside. Shiny side up!
    Last edited by bikerdoc; 06-24-2012 at 12:00 AM.
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  3. #13 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    C-Moto Guru fahni's Avatar
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    Hey Bikerdoc,

    thanks for liking. Bike and topbox ok, saddle bags went out of the window after the tour. Rider was pretty desperate at times but made it home all right

    Sorry for being lazy with posting but I am in EURO cup watching mode...
    ------------------------------
    JH-150GY-3
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  4. #14 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    C-Moto Guru fahni's Avatar
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    Hey guys, it has been a while but I will try to finish this RR asap. Promised!

    Day 6 from Maqu to Xiahe


    I started out at around 8:30 and headed north out of Maqu.

    more plains by fahni, on Picuna


    Chengdu-Xi'an 2012 by fahni, on Picuna


    prayer flags by fahni, on Picuna


    large water reservoir by fahni, on Picuna

    At the beginning the road was pretty bad but got better after maybe 40 minutes I arrived at Luqu around 11 o’clock to have a bowl of noodles and after that had my chain lubed. The mechanics commented that the top speed of my little blue aardvark is low and recommended one of the ZS200 “desert foxes” they had standing around. I thanked them politely and continued on a few km northwards on the G213 before I took a left turn onto a small dirt road through , again, incredibly beautiful landscape along a small river. Again, the road started out in a very bad condition but after a few km, after the quarries and sand pits, it was ok to ride. I only came past very small settlements and was still surrounded by yaks, goats and groundhogs everywhere.


    pee brake by fahni, on Picuna


    Sometime in the early afternoon, I could spot a lot of tents (bigger gers but also small two person tents) in the distance and was already curious what that camp was all about. As I came closer, I saw a local pushing his bike along the road. I stopped and asked if he needed help and he replied that he ran out of fuel. There were a lot (well at least considering we were in herder country) people around but still I pulled out my jerry can and after some wrangling with the tank lock poured in 1 litre or so of gas. He and his friend who had arrived from the hillside next to us by then were really thankful and invited me for tea. I declined and in the same moment wanted to bite my tongue because I figured that would have been my ticket to an invitation to this camp festival whatever it was. Well, the Tibetans are not the kind of over-polite we-repeat-our-invitation-a-couple-of-times kinda guys. They thanked me again and waved me goodbye. I was really pissed at myself and when I passed what seemed to be the main gate, I stopped and tried to figure out what kind of festival was held. But communicating proved difficult due of my lack of Tibetan and so I just continued on towards Xiahe.



    During another pee break, I met another local M/C cowboy who just looked after his flock of 70 goats and was happy to have a smoke with me.


    the jolly herder and his stud by fahni, on Picuna

    He told me that he had 100 yaks, 3 horses, the goats and 3 dogs (and a motorbike, obviously) and inspected al my gear very closely. I refused to sell either my bike, my sleeping bag or my tent but took a picture with him.

    street gang by fahni, on Picuna
    This was one of the many very nice encounters along the way and in retrospect, I should have taken more pictures with the folks I met.

    Then finished the last 20 km to Xiahe where I checked in at a nice big Hotel to get a proper shower and have my laundry done on the next day which was reserved for visiting the famous Labrang Monastery. On a short stroll through the town (which is really nice), I noticed a lot of bike dealers (including Jialing) and even some big-bore bikes. I noticed a lot of Qijiangs as well but there seems to be a major problem with spare tire supply as most of the bikes were basically running on slicks.


    After a simple dinner, I watched a movie and went to bed.
    ------------------------------
    JH-150GY-3
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  5. #15 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    C-Moto Guru fahni's Avatar
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    Day 7: in Xiahe


    I had slept very well and decided to walk through town a little more before visiting the Labrang monastery. Only a few days before, a member of Labrang had self-immolated in Lhasa and so I was expecting a heavy police presence but to my surprise there was less police present than in any place in the Aba county I had crossed in Sichuan.


    Then, at the main monastery, I joined an English guided tour of four swiss guys. The tour was really interesting and I advise anybody passing that area to take some time for this little jewel. You get the feeling of a really small community with lots of pilgrims. A few souvenir shops and hostels and the other places sell what the herders need. You can buy tents, pots, carpets, handmade Tibetan boots and the like. Andof course: the tibetan caterpillar fungus which is used in traditional tibetan medicine.


    streets of Xiahe by fahni, on Picuna


    mud and gold by fahni, on Picuna


    hand-carved gate by fahni, on Picuna


    monk on the roof by fahni, on Picuna


    prayer wheels by fahni, on Picuna


    stupa by fahni, on Picuna


    I was really happy that I had scheduled a rest day there. Unfortunately, I learned that a few days later the whole town and especially the monastery was locked down by the police and quite a few monks were detained and questioned.


    I don’t want to repeat Wikipedia, so for more info please turn there. I will only post some pictures.


    the main hall by fahni, on Picuna


    allegories by fahni, on Picuna


    inner courtyards by fahni, on Picuna


    who's afraid? by fahni, on Picuna


    butter sculpture by fahni, on Picuna




    Chengdu-Xi'an 2012 by fahni, on Picuna


    Gathering for the prayer by fahni, on Picuna


    tsampa sculptures supposedly resempling a sacred mountain by fahni, on Picuna


    family business by fahni, on Picuna

    The monk who guided us also told me that most of the monks, especially the ones studying traditional tibetan medicin were all out to attend a special festival and after I asked a little more, it turned out that he was talking about the camp I had seen the day before.

    After the tour, I had a late not-so-bad breakfast at Himalaya coffee and hostel and decided that it was time to give my bike some love. First, I had it cleaned, then the chain was tightened and lubed and an oil change was in order as well. Also the exhaust pipe had become a little loose at the exit from the cylinder block.

    bike wash by fahni, on Picuna

    It started to rain and I quickly went to fill her up before I returned to the hotel and had a cup of tea with some of the monks I had met in the morning.

    After a good treat of yak meat and rice I connected to the world with some phone calls and emails to friends and family to let them know I am ok before I went to bed.
    Last edited by fahni; 07-26-2012 at 02:14 AM.
    ------------------------------
    JH-150GY-3
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  6. #16 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    C-Moto Guru fahni's Avatar
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    Day 8: from Xiahe to Lixian

    I could have stayed some more days in the beautiful town of Xiahe but I was thinking maybe I can get to Xi’an one day earlier which would give me enough time to ride from Xi’an back to Beijing instead of shipping the bike by train. So I left Labrang monastery and went on nice tarmac in comfortable cruising speed. I was losing altitude slowly but steadily.

    toiliing the fields by fahni, on Picuna

    After maybe 1,5 hours I spotted some old buildings on the side of the road in the middle of a small village and decided to check it out. It must have been a Friday and most of the people in the village came back from the mosque, wearing their good clothes. I stopped in front of the main gate of what seemed to have been some kind of garrison or maybe a monastery. Finally I found a villager who could understand me and if I understood everything correctly, this was a garrison of the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty. I ventured to the top of the main gate.

    Yuan Dynasty fortification by fahni, on Picuna


    Main Gate by fahni, on Picuna


    Now the inside is home to half a dozen or so farmers and their families.

    inside the fort by fahni, on Picuna

    It was incredible to see these old structures still being there and accepted as something standard by the villagers. Would I t be close to Beijing, it would already be harmonized and big signs would have been plastered all over with ticket counters, loudspeakers and all.
    I kept going and the population changed, the people on the streets looked no longer Tibetan and there were a lot of mosques in the villages.

    village mosque by fahni, on Picuna


    Churches too, but more mosques.

    At around 1130h I drive into a little town (or village and spot a small noodle soup restaurant. I needed to drop some layers of clothes anyway and decided to have a “breakfast” break. So I pulled over, did not pay attention and my right saddlebag hit the pole of a tea stand next to the restaurant and the whole stand collapses. Oh sh**, I think. But fortunately only one box of tea has flipped over and maybe 1 liang (50g) of tea cannot be picked up from the dirt. So I ask the guy how much one liang of this kind costs, he says 5 kuai and so I buy 1 liang (not the one in the dust) and pay 20 kuai. All of this was in the heat of now not so high altitude so I was sweating and hurry inside the noodle shop to get my lamian and some ice tea. No ice tea? Ok, peppermint is good enough. Sorry, no pictures from my little crash-the-tea-stall-break.

    The going was good and arrived at Minxian, the designated destination for that day at around 1430h. The weather looked fine and I had plenty of time so I decided to ride on to the city of Lixian. My only worry was that this area had been hit by torrential rains and fleshfloods only 2 weeks before. 70.000 people had been evacuated, dozens died. Minxian was a complete construction site and after I found the gas station, I had to wait maybe 20 minutes to get through the road construction and back on track. The road was fine but you could see the results of the floods. Houses being swept away, trees uprooted, lots of mud and debris on the side of the streets. After maybe 40 minutes and on the top of a pass, I am suddenly hit by a thunderstorm. First only thunder and lightning, giving me time to get out my rain gear, two minutes later rain and hail. I wait for the worst to pass by and continue slowly on, down the pass. The mountain road is still fine but once I hit the valley bottom, I can see what rains do to this area. Most of the villages are flooded again with 20-30 cm of water in the streets. The fact that the last flood left to a lot of cave –ins on the streets does not make it any better because with water everywhere I cannot know where the potholes are. There is a lot of sand and mud on the sections that are not flodded which also did not help my average speed. The villages have been hart hit two months ago and many of the villagers are living in tents of the disaster relief authorities, so it would probably be a stretch to ask them for shelter. I became a bit deperate when I passed a sign saying Lixian was still 120km away (which was much further than I had anticipated. By then it was already after 1600h. At around 1700h, I decided to just don’t care and press on to Lixian. The rain had stopped and the road was drying up (there was even a rainbow) so I pushed the throttle. Sorry, these pictures are a little blurry because I had a rain cover on my mobile phone.

    rainbow 1 by fahni, on Picuna


    rainbow 2 by fahni, on Picuna


    A lot of thoughts were crossing my mind, like:
    - You must be crazy to ride so fast on this road… -You would be crazy not to try to get to Lixian!
    - Is this truck trying to upset me? OK, I overtake on the right!
    -Line of sight through the turns! Push the throttle!
    - What do you do if you hit one of the chickens in this village? – Ride on! – What do you do if you hit one of the children? - - - Ok, I gotta slow down!
    - Pheew, This hairpin is tight!
    - Brake - lean in– push throttle - get her up– right turn – up- left turn – throttle
    - still so far, you’ll never gonna make it before nightfall
    - Who had the idea NOT to put tarmac on this road?
    - Downshift – oh! The rear wheel still skids – phew, close one!

    After 435 km and just when night fell around 2000h, I rolled into Lixian and checked into the first cheap hotel I found. The ladies at the reception and on my floor assured me that they could house foreigners but when I came back from a quick dinner on the streets I bumped into a group of police and armed police who gave me strange looks and the reception lady gesturing behind their backs to let me know I this was bad timing. So I took another walk around the block and then everything seemed fine. So I went straight to bed.
    ------------------------------
    JH-150GY-3
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  7. #17 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
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    A lot of thoughts were crossing my mind, like:
    - You must be crazy to ride so fast on this road… -You would be crazy not to try to get to Lixian!
    - Is this truck trying to upset me? OK, I overtake on the right!
    -Line of sight through the turns! Push the throttle!
    - What do you do if you hit one of the chickens in this village? – Ride on! – What do you do if you hit one of the children? - - - Ok, I gotta slow down!
    - Pheew, This hairpin is tight!
    - Brake - lean in– push throttle - get her up– right turn – up- left turn – throttle
    - still so far, you’ll never gonna make it before nightfall
    - Who had the idea NOT to put tarmac on this road?
    - Downshift – oh! The rear wheel still skids – phew, close one!

    After 435 km and just when night fell around 2000h, I rolled into Lixian and checked into the first cheap hotel I found. The ladies at the reception and on my floor assured me that they could house foreigners but when I came back from a quick dinner on the streets I bumped into a group of police and armed police who gave me strange looks and the reception lady gesturing behind their backs to let me know I this was bad timing. So I took another walk around the block and then everything seemed fine. So I went straight to bed.
    Great ride report, definitely worth the wait! Especially enjoy your sharing of your interior monologue -- one of the special pleasures of a solo ride. Also like your crediting the hotel receptionist with keeping your ass out of a sling by warning you away from the waiting cops. Hilarious.

    Keep it coming!
    jkp
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    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
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  8. #18 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    foreign China moto dude bikerdoc's Avatar
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    Fahni I can only echo Euphonius's sentiments... nice RR. That being said though I was just reading and viewing pictures concerning a German couple who started out 23 years ago on 18 month trip around Africa and are still going and have completed 500000 miles in a Merc G Wagen. Now that is an adventure!
    So Fahni you still got a few miles (and years to go) so don't let us stop you... jiao!
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  9. #19 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    C-Moto Guru fahni's Avatar
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    Thanks for the comments!

    Nice to know that someone is enjoying this. It was quite a long solo ride (after all, it was my first multi-day-ride) and I was happy that I had my bluetooth headset installed in the helmet to listen to some music every once in a while. I was very anxious because I don’t know sh** about motorbikes and always feared that something might go terribly wrong. I guess on my next rip I will be more relaxed.

    I guess a Mercedes G wagon is not too bad but I am more of a two wheels aficionado.

    I have to admit, by now my memory is already failing me and I kind of seem to mix different legs together. I rely on my pictures and my notes to get everything right.

    Day 9: from Lixian to Xiuxian

    On that Saturday I left at around 0730h without breakfast again. After I left Lixian, I found out that I could have gone directly to Luomen the day before, which would have saved me backtracking 50km on bad gravel roads. Road conditions were even worse because it was weekend now and most of the road was an open air market with lots of people on the streets and in some villages threshing taking place on the road.


    some nice stretch for a change by fahni, on Picuna


    and some bad road again by fahni, on Picuna
    This was the section where I was mentally complaining about the missing blacktop the day before.



    It took me almost 3 hours to cover the 90km to the Water Curtain Cave in Luomen. When I got there I quickly bought a ticket and jumped onto one of the golf caddies that shuttled visitors up to the Buddhist rock sculptures and the Water Curtain Cave. The Rock sculptures were quite impressive. So large that it was difficult to take any meaningful picture of them.


    Water Curtain Cave Buddha by fahni, on Picuna


    But then I found out that the Water Curtain Cave was closed due to construction works which really pissed me off because the ticket counter charged the full price and did not mention anything that the cave was closed. I argued with the girls at the counter but of course there was mei banfa.
    So pissed as I was because of empty stomach, bad roads and ticket counters screwing me over, I returned to Luomen and had some delicious Baozi which helped with my mood and headed east. First the road was congested but after maybe 20 km it got better and the road was really nice. I climbed some passes on the loess hills and was startled by how densely populated the area was.


    loess country by fahni, on Picuna

    At one time, I passed a guy who was inspecting his new QJ150 at the side of the road. I quickly pulled over and asked if he needed any help but he said he was fine. He had just bought the bike and this was the first rideout so he was just checking the bike. So I continued on. After maybe two kilometers he was blasting by. His top speed was definitely much higher than mine. But for the next few kilometers we played cat and mouse. On every straight section he was leaving me behind but at every tight turn it seemed that I was just braking later than he and caught up. At the first stretch of road construction it was my turn to overtake and quickly he was nowhere to be seen in the rear mirror. I only met him maybe half an hour later at a traffic jam inside the next city of Tianshui.

    There I entered a highway that was subject to a toll. That road (G 316) was nice. New tarmac, only a few trucks and straight course. So I leaned deep over the handle bar and was able to make some good progress.

    Maybe 20km before Xiuxian, I had a cigarette break and met an old guy that was on his way to tend to his field. He was about to fertilize his one mu (1/16 of a hectar) of corn field. He said he was also planting some vegetables at another patch of land but basically that was his only source of income. But I guess he probably still has a child working in some city.

    It was a pretty uneventful day but nice riding and I arrived at Xiuxian at around 1800h. The reward for these 326 km was a dinner in a Chongqing restaurant with some nice and spicy dishes.
    Sorry, not many pictures on this day.
    ------------------------------
    JH-150GY-3
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  10. #20 Re: Fahni is going the distance from Chengdu to Xi'an 
    C-Moto Guru fahni's Avatar
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    Day 10: From Xiuxian via the Moon Canyon to Hanzhong It was clear that I would be able to get to Xi’an in the next two days, so I decided to have a late start and left at 0845h just to get confused and it took me two tries before I found the correct route to Jialing and the moon canyon. The moon canyon was not far away but it took some time to get there because of the ever present road construction. After maybe 35 km I reached Jialing. As far as In know, the river and village have the exact same Chinese characters as the Jialing motorbike brand but unfortunately there was no sign at the entrance of the village where I could have made I nice picture with my bike in front of it. The River there is pretty massive and just in front of the entrance to the moon canyon, rafting is also possible. Jialing River by fahni, on Picuna rafting by fahni, on Picuna The entrance to the canyon was on the left hand side of the road and I was surprised to see no ticket counter anywhere. So I just kept going until I heard a loud thump behind me. I looked around and there was my top box lying on the sand. there it is by fahni, on Picuna I must have not locked it correctly in the morning because the road was not that bad so it can’t have been the vibrations. I picked it up and inspected it very carefully: just a few scratches, no cracks. Finally, I entered the moon canyon and it was great. Danger!?! by fahni A narrow canyon with a mountain creek complete with bolders and all. moon canyon 1 by fahni, on Picuna moon canyon 2 by fahni No traffic, no tourists, just a one lane road for my little blue wonder and me. There are some resting points for visitors but I was all on my own. So I had a little breakfast next to the creek with dozens of butterflies swirling around me before I continued on. breakfast break by fahni, on Picuna swallows or swifts by fahni The canyon itself took maybe half an hour to get through. moon canyon 3 by fahni After that I started climbing out of the canyon through two small villages with a lot of nongjiale’s (farmers restaurants). up I go by fahni The road got very narrow with only farmers in their fields left and right. further up by fahni At one point, when the road was nothing more than two parallel gravelly mud tracks, my GPS mount became loose again because of the vibrations. This had happened before. But when I tried to tighten it this time, I completely ruined the threads and the GPS mount would not sit any more. I tried to figure out where I was but there was no mobile coverage to look at satellite imaging and GM does not even know the road through the moon canyon. So I decided to go back. above the canyon by fahni Another beautiful ride back to the entrance where I stopped at a small restaurant and ordered a simple lunch. It took quite long to prepare my dishes and while I was waiting I chatted and swapped cigarettes with a group of tourists from Lanzhou who had arrived shortly after me. Before I left, I asked the owner of the restaurant if it was possible to follow the road along the river further down south and he said it was no problem. What a jerk! There was no mark on google maps but at first, the road was quite ok. The problems started only when there was a road marked on google maps again. There was a lot of road construction. Obviously, a new highway is being built in the riverbed on stilts. Because it was not finished yet, I had to follow the old route along the hillside which was in quite bad condition. At one point, where I HAD TO turn south-east (otherwise it would have been a maybe 50 km detour) there were new bridges built and I got totally confused. I took the wrong way, tracked back (remember, no more GPS conveniently installed on my handle bar) and met two locals which I asked which way to go. They pointed at an unfinished bridge (with signs: “under construction, do not cross!”) and said if I cannot get off that bridge on the other side, I would have to take the detour. So I went over the bridge only to find two ledges that I had to go down. The first was no problem, maybe 20 cm but the second one, maybe 3 meters further on was more like 50 cm high. And after that there was another steep slope into a construction site. I did not know if after that site the road would go any further. I could not see any trucks not even any people. If I made it down the second ledge, there was no way going back, no way of getting the bike up again. And even getting down the ledge was difficult. I could not just drive down because I would have touched ground with the frame. Still, I did not want to backtrack. So I took off all my luggage, revved the engine and leaped down the ledge. Wow, that was exciting! I only accidently had done a wheelie once and I never had jumped with the bike. But I did it… - and sadly enough have no picture to prove it :-( The road continued but was a construction support line in very bad condition. Going was slow, I still did not know if I would get somewhere or maybe run into a dead end at another construction site. I hadn’t really talked to someone in a long time and the constant shaking and hard work on the bike in very deep gravel and sand sent my morale under the floorboards. That was two hard hours of riding. But then: Tarmac! I had reached the S309 and turned east. In Lueyang, the whole city seemed to be one big road construction again. Suddenly I was in an industrial compound and I was afraid I might have entered somewhere I didn’t belong. The scenery was stunning, though. Smoke-blackened brick buildings that look like they are left over from the first push of industrialization in the 50s (and they probably are). I did not take any pictures because as I said, I had the feeling I should not be there. But suddenly, the road opened up again and I saw the milestone on the side of the road: S309. Soon, I crossed a toll gate and the road become good and I began to feel better again. I tried to keep the needle above 85 (hard enough for my poor little 150cc) and make some good progress until I hit the G108 (home away from home?) which at that section is a dirty truck road and not very pleasant to ride. 50 km later I reached Hanzhong where I found a Hanting express hotel right next to the central square. Most of the people in the lobby seem to be business travelers and of course, all eyes are on the laowai in his strange bike clothes, the helmet, all sweaty and the camel bak hose dangling across his chest. He seems exhausted and is just asking for the cheapest room with a shower. He must have been a miserable view. So miserable that one of the salesman business travelers came over and swiped his Hanting gold card for him to give him a 15% discount. What a nice fella! Anybody been to Hanzhong? Never heard of it? Well, never mind. It only has a population of 3,8 Mio… And a KFC which I checked out that evening before I went to bed after only 235 km.
    ------------------------------
    JH-150GY-3
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