Road Research

[chinabiker]

As weekend riders we usually get only one, maximum two to three days of riding pleasure in one piece, and have therefore ridden most of the roads in our area several times
To get a bit of alteration, a close look into Google Earth opens a variety of roads and trails we have never ridden on before. It was, after discovering secret valley, the second time in 2008 that we tried to explore some roads we've spotted on Google Earth - Let's go


As usual, we left quite early to avoid outbound weekend traffic. We reached the spot where we planned our first side step from known roads after less than 50 minutes of enjoyable and quick riding on empty roads.



About 15 kms North of the Ming tombs on road S212


We turned away westwards from the main road (S212), which by the way is a very nice mountain road with countless hairpins. After two km we were in the middle of a busy quarry, with all kinds of vehicles and machinery.



Towards the quarry


After the stone pit, we climbed steadily and when we started to descent, we stopped at a small village for a break.



Near the village


Local bystander


A bit later we stopped for some pics at a pond and after some more kms we were back on S212, where we turned North.



New villas at the pond


Pond


Just around the corner we left S212 again, this time to the East, where we followed a concrete road into a basin. We made a wrong turn in one of the many hamlets but were soon after told by an old man where to go. Finally we got it right and started to climb a dirt road, where we found a nice spot to have our long awaited breakfast.



Dirt road


Robert preparing breakfast


The dirt road continued to go up and turned to gravel a few more kms after the break. We stopped for some more pics and then continued up, and eventually reached S212, following it North to Yongning.


On the gravel road

Yongning town has a old city gate and a street with really old houses.



Yongning city gate


Yongning old town





After a refueling stop we continued North on S212 for another 10km, before we turned East on a newly built tar road for about 20km before we got on S323 and rode East towards Sihai. Short before Sihai we turned away from the main road to find another little road we spotted on GE. It was a dirt road and the rain of the previous days had turned into a mud road.
We reached the top of the little pass after slipping and sliding our way up for 3 kms or so. On top they had started to cast concrete and the first 5 meters were completed. We crossed over the strip of concrete and went down the other side, again in 10cm deep mud for another 2 kms.



The first meters of concrete have been laid


Mud trail


We were now back on black surface and followed this little road until we reached road X211, which we followed a few kms before we turned away for the day's final chapter of GE powered road research. The first kms were on tar before the surface turned to gravel and finally dirt (mud). We went into a dead end first, before some locals pointed us in the right direction. We climbed the hill on a gravel trail and down the other side into a tiny valley where we stopped for a lunch snack, just above an abandoned village.



Valley ahead


Abandoned village


Lunch place


When black clouds showed up, we moved on but the rain caught up with us. After a few kms we reached a village where we stopped to wait for the sky to clear and cleaning the mud which stuck between the front fender and wheel of Robert's bike.



In the village after the rain


Mud between fender and wheel


Mud removed



Trip map


All pics

With the rain gone we returned home, excited that we successfully fulfilled our our plan.

With GE images around Beijing constantly improving, we laid out some more road research plans for 2009, impatiently awaiting spring.


Safe