Baihuashan, Beijing

[Bryphoto]

I made my first ever (and impromptu) trip out of Beijing this Saturday and Sunday. Here's my story...

Last Saturday, around 3:30pm a friend and I decided to go out for an
afternoon ride toward the hills around Beijing on my newly purchased
150cc Guangdong-made motor-scooter bought in the Wudaokou area (the engine is a "Maima麦马"). The tachometer read 336 km before the trip which represented my entire life's riding experience.

At about 5:20pm, precisely the time when we should turn around to go home, we passed a sign (see pic of #?) that
said "Baihuashan 85km"("100 Flowers Mountain 85 KM"). My
friend recalled she had been there once as a kid, but hadn't gone back
since. I asked her if she was willing to go again and return to
Beijing the next day. Thus began our adventure.

I figured 85 kilometers would take about 1.5 hrs. One hour later, at about 6:30 I
remembered I had no passport and found out she carried no ID, which
meant we could not stay at a hotel. As the sun went further down, the
air exhibited irrational temperature fluctuations with pockets of
frigid cold in the valleys. 7:30pm, after over 2 hours of 2-lane mountain highway (G109)
got us within 20 km of Baihua Mountain. We were getting cold but had
made it through the last major pass and found a perfect place to eat
and stay. They assured us no hotel registration was necessary out there.

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Later that evening, we heard a pack of wolves howling just outside our
hut. The vicious watchdogs in the cages abutting our hut were going
nuts. It was then that we realized that our windows were wide open but
for a screen. This scared the shit out of her but I figured they were
probably just a pack of semi-wild dogs. The next Monday's google
search confirmed the area has wolves.

We woke up and purchased a second layer of clothes each, for I had
only shorts and a t-shirt and she lacked body fat. That cost 100RMB for both of us.

Since the air was pristine and the road had almost no traffic, I got
my camera out and gave it to my riding companion (setting T-priority
on 1/1000 and ISO 800). Though it was her first time to handle such a
beast, after major cropping and straightening efforts, I am able to
share with you the most magical ride I've ever had. As the driver,
it's difficult to really take in the views (unless you stop), as all
attention must be on the road at all times, especially in China. So I see my trip much as
you do.
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On Sunday, we got caught up in a major thunderstorm in Beijing,
so we had to hang out at McDonalds for a half hour before getting home
at around 4:30pm. As for the rest of the trip, I could not have
imagined better weather.

I am not nearly as sore as I was after horseback riding last weekend, but that is
mostly due to geting back and shoulder massages I received while driving whenever
things tensed up too much or upon request.

After looking at Google Maps, I found out we had ridden to within a few
miles of the next province, Hebei Province! Just imagine where we
could have gotten had we left at 9am ;)

And so, I had a truly amazing vacation.

Fun Facts:
Traveled: 250-300 km
Top Speed: 70 km/hr
Gas cost less than $10 bucks total
Baihua Mountian is 2,218 meters high (7,276 feet)
My friend actually shouldered the pink purse the whole way
Her goggles cost about $3 in case you find them fashionable
Only took 25 hours in total
My tachy is over 630 km now

More photos to follow...