Beijing - Weekday Adventure

**chinabiker** · 05-04-2011, 07:12 AM

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

**euphonius** · 05-04-2011, 09:03 AM

Awesome pictures and report, Andy. Amazing that this kind of solitude and serenity and wilderness is so close to one of the more chaotic megacities on earth!

Thanks for posting!

**felix** · 05-04-2011, 09:40 AM

Beautiful ride chinabiker! Thank you very much for this. I just wish there were more pics of mahuangyu....

**chinabiker** · 05-04-2011, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by felix

Beautiful ride chinabiker! Thank you very much for this. I just wish there were more pics of mahuangyu....

I knew there aren't enough pics of Mahuangyu, so here they are

It's a Chinese village like a million others are, but somehow different. It is maybe the way it is embedded in the surroundings.

**felix** · 05-04-2011, 10:26 AM

Haha, nice one!

**Pfaelzer** · 05-05-2011, 02:33 AM

Great ride again, Andy.

Thanks for the pictures. Really time to come up to Beijing for a ride. Interesting to see how early spring it is up there - not too much green yet. How are the temperatures? Really nice again to see the GSA in nature.

Ride safe Andy,
AW.

**chinabiker** · 05-05-2011, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by Pfaelzer

Great ride again, Andy.

Thanks for the pictures. Really time to come up to Beijing for a ride. Interesting to see how early spring it is up there - not too much green yet. How are the temperatures? Really nice again to see the GSA in nature.

Ride safe Andy,
AW.

Almost everything is already green in the city at 45m asl, but when you ride out and get higher up, it is very early spring. In some shady spots up in the mountains, you still find ice and snow

The big problem up here is lack of rain. From my observation there was no considerable downfall since October 24th !!!
However, temperatures for riding are close to perfect, 15 to 25 on the C scale

Btw, I'm going out

again tomorrow

**ChinaV** · 05-05-2011, 10:13 AM

Two ride reports in one week

, just keeps getting better and better. I'm assuming you must have a bit of free time on your hands if your back in the saddle and posting again. Can't wait to see where you're off to next.

Cheers!
ChinaV

**chinabiker** · 05-05-2011, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by ChinaV

Two ride reports in one week

, just keeps getting better and better. I'm assuming you must have a bit of free time on your hands if your back in the saddle and posting again. Can't wait to see where you're off to next.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Will be three reports by tomorrow

Apparently it's getting better and better and I hope even better

Indeed and right now, I have time to spend as I please

I'm off again tomorrow - early - and for sure will post where, when, why, ....

**Pat** · 05-06-2011, 09:57 AM

You're killing it this week! Mahuangyu looks like an interesting place - definitely worth all the pictures! I just did a quick google maps search for it, is it the 麻黄峪 in Hebei on some nameless road off of S241.. because if it is - according to google maps that road doesn't go through!

Looking forward to the next report!