Some spring rides

[ChinaV]

Rich has already got the story rolling, so I'll just add a few pics and comments. There's also a bit more from the Shenzhen boys here. And my very first ride report about Yangshuo here.

This is the route we took during our five day holiday. The first two days (pink & blue) were with Rich, the green line we did alone and Rich also did alone a couple days later. The red track was our final day going home. Download the KML here.



We have no pictures from the first day, as Rich already pointed out, it never stopped raining. Fortunately, day two was a bit better. We kept our rain-suits on so as not to tempt fate.





Our first stop very close to the border of Guanxi and Gaungdong.







The usual mix of quiet country roads.



And busy city streets.



Stop for lunch.



The menu.



The cook.



Another short break as we ditched the main road and headed into the countryside.



Great picture taken by my wife.



High speed train construction on the right.



Water buffalo hanging out on the left.



And a foreigner wandering the countryside. Interesting times we live in here.



Wonder what they think of it all?



This place would be so much better with a high speed train and a WallMart.



Bad roads go to good places.



Plenty of rice farming and Karst peaks in the distance.



After one last rain shower we finally reached the town of Yangshuo and this beautiful rainbow appeared.



Looks better with a bike in the picture.



And we end the day with everyone standing around picking their noses as those hard working government folks roll into town. Heaven forbid they ever experience traffic, that's harmony, bringing a whole town to a standstill so a few privileged people can get to their hotel 10 minutes faster.



We relaxed and feasted with friends the next day. A big thanks to fellow MCM'er Mfpthebronze. Joe and his wife Sally saved our bacon by finding great accommodations during the busy holiday weekend. Thanks for making Yangshuo so easy for us



We decided to leave the next day and head for Ruyuan to meet some of the other Shenzhen bikers. We got lucky with the weather, clouds and rain surrounded us, but the sunshine followed the road.



And oh what a beautiful road. Lots of waterfalls and other great scenery.







I must say that G323 in northwest Guangdong kicks ass. One of the few G roads worth riding.





Don't look down.



We finally met up with the Shenzhen faction of MCM and headed into the town of Ruyuan for beers and dinner.



Biker gang.



Group photo before our departure the next day.



We have no pictures from the last day, it started drizzling five minutes after we left the hotel and by the time we hit Dongguan I was wishing for a jet ski. Overall, 2 days of dry and 2 days of hard rain. Oh well, still better than a day at the office

Trip Data
Apr 29 - 302km Time 05:53 Average Speed 66.00 km/h
Apr 30 - 289km Time 06:58 Average Speed 61.49 km/h
May 02 - 448km Time 07:00 Average Speed 75.25 km/h
May 03 - 347km Time 04:42 Average Speed 83.09 km/h
Total = 1,386 kilometers

Cheers!
ChinaV