moving along, ride number two...

The weather changed and I had to wait a few days until heading out again. This time I decided to blast straight to Heyuan on the main roads so I could enjoy more time riding around the lake. The chill and haze of the early morning were replaced with beautiful sunshine and a high of 24ºC. Not bad for riding in January.



I rolled along the lakeside for about and hour and stopped where some locals had set up a net for fishing.



The road wanders back into the mountains through a few small villages. The rivers are practically dry after three months without rain.



I reached the end of Y880 at the northern tip of the reservoir, 84 kilometers of perfect road with almost no other traffic the entire two and half hours. This is a very special ride indeed, still working on the video editing skills.



I looked at my options for heading back home. There was one of those cow trails on google earth, but I couldn't see where the entrance could possibly be. After circling a few times, I finally found this little road going up the side of a mountain. Wonder if it comes out anywhere or if it's just a dead end? Only one way to find out.



This road is very narrow and very unforgiving if you happen to misjudge a corner.



I reached the summit and could see a small village bellow.



About one kilometer outside the village, it looked like the road was going to end but I decided to keep going.



According to google earth, I was about half way to connecting with a known road. I figured it would be about ten kilometers of dirt and gravel which was very enjoyable given the scenery.





Eventually met up with X192 and was quite happy with how everything had worked out. I knew this road was crap, but it seems like such a small price to pay for the last three hours of nirvana.



Final stop of the day and time to make tracks for home.



The rest of the ride was uneventful, I arrived home just after six, only twenty minutes late for beer o'clock . And once again, more data than anyone wants know....

Day 2: 31-January-2009
Start Time: 8:41 AM End Time: 6:21 PM
Total: 9 Hours 39 Minutes - Moving: 7 Hours 36 Minutes - Stopped: 2 Hours 2 Minutes
Distance: 493 Kilometers / 306 Miles
Average Speed: 51 kph / 32 mph
Average Moving Speed: 65 kph / 40 mph
Maximum Speed: Really really fast
Maximum Elevation: 512 Meters / 1679 Feet
Fuel Unit Cost: 5.42 RMB Per Liter / 3.00 USD Per Gallon
Fuel Total Cost: 129 RMB / 18.82 USD
Fuel Consumption: 20.77 Kilometers Per Liter / 48.86 Miles Per Gallon

So that's the end of the first section, hope you enjoyed the Xinfeng reservoir. Coming up.... heading northwest to discover the "Grand Canyon" of Guangdong and the tallest mountain in the province.

Cheers!
ChinaV