September 16, 2009
had a lazy morning and took a while to get out of bed. the
previous day managed to find an awesome restaurant for breakfast. these
guys made the best rice porridge i've ever had (make that any kind of
porridge, including granma's old school recipe, sorry granny...), it
came with pumpkin, carrot and lentils, could have eaten there every
morning for the rest of my life if i could. After this visited the
internet cafe to send off a couple of emails.
On leaving the hotel asked the concierge (if he can be called one)
the directions out of the city. Quick instructions were provided and
was back on the road. lo and behold, 100m down the road there he was,
on his motorbike, another friendly escort. saying our goodbyes, with a
days rest behind me, a slight tail wind and mountains engulfing me from
east and west i was off at breakneck speed.
A little bit of drizzle late in the day caused and early halt to
the days progress. Reckon i could have done another 30km, but found a
perfect camping spot; sheltered, flat, little running stream nearby and
the serenity... rain came down all night though.
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 16, 2009
Wuwei, agricaultural city that it is, hasn't much to impress the
average stopper by. Todays activities included a long walk around the
main centre of town, including a rowdy lunch in a muslim restaurant
fulled with... (yes) muslims, and a journey through some dodgy street
while trying to take a short cut home. managed to forget the name of
the hotel which proved a fatal error as i couldn't ask anyone for
directions. not knowing what to do stopped by in local park, read my
book for a while (bo... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 16, 2009
My roomates of the previous night were all farmers and were up
before sunrise, so so was I. Getting an early start was necessary as it
was another long day to meet up with the Silk road and then on to the
small city of Wuwei. The temperature was chilly the whole day but with
little, if any, wind.
After the steep initial downhill the roads were graciously flat
until the Silk road loomed. Could be the happiest moment of my life
reaching that Silk Road, I took a few minutes to savour it and t... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 7, 2009
Today will go down as the best and the worst...
Setting off from Zhongwei the previous day i had decided to take a
short cut; not going down to Lanzhou (evidently rated as one of the
world's most poluted cities) and instead cutting across directly west
to meet up with the Silk Road. This little short cut consists of mainly
good roads and a few rural villages spaced quite a distance apart.
Landscape varying from desertlike to just plain red sand and nothing
else.
The day was the worst due... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 7, 2009
Today ended up being a mess around day, slept in, and when
eventaully set out was going at a very chilled pace. Out of nowhere,
and in the middle of the desert, springs up a golf driving range:)
Awesome... Feeling like a bit of variety, pick up the old 3 wood, 100
balls and settle in for a few swings. end up showing all present hows
its done.
A couple of k's further down the road come across a scenic desert
spot and spend more time chilling out. The end of the day included
fixing a punctur... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 7, 2009
Another slight mis calc I realise that the distance to the next
town is 170km. So that was the reason I wanted to cycle 40 km yesterday
afternoon. my bad... Off early, the winds aren't good either, but with
a rest day behind me I have a lot of energy. At lunch time meet a
restaurant owner, Islamic Chinese, who has never been 200km outside of
his village, yet speaks relatively decent english, which he learned 14
years earlier at high school. His father (a farmer in the nearby
county) later joi... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 7, 2009
In order to scope out the city a bit, a decision is made to take
the 1st half of the day off. However, after getting stuck in one too
many tourist traps, eventually get back to the guest house at 3pm, to
be greeted by some slightly oppressed receptionist indicating that the
check out time is 1pm. I succumb to the fact that I'll only do about
40km that afternoon anyway and settle in for another night in Yinchuan,
which includes buying a book, dinner, a walk around town, and, yes,
another massa... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 7, 2009
The 2 previous days had been slow and this left me with a long
140km ride into Yinchuan (Capital of Ningxia province). I had been
looking forward to visiting this city as it holds a lot of cultural and
historic value, well so i'd read.... So, keen to get there I'm up early
and on the road. Horror tho, at 6:30 in the morning the same headwind
is there and I end up doing only 15 km in the first hour. I do a couple of
calculations in my head and at this pace it will take me... a long
time to get... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 7, 2009
Get up very early today - and boy did i need to - pack up, hike
back to the road, and am on my way again. Turns out to be the hardest
and most frustrating day to date. A direct headwind, also throwing
up bits of sand and rock, makes the going very slow. It turns out my
average speed for the day would be 13 km/hour. at one stage i was
pedalling downhill, in my granny gear, going an amazing 8 km/h.
The day turned out very long indeed, and eventually limped into a
small town, Wu Da i think i... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
September 7, 2009
Slow to get out of bed and a little confused about the correct way
to get back onto the highway I give the taxi driver another call. Some
breakfast and a long chat later he escorts me, again in his taxi, out
of the city. An emotional farewell hug later and im back on the road,
albeit a little later than expected. It's gonna be a long few days till
the next big city.
Headwind is pretty intense today, but with my fresh legs make some
good time. At lunch time end up venturing over the Yellow ... Continue reading...
Posted by Cameron Bellamy. Posted In : Cam's reports
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Sensai
A charming young rogue in Beijing/
sought risk and the glory it brings./
He went far and wide
on an epic bike ride,/
and got up to unspeakable things.
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