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Published: November 22nd 2013
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GoodDay To Everyone!
Being on the road has been great. Some rough patches and feelings of apathy are sometimes discouraging but every time there are greater feelings of reward after every one. Here is our first week and section through China a long with our trials and tribulations.
Fuzhou To Xiamen(One day by professional bikers, one hour by fast train, and 6 days for us slow-pokes)
This is broken up into two parts, a fight with apathy and the escape of it on the road. Then a few dilemmas and simply fighting through them till they are solved.
Apathy and Escape
Day Two, the first real day I woke up with a crushing feeling in my head. Not a headache, it wasn't even the hangover I'd feel later in the afternoon, but a heavy feeling apathy. I curled into my warm blankets onto an uncomfortable bed while trying to ignore the sounds of my friend in the other room. I didn't want to deal with any conversations, I didn't want to look at my overloaded bike, I just didn't seem to want to deal with anything.
But I did, I slid into the world of responsibilities like I child slinks late into the class. My friends place had been pretty much cleaned up, and he greeted us with information that he was to rush off to Xiamen, and here's a few granola bars and do you want some cake? Soon after, with our final farewells, he left us in his self locking apartment where we moped about for sometime.
Before his flatwarming party we took our first trip with our bags on our bikes. A mere 8km turned out to be irritating and annoying, my new shoes clipped the bags with almost every pedal, we had to make constant adjustments, and the large bags made meanuvring in the rush hour traffic, well troublesome. Still though we closed the door to his apartment around noon, hopped on our bike and headed off.
I'm happy I was able to talk with my friend Stephan before we left. He's a great guy and has really helped us. On retrospect a lot of the feelings of despair on this particular morning had to do with leaving everyone behind. Its one of the roughest most inevitable things as a life of a traveler is that you make this thick strong bond with people, become dependent on them, only to have to sever them.
And so it goes. We made it over the last hump before the trip, and like that last dune before you reach the hill we felt all of our troubles just inch themselves back underground. A few adjustments fixed the clipping shoes and the second we head the road. And we flew, we really flew. I got on my phone and made preparations for a host in FuQing(Pronounced Foo Ching).
Even with a mild hangover it dawned on me, on this road, we wait for no one. We wait for no trains, nor buses, we wait for no lines, and we never have to wait for traffic. Our movement is based on the strength of our legs, and while we may only be doing between 60km-100km a day it because we decide on it. So with a grin on my face we descended on FuQing, where we'd devour our meals with a new taste for what was to come.
Day Two. Fuqing to Putian.
In the morning apathy again. Before I began this trip I'd been waiting for it. Waiting for it to cure this feeling I have in the morning, but its still here. We leave a bit earlier around 11ish and we're On the road again. With our feet moving the gears and our minds scanning the roads, eyes seeing all that there is again, we are on the road again. My traveling companion in the lead and navigating gives my mind the ability to wander and everything feels like a pleasant Sunday ride. No couchsurfing so we crash in a cheap hotel.
Day Three. Fuqing to Quanzhou
Same as Day Three. I make note that we need to either change our diet or schedule as leaving at around noon results in us arriving at 6ish and falling asleep at 9pm. Barely anytime to do anything. For lunch we stopped by this great little town Fengtingzhen. One day I hope to go back there as its full of little delta islands and I felt culture. Actual Chinese small town culture.
Rolling into Quanzhou I felt relaxed and at peace. Not even the rush hour could daunt me. I weaved my way through cars, across sidewalks and off them in one big great dash.
Each day and time the more head on I hit my goals the quicker I was able to get rid of my apathy. Simply waiting for it to go away by adding responsibilities didn't work, but rather focusing on the responsibility(Of biking and prepping the bike) and viola the apathy was nothing more than a thing of the past.
Repairs and Bridge Dillemas.
Day Four:
In the morning I discovered my Rack was severely damaged, and barely hanging on. We limped our way to the most fully loaded Giant Bicycle store I've seen in China. All the way there I imagined as many worst case scenerios, that they would tell me a screw had broken and I'd need a new bike, or that the rack was destroyed and they didn't have a new one, or that the bike was on fire and I just hadn't noticed it, and btw I've lost my legs. But what I didn't expect was a middle-aged women to lead us directly to the repair-equipment, shrug her shoulders, and go about her business making tea. The tea was delicious btw.
Thankfully after two hours of me befuddling my own equipment her son and husband came in and helped Replace the rack. The words "Ta Da!" came up several several times. "Yes Too Heavy!" The son told me.
Shit.
I need all my things. The computer I'm typing on, the camera and its tripod, the repair equipment including the tubes and pump, the suit the fancy shoes including three different ties for different occasions. Yes I Need it! So I threw out a few articles of clothing and even up the bags. So I sipped the tea, nodded my head and we took off, to another hotel. Agoda has been great for finding cheap hotels btw.
The problem with the Tai Da Bags is something I will continually need to address.
Day Five and Day Six.
By the time we reached the outskirts of Xiamen and our College host we discovered something. Exhaustion can be cumulative and this time it wasn't related to apathy. Plus, to be frank out asses hurt. We rearranged our plans to include several day breaks to help alleviate. First day would be the next. 10km over a bridge and 5km with a quickly arranged Xiamen host looked promising.
But it wasn't, a miscalculation in our navigating gear result in a spasm of looking for a bridge that allowed bikes. First bridge No, plus toll booths. Second bridge NO, plus more toll boths. Check the stairs, NO, plus it would require dismantling our bags and bikes, Check the Buses, a police officer gives me a big NO, and the taxi cab shakes his head and makes a big NO x with his hands. Finally the third bridge is a big NO but we see people going anyways. And since this is the way it goes in China we make a break for it and ride the highway into the city racking up a total of 60km on what should've been our day off.
Though we get today off. Walking around and figuring out we hate walking. Tomorrow off to Zhongzhen Though tonight we are going to go for drinks with our host Mr. Martin.
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