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Planting the Paddy
These women got me into the mud with them for part of the afternoon Day 1: After a morning warmup at the monastary, I got off to a great start; feeling good, and the riding just got better and better. From what I knew, I was in for a 80km day, rising a couple of hundred metres, and ending up in a place called Jian Chuan. Basically my checklist for this first day looked a little like this:
Wearing clothes: Yes
Durability of Bike: Unknown
Condition of Roads: Unknown
Good information/maps about the roads: N/A
Ready for an Adventure: Absolutely!
Beyond the end of Erhai Lake and the reknowned Shaping Village market, I began a short climb away from the lake and off the end of the map I had...
The road passed through spectacular terraced crops with (literally) thousands of workers in colourful clothing. I stopped for a quick snack and photo, but was soon convinced by a group of worker-women to shed my shoes, jump into the mud and spend the next 40 or so minutes planting rice seedlings in the paddy field. I thought this would be a simple enough task until I saw just how slow I was by comparison to these women, and
Ancient and Wisened
This old dudewas still sitting here when I returned over 2 weeks later. you could see the "patch" I had planted among the women's neat rows. It is an amazingly pleasant place to work, with swishing of the rice in the breeze and the water keeping things cool.
On the road, things gradually closed in and got steeper as I rode through and over several gorges and steep passes. All along the way, people lining the road would wave, shout "hollo" or simply observe in amazement, including one character who had me turning back to take his wisened photo. Having ridden around 55-60 km (mid-afternoon), I stopped for a feed at a bustling market in a little town, where I was informed that I had another 65 km to go!!!
So, on the bike again, a little concerned/amused (I think "interested" is the best way of putting it) about my scenario. Then the mountains start!
Up, up, up... for 10 km, grinding in my low gear before I grabbed hold of a slow truck as it passed for another 7 km of uphill! This was supposed to be my flat day...
Needless to say the other side was exhilerating... especially when my rear brake cable broke!
What blew me away
the most was how photogenic the place is. You could point a camera almost anywhere and take a photo that you would want on your toilet wall!
The final 15km into Jian Chuan was riding over wheat and barley that was laid on the road to dry in the sun while workers winnowing as much as they could between vehicles. I arrived, as the sun set, in a fairly boring little town, with only one hotel/guesthouse place that wanted three times my daily budget for a room, so I found a nice derelict shed (a few beams, half of one wall and 3/4 of a roof!) on the outskirts and grabbed a good feed before a long cold night!
110km, 6.5 hours.
Day 2: Awaking from a cold night, I got a fill of Baozi (filled steam-buns) from a corner before setting off. The road started as it finished yesterday, through rice fields with farmers laying their crops to dry on the road, before winding into hilly areas, passing by mud-brick villages and a small lake.
Just when I thought I was doing pretty well, the road took a dramatic turn up the valley wall. It's times
like this I wish I had about 10 more gears! But seeing for the first time the dramatic Yangzi River valley, and the arrival of the impressive Yuelong mountain range kept me on my toes, and off my seat! About 5 litres of sweat later, and after sharing some honey with a couple of bee-keepers on the summit, I coasted down-hill by the scenic Lake Lashi and it's Naxi minority villages. The houses are all mud-brick construction, and the women wear the traditional blue costume with head-dress.
My little chinese bike is a go-er! We shake, rattle and roll our way down to Lijiang, where one can enjoy all the creature comforts of a popular tourist town. The old town is a stunning maze of tight cobbled streets and buildings with water flowing all throughout. If you can avoid the masses of tourists thronging the central streets, it is a magical town to get lost in...
I am loving the cycling; the freedom to stop and go as one pleases, potential to avoid bumpy smoky bus-rides and the exercise, despite the complaints from knees and bum.
78 km, 5 1/2 hours
I think tomorrow will be
a short day, about 60 km, but I'm not sure how many passes...
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Tot: 0.038s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 8; qc: 19; dbt: 0.0185s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
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