Updates from Amdo

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12 days after departing Golmud on bike, we are now in the tibetan city of Amdo (Anduo in chinese). Tomorrow morning we will meet our guide and driver (required by Chinese law...im honestly surprised we haven't encountered any bureaucratic problems yet, since we are technically in the Tibet Autonomous Region). To recap some of the events of the past couple of weeks, i would have to include:

-the wonderful people we have met

-the multiple 5000+meter high passes

-the hail storms

-the lightning/thunder storms

-the rain storms

-the snow storms

-the cold nights

-the sun that hunts to kill

-the lack of oxygen

-the "sh*thole" towns and places we have stayed along the way

-hitching a ride during a mega hail storm at 5100m above sea level after my rear spokes and front tire were busted

-learning how to fix a broken gear cable, broken spokes, a flat tire, a bent rim, bad brakes, and more...

-the amazing muslim restaurants with their pulled noodles and plates full of tender and delicious racks of lamb

-tibetan tsampa, butter tea, and yogurt for breakfest

-the scenery...snow capped mountains, rolling hills of green and brown, endless glaciers, majestic lakes, deserts, sand dunes, small ravines and vast rivers, nomad farmers, yaks, sheep, wild asses, antelopes, gazelles...

-yak poop furnaces saving my limbs from frostbite

-talking with locals about their situations and feelings towards the future

-getting to know my cycling team: aaron, bill, and stefan...all great people, it has been an honor to get to know all of them and to share a 8' x 5' 'crap'hole room in a 'crap'hole town with them

-earning over $6000 on my ipod nano's solitaire game

-reading a wilbur smith novel

-my first public bathhouse experience...my first shower in two weeks

-tibetan bars that have giant busts of the potala palace as the background for the karaoke stage

-ice cream

-chocolate

the list is honestly endless i now realize as i look back. i am having the time of my life and may not even be realizing it. as i write this entry i am going against my family's wishes...i am currently watching the movie 'into the wild' on the internet...a movie, and the only movie ever in my life, i was explicitly told never to watch. sorry guys... hope you enjoy the pictures i am able to upload!

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Comments

[Aunt KK]

reading a wilbur smith novel
John, Your Dad introduced me to the Wilbur Smith novels and I ended up reading ALL of them... 1600's to 1900's...That's one of the reasons I ended up in south Africa...LOL

[Brian Schlaefer]

Wow.!
Wow.! learning all about Tabet first hand from the people and having a lot of good food along the way, not to mention good times with friends and becomming a bike tech.!

[Dick Schlaefer]

Hey!
Wow! again that's all i can say. I need one of those I heart bei jing shirts

[Stuck in BJ]

你应该知道，我十分吃酸
I think "Freedom!" is your new Facebook picture. I take it these days of sucessive biking have gotten your ass into shape, eh?

[kat]

sunscreen!!!
dude, you are fried!!! high altitude = hellish sun = major sun damage! didn't you bring sunscreen? you will regret it sometime in life. don't you love hand washing your clothes? reminds me of the good ol' days! wow, that is one long road. i thought my the way out on my last race was loooong (with no one around unless it was some speedy guy decked out in in ueber-aero gear blazing by me) . . . but that is one really long and uneventful road. ever feel like you're going crazy out there?