09May09 Woke up very cold out misty foggy 5 degrees C in tent. Hard to get started. Eat apple each with some moldy smelling but not looking chipatis, picked up our muddy tent and bikes and rolled away cold. I wore my bright SeeMe vest Madonna gave to me. (smiley face goes here) Very wobbly front end this morning. Sometimes it seems more wobbly when I'm not pedaling and sometimes opposite. We thought we could get some food in a village just a few km down the road. We saw a place with tables inside and Chad went over and talked to a man who came out with many pieces of his face missing, from frostbite he thinks - tip of nose parts of cheeks and ears. The man pointed us across the street and ... read more

Up, up and out of the city we climbed. Through the restored ramparts of the Great Wall and out onto a high plateau. Last night found us enjoying the company of folks who are by Chinese standards political dissidents. We don't see any of them heading to the capitol with a truck full of fertilizer and fuel oil any time soon. None the less, when the local police entered their restaraunt, the bilingual dance performance we were watching on their old TV, along with the conversation we were having took a turn to a different channel. This is coal country; here they are taking the earth and turning it into smoke and electricity in huge factories that line the sides of rivers. People smile through their black masks of dust that cover their faces. That tell ... read more