11:23am 12 January 2024
Canterbury to
Milton Keynes by
Train
12:03pm 14 January 2024
Milton Keynes to
London by
Train
Straight out from Xinjie we run into a traffic jam. It's a total classic: cars head to head on both sides of the road, tractors trying to sneak the queue, people wandering everywhere, vehicles left empty. An overloaded truck has snagged an overhead cable and loused up the only road through town. The upside of this is that we're unlikely to have much traffic overtaking us until late in the day.
MoreThe big question mark about today's ride was hovering over the 2.3km long Geleng Tunnel just outside Gejiu - would we be allowed to cycle through it? Being turned away would mean a 70+km diversion. It was paramount we make it through if we were to make it to Xinjie, at the top of the climb out of the Red River valley, rather than just to Nansha, at the bottom.
MoreMarc and I take it slow in the morning. I've been trying to catch up on sleep, so no complaints from me about a lie-in. We get our stuff together and head for a bowl of ersi. Leaving the hotel, I discover the useful knowledge that if I use the long pannier shoulder straps, I can carry both of my panniers and my bike in one heaving, cumbersome go.
MoreToday's a lot less eventful. We all walk out to breakfast at a place Chris has tracked down. Bowls of ersi supplemented with some chaocai, and we're ready for the day. Sander, Tom and Chris are headed for the bus station to return to Kunming, Marc and I will head to Kaiyuan, 86km almost due south.
MoreAfter low quality sleep and a 6:15am alarm, I walk along Wenlin Jie and Wenhua Xiang to head to the office for the last time. The air is crisp and the sun's thinking about rising.
MoreIt was wet as we departed Xiangyun, and muddy roads on a short descent after leaving town left us rather dirty. After rounding a right-hand bend at the bottom of the descent, we went straight into the first climb of the day, a little earlier than expected. The surface was good, traffic light, and the rain on the trees gave us fragrant and cool air.
MoreAfter two long but relatively straightforward days, day three starts to throw in some proper work. It starts benign, but that's overlaid with a sense of foreboding: the road is headed steadily up a valley. We're going to have to climb our way out.
MoreLufeng's a small place that's easy to escape from - a roundabout in the northwest will bring you out of town and back to the G320. The road is split here — westbound traffic takes the north side of the river, while eastbound takes the south. The steep-sided, green valley is pleasant cycling, and traffic isn't too troublesome. Surface is a little worn and choppy, but it's still possible to maintain a decent cruising speed.
MoreIt's been many years since Dali Old Town became a fixture on the Yunnan backpacker trail. The Cangshan mountain range to the west and Erhai Lake to the east make the walled town a great hillside redoubt into which to retreat from days or weeks on the road.
MoreWhen is this climb going to end? I'm ascending a pass by bicycle over the Gaoligongshan range in western Yunnan. It feels like I've been doing it forever.
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