16/6/25
More noodles and steamed buns for breakfast. We didn’t bother leaving till 9:45am. The temperature was a ludicrously chilly 26C. Cloudy too. Shiping was actually an enormous place. As we tried to leave, the shops and restaurants kept going for miles. We decided to take the S212 through the mountains. More climbing and part of the reason for having a rest day.
It was hard to get going again. We felt silly, but even after all these months of cycling getting on the bike was slightly anxiety inducing. Our hotel had been really nice, which made leaving all the more hard. There was a strong smell of soya as we rode up the first hill. Nothing strenuous, but our legs were tired enough to make us doubt our abilities. It was easy to forgot that we were already at 1500m. A whole world higher than the tallest point in the UK.
The road dropped 200m through a gorgeous valley. The steep tree covered sides flanking the small amount of flat land where farming was able to take place. Rushing through cool air in a spectacular, lush green environment it didn’t take long to hit the bottom. We started gradually going back up. A small white electric car my stopped ahead of us. A young girl got out and chased Jonathan up the road. They wanted to take photos with us! It was very sweet. We’d found Chinese people to be very reserved. Except young people who were after a photo. We of course obliged.
Xincheng marked the start of the days efforts. After drinking some kind of energy drink we picked up our climb. We were going to rise 600m over the next 13km. It began rather steeply. After half an hour it started to rain. It was still warm, 27C. Looking back to the valley we’d ridden down we could see dark clouds forming. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Anxiety about being caught in a storm kicked in. There was no choice but to push relentlessly on.
Landslides were clearly no joke here. Warning signs were everywhere. Big piles of rubble had clearly been swept off the road recently. A digger was parked halfway up, presumably waiting for the next one. Sand and rocks tinkled down the almost vertical orange slopes next to us. Approaching 1700m the wind picked up and it started to feel stormy.
Lorry drivers drove past taking hits on their huge cigarette bongs. Simultaneously on the phone. They were never giving them their full attention to the road. Rumbling thunder got even louder as we got higher. Fight or flight instinct kicked in. We pushed hard. Up until now we’d been holding back, anxious that the hill was going to turn stupidly steep. We only hit 10% a couple of times though.
Cresting the top was unceremonious. Marked by a sign that said something about monkeys, and a pylon. Wasting no time, we immediately started going down. Without any commanding views. Quieter and quieter rumbles swum around. We couldn’t work out if the thunder was coming or going.
Rolling fast down a couple of hundred metres of elevation we were in a warm cocoon of trees. We’d decided against raincoats despite it being a freezing cold 20C. Yet more farmland appeared before we took on another 100m of ascent. A stiff mile of climbing. Thankful to reach the top, the views coming down were wonderful. Peaks stretched out around us. Wisps of clouds nestled in their grooves. We descended again. This time into the town of Longpen.
We were expecting a small sleepy town. A bustling settlement soon revealed itself. Longpoli Inn wasn’t bookable, and ended up being a bargain at £6. It didn’t have any air conditioning. Fortunately we didn’t need it! We went out to explore the large street market and bought a huge tub of blueberries immediately. Never had we seen so many.
Wandering down an alley led us to an even larger market. It was remarkably extensive. We decided to sit at a tofu bar. A drunk guy was manning the grill. He counted our food with pieces of dried corn as we fished it off the heat. He kept offering us a clear alcohol. Now we understood what they were about. It turned out to be very expensive for the amount of food we had. Some more drunk guys came over and took photos with Jonathan. Everyone had been watching us while we sat there.
On our way out of the market we bought a potato rosti cake, and a skewer of mushrooms. Both nice and spicy. Still hungry, we ate at a restaurant. Jonathan ordered the ‘stinky tofu noodles’ but they came with meat! We had to send them back. A smiling happy woman fixed it for us. Frankie had ordered something more straightforward. Cauliflower fried rice.
Red fruit had caught our eye. They looked spiky. Bayberries. Never having had them before we bought a big bag of those too. Bayberries proceeded to savage the inside of our mouths. Their deliciousness made them hard to stop eating.
Surly They Won't Make It 