5/7/25
Another day, another standard breakfast buffet. We were supposed to be heading north. Jonathan misread the garmin and we headed the wrong way for a few kilometres before he noticed. The roads out of town were long and unchanging. The urban area went on for miles and miles. We utilised the bus lanes for most of it. There was a ‘cycle lane’ but they’re full of scooters and are nothing less than chaotic. We don’t want to keep stopping and starting. We don’t have an electric motor.
Some of the drivers were pretty awful. We saw one man shaving. Plenty of people were glued to their phone. As we got further away from the main conurbation a view of the mountains to our west was slowly revealed. The skyline was oddly hazy and the many low lying clouds made it hard to differentiate clouds from peaks.
The G108 was our passage north. It sat in a, for now wide, valley. The 1780 mile long G5, otherwise known as the Beijing-Kunming highway, or Jingkun expressway, had also been built here. Our single carriageway road was irritatingly busy. As usual it was trucks that insisted of avoiding the tolls. Apparently, they’re as high as ¥1 a kilometre, so it quickly adds up.
The Xichang airport road was supposed to offer us a quieter alternative. And at first it did. However, it narrowed and somehow became stupidly busy. Despite there being two other alternatives. We saw the police stopping lorries. The drivers also use backroads to avoid weigh stations. We were denied a quiet road. It was dusty. There were big angry speed bumps that seem to only slow down bicycles. The other traffic just mashed over them.
The G108 was mostly straight as it took us through the valley, gently undulating from time to time. We soon passed through the town of Lizhou. There were so many fruit sellers with astonishingly cheap fruit. Then we came across the greenhouses. The entire valley turned to plastic. The flat of the valley was about a kilometre across. We peered in to see what was growing. There appeared to be only grapes but we only saw a tiny sliver. Now back on the G108 we were constantly aware of lorries. They usually overtook us gracefully. Like all traffic there was a tendency to overtake despite turning off literally 10s of metres ahead. We tried in vain not to take it personally.
Just as we fancied a drink, coincidence had it that a man ran over to us with two drinks. What luck! He took a photo, but only with Jonathan. There were now periods of slightly less traffic but the occasional spurt meant we had to keep our wits about us. We enjoyed views of grooved mountains, on the other side of the river, to our west.
We passed underneath the railway tracks and the Jingkun expressway. The road became more wiggly and we started to climb. Below us the Qushou Dam blocked the Anning River. It was a glorious place apart from, yes you guessed it, the lorries. It was an absurd place for them to be. The electric ones were the most dangerous. They could lurch forward at an incredible pace. At least they didn’t blast us with their exhausts.
As we descended into Lugu the road was a little manic. For some reason there was a parade of inept learner drivers. There appears to be a particular car they have to drive. Each with several people in the car leaning forward with no seatbelts. The traffic was attempting to overtake. We also caught up and overtook the white saloons housing the drivers who were perpetually in first or second gear.
The streets of Lugu smelt like meat. It was another extremely busy town that just popped out of nowhere. We rode further west, crossed the river, and joined the S219. It ran adjacent to the G108 but it was quieter and lined with houses. For miles. Time started to go immensely slowly. At least it was a smooth surface. We continued to pass greenhouses. A couple stopped to give us drinks. The woman took photos of Jonathan with her husband. Some young girls on an electric scooter stopped too. They took turns to stand in between the two of us though.
After we passed through Fuxing the road suddenly, without warning, turned to shit. The surface entirely stripped off. Now were going very slowly. It lasted several kilometres, and we were teased with several small sections where the tarmac returned. Once it improved again we climbed a short but steep hill, then descended, blessed with a pretty river view. Fisherman dotted the banks. Further round the corner we could see Mianning.
Mianning was a busy city but less finessed than others. A long concrete road led to the Yuebo hotel. It was a very busy shopping area. Our bums were aching as we negotiated the final few kilometres. All the while we were surrounded by scooters. We were guided to an underground car park. The moment we lent our bikes outside the hotel a polite woman came out to tell us they couldn’t stay there. We figured it was a matter of athletics but we were a little confused as there was already another bike there.
The bikes safely locked we were in yet another newly renovated hotel room. We ate our dinner in the hotel restaurant. The three women weren’t doing anything else. We continued to be surprised by the number of staff that were allowed to be on duty but not working. They happily made us some simple fried tofu, shredded potatoes and greens. A little bowl of dry chilli on the side.
We suddenly saw flashes of light outside. Thunder rumbled. Utilising the hotel umbrellas we visited the nearby supermarket. We bought some fruit, including another piece of prized durian and a box of crispy, sugar covered elongated biscuits. Culprits was turning out to be a boring show. Such Brave Girls was far more enthralling, and funny. We also tried the Scott Pilgrim anime series. Not our usual kind of show but watchable.
Surly They Won't Make It 