What an epic day. Tough but epic. A complete contrast to yesterday's easy ride in the warmth.
An early start as expected, but we didn't leave until well after 8am, rather than the intended 7:30. Aussie Chris and new boys Keith and Steve join us and are thrown in at the deep end on today's '360km' ride.
After leaving the hotel we head for the motorway to make a quick exit from Lhasa. Only, bikes are not allowed on the motorway! Wang argues with the several policemen who block our entry to the forbidden tarmac - it's hard to know whether they are angry or it's just one of the many tones of spoken Mandarin. The result is we have to go back the way we came. But we do get a police escort, with flashing lights and all; albeit at 45kph.... Eventually we find the alternative route and are on our way to Xigaze. (Apparently Migmar had told Wang that motorbikes were not allowed on the motorway, but Wang believed we would be let through). It wasted an hour or so, but we were on our way.
After a quick blast along the valley floor it dawns on my why our bikes might so feeble - they are suffering, just as we are, with 35% less oxygen. New Steve finds out that the Zuumavs are 335cc, which kind of fits with my estimate of the equivalent power to a 200cc engine.
At a regrouping stop, Aussie Chris' bike suddenly cuts out; it's kaput. Fortunately there's a spare bike on the support van's trailer so while that gets unhitched for Chris to ride, the rest of us are told to plough on with Wang. Alex and Chris will catch us up later...... or, that was the plan.
Further on we make a left turn off the highway, when I arrive Mark is marking the junction, so I replace him, intending to wait for Alex. Shortly after, Mark comes back and says Wang told him Alex is taking a different route. So I carry on with Mark and regroup with the others taking pictures of prayer flags stretched across a river. It then turns out that Alex is not taking a different route so Steve and Mark go back to mark the junctions and we go ahead to tell Wang what had happened. Wang says "I'll be ten minutes" and goes back looking for Alex and Chris.... That's the last we see of him.
Eventually the support van arrives with Migmar and he tells us to carry on until we reach the top of the mountain pass. There follows a winding ride to the top with lovely views over the valley below. The mountain tops are sprinkled in snow; it doesn't look like deep winter snow, more like new spring snow after winter snow has gone, but it's definitely colder than yesterday. We climb, climb, climb, on mostly good quality asphalt, and reach the top to enjoy lovely views over a long lake. It seems a popular place to enjoy the view as there's a police jeep parked there too. A nearby car park doesn't offer much in the way of refreshments and by now we're getting peckish. The wind has picked up too making our wait for the van decidedly chilly. We are at 4760m.
The van reaches us and we set off again, and then regroup at a fuel stop. After yet another check point we find a place to eat; by now it's 4pm and we're only half way. But Migmar says it's mostly flat from now on, but will get colder before warming slightly. Refuelled with noodles (although I eat popcorn from the fuel stop) and hot drinks we set off again and are told to ride for about 100km to the next stop. Mark is looking rather unwell and has a chill, so his bike is hitched to the trailer and he rides in the van.
Even with extra layers put on at the fuel stop the cold penetrates the layers. And at some point it starts to drizzle too, making it feel worse. I push on in the lead and make a good pace on the relatively straight roads in the valley floor. The road gradually starts to climb and the drizzle turns to sleet, turning to snow, turning to heavy snow. Fortunately it doesn't settle on the road, but it does on my goggles and I have to wipe them every few seconds to see anything. Obviously the pace slows, but I don't want to stop as, perversely, being active on the bike keeps me warmer despite the wind chill. I look down to see that snow is caking my jacket and I can feel that damp has penetrated my Gore-tex layers (don't believe what the marketing people tell you - nothing is 100% waterproof on a bike. Although Martin would tell you his expensive BMW suit is). Steve King has a great selfie demonstrating the caked snow effect on his visor, I'll post it later if I can; I didn't take any photos after the high point as my fingers were too cold. So despite possibly the worst conditions ever to ride in, it's freezing cold, I'm wet, and I haven't eaten a decent lunch, it was a great ride. What a mad masochistic bunch we are!
The pleasure is stopped by YAFC (is checkpoint one word?) where I'm pulled over by the police. I explain in my best pigeon English that my fellow riders are behind. I show them the itinerary and I'm asked for my passport and permit. Happier seeing this, they have a good look over my bike and even try sitting on it; I ask for a picture but they say "no photograph". Seems to be the case for all the police we've asked here, they don't want their photos taken.
Roomie Martin arrives to share my pain and in time the other riders and the van. Paperwork in order we're off again. Still many km to go and not long before it gets dark. We make steady progress to the next meeting place at which point we start following the van to our destination. We are all tired, mostly wet, and mostly cold, but eventually reach the hotel in the dark at 21:15, having braved and survived dicing with the mad taxis of Xigaze.
Alex, Chris and Wang arrived hours ago having taken the shorter route, while we took the longer scenic route and I'm glad we did.
No time for a shower we check in and head straight for dinner. But not all of us: Mark and Matt don't join as they're too cold and need to rest and warm up. Even now as I type this in the comfort of my bed, I feel my core is still cold.
Tomorrow we need to get our riding permits. Apparently China doesn't recognise our International Driving Permits so we need special local ones. This doesn't quite explain why we were riding today without issue, but I'm not really bothered. I suspect there will be queues and red tape tomorrow, so our riding window will be reduced. Probably a good thing, as we need to recover.
Sent from my trusty rusty BlackBerry
2 comments:
As you say, epic. Hope Mark and Matt have recovered.
The road less traveled..... And I'm glad I did. Nice. Envy of your adventure but are you saying you can't find the button for your heated grips?
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