Arriving at my relatives' place

This morning I set off shortly after eight o'clock, heading south-southeast. After about 60 kilometers I was supposed to meet some relatives, so I let them know roughly when I expected to arrive. However, I soon had to correct my estimate, because after only 22 kilometers I got a flat tire.

I had barely started repairing it when a Chinese man stopped beside me with his three-wheeled vehicle. Instead of offering help, he asked, “Where are you from? How old are you? Are you married? How many children do you have?” I was quite annoyed and told him not to disturb me because I needed to repair my bike, but that didn't seem to bother him much. So I simply ignored him. He also asked whether I needed a pump and seemed quite surprised when I said no. From then on, he just watched me repair the bike. In the end, at least he did hold my bicycle when I asked him to, making it a bit easier for me to put the rear wheel back on.

I continued on my way, but my good mood had completely disappeared. It took several kilometers before my negative thoughts faded away. After every flat tire, I also develop a kind of “flat-tire phobia”—the fear that I might get another puncture at any moment. Even today I kept looking at the rear tire to make sure it was still properly inflated, and every time I rode over a bump, I compared the impact of the front wheel with that of the rear wheel.

Less than 20 kilometers before Heicheng, another one of those three-wheeled vehicles pulled up beside me, and I was invited to stop and eat watermelon. Since I was already going to arrive late at my great-uncle's and great-aunt's place, I politely declined.

The route seemed to go on forever, but shortly after noon I finally arrived. Once again, I was back in a familiar place, and above all, I was greeted by familiar faces that made me very happy. My great-uncle prepared lunch for me. He runs a restaurant here that mainly serves travelers, especially truck drivers.

After that, I rested for about two hours before setting off again shortly after 3 p.m. to ride the final 40 kilometers to Guyuan.

Shortly after 5 p.m., I arrived at my uncle Yanbin's place—or rather, at the address of his company, where he was. The funny thing is that this uncle is only one year older than I am. Another uncle, Yanning, whom I had already seen at lunchtime and who joined us later that evening, is actually several months younger than me.

I received a very warm welcome. First there was fruit, and then dinner was ordered by delivery. Yanbin told me that they were fasting and therefore wouldn't be eating anything in the evening, so I ended up eating almost everything by myself.

After that, Yanning arrived with his wife and their two children. Meanwhile, eight people were waiting for me while I went to take a shower at what was essentially a spa. It took quite a while, and by the time I returned, it was already after 9 p.m. and dark outside.

Even so, we still went on a short outing to a park, where we climbed several hundred steps up to a pagoda. We were far from the only ones there. Evening walks like this are a very common pastime in China.

At 10:30 p.m., we returned to the company, where there was a bed for me in one of the side rooms. By then, I was feeling rather tired and was looking forward to a good night's sleep.