The Mountains Are Getting Closer...

This morning I felt quite tired. I had probably ridden too hard yesterday, meaning my heart rate was too high, and I likely didn’t eat enough in the evening either—a poor combination. Nevertheless, I definitely wanted to continue riding. For situations like this, I already have a proven solution: take it easy and treat the day as active recovery. First, however, I had breakfast, which was especially important since I hadn’t eaten much the night before.

I set off shortly before noon, and after less than 500 meters a police car started accompanying me. They had probably been waiting for me. My legs felt heavy and it was difficult to find a rhythm, but as mentioned, the key was simply to pedal effortlessly and stay relaxed. The longer I rode, the better I felt. After about an hour, I was already feeling much better than at the start—I had apparently found my rhythm.

The terrain today climbed steadily, starting at around 1,100 meters above sea level, with two steeper climbs along the way. The police kept a considerable distance but remained behind me at first. After about 20 kilometers, I approached a police checkpoint on the road and slowed down. Just before I came to a stop, however, a policeman who was not directly involved in the checkpoint unexpectedly waved me through. Perhaps he had noticed the police car behind me. Shortly afterward, another police car approached from the opposite direction and took over the escort.

After about 29 kilometers, I reached a toll station where another policeman was standing. While I was pulling out my passport, the police car behind me caught up. As a result, the officer barely glanced at my passport before waving me through. This was also where the escort ended. I looked back many times afterward, and indeed there was no police car following me anymore.

The road then climbed steeply as the first of the two major ascents began. Maintaining a relaxed pace and low heart rate became more challenging. Still, I felt good and didn’t even stop for a break after covering half of the day’s planned distance.

It wasn’t until the second steeper climb that I realized I should probably take a break. My blood sugar felt low, at least that’s how it seemed, and I had already finished my sweet drink, leaving only water. So I stopped about two kilometers before reaching the highest point of the day and had something to eat.

After the descent, another policeman waved me through. I was almost developing an attention deficit syndrome because suddenly nobody on the road seemed interested in me anymore. Well, not entirely true—some drivers and motorcyclists coming from the opposite direction still gave me thumbs-up. Interestingly, I saw vehicles from all sorts of Chinese provinces, which shows that this is truly a tourist region. Besides local license plates, I noticed the most vehicles from Sichuan and Yunnan. One that particularly caught my eye was an electric motorhome from Yunnan. It had traveled a very long distance with such a large vehicle, entirely on electric power—quite interesting.

Before continuing, I stopped at a small shop next to a gas station to restock supplies. Now I had another sweet drink. Since I had planned a relatively short stage today, I was well ahead of schedule despite riding very leisurely. I therefore stayed at the shop a little longer and chatted with the shopkeeper.

For the final 24 kilometers, I felt completely refreshed again. Surrounded by green fields and towering mountains in the distance, I rode along comfortably. At around 6:30 p.m., I arrived in the small village of Zhongfengchang at an elevation of just over 1,600 meters. In terms of scenery, today was definitely one of the most beautiful days of the journey so far.

However, the hotel Jiabin had booked for me was unable to accommodate me. They apparently had some technical problem and could not complete my registration, at least as far as I understood. Fortunately, there was one hotel after another in the village. I checked out two nearby options and chose the second one, which was significantly cheaper. Once again, speaking Chinese was a huge advantage. I explained that I didn’t need a large room, so they offered me a small room normally used by a hotel employee. It cost only half as much as the other hotel and was even cheaper than the lowest advertised room rate. By the time I had stored my bicycle and brought in my bags, the bed had been freshly made and the room cleaned. It was more than sufficient for me and actually better than some accommodations I had stayed in back in Stans.

The police eventually showed up and carried out their first actual check of me that day. However, they seemed mainly interested in verifying that the hotel staff had completed my registration correctly. Since I had helped a receptionist fill out the registration form on the computer yesterday, I was now able to provide all the necessary information with ease. You could say I’m almost an expert on the registration process by now.

To finish the day, I went to a restaurant and ordered three dishes at once. Yesterday I had ordered too little; today I ordered too much. Fortunately, I was able to pack up the leftovers and take them with me, so they will serve as breakfast tomorrow.