A Little Detour Before Reaching the Finish

I ate a little too much last night, even though I had already packed up a large portion of the leftovers to take with me. As a result, I had hardly any appetite this morning. I only ate a little before getting on my bike at 7:50 a.m.

It took me 1 hour and 50 minutes to reach the highest point of the day, just 16.5 kilometers from the start. Partly that was because I had to climb nearly 500 meters, and partly because I was once again facing a strong headwind. On top of that, there was a stretch of gravel road that made progress even slower for several kilometers. It was the first longer gravel section I had encountered in China, and only because I had taken a shortcut. Otherwise, the roads here have consistently been excellent.

The long descent began alongside a field of wind turbines, which also made the headwind visible. Before long, I had already doubled the distance I had covered when reaching the highest point, because despite the headwind, the downhill ride was wonderfully fast.

Soon afterward, I met Jaime and Andres from Spain, who were cycling home from Beijing. Like several other cyclists before them, I was the first bikepacker they had met on their journey. We chatted for a while before continuing in our respective directions. Perhaps I'll see them again one day in Switzerland—it is, after all, on their way home. 😉

Before long, I reached Yongchang, where I stopped in a small park on the outskirts of town for lunch and finished the leftovers from yesterday.

There was still some descending to do, so after my lunch break I continued downhill at high speed. Then, all of a sudden, my bike started wobbling so badly that I could barely keep riding—a flat tire! Once again, a small piece of steel wire had pierced the tire. Chinese roads are littered with fragments of truck tires, many of which contain exactly these steel wires. Right next to the place where I replaced the tube, there was another such tire fragment, so I took a photo of it as an example. After fixing the flat, I also checked the pressure in my front tire with my pump and found it to be only 3.1 bar. The rear tire probably wasn't much higher. I had wanted to check the tire pressure for quite some time but had never taken the time to do it. I pumped both tires up to 4.3 bar before continuing. That should make the bike roll even better.

However, with the higher tire pressure, every bump in the road also became much more noticeable. The improved rolling efficiency came at the expense of some comfort. This became especially obvious when I crossed the speed bumps at a weigh station—they launched me up and down quite violently.

A short while later came a frightening moment: I suddenly realized that I couldn't find my phone. By then I was already more than six kilometers past the place where I had repaired the flat, and I was certain I still had it there. Then I remembered that I had put it into the back pocket of my cycling jersey instead of my usual frame bag, where it is much more secure. Suddenly it hit me: the aggressive speed bump! It must have fallen out there. I immediately turned around, imagining what it would mean to lose my smartphone. It would have been a disaster! Every piece of information I needed for my journey was on that phone—without it, I wouldn't even have been able to find my next hotel.

When I reached the speed bump, I couldn't see the phone and continued riding back. After another 200 meters, however, I turned around once more. It had to have fallen out there. Perhaps someone had handed it in at the toll station? As I searched again, I finally spotted a phone lying on the ground behind a small raised edge, making it difficult to see from the opposite direction. What a relief! Not only was it still there, it was completely intact and working perfectly—it had simply become rather hot after lying in the sun.

Relieved, I continued descending toward Wuwei, thinking to myself, "Well, at least I got to enjoy 3.5 kilometers of tailwind today." At the next shop, I bought a sports drink and felt full of energy again for the final stretch. Soon I could see the city in the distance, and before long I arrived at my hotel. Only the gentle climb a few kilometers before the finish made the reported 35°C feel truly hot. Otherwise, the cooling airflow during the descent kept the ride pleasantly comfortable. By now, I think I have also become somewhat accustomed to the heat.