a2b – Crotos, from Lanzhou to Luoyang

Three excellent articles from the Greek couple, Vasilios Mesitides and Danae Tezapsidis, [links can be found at the end of this posting] beginning with their experiences in on the way to, and at, Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu.

Days 135-137 – A few punctured tires and other repairs impede progress but by the afternoon of the third day they have reached Wuwei.

“We wandered around the city by bike, found a nice park to walk around till the evening. Danae is exhilarated to have all this fruit around her. She is now sure she will not be hungry anymore… In the evening Danae joined an open dancing session in the main city square where people often gather to share activities (day 137)”

Days 138-141 – From Wuwei they press on uphill to the next resting place in a pass, almost 3,000 metres above sea level, and then to Tianzh, the county town of the area. On day 140 Richard, who has been suffering for a few days, becomes too ill to ride on and is taken by taxi to a hospital in Lanzhou, the next major stop. Road accidents involving large trucks are not uncommon and they come across a fatal one involving a motorcycle rider. Is this a sign they are getting nearer the more industrialised parts of China? Perhaps not yet as they comment on the rural scenery around them.

“We can’t help but notice how Chinese people keep themselves busy in the fields around us. 70% of the labor force works in agriculture. Instead of using machinery they use their bare hands to reap the wheat, to plow the land, to transport the goods by merely pulling and pushing old wooden wagons.“

Until new buildings appear, and for the first time in months they find themselves stuck in heavy traffic as they are now in the city of Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province. Here the party takes a day’s rest to go walking in the parks and up the mountains surrounding the city.

For the next phase of the journey Vasilios and Danae take a different route to the rest of the group as they want to visit an area to the south of the Silk Road. They expect to rendezvous 9 days later in Xi’an. Before leaving Lanzhou they visit Richard, who was taken ill a few days earlier and is now in hospital; he has received surgery [no explanation what the op. Was – I hope Richard knows] and has been told he can cycle again after 2 weeks recovery. Monica opts to join their sub-party.

“The same night we are hosted at a toll booth officers’ building next to the highway. Amazing hospitality!!! (day 142) “

The route takes them through some very attractive and hilly countryside, a lot of it over 2000 metres above MSL. To reach their destination city, Tianshui at 1700 metres above MSL level, they descend for several kilometres and passing through tunnels to get there. One room for 3 of them at a hotel costs 17 Euros – but what is that in yuan?

MaijiShan is the next stop where do spend some time walking up and down the karst hills, visiting caves, grottoes and lakes. Although the occasional downpours make them wet and cold, they find it all worthwhile.

Reluctantly continuing their ride they pass through more high ground and valleys before beginning their descent towards Xi’an. Arriving in Xiangyang, a city on the outskirts of Xi’an, their first problem is finding accommodation but their luck holds –

“Finding a sleeping place in an urban area is quite difficult. We are quite lucky to find a real estate agency – they sell apartments at newly constructed high-rises – where a couple of elderly guards do their best to accommodate us. They give us a small room with beds, and Li Xiong and Fan Xin, two agents who were working till late, invite us to dinner. We couldn’t have imagined a better ending for our day. We have experienced Chinese hospitality on numerous occasions despite our difficulty to verbally communicate with them (day 149).”

Day 150 they enter Xi’an and rejoin the main group at a hotel. There are approximately 1400 kilometres and 2 weeks remaining.

Stopping off for a short visit outside Xi’an they visit the Qin Terracotta Army before continuing towards HuaShan – one of the five sacred mountains of China. They note that riders are becoming sick due to the change in climate, from dry desert conditions to high temperatures and high humidity. At HuaShan they buy a cheap backpack and then spend a day climbing the mountain. Over the years tracks up the mountain have been cut into the rocks and the steepest places have chains permanently fixed in place.

“We hiked for endless hours, visited all of the main peaks on the mountain and descended late in the evening just before dusk. Our legs would suffer for days since we are not using the same muscles while cycling. This was one of the best experiences we have so far had. (day 155)”

Three more days on the road and they arrive in Luoyang, Henan province.

“Finally, downhill all the way to Luoyang . Even though we are still tired we manage to cover 89km till our hotel, where we will have a rest day. The road is full of industries, coal mines, trucks, and our faces and lungs are covered with black shit – according to Danae – by the end of the day. The hotel showers were busy today! (day 158)”

Links to the pages are – Lanzhou, Xi’an, and Luoyang

Links to the photo galleries for Lanzhou, Xi’an, and Luoyang – all highly recommended.

Links to other related posts are listed on the Crotos – BaltiCCycle page.