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Right then.

I've kind of been slogging away in the heat and rain, arriving in places and falling asleep. I've tried a few times to sit in front of a computer screen, but the noise in the Internet cafes, combined with the bright white square burning at my eyes, was enough to send me straight to bed each time.

So ... where are we, where have we been and what have we been doing ?

I'll give you a really quick update, otherwise I will be lagging behind and never get back to China Wheelie live.

Having issues with uploading pictures so this entry may have very few or possibly none. I'll have to post them later if that's the case.


Nanchang - Linchuan, Jiangxi Province

Dist: 128.66 Km
Odo: 4071.9 Km
Max: 39 Km
Time: 7hrs 48mins
Avg: 16.5


Left in a foul mood and was finished off by some idiot swerving in front of me, causing me to crash into him and bend my pedal cog. Cog, crank, sprocket, what ever you call it.... its wonky now. The foul mood continued until a lovely old man on a tricycle snapped me out of it whilst I was stewing under a tree.

A truck drove alongside me and all the guys were waving... they pulled out a newspaper and guess who was on the front page looking a little lost. After pottering around all over the place, getting lost, getting shocking directions I finally got on the right road. I bombed along it for 128.66 km and arrived Linchuan.



Linchuan - Jixi, Jiangxi Province

Dist: 47.57Km
Odo: 4119 Km
Max: 35.5 Km
Time: 3hrs 3mins
Avg: 15.6

My gears are well and truly buggered. Its my own fault really. I've burred the star screw that opens up a black box. Inside that black box is tonnes of dirt jamming up the cables. Nothing I can do until I can drill out the screw or replace the box. Need to keep moving though. I'm now using only 3 gears and changing up or down with a spanner. Not good, but I'm still going forward.

The temperatures have been ridiculously hot again. Stopped in the shade for a couple of hours and saw a Jiangxi Side Shuffle moth. A curious creature. An old dude on an even older bike pulled up and we had a chat. Then we had a race. It was his idea. He was convinced that because Wheelie has small wheels he could win. Neck and neck for one Kilometer to the next tree for a rest in the shade.

Arrived in Jixi. Checked into a guest house, had my hair cut, bought an emergency ladies 20" tyre for 10 Rmb and then fell asleep.



Jixi - Zixi, Jiangxi Province

Dist: 61.68 Km
Odo: 4181 Km
Max: 54 Km/h
Time: 4hrs 51mins
Avg: 12.7 km/h

I woke up and went in search of breakfast and found that the guest house had transformed into a noodle shop over night. Very convenient.

The scenery during the short journey to Zixi was Pine forests and Bamboo. Loads of it. Near Zixi the scenery turned particularly nice and the people very friendly. A storm was about to pop so I stopped at Zixi for the night. Sitting in an Internet Cafe I met Selina. A local girl who was eager to chat. We had milk tea together, saw her old school, and was generally showed around her small town of 100,000 people. I mentioned that 100,000 people would be a city in England. In China that is just a village really. I met the family and then met them all again for breakfast. They gave me some steam bread, some Baozi and 6 boiled eggs. I always seem to meet a nice family as I exit a Province. Kind of like a farewell "we hope you enjoyed our Province, Come again soon"

Into the furnace I pedalled.





Zixi - Shaowu, Fujian Province

Dist: 80.14 Km
Odo: 4261.4 Km
Max: 49.5 Km/h
Time: 5hrs 48mins
Avg: 13.7 km/h

Met a couple of bikers today. They flagged me down and we chatted in the shade of a small shop. The guy offered me a beer. I declined. He explained to me that he doesn't drink water, he only drinks beer. I asked who was doing the driving today. It was him of course. No problem he said.

They are travelling around china too, but have opted for an All Terrain Motorbike. They gave me an escort for a while, but soon got bored of the slow speeds and said farewell.

I saw a back to front butterfly but it would only land for a fraction of a second and then flutter around again.. so no picture yet. I will get one though. They are cool looking things.




Shaowu - Jianyang, Fujian Province

Dist: 76.21
Odo: 4337.7 Km
Max: 42.5 Km/h
Time: 5hrs 40mins
Avg: 13.4 km/h

In a bad mood again. I think it was the MSG I had for breakfast. I asked them to leave it out, but it was even in the dumplings.

The weather was bloody hot and my gears were just a pain in the arse. The scenery was nice though.

Drying houses




Bitter Melons







A grabbing beetle. It just would not let go. When it did it fell in my pocket and pretend to be some loose change. Sorry mate. You look nothing like a one Yuan coin.


A storm was brewing but I thought I could out run it. Yeah right. It started to rain but I kept on pedalling until I spotted a big tree to stop under. It was the perfect tree.

The lightning started, so I popped on my rain clothes and prepared for battle. I was about to jump on Wheelie and ride like the wind, when I heard a noise that could not be ignored.

I'll skip the next bit and jump straight to the end.


Let me introduce to you a new member to the China Wheelie team.


Meet 'Ditch'

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This way...
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That's where I found her. She was in a ditch. The water was rising and she was stuck in there. There was no one around, no houses, no other dogs. Just me and ditch, on a road full of fast moving trucks. I had to lie on my belly to grab her and she then promptly ran across the road and fell into the ditch on the other side. Only a small one this time though. She lay there looking pathetic. She was shivering and needed a bit of love. I always have had a soft spot for animals.

I got my towel and gave her a clean, gave her some biscuits and then prepared to leave.

She looked at me.

I know, perhaps I'll just take you to the next town.

I know, I'll just quickly give you a name.

Once I named her that was it.


The dog bowl was the final seal.








What could I do. If I left her she would surely die. I thought about asking a farmer if he wanted her, but thought he may just eat her. I packed her up into my rain jacket and pottered along towards Jianyang. I spotted a father and daughter coming out of their house. They were very friendly, but soon switched off when I tried to offer them a dog.

Damn it !

What the hell am I doing. I now have a pet dog on a 25,000km journey around China. I will have to try and find a home for her between here and Shanghai. She is a really cool dog, very chilled, not noisy, not all annoying and licky. A beautiful healthy beast with a lively tail.

What I'm trying to say is.

If anyone is reading this in China and is looking for a lovely dog. I have one. Including free delivery.

This is one bit of baggage that is sure to get heavier and heavier. She now has two specially converted vegetable baskets as a home on the back of Wheelie.

Only 1000 kilometers to Shanghai.

Help !

What should I do with Ditch !

All ideas welcome.

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