RSS feed
donate
Up the Henan Spike
Something.. Qian, Henan Province
Rollin.
Yes that's right. Up the Henan spike. A long spike that protrudes right into the Province of Shandong like a needle injecting into a giants bum. Am I the medicine, or the virus? We'll have to see.
I'm in a small village half way down the needle, a place where technology is a subtle mixture of people using mobile phones and beating vegetables with sticks.
I've hit some awful roads.
Much too my enjoyment both my panniers fell off and Little Wheelie was carried out of the mud by some farmers. Now that's what I call biking. I feel alive again. Touring by bike without geographical hassles is just plain boring.
Nice bit of grass.
I visited the city of Kaifeng,
a nice place but I saw little of it really.
Ditch was busy being ill and refusing to eat. Probably due to all the ridiculous things she likes to lick. She is into insects at the moment. Especially flies. Which of course are not the healthiest things to lick. She wouldn't listen though. Her training has collapsed due to absence of any treats. Beef jerky worked for a while but it soon ran out. An egg and a steamed bun seemed to sort her stomach out and seems to be back on the mend. She is eating dry food again which makes my life a thousand times easier. I think she knew that if she didn't eat them soon, she would have to go to a local vet. An experience far worse than a few dog biscuits.
The roads were long, straight and a bit corny.
but this soon changed after Changyuan. Well the boredem factor anyway. 30km out of the city and after the mud I mentioned, I hit the ultimate road. Similar to the raised road in Hebei (not the one above. It was more a road on a mound of mud than an elevated express way), it ran for 200km North East, which was perfect for me. Although it also doubled up as drying area for corn and peanuts it was great. You got a clear view of all the farm land stretching out in both directions, with long sections of the road with no people on it. There were huge grassy banks for Ditch to run around on too.
As the sun set over the vast fields I came off the corn highway and checked into a local hotel. The only one for miles.
The high street
On my way to the Internet cafe
Next day was much like the day before. A perfect Autumn day, a slight breeze, clear skies and swallows flying over the road catching flies that Ditch can only dream of.
The swallow was too quick.
The whole area is continually drained to stop the land getting water logged by the river. Huge pump take water out of one side and dump it on the other.
Huge lakes of mud have formed.
If you look closely you'll see that the things sticking out of the mud are old telegraph poles fighting for their last breath before they are comsumed.
Spot the boat with no water ?
The landscape reminded me of the grasslands of Africa. Huge spindlly tree dotting there way towards a few Giraffes perhaps. Or even an Elephant.
Whilst fantasing about elephants I nearly ran this fellow over.
Swerved, did a U-turn and took a photo of it. There are some strange looking insects in this area. I swear I saw one that had hands and clapped as I passed by. I can't be sure but it may have been the famous 'Lesser Spotted Henan Clappy'
Where I am right now. Where motorbikes, pool and the World wide web meet for a beer.
If you want to support Chinawheelie then please make a donation.
Even the smallest amount will help children in China.
The Chinawheelie Donati-O-Meter (US$3,901 donated so far)
Cecilie writes:
Another thing - that trike companion of yours. Sheng something, looked handsome. So where are thye close-ups? And the Japanese cyclist was absolutely gorgeous, so much so that I almost threw up with envy. More of those, please. Piles (my dog) says Arf to Ditch. He has no testicles so is only mildly interested.
25/9/2006 21:26:41
Alexio writes:
bLOODY nORA LuXtoN, LooK hOW fAR yOUR LitTLE oTtERy knEES hAve gOT yOU!
26/9/2006 16:37:55
Tara writes:
Hi Rob.
How ya going?
When did you get a dog?
I shall have to read what you've been up to. I havn't been following for ages now. I need a rainy day. Which isn't too hard in Blighty.
Enjoy Bejing.
2/10/2006 2:20:52
You must log in to leave a comment.
Oh Rob!!!I'm so envious. Have just come back from kind of the exact opposite of China - Norway. Nothing rough and ready about that hellhole, I can tell you. So Ditch is a girl again? Yes I've missed three weeks' worth of Rob and am busy catching up. So we'll be heading north in a couple of weeks. Where will you be?
25/9/2006 20:00:20