A great walk about today with Paul and Herb to see the sights of Sophia. Today is May 24, traditional cultural day on the main square, so there was a large gathering of mainly kids and ethnic clothing dancing and singing that was pretty cool. we also went to Alexander Nevsky church, a Russian Orthodox Church from the 1800s that was extraordinary, but more interesting was the Temple Sveta Sofia which is much older and is full of underground excavations which of been restored to a very high quality. Bulgarian history dates back to the fourth century, so an incredible culture and history, though many times dominated by Russians over the centuries. Oh yeah, also the Elvis and Marilyn impersonators along the tourist promenade were interesting…

Back from dinner, good but somewhat disappointing tourist style restaurant. Oh well, that’s what happens on these trips. Currently raining major thunderstorms lightning and thunder. Supposed to be raining tomorrow as well, so could be a nasty wet trip for at least a day or two.

The guide is a very nice man, married with a two-year-old daughter But, I’m telling ya I will I have to declare this the absolute seniors tour! I think of Herb as being old at 78 years and doing these trips. But we just met the other guy on this trip, 94 years old! Australian who served in the Korean War! My goodness! And the guide said the other woman joining us tomorrow is in her mid-60s. Wow!! The Bulgaria Seniors Tour for sure!

Next is up for breakfast at 7 AM, out the door at 8 AM, a 90 minute transfer and then we begin riding. Hoping the rain will cease by then…

I can’t take a picture of everything that I see, and often I find my photos to be disappointing relative to the actual experience. But here are some from today…

First day, very sleepy and delirious after 24 hour travel time from wake up in Portland to arrival in Bulgaria with little or no sleep along the way. But that’s expected… Met with my oldbiking friends Paul and Herb. We will biking friends Paul and Herb. We will be walking around the city tomorrow extensively, we made with any other bikers tomorrow at 7 PMbe walking around the city tomorrow extensively, we made with any other bikers tomorrow at 7 PM. Can barely keep my eyes open as I read this… Can barely keep my eyes open as I read this… Good night from Sofia Bulgaria.

http://my.ctrlq.org/maps/#street|1|385.59375|-33.75|61.62025|-149.276811

Today’s ride was epic! The sun was out, it was hot, there were some fantastic hills without any traffic, we were in the midst of limestone karst country, the Li River for was visible from many vantage points, the surface on much of today’s road was absolutely smooth, I don’t think you could’ve had a better cycling day! Well, except that I broke my chain for the third time. I’ve never broken a chain in my entire cycling career, so to break one three times on this bike is unusual. I will talk about the day in chronological order of course, but finishing with the evening discussion at the table for dinner, Chu told me that they have had the same problem with this bike before, breaking a chain on the prior trip. Tells me that I was using a repaired chain. When you push the pins out of the links, they’re never quite the same and that’s what I attribute my break issues, not my riding style. They finally put on the new chain today, no problems since! In fact, somehow today I got 40 minutes ahead of the group, they all said they wanted my old chain back on the bike to slow me down! Funny, but made me a little proud of myself too…! On arrival here, I got to sit under a shady banyan tree for half an hour sipping a very cold Coca-Cola waiting for the other folks to arrive…

These karsts are a sight to behold! I’ve seen them before, in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and here. Yet they are always somewhat breathtaking, give you a sense of the magnitude of something that is very unusual, steep nearly vertical mountains rising out of the water to a relatively sharp point. Being around them makes you feel differently about your life perspective… They are calming.

After our fantastic cycling day up and down through the karst mountains, we arrived in Xing Ping (shin ping) for a late lunch. The food was great, and after lunch we had to take a boat across the Li river to the other side where our nice but modest hotel was. We loaded all the bikes, our luggage, ourselves, among 50 locals across the river. I have a great video of it… But I cannot post a video to the blog. Got to the hotel, since it was the end of the riding day I had a cold beer, grabbed a shower, did laundry, hung all the laundry up on the roof in the hot sun to dry.

Then I walked down to the river, just a short two or three minute walk from where we are staying, and saw a lot of activity there. Most interesting are the cormorant fisherman. What these guys do is they have two cormorants tethered to their small bamboo boats, in the evening and at sunrise they will take the boat out, the cormorant will find a fish, grab it in its beak, the fisherman will pull the cormorant back to the boat and essentially steals the fish from him. This is a unique method of fishing, it is said this is only practiced in China but who knows for sure if that’s actually true… But it’s a good idea!

One other interesting thing I saw is a grandmother walking down to the waters edge with a grandkid on her back. She started throwing rocks at 5 ducks that were in the water, as it turns out she was throwing the rocks near them to turn them back up to her house which is where they live, not out on the water. She probably wanted them to come in to their coop tonight, or whatever you call it for ducks, so they would lay eggs for the morning breakfast!

It is very common to see grandkids on grandmothers and grandfathers back here. It is very traditional but when people Mary, parents are moving to the same house.

Paul and Rebecca and Bill all left in early, they always seem to need more sleep. Ian and I stayed and chatted with Chu for quite a while. It is interesting to hear things from the China perspective that we often hear about in the west. For example, the one child rule is much more complicated than people would make it seem. For Han Chinese which is the most common, they are in fact limited to only one child. If they decide to have a second child, it cost them a $10,000 fine, which is a huge amount of money for this economy. But other ethnic minorities, the Dong people for example which Chu is, is permitted have two children because they make up such a small percentage of the entire Chinese population, and China wants to ensure that all of the minorities flourish. When you think of it that way, the one child rule is not some weird communist oppression plot, it’s a very well thought out societal plan. Another interesting thing we learned is that people are not permitted to be married until they are 20 years old here, and generally are not permitted to have children until they are at least 24 years old.

Talking with Chu tonight, I also learned much more about what is involved in managing the trip like this. For example, I didn’t know there was a food budget, when we say we want more food, he always provides it, but he almost always a over spends the food budget and he certainly did it with us. Large Western cyclists need more food then Chinese people do since they are much smaller. Tonight was technically our last dinner together, although we will also have lunch together tomorrow with the guides. Then we will say farewell to them even though our trip actually runs another day.

Fading fast here after a very long hot day in the saddle. Will post the some photos now…

We cycle from the lively busy streets of Guilin out into a countryside dominated by Karst peak formations towards Xingping. The first 30km are on flat terrain following the Li River and you can enjoy the beautiful scenery that surrounds you. We pass through Daxu a picturesque village with cobbled streets that dates back to the Ming dynasty. Next we cycle a steep downhill of around 3km into Cao Ping, a perfect spot to make our stop for lunch.

This afternoon our route takes away from the river and we begin a steep 10km climb, followed by a further 1km push up to the peak, then it’s a drop of 6km. Over the next 10 km we have 2 further climbs and a speedy drop. The final 10kms of the day take us over 2 more gentle peaks into historic Xingping where once again we’re alongside the Li River. The 20 Yuan note features a scene of the Li against mountain peaks at Xingping. The Bird’s View Pavillion sits on one particularly dramatic peak overlooking Xingping. If you have a head for heights you can climb up here to enjoy the view. If you prefer to say at ground level you have the option to take a scenic river trip in a small boat.

Accommodation: Guest House
Cycling distance: 63 km
Meals included: B, L, D

We set off today with a 10km stretch on flat road and then climb for 12km. This is followed by another steep drop for a further 4km. The remainder of the route into Guilin is a gentle drop for 26 km, passing Reed Flute Cave area. The landscape begins to change on approach to Guilin, becoming characterised by karst mountains and rivers lined with bamboo.
Guilin is surrounded by the landscape of traditional rural China. The area is characterised by rice fields, orchards, and vegetable plots, as well as reservoirs and farmyards full of chickens. A stunning view of Karst peaks along the skyline completes the landscape. Guilin is a lively modern city, popular with tourists. You can take advantage of the opportunities to pick up clothing and other bargains today if you are inclined. Attractions include the Central Square, Jingjiang Prince City (once the home of a local princess and now a museum) and the Li River Folk Museum. There are many buses and taxis out of the city into the beautiful surrounding countryside.

Accommodation: Hotel
Cycling distance: 52 km
Meals included: B,L

Forgot to mention that last night after the main dinner, and the rice wine was flowing, in fact five kinds of it, two of which tasted like nail polish remover, the duck feet and chickens feet came out. I had a few of each, they’re kind of an interesting item, and the methodp of eating is unusual but makes total sense. There will be a picture of me gnawing on one below… and regarding the rice wine, as is common for people make their own rice wine, add herbs, fruit, or flavorings or insects or snakes to it. Last night we also had a rice wine with hibiscus flowers added that was very pleasant.

Right now there is a guy out on the street below my window singing amazing Grace in Chinese, he’s been singing it for at least 20 minutes now, I wish he would stop!

Today’s ride was relatively short 50k, some bamboo forests, and karsts… Yet arriving in Guilin after being in the countryside all this time was almost depressing… however, this is a beautiful town in many ways, in a very beautiful lake side setting. There must be a low horn usage ordinance, very few car horns being used here. But also noticeable is thousands of mopeds, 90% of which are electric and silent! So even though this is a very busy crowded city, it is much quieter then many smaller ones we visited.

Guilin is large enough that you have some more western options, so we had a couple of tasty Gin and tonics, which is been a rarity here, and yes, ordered pizza. It was a reasonable facsimile of American pizza, though I would admit my desire for pizza when I arrive back in the states…

On the main townsquare here, the entire surface is made of polished marble. There is also a representation of the entire earth mass of the world,, shown in different colors with major cities engraved in the marble. What an amazing piece of artwork!

Only two more days of cycling, with 72K tomorrow. The weather seems to be holding, the rain forecast keeps being pushed out… That’s it for now, will post yesterday and today’s pictures…

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Boss dinner

Okay, I’m a day behind the blog but remembering that I was here in this exact place five years ago, it’s not quite as impressive to me. The Li Jiang terraces are awesome, but we only spent an afternoon and evening here, then we woke up the next morning so not much to talk about, check out some of the pictures below. I guess the most interesting component of that day is the ridiculously sleep steep climb up the hill to get to the terraces, followed by a 20 minute hike with your bags up stone steps that have been there for hundreds of years… Think about that…

It was raining in the entire day yesterday on the trip up until the very end, so not real pleasant day to reflect on.

The next day however, I woke to a clear sky sunrise after a day of rain at the terraces. So happy for no rain, the terraces are 700-year-old rice terraces that cover the mountains almost every direction and see for quite some distance. So just being in the space is inspiring. Nevertheless, we rode out in the morning and rode back down the same hill we rode up, heading towards Quingshanit Reservoir. This was another 100K day, another pretty huge day for a recreational cycling trip.

At the end , Bobby the guide’s boss joined us for dinner and were very interested in finding out any improvements we could suggest for the trip, on the one hand, that is totally awesome that they actually give a shit, on the other hand a little nervous for our guides. The boss brought a bunch of rice wine liquor with them, some of it tasted absolutely like power steering fluid, not that I’ve ever tasted that, but I poured it into the reservoir before and smelled like it tasted… anyway it was a very nice night with them, they went all out to give us a very warm welcome, tons of food, lots of liquor, and it was a very enjoyable evening!

This is one of the many things I like about China, Western visitors are so rare, that most of the people here actually give a shit about what you think! And of course is not because necessarily Chinese are wonderful ambassadors, to the contrary, as much as us as it is they want to maximize the potential to improve the trip for the next set of questionnaires that may attract…

A couple of stories about the last day or two are some parts of the trip…

I have never been on a trip where the guide is so focused on proper chain and gearing usage! At each stop, they will actually inspect our gears and call us on it when were in the big front ring in the small rear ring, or vice a versa. While that is actually in many ways commendable, because so many people trash their gears and break chains, in this case is going over the top after a while…

So today when we were riding our hundred K, that was probably a 30 km section that was on the flat two lane rd. that had some headwind. I will always take advantage of a truck or something that comes along that I can draft behind. I had just caught up to Ian at some point, and when I did I kept hearing the putput of an old truck coming up behind me, and I knew that this was the truck that I could drop behind in terms of its relative speed. So I busted my ass and caught up to it, and was drafting directly behind this wonderful blue Chinese truck! Interesting thing is, it was truck full of shit! Probably pig shit, it’s stunk like hell, but it was a fantastic ride for probably a good 10k, and that really helped in a 100 km day to have a break behind a truck!

I know the value of drinking water on these long trips! You have to force your self to drink more than you can possibly imagine it would ever need in order to stay healthy through the day. The other cyclists consistently under drink, and at the end of the day they’re always complaining about how long a ride if it is, how much of their ass hurts, how much the clicks hurts, etc. I drink probably 20 ounces of water for every 10 km consistently, I know for a fact and the other riders do not drink that much! I brought it to their attention several times, but this afternoon it was very clear that my advice was no longer walk him. So I will not bring that up again!

Ice cream has been this nutritional gift that has been hard to come by. Today riding in the second half, Mr. By stopped at a store and found this ice cream, and all of the come on popsicle sticks, not the kind that comes in the scoop. It is such a treat after riding all these kilometers to be able to provide your call sweet ice cream of some sort! So we had one of those today, mine was Neopolitan three flavors covered in chocolate. Pretty fantastic!

I am overwhelmed with the kindness Chinese people can show. Just time for me to lay down my head, prepare for another day…

Gnight all , fading fast here near Guilin…

Pix if I can…

As I said, this was a monstrous day! 108K, including the longest hill of the entire trip. I quizzed the folks at dinner time, I drank approximately 7 to 8 bottles of water today, probably 20 ounce or 22 ounce times eight. The other folks said they drank possibly one third of that amount, that indicates that they were probably very dehydrated on arrival, that’s why they were so shot towards the end of the day. I’m glad I have a perspective on water consumption, it’s more important than most think on a long hot day…

In the early part of the day we’re climbing up the hill, we started entering two fields, that’s always a pretty thing to see, row after row of Greenleaf bushes…

Today’s overall focus seemed to be on completion, so few pictures and not too many stories to tell. I can say that we’ve continued to see an absolutely mind-boggling amount of construction in every single direction! Buildings, roads, bridges, pipelines, everything happening all at once it seems! The Australians are huge trading partners with the Chinese, and allegedly there is a slowdown in the Chinese economy, according to Bill. But, it cannot be noticed here at all, so I suspect that is some Wall Street bullshit…

One brief story I do have is from this morning in Goading. There is a small central market, meat is sold right there hanging and on the tables. Apparently it is great sport for the dogs of the community to visit in the morning during butchering time, I suspect scraps either fall down or get thrown down on the ground. There had to be at least a dozen dogs there today. Their dynamics and interactions were very interesting to watch, you never knew which dog was going to be the next to be voted off the island, and six or seven of the remaining dogs would attack it until it submissively ran away, literally with its tail between its legs, reducing the quantity of dogs in competition for the scraps…

One more observation, many Chinese men are loud and obnoxious. Probably not all of them, certainly not, as our guide is quiet and polite. But you never have to look very far in any direction to find arrogant, loud, swaggering, smoking, apparent assholes. Perhaps the same in the US except that I probably have more tolerance or acceptance of it.

Tomorrow is much shorter day, 32K but a 7K very steep hill at the end up to Ping An, which I remember from my last trip as being in the center of the Li Jiang rice terraces, a most scenic and extraordinary place! We will have to prepare an overnight bag from the end of the ride as we have to hike up 20 minutes from the last place the car can go. The alternative is to hire a local to carry our bags up, but each bag is $16 up, another $16 down. According to our guide, the prices have gone up dramatically recently. As I recall, it was more like two or three dollars when I was your last…

Final note #1, I’m thankful for my health and that I take reasonable effort to prepare for trips like this. I am a lucky man in so many ways…

Final note #2: We started writing through many tea fields today…

Final note #3: We had lunch at to the guides house, his wife and mother were there, two children as well. They have a large house by normal Chinese standards, but they have 13 people living there. This is very different from the western side which typically indicates that everybody has to be successful on their own…