DAY SIX: Blazing Through East Asia - An Unbelievable Tour Around An Imaginary World - CycleBlaze

DAY SIX: Blazing Through East Asia

Russia to China

My Communist-slogan-spewing host finally introduced himself this morning.  He said his name was Lennon.   Hah!  He must have thought I was born yesterday.  He must have thought I just fell off the turnip truck.  Well, I've got news for him; I'm no rube when it comes to the hip popular music the young people are listening to these days.  That's right, I know a Beatles guitarist when I see one, and this dude was NOT a Beatles guitarist.  He did talk about "Revolution" a lot--I'll give him that--but he didn't fool me for a second.  I mean, the dude was bald.

I did appreciate the modest breakfast of borscht and vodka shots that "Lennon" served though.  I thanked him for the hospitality and got the heck out of there with the same sense of urgency that a normal person has when running away from a herd of zombies.

Russia is a very big country and an interesting country, but everything seemed so bleak.  The roads were bleak.  The buildings were bleak.  The landscapes were bleak.  The towns were bleak.  I won't say the people were bleak, but they were not inclined to smile at this lonely bicycle tourist.   

Bleak gravel road
Heart 3 Comment 0 Link
Bleak building. (As an aside, I was as surprised as you are that the Russian truck has a Minnesota license plate.)
Heart 5 Comment 3 Link
Bill ShaneyfeltI bet Chevys are kinda rare up there too...
And the swinging 1 is a nice touch.
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1 year ago
Scott AndersonBleak, but beautifully so. It has a Siberian Gothic look, if I remember my architectural styles.
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1 year ago
Ron Suchanek"Lennon", if that's even his real name, probably had a bunch of trucks stolen from Minnesotans, and imported them to his bleak country. It's just sad.
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1 year ago
Bleak and dirty snow
Heart 2 Comment 0 Link
Even the Russian missile silos (aimed at the U.S., no doubt) were bleak.
Heart 2 Comment 3 Link
Bill ShaneyfeltAt least they spelled "Dairy" right!
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Bill ShaneyfeltYou notice the subtlest things, Bill. I should hire you to be my continuity editor.
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1 year ago
Bill ShaneyfeltTo Gregory GarceauWhat makes you think you can afford that?

Oh, wait, you likely found an astounding ancient secret treasure...
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1 year ago
I couldn't even find any Russians for a friendly pick-up hockey game.
Heart 2 Comment 2 Link
Keith AdamsAt least the bleak gray has been replaced by a cheerier blue.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Keith AdamsYou know what they say about Russian weather: If you don't like it, wait an hour. It'll change.
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1 year ago

I stopped at a Russian grocery store to pick up something for a "second breakfast."  The shelves were also pretty bleak, but I found a frozen pizza, which sounded pretty good.  I knew I could have kept it frozen for several days on my pannier rack, but I was too hungry to wait that long.  I ate it frozen.

No fancy graphics in Russian food packaging, that's for sure. The pizza looked like cardboard and it tasted like cardboard.
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Fully refueled, I continued on my journey.  I rode straight through Mongolia and a good chunk of China without stopping.  Why not?  There wasn't anything to see in those countries.   The Mongolian and Chinese cultures haven't been around all that long--at least not compared to an ancient culture like the U.S.A.

That's what I thought before I came to a huge wall that seemed to have no end.  With a little Google research, I learned the Great Wall of China is pretty famous for being a world heritage site or something like that.  Apparently, it's really, really old too.  And it was originally built as a fortress. 

Hmmm, a fortress . . . that sounds like a pretty safe place to set up camp for the night.  I leaned my bike on the famous wall and took a picture.  Then I set up my tent. 

A small section of the 13,000-mile long wall. I stealth camped between the tallest part of the wall and that machine gun turret rising up in the middle.
Heart 6 Comment 1 Link
Ron SuchanekI think I remember learning about that wall in 3rd grade or something. But who's ever been there besides you? Sounds like a big nothing.
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1 year ago
Rate this entry's writing Heart 9
Comment on this entry Comment 6
Rich HarrellOh, the Minnesota plate doesn't surprise me at all --- after all the Russian ZIS 110 was a Packard knock off.

You really should have posted an alert concerning a sure-fire Pseudobulbar effect about consuming any beverage while reading the journal -- spewing liquid on the computer screen with uncontrollable laughter.
Yes, I keep a towel handy :)
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1 year ago
Halûk OkurThe Alter Ego is nowhere to be seen yet. Didn't he buy the idea?
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Rich HarrellThanks for the message, Rich. This tour is what I've been up to lately, hence my absence from your fun Cycle365 challenges. Anyway, I'm very sorry about your splattered computer screen.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Halûk OkurThanks for noticing G-2's absence. The good news (or bad news, depending on your perspective) is that there is a very good chance he'll be appearing soon.
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1 year ago
Ron SuchanekI think this "Lennon" guy is full of shit about being in the Beatles! That Leonardo DiCaprio look-alike probably couldn't even get in the Monkees.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Ron SuchanekYou're exactly right on both counts--the imposter looks just like DiCaprio, and he isn't even worthy of joining a made-for-TV band like the Monkees.
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1 year ago