D2: 老城 → 临高（双语）

January 7, 2025

First cyclist of the day, he's waiting for a friend who had a flat somewhere behind him 今天遇到的第一位骑行者，他正在等一位朋友，他朋友的车爆胎了落在后边。

Technically, my room has a window to the outside. As this window looks out on a wall perhaps two feet away, it's really more of a large air shaft than it is a window, but the time between waking up and leaving is sufficiently occupied by breakfast, coffee, video editing, journaling, and photo uploading that I get to see that this technicality of a window is just big enough to let light into room as well as air

My left hand continues to improve. Pre morning Naproxen, it's still not especially happy with me asking it to do things like hold straps in place (or pull on them!), but I am capable of it¹.

严格来说，我的房间是有一扇对着外边的窗户。但这扇窗正对着一堵近在咫尺的墙，与其说是窗户，倒不如说更像个大型通风井。不过，从起床到出门的这段时间里，我忙着吃早餐、喝咖啡、剪辑视频、写日记、传照片，根本没空细想，而且这个“名义上的窗户”其实也够用了，至少能让光线和新鲜空气照进房间。

我的左手恢复得越来越好了。早上没吃萘普生时，让它做些诸如攥住背带、拉拽背带之类的动作，它还是不太 “乐意”，但我已经能做到了¹。

Oatmeal of the Day: Peanut Protein Powder, Shredded Squid, and Corn Niblets 今日燕麦碗：花生蛋白粉、鱿鱼丝配玉米粒

Turns out the contents of the perfect honey containers are "compound honey product" with, respectively, passionfruit juice and lemon juice, instead of "honey". Not acceptable as coffee adulterants. 事实证明，那些看着 “完美” 的蜂蜜罐里装的根本不是 “蜂蜜”，而是分别添加了西番莲果汁和柠檬汁的“复合蜂蜜制品”。作为咖啡添加物，这可没法接受。

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: First grasshopper pumps of the Tour 解锁新成就：本届骑行之旅首次看到“蚱蜢式抽车”

If only for wanting to make sure I don't do it again, I really wish I knew what I did.

Setting my GPS for the ferry that I've previously taken to the Madao Peninsula on three separate occasions, I then mostly ignore the GPS in favor of trying to put myself on roads that are a little less trucky. Given that all but the oldest and newest² parts of Laocheng are a Development Zone with shipping and logistics at it's core, this is easier said than done, but—boring as I find Development Zones to be—the people who planned them have put in substantial bike lanes and sidewalks, and I manage to take the roads the through trucks are avoiding.

我真希望搞清楚自己到底做了什么，哪怕只是为了确保以后不再犯同样的错。

我先前曾三次乘渡轮前往马岛半岛，所以这次直接把导航设到了渡轮码头，却没怎么跟着导航走，毕竟更想选条货车少点的路。老城除了最老旧和最新开发的区域²，其余几乎全是开发区，而这些区域的核心产业就是物流运输。想避开货车，说起来容易做起来难。不过，尽管我觉得开发区很乏味，但规划者确实修了宽敞的自行车道和人行道，我也总算找到了货车不会走的路线。

Late 80s/early 90s and early 00s Catholic church 80年代末90年代初至21世纪初建成的天主教堂

Shipping container turned hairdressers, except the container looks new enough to have been purpose made for construction 由集装箱改造的理发店，不过这集装箱看起来很新，倒像是专门为开店定制的

Any factory building in that color combo has to belong to Yeshu Coconut Group, even if it doesn't have the signs up yet 只要是这种配色的厂房，肯定属于椰树集团，哪怕还没挂招牌呢

Because I went north a few roads to get myself a bike lane and an absence of speeding death machines, I'll pass by Shique Village, where the first people in Hainan with the surname Feng originally settled.

我往北多绕了几条路，只为找一条有自行车道、没有呼啸而过的“夺命卡车”的路线，也正因如此，我会途经石矍村，这里是海南冯姓人家最早的聚居地。

I've been here once before in 2021, on the October Holiday Ride that I was hoping was going to be the start of regular "go out riding with folks" events, except that the foreigners who came along were too much stronger³ than me, the Chinese too much weaker, and no one else wanted to do the organizing⁴.

It's gotten a bit of a facelift since I last came this way. And, more importantly, I'm the only person whose hydration or exhaustion levels that I'm currently responsible for so I spend at least 90 minutes wandering around.

2021年我曾来过这里，当时是国庆假期骑行，我本希望那次骑行能成为“定期和大家约骑”的开端。可结果呢？同行的外国人骑得比我快太多³，中国骑友又比我慢不少，而且没人愿意牵头组织活动⁴。

比起我上次来，村子已经翻新了不少。更重要的是，这次我不用操心别人的补水情况或体力状态，所以足足花了 90 多分钟在村里闲逛。

Useless⁵ "scan for more info" heritage site sign “扫码了解更多” 的古迹指示牌，完全没用⁵

Repurposed cobbles used to be construction materials 这些鹅卵石原本是建筑材料

Repurposed cobbles used to be a gravestone 这个鹅卵石原本是墓碑

The majority of the changes are in the form of new (and not particularly useful) signs; the overgrown cobblestone paths have also been trimmed back; and one of the ancestor temples has recently been recognized as a National Heritage Site.

Given that the current buildings are both late Qing / early Republican era (1830 - 1930), there's no obvious reason for this temple, and not one of the nicer ones (like the one honoring the hero Madame Xian) to have been Listed, but I'm sure if I wait another two or three years before the next time I come back (or I bother to go looking things up online), I'll be able to find out.

村子的变化主要体现在新增的指示牌上（大多没什么用）；杂草丛生的鹅卵石路也已经清理过；村里一座祖祠最近还被评为了国家级文物保护单位。

现在村里的建筑多是清末至民国时期（1830-1930年）的，真看不出这座祖祠凭什么能入选，比它更精致的祠堂有的是，比如纪念冼夫人（古代岭南巾帼英雄）的那座。不过我想，要是等两三年再过来（或者现在上网查一查），总能弄明白原因的。

Collapsed roof, and rotting antique furniture 屋顶坍塌的房屋，里面放着已经腐烂的老式家具

A handwritten Honorary Recognition Plaque that probably predates Simplification⁶, I can't imagine why this was left behind when the family moved out 手写的荣誉牌匾，字体可能是简体字推行前的繁体字⁶，真搞不懂这家人搬家时为什么要把它留下

Given my love of ephemera and things which are rare not because they were valuable when they were new but because they were prosaic and ordinary and not worth preserving, I actually prefer the national-level temple over the shinier ones. I'm especially in love with the vandalized murals that—owing to them all having their eyes gouged out—were probably damaged during the Cultural Revolution.

With thoughts of a no longer especially early lunch before I put myself on the thoroughly rural peninsula that will force me to do at least 20km before the option of food that isn't out of my breakfast pannier, I stop dawdling and head for the dock, only to discover that the ferry currently isn't running and I have to take the long way round the bay.

我向来喜欢老物件，尤其喜欢那些 “并非因当初贵重而稀有，而是因平凡常见、没人刻意保存才变得罕见” 的东西。所以相比那些翻新得光鲜亮丽的建筑，我其实更偏爱这座国家级文物祖祠。我特别喜欢那些遭破坏的壁画，壁画上人物的眼睛都被凿掉了，大概率是文革时期被损毁的。

想着得在进入纯乡村半岛前吃顿不算太早的午饭（一旦进了半岛，至少要骑20公里才能找到餐馆，不然只能吃早餐剩下的东西），我不再闲逛，动身前往码头。可到了才发现，渡轮临时停航了，我只能绕远路走海湾另一侧。

Shrine to Madame Xian and some guy whose name I really ought to remember 冼夫人神龛，旁边还有一位人物的神龛，我本该记得他的名字的

Decade plus old plans for a never constructed Madame Xian Memorial Garden 十多年前的冼夫人纪念园规划图，这园子到现在也没建成

I've never ridden this road, not even before it was upgraded into the Coastal Tourism Highway, and it has enough tourism-related stuff scattered about that I ought to be able to find somewhere to eat, but the clusters of places that serve the pockets of development all fail to appeal to me.

我从没走过这条路，哪怕是在它升级成环岛旅游公路之前也没走过。路上散落着不少旅游相关的设施，按理说不难找到吃饭的地方，可那些扎堆开在开发片区的餐馆，没一家合我心意。

While this morning's shot of Ozempic⁷ may have something to do with this, it's more a case of my not having eaten is making me pickier than usual⁸, so I'm passing on lots of what are probably perfectly fine places on account of them not being perfect places.

Which, with the addition of my spending 20 or 30 minutes drafting some guy who just didn't look like he ought to be riding faster than me, is how I end up at the Sweet Potato Experience Center in a village that is very proud of their selenium enriched soil and their excellent, super healthy sweet potatoes.

或许是早上打了司美格鲁肽⁷的缘故，但更多是因为空腹太久，我变得比平时更挑剔了⁸。好多餐馆其实还行，就是不够好，所以我都没进去。

再加上我花了二三十分钟跟骑一个看起来“不该比我快”的人，最后居然骑到了一个村子里的“红薯体验中心”。这个村子对自家的富硒土壤和优质健康红薯可是相当自豪。

Coastal Scenic Tourism Highway this way “海南旅游公路由此去” 指示牌

I'm kind of gobsmacked by just how many bikers there are on the Coastal Tourism Highway on a random Monday and my plan had been to see if the sign "Cyclists Rest Point" pointing at the local government offices was an Actual Thing which would result in anyone being able to give me pointers about food or Just A Sign.

一个普通的周一，旅游公路上居然有这么多骑行的人，我还挺惊讶的。原本我打算去看看“骑行者休息点”指示牌（指向当地政府办公楼）是不是真能提供帮助，比如问问哪里有吃的，还是说只是个摆设。

I also thought this was a good time to maybe photograph the 10 foot tall sweet potato statue, but they had a café at one end of the parking lot, and it was advertising a Sweet Potato Latte, and, well.... you know how these things go.

It was certainly a very memorable experience.

我还想着趁这机会拍一拍那座10英尺高的红薯雕像，结果发现停车场一头有家咖啡馆，还在卖“红薯拿铁”，你懂的，这种情况根本没法拒绝。

那杯拿铁的体验确实够难忘的。

Scenery along the Tourism Highway 旅游公路沿途风景

They are very proud of their sweet potatoes 村里的人对自家红薯是真自豪

By which I mean, it was quite literally the worst cup of coffee I have had in my life.

Also—while I'm willing to accept a wide range of non-dairy milks such as almond, cashew, and soy—no matter how milky looking it is, there is no excuse for pretending that sweet potato pureed with water in a bullet blender is anything other than sweet potato puree.

说“难忘”，其实是因为那简直是我这辈子喝过最难喝的咖啡。

而且，我虽然能接受杏仁奶、腰果奶、豆奶这类非乳制奶，但把红薯加水用料理机打成泥，再怎么像奶制品，也不能当成奶来用吧？这根本说不过去。

Immediately upon leaving, I saw four very lightly loaded Round-the-Islanders who had flown past me maybe an hour earlier⁹ having lunch in a very suitable looking roadside restaurant and I stopped for lunch of my own.

刚离开咖啡馆，我就看到四个轻装骑行的“环岛客”，大概一小时前他们还从我身边飞驰而过⁹，现正在路边一家看起来很合适的餐馆吃午饭，于是我也停下来吃了顿午餐。

Because the sweet potato coffee wasn't warning enough, I also had to try the 28% ABV Sweet Potato Liquor 我还忍不住试了28度的红薯酒 —— 显然那杯拿铁还没给我足够的教训

Developing rural roads benefits everyone 要想富先修路

Paddy tractor driving down a farm road 在乡间小路上行驶的稻田拖拉机

Realizing that I had far more time left in the day than I had distance I was willing to do, I spent about an hour charging my devices, and editing the video about the coffee drink during which time another group of cyclists arrived to have lunch.

This would be followed, once I got back on the road, by a 19 year old girl who was Very Uncertain about the road her GPS was leading her down but let herself be convinced by me that I was intentionally taking this road.

我发现当天剩下的时间还很多，但实在不想骑太远了，于是花了大约一小时给设备充电，还剪辑了一段关于那杯“红薯拿铁”的视频。期间又有一群骑行者来这家餐馆吃午饭。

重新上路后，我遇到了一个19岁的女孩。她对着导航指的路很犹豫，但我跟她说“我就是特意选这条路走的”，她才放下心来跟着我。

Then, some time after we merged back on to the Coastal Scenic Tourism Highway and she got too far ahead of me (because she weighs 30kg less, is 20 years younger, and is carrying 10kg less gear), I spent a bit of time riding with a Russian ethnicity Chinese man from Inner Mongolia.

后来我们重新骑上旅游公路，她很快就把我甩在了后面，毕竟她比我轻30公斤，比我小20岁，带的行李也比我少10公斤。之后我又和一位来自内蒙古的俄罗斯族人同骑了一段路。

Yes, those backpacks with those saddles 就是这种背包配这种坐垫

I've been on Hainan Island longer than she's been in China 我在海南待的时间，比她在中国住的时间还长

Even with his perfect pronunciation, to see his face, you would not believe he is Chinese 他的中文发音非常标准，但光看脸，你绝对想不到他是中国人

We were both following the same shortcut that cuts a loop off the Tourism Highway, so it wasn't long after his pedal-assist had him drop me for the last time that I found myself ahead of the 19 year old. However, she turned right at a traffic light where I went straight and I finally got far enough off the Official Road that I stopped seeing cyclists.

Maps lists the hotel I stayed at last year as "closed" so I pick something else in the vicinity. Of course, they aren't closed, but it's 17 minutes past when I can cancel for free, and, after dining on Xinjiang bread and a bunch of veggies from a cafeteria type place, I go to the new-to-me place instead.

我和那位内蒙古骑友走的是同一条近路，能绕开旅游公路的一段环路。没过多久，他就靠助力踏板把我彻底甩在了后面，而我居然在之前那个19岁女孩的前面了。不过在一个红绿灯路口，她右转我直行，之后我骑的路终于偏离了正式的环岛骑行之路，再也没遇到其他骑行者。

地图显示我去年住过的那家酒店“已停业”，于是我在附近另选了一家。结果到了才发现，去年那家根本没停业。但新选的这家已经过了免费取消时间（晚了17分钟而已），没办法，我只能去了新酒店。晚饭是在一家自助食堂吃的，吃了新疆馕和一堆蔬菜。

Interesting kind of oil pump I've not seen before 一种我从没见过的油泵

¹ I'm also experienced enough at being injured that I still continue to avoid these actions after the analgesic has kicked in.

¹ 我也算“久病成医”了，就算止痛药起效后，我也会刻意避免让左手做这些动作（以免加重损伤）。

² Technically, all of the apartments and ancillary services for people living in the apartments are still built around that same core but they may be three or four steps removed from working at one of the factories that are the reason for the big straight roads .

² 严格来说，开发区里所有的公寓楼，以及为住户服务的配套设施，本质上还是围绕“物流运输”这个核心建的，只是住在公寓里的人，可能和那些“修宽路就是为了通货车”的工厂隔了三四层关系。

³ A married pair of Harrow teachers, I can't remember if both of them are former Olympians or just the wife

³ 那对骑得特别快的夫妇是哈罗学校的教师，我记不清他俩是不是都曾是奥运会选手了，好像只有妻子是。

⁴ There was also the minor issue of the batshit crazy university professor who was super excited for having foreign friends and none of us knowing how to exclude her.

⁴ 还有个小插曲：有个大学教授特别狂热地想交外国朋友，行为有点离谱，我们都不知道该怎么避开她。

The vehicle slows down and slows down at the 100-meter T-junction ahead 奇奇怪怪的翻译

⁵ Taking you to a broken webpage, yesterday's useless QR was a heavy duty sticker added to an existing stone plaque. This is a large, purpose-made plastic sign that takes you to a single article† about the whole county.

⁵ 扫码后跳转到的网页根本打不开。昨天遇到的那个没用的二维码，是贴在旧石碑上的一张厚贴纸；而这个是专门做的大型塑料指示牌，扫码后却只显示一篇关于整个县的文章†

† A single article that says nothing about the current location

† 这篇关于全县的文章，也没提当前这个古迹的任何信息。

⁶ Sometimes, Traditional characters are a stylistic choice.

⁶ 有时候用繁体字只是出于风格设计。

⁷ I initially looked into going on a GLP agonist solely for the purpose of "pretty privilege." When my blood tests came back, the conclusion was the only reason I'm not diabetic is because I'm extremely active and a healthy eater†.

⁷ 我最初想打GLP-1受体激动剂，纯粹是为了“变好看能享受红利”。但体检报告出来后，医生说：我之所以没患糖尿病，全靠平时运动量够大、饮食健康†。

1920s bridge in Lin'gao is being resurfaced and possibly widened 临高县一座建于20世纪20年代的老桥，目前正在重新铺路面，可能还会拓宽

Intriguing lions on the 90s bridge 90年代建的桥上，有造型特别的石狮子

Both the male and female have been carved with stone balls in their mouths 雌雄石狮子嘴里，都雕有石球

† Being fat doesn't cause diabetes. Having the underlying conditions that cause being fat causes diabetes. This is why strict diets and exercise regimens can stave off a need for medication.

† 发胖本身不会导致糖尿病，真正的原因是导致发胖的潜在健康问题引发了糖尿病。这也是为什么严格控制饮食、坚持运动能延缓甚至避免用药治疗糖尿病的原因。

⁸ My pickiness manifests entirely in my dislike of low quality for high prices.

⁸ 我所谓的挑剔，说白了就是讨厌价高质次，花了钱却没得到相应的品质，就会特别反感。

⁹ Just when I'd stopped to talk to the first cyclist of the day

⁹ 就是我停下来和当天遇到的第一位骑行者聊天的时候

Insane traffic near a high school in Lin'gao, some trike driver actively tried to push me backwards because I dared to walk through the gap between her stopped vehicle and a stopped car 临高县某中学附近交通混乱，有个三轮车司机居然想推我，就因为我敢从她的三轮车和旁边一辆停着的汽车之间穿过去

I'm amused that 1) the rural restaurant toilets that are used by the people whose facilities these are are increasingly sit downs, while city restaurants aren't, 2) someone who regularly uses this bathroom has left their suppositories in a bag hanging on the wall 有两件事让我觉得挺有意思：一是农村餐馆里，那些供员工或当地人用的厕所，越来越多都装了坐便器，反而城里的餐馆很多还是蹲便器；二是有人经常用这个厕所，还把栓剂药品装在袋子里挂在墙上，就这么一直放着。

Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 111 km (69 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	0

D2: 老城 → 临高 （双语）

D2: 老城 → 临高（双语）