January 30, 2025
R4: 五指山 宾馆→营地 （双语）
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In April of 2007, one of the teachers at Qiongzhou University suggested to this punk brat named Frank (short for Frankenstein) that he challenge me to a bike race from the gates of the school to the pass at the top of Auto Ridge.
I had only just finished moving all my stuff (including a cat) from Haikou in response to the travel agency I had been working for thinking that "holding my passport for ransom" was a reasonable salary negotiation technique, but I didn't yet know that the school would turn out to be unable to get me a work permit.
2007年4月，琼州学院的一位老师，跟一个叫弗兰克（弗兰肯斯坦的简称）的朋克小子建议，让他跟我比一场自行车赛：从学校大门一直骑到阿陀岭山顶垭口。
我当时刚把所有家当（包括一只猫）从海口搬过来，原因是我之前供职的旅行社，居然觉得“扣押护照”是一种合理的谈薪手段。但我那时还不知道，学校最后根本没法帮我办到工作许可证。
And this guy in denim shorts on a only just barely bike shop quality mountain bike was telling me he could make it to the top of the hill in under 30 minutes. I was about to write "I was a lot skinnier than I am now" but I'm down to fitting into clothing from that time period so that's actually not true. Perhaps I should instead say: I was younger, more inclined to train regularly, and hadn't yet learned the joy of long rides at a snail's pace.
而这个穿着牛仔短裤、骑着一辆勉强算车店入门级山地车的家伙，居然跟我说，他能30分钟内骑到山顶。我本来想写“我那时候比现在瘦多了”，但我现在已经能穿回当年的衣服了，所以这话其实不对。或许我应该这么说：我那时候更年轻，更习惯规律训练，还没体会到慢悠悠长途骑行的乐趣。
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In any case, I had a rough idea of how long it had taken the professionals in the Tour of Hainan to get to the top of the pass (at the beginning of a 180km day multiple 180km days into the Tour) and thirty minutes was an absurd speed to even think possible.
I didn't have my titanium race bike yet but I had some super light aluminum and carbon thing I'd bought secondhand off of a rich kid and I kitted up to face my challenger and put him in his place.
不管怎么说，我大概知道环海南国际公路自行车赛的职业车手们骑上这个垭口要多久（那是一天180公里赛段的开头，而且还是多日赛里连续好几个180公里之后），30分钟这速度，想都觉得离谱。
我那时候还没拿到钛合金公路赛车，但有一辆超轻的铝架碳叉车，是从一个富二代手里收的二手货。我全副武装准备迎战对手，打算好好挫挫他的锐气。
He smoked me.
Bastard didn't even know how to properly change gears and he still smoked me.
结果他把我虐爆了。
这混蛋连正确变速都不会，居然还是把我虐爆了。
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Two weeks later, when I moved back to Haikou, I insisted that he be allowed to take a spare seat in the school van so that I could take him to his first bike race.
Now one of the Chinese Cycling Association's national-level commissaires and the owner of the WZS 1867 Continental Cycling Team, he still lives in Wuzhishan and I would have visited with him the night before but his super amazing apartment in the center of downtown with the great views of everything is in an awkwardly shaped building that has no way of being retrofitted for an elevator, and, after yesterday's ride, I couldn't face the idea of a 9th floor walk-up.
两周后我搬回海口，坚持要学校面包车给他留一个空位，好带他去参加人生第一场自行车比赛。
如今他已是中国自行车协会国家级裁判，也是五指山1867洲际自行车队的老板，至今仍住在五指山。我本来前一晚就该去找他，但他在市中心那套视野绝佳、超棒的公寓，楼型很奇怪，没法加装电梯。而经过前一天的骑行，我实在没勇气去爬九层楼梯。
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Also, two children under the age of five.
But mostly, the 9th floor walk-up.
另外，他还有两个不到五岁的孩子。
但最主要的，还是那九层楼梯。
Which I still had to walk up to go for breakfast and coffee. But, it's different after you've had a few hot showers and have spent some time horizontal.
In theory, I was going to be biking from Wuzhishan to Shuiman today. Even for me, this is a rather excessive detour, but, if I were to go over Atuo Ridge, my (now known to be out of date) understanding of the potential sleeping points in the 75km between Wuzhishan and Qiongzhong, only had the nasty little place I stayed at last year in Maoyang (at the 26km mark), and the holiday hotspot of Zahan Village.
结果我早上还是得爬上去吃早餐、喝咖啡。不过冲过几个热水澡、躺平休息过之后，感觉就不一样了。
理论上，我今天本应从五指山骑到水满乡。即便对我而言，这也算是相当绕路的选择。但如果走阿陀岭，以我（如今已知道过时的）认知来看，五指山到琼中这75公里之间能住宿的地方，也就只有去年住过的毛阳那家破店（在26公里处），以及热门旅游点什寒村。
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I don't want to bike to Zahan. Not now, nor ever. It's on a dead end road at the top of a mountain, every single house has been turned into a B&B or restaurant, it's always 8° to 10° colder than the rest of the island, and it's going to be absolutely packed this time of the year.
Also, while normal circumstances dictate that I should have no problem doing 75 (even mountainous) kilometers in one day, normal circumstances don't have me still drinking coffee at noon.
我不想骑去什寒。现在不想，以后也不想。那地方在山顶的一条死路上，家家户户都改成了民宿或餐馆，气温比岛上其他地方低8到10度，而且每年这个时间必定人满为患。
另外，正常情况下，一天骑75公里（哪怕是山路）对我来说完全没问题，但“正常情况”不包括我中午还在慢悠悠喝咖啡。
Which is why, at 35km and with roads both in and out, I picked Shuiman.
这也是为什么，我选了水满乡，只有35公里，而且进出都有路。
However, by the time Frank had prepped his bike, and we'd gone to the newest piece of property given to him by the government to use for a training facility, and we'd stopped by the motorcycle club's Outdoor Market Camp Festival BBQ hangout, it was also too late for me to make it to Shuiman before dark. Because I've got a steel bike with a still excessive amount of luggage instead of a carbon fiber dream bike, and my average speed is closer to 12kph than it is to 22kph which he was thinking was "perfectly reasonable" for a short ride with only a little over 1,000m of elevation gain.
And, although Frank couldn't keep hanging out or come back to the Motorcycle Club Camp Festival BBQ hangout spot on account of a wife who both doesn't want to be left at home with two small children and who doesn't want to take her children to anything, I spent the rest of the day with the cool kids from Shanghai and Beijing swapping travel stories and just generally having a lovely time.
可等纪洋把车准备好，我们去看了政府批给他用作训练基地的新场地，又顺路去了摩托俱乐部的户外市集露营节烧烤点，天就已经太晚，我不可能在天黑前骑到水满乡了。因为我骑的是钢架车，还驮着一大堆行李，不是碳纤维梦幻战车。我的均速更接近12公里/小时，而不是他觉得“短距离爬升一千多米完全合理”的22公里/小时。
而且纪洋没法继续陪我玩，也不能回摩托俱乐部露营烧烤点。他太太既不想一个人在家带两个小孩，也不想带孩子去这种场合。于是我剩下的时间就跟一群来自上海、北京的有意思的人一起，交换旅行故事，整体过得非常开心。
Today's ride: 6 km (4 miles)
Total: 1,041 km (646 miles)
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