August 31, 2016
Week 75: to Poplar Grove Camp: downhill on G30
We’ve not figured out exactly how to know what the local time is compared to our internal time schedule. There is a two hour difference, as local time is Beijing time. So we are up as usual by 6am...but then this is really 8am. So as we are packing up, tourists from above see us and come down for a chat. And an interview of sorts as the woman asks all sorts of questions while the man films.
As we ride past the park building, it’s already a zoo here with lots of tourist buses and people walking the long stairs down to the lake. Where we crossed over the road to the expressway, a zoo yesterday, is empty. We cycle along the lake with a mild headwind, see snow on the distant mountains and see camels along the shoreline.
About where the road that goes around the north side of the lake rejoins the expressway at about 31kms from our campsite , there is an exit to an area like a resort, still under construction are gas stations and shopping plaza. We stop under an overpass for shade and a bite to eat. Then the expressway roads split, the downhill staying along the hillside and the uphill stays coming straight up the valley.
We have a tailwind! And 50kms of downhill! There are signs indicating the % grade and list the number of run- away truck ramps, which go up to #19. Then the downhill road turns into the valley and rejoins the uphill side. Joy ride turns to nightmare as now we have a headwind. The distance markers sometimes don’t add up, but at marker 4088 there is a toll booth, gas station, a shop, and restaurant and strung along the road back to the expressway, plenty more restaurants. If you miss the exit, past all the restaurants is the road returning to the expressway and easy to ride back.
We see a sign that indicates we think a town at 19kms. We are starting to look for a camping spot and it begins to look like that will be a culvert as previous cyclists have done. Not an easy task to get to as the expressway is fenced off as well as the culverts, plus there is the continuous guardrail to get over. Just as we take a break, Rachel says: “look behind you”, two Chinese cyclists catching up with us. They had also started at Sayram Lake this morning and want to make it to Jinghe tonight. We weren’t sure how much further that would be, but just at that point our GPS which has been flaky since we entered China kicks back in, 52km to Jinghe. That is too far for us, and we say goodbye to them at the next exit.
It’s a long exit swooping back over the expressway, a police checkpoint that we are waved through, and a shop. We stop for cold drink and water then continue on down the road looking for a place to camp. At an irrigation ditch, we turn left onto a side road and Patrick finds a nice hidden spot in a grove of poplars. We have seen many of these groves today, they seem to be used to try and stop desertification and for wood harvesting. Like other groves ours is flood irrigated and in the afternoon some of the ditches around the trees start filling up with water. We are a little concerned, but our spot does not appear to flood frequently and we decide to stay and keep an eye on it during the night. Neither of us feels like cooking and after the good hot lunch we had this afternoon we stick with some crackers, cheese wedges and a can of peaches.
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Today's ride: 118 km (73 miles)
Total: 21,438 km (13,313 miles)
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