Tunnels & Downhills
It was a 108km day of total bliss, exhilaration, enjoyment and fun...well, at least the second half of the day was. It began with climbing, then a wee bit more, then some more uphill until lunch at 53km, just before a 2km tunnel. That meant 2km of darkness and big trucks so convoys were organised. Ice on the roads meant that the tunnel was backed up with traffic. The first convoy headed off with the assistance of Wimpie and the International at noon and the second group follwed a few hours later. Once through the riders discovered that the sun was shining, the road had warmed and the climbing was over. What lay ahead was 60km of downhill bliss, wide, steep, sweeping turns that made you smile as the road banked downwards and then carried on through the valley all the way through to the city of Pingliang. Yeeeeehah! The highlight for a small group of lucky riders was spending a few moments with a local Imam, his beautiful hound, his mosque and enjoying sweet bread, pure honey and a warm drink in the afternoon sun. Life couldn't get much better than a day like today. One of the riders commented it was one of our best so far. I think I would agree!!!!!
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Posted November 01, 2007 by Field Writer
China |
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