All of us at Tour d'Afrique Ltd would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Rachel Dobson! She has been the face behind the 'field writer' blog entries, not only for the recently completed Silk Route but also for the Tour d'Afrique in 2007. It can not have been an easy job to sit down each evening after a day on the road and compose a report on the events and conditions surrounding the cyclists. With typical Aussie spirit, she performed these duties with enthusiasm and dedication. We wish her all the best in the future!!
Well it is done! After 10,700kms, 107 days, 8 countries, two major deserts, 60,000 meters of elevation gain, many too many headwinds, and temperatures occasionally over 40C (even melting the asphalt), but sometimes low enough to freeze the water bottles, it is all over. Despite the challenges, we rode on; the will to continue being stronger that the desire to call it a day. The riders were a remarkable bunch of people; at times being pushed to their limits but never thinking of packing it in.
The first ever bicycle caravan along the Silk Route is done. There will be others to follow in our footsteps, or rather in our tires marks, but we have set the mold. We have had the time of our lives, discovering old cities that had sounded to us like places from old fables. We had the opportunity to cycle through areas where, hundreds of years ago, cities were bursting with lives and riches. Today, only the hushed sound of the wind can be heard. We had the sobering opportunity to stand in silence and try to imagine the shrieks and noise of hundreds of thousands of people being massacred by marauding armies. We admired some absolutely amazing feats of architecture and human genius and all the glory of God's creations. We visited new cities, bursting with energy and life.
Most importantly, we were blessed with the possibility to live in the moment each and every day, to see new things, to taste new foods, new fruits, new smells and to face whatever challenges might emerge from around the next bend in the road.
The 2007 Silk Route Bicycle expedition may be over but our memories will be with us forever!
Yesterday, on November 18th 2007, the first Silk Route Bicycle Race/Expedition arrived in Beijing! Over 40 intrepid cyclists from countries around the world celebrated as they crossed the finish line. Having set off on their historic journey from Istanbul, Turkey on 4th August, the Silk Route cyclists have achieved their goal of being the first modern bicycle caravan to cycle from the Mediterranean Sea to Beijing – a distance of 11 000 kms in just 107 days.
“It’s been a magic expedition†said Expedition Leader and Torontonian Shanny Hill.
“Over the past three months, we have traveled through eight countries and while we’ve experienced radical extremes in temperature, elevation and road conditions, we’ve been rewarded with incredible adventure, hospitality and cultural and scenic diversity.â€
Having followed in the footsteps of Marco Polo, General Zhang Qian and Genghis Khan, through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, the 2007 Silk Route Bike Race/Expedition has been an experience like none other.
If you would like to join the cyclists who have experienced this magical time, registration for the 2008 Silk Route is now open.
Our riders awoke to a crisp temperatures today, but at least it was a bit warmer than yesterday! With the light at the end of the tunnel in sight, most riders were up and out of the hotel and on the road early this morning, continuing the battle with the myriad of vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and animals, that make up the local traffic.
Everyone seemed in good spirits arriving at lunch after a quick 80km, and were treated to French toast in addition to the usual lunch truck fare. Some riders even felt that the air quality had ‘slightly’ improved today! For the afternoon it was a flat, busy ride through little towns until reaching Baoding, our stop for tonight…and a nice hotel with lots of hot water and free internet in the rooms!
The African Routes boys have been kept on their toes the last while - traffic has been challenging, to say the least; and just finding somewhere to park the trucks has been an ongoing struggle in each city. As for doing any maintenance, well, just forget it!
At dinner we celebrated Chuck’s birthday, and discussed plans for our arrival in Beijing. It is hard to believe that the end of the Silk Route Bicycle Expedition is only two days away!
The Silk Route ride was not suppose to have been easy but with 400 or so kilometres to go we have all expected things to be 'easier'.
Well it did not happen today.
Overnight the weather changed; cold and wet and to top it all a pretty good head wind. And so after a very good breakfast in the hotel we headed of. Lunch was at 65km and many of us arrived pretty cold. Good warm soup, some fried eggs and hot tea and coffe helped us to warm up and than back on the saddle for the last 50km.
The afternoon turned out to be much easier with the road improoving and the wind dying out. Annother good dinner in the hotel and now resting up for the last three days.
The pollution is thick, and the traffic is somewhat crazy at times, but on the bright side the temperatures have been pleasant, the roads flat, no winds to speak of and the hotel tonight was unexpectedly comfortable and classy, and our dinner in the restaurant was fabulous with lots of wonderful Chinese mushrooms, lamb, beef, chicken and pork dishes, lots of other veggies and the food kept coming.
The G107 is the highway that were on now and will continue on until we reach Beijing – it is by no means a pleasant ride on a country highway – it is bustling and busy with the constant honking of horns and squealing of brakes, but as the towns get bigger you do notice more and more bicycles, and you can easily find yourself riding in a pack of 30 or 40 other cyclists, heading home from work, and going to the market. There’s strength in numbers and you do start to feel a little less threatened by the automobile traffic with so many other bicycles around you.
The flavour of the last two days has been - short distances, pollution, flat roads, crazy traffic and some cold, cold weather! The riders have hit cycling mode and there is some 'destination fever' happening. Last night, in the city of Xinxiang, we celebrated passing the 10,000km mark (which happened a few days ago) with a delicious Chinese banquet meal. The entire group was there and we said goodbye to one of our riding favourites, Terry Ward, who is leaving us to visit friends up north. He will then head to Korea and finally back to Canada. As Henry summed it up, "Terry is one of our true gentlemen', and a fantastic rider too. He be missed in Beijing and out on the road over the next few days. We have a new rider amongst us now - Mr Lee joined us in Louwang and is staying with the tour until Beijing. Welcome Mr Lee! We have a rest day tomorrow so the bikes were getting washed today, laundry was being sorted and some of the riders have located KFC, so they are very happy! Strong legs, some good lungs and steely determination will get the group through the next few cold and dusty and cloudy days en route to Beijing on the 18th November!
What is the best way to get though one of China’s biggest cities? When we began cycling underneath the grand archway of Xi’an’s city wall—I had my answer…straight though the middle.
Like an amorphous school of fish, we swim through the city. We engulf unsuspecting pedestrians and cyclists, leaving them befuddled in our wake. Predators attempt to agitate the shoal from all angles, requiring one of us to distract the danger until the rest are safe. All the while, flurries of fingers fall from handlebars, highlighting the next pothole, crack, or rock for those behind. We make for a ravishing creature.
As we pedal, thousands of years of Chinese history pass. The terra-cotta army of Qin Shi Huang, the museum of Chinese writing and calligraphy, and the Wild Goose Pagoda are a few of the many historical fingerprints. Xi’an served as the capital during the Tang Dynasty--the “Golden Years†of China. As we traversed from West to East, we view Xi’an as the terminus of our adventure along the Silk Route. Gone are the minarets of Samarqand and the melting mud walls of Merv. Replacing them are the hum of neon lights and the green glow of Starbucks. Signaling our exit from the ancient and entrance into the familiar and ordinary.
As our days dwindle in China, many of us are rethinking our assumptions about this country. Some pictured millions of people, wading in rice paddies, wearing the stereotypical conical straw hat. Many riders grew up during the Mao era, a time when China’s progress looked rather grim. While others had the chance to visit the country after it was reopened in 1978…when wai guo ren were truly a novelty.
China is dynamic and impossible to describe entirely. How can one begin to compare the skyscrapers of Beijing to a mud hut in Gansu province? We have the pleasure of experiencing both these extremes, and everything in-between, walking away with an uncommon impression of China. These impressions manifest through anecdotes, explaining in minutes, where a university professor may explain in weeks.
Robert Ball recently had a ‘China Learning Experience’ during a ride. “We tried to enter the expressway and were stopped at the toll booth,†he begins. The tollbooth attendant pointed to a sign with a list of pictures: no horses, no carts, no carriages, no motorcycles, and no bicycles. Having no choice, the small group took the less attractive side road and battled a gusting headwind for nearly two hours. Having had enough, the riders slithered underneath six strands of barbed wire and clambered up a 12-foot embankment to reach the expressway. The next 100 km were spent on the prohibited expressway, with police passing periodically, but not harassing them in the least. “A month ago I would have assumed immediate deportation for this,†ends Robert.
Cycling through XinJiang and Gansu, brought spectacular vistas, marred only by the passing coal trucks. Now the trucks have delivered their payloads and are causing much more harmful effects. More than half the riders don their facemasks every morning, with the other half wishing they had brought one. When we arrived in China, we were appalled by the amount of hawking and spitting in public places. Now, due to the declining quality of air, many of us are hawking and spitting in much the same way.
It’s unsettling to blow one’s nose and see nothing but black mucus in the tissue paper. Soot takes residence along our eyelids and when a cold wind blows, ebony tears stream towards our ears. A typical day finds us passing several thermal power plants and burning trash in a drainage ditch. Days are shorter, terrain flat, but we battle manmade conditions.
China recently overtook the United States as the number one air polluter in the world. Additionally, China has 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities. Our original route to Beijing was deliberately changed due to the city of Linfen, Shanxi—recently deemed the most polluted city in the world. It is said, coal dust in the air is so thick that cars must use headlights during the day.
As our bodies experience repercussions of environmental denigration, we cannot help but meditate on greater cause and effects. While we are cycling, we are helping rather than hurting.
