The Police Ride

Finally I get a chance to update the blog again. It isn't always easy here in China. Also seems like not all webpages can be viewed or something is messed up whenever I try and go online.

So the other day we stayed in a small town called Hongqiao and there was a knock on our hotel room door. To my surprise were two policemen accompanied by the receptionist. I was half naked at the time so I put on a shirt. Basically they wanted to know why we were in China and what our plans are. Seems like they are super tight on foreigners with the Olympics coming up. Then they wanted photocopies of our passports. There wasn't a photocopier around so I had to go with the cops to the police station and copy them there. Kind of neat in a police car. They drove super crazy and even put on the siren. I had really no idea what was going on.

In other news in another small town we stayed at called Fa'an someone working at the hotel thought Trevor was my father! I laughed. He said though I looked younger. I guess Trevor does look a lot older with all that facial hair.

We are nearing Shanghai and Trevor is getting flats galore. He is definitely in need of a new tire. He had around ten flats I think in the past two days. Something isn't right there. We are also running out of patches.

Pic 1: I had a little accident. It was food... err yeah... I assure you I have been potty trained a good 10 years now... Usually it is Trevor who makes a mess but when I make a mess I really make a mess.

Pic 2: China has some really nice scenery. Lots of mountains. To see the nice scenic spots though we have to work for it by going up a lot of hills and climbing mountains.

Pic 3: Me thinking about something while looking at some nice scenery.

Pic 4: We get audiences everywhere we go. Exciting stuff watching me decide whether I want an apple Nutri-Express or a grape juice. People just come up and stare. Just today Trevor was patching up his tube and had an onlooker right in his face. I really don't get it.

Pic 5: Let the rain come down. We have been getting a lot of rain lately.

Pic 6: Meeting a cyclist going to Beijing. We have seen actually quite a few cyclists in China. This guy was very nice. He said he saw us a few days back in Yueqing. We chatted a bit while Trevor was patching up one of his many flats of the day.

Pic 7: Cycling in the rain with some nice background. I enjoyed today's riding even though it rained constantly.

A Meeting of Minds Less Me

Not much to report as of late. Things more or less are going smoothly... I probably just jinxed us right there. We are now in a new province and it is really hot. I thought it would cool down a bit since we left the tropics but it has not. Trevor is sweating like a piglet and I like a piggy.

A few days ago we spent the night in a town called Shentou. Oddly enough the company Trevor works for has relations with another company in the city. And coincidentally one of Trevor's colleague's was in town on business staying at what I think is the sweetest hotel in town... much better than the places we stay at everyday!

Trevor originally was just going to go to a 'wangba' aka internet cafe and check a few things and then return to the hotel room with some food and drink I requested. He ended up coming back to the hotel at 11:30 pm (well past my bedtime I might add) and brought back of all things... durian... hmmmm... wasn't really craving that... He ended up meeting with his colleague and chilled in a revolving tower overlooking the city. Trevor was especially nice not inviting me along...

Anyways we are now in a small town called Tongan.

Pic 1: Me and some nice background... and yes I shaved. After about 2-3 weeks it really starts to bug me. Feels nice clean shaved. Trevor however has not shaved since leaving Vancouver... he looks like a bum. He doesn't intend to shave again until back in Vancouver!

Pic 2: Holes in the road!?!? We were really pissed at this... once in the Fujian province holes kept appearing like this in the road. Obviously not good to ride on. It kept going for kilometers. I really hope we have seen the last of them. I don't get it though... like why??? What is the point of punching holes in the road?

Gwailo's Lost in China

Well not really lost but just having a tough time getting through... First the roads had been absolute crapola up until Guangzhou. Very unpredictable they were. One minute they are okay and the next it is like mountain biking. Way too many potholes, bumps and cracks... not good for the bikes. I kept worrying my bike was going to break at any second.

Trevor and I both kind of have roles. He is more of the bike mechanic (mainly the patcher upper when a flat arises) and planning the route. Although his planning is questionable at times... twice already he has led us about 15 km in the wrong direction... I wasn't a happy camper. Anyways my main roles are the retriever of food, negotiating hotel rooms and talking to the people. Trevor is kind of behind the scenes and I am more out there if that makes any sense. Well up until China my jobs were pretty easy. Now however the communication is tough. I really have had to up my game of charades as of late. I am learning a few words here and there so that is good. Happy to say I now know how to say all the numbers from zero to ten! Still though my pronunciation is horrible and I get laughed at a lot.

Right now we are in a town called Huidong somewhere in Guangdong. I think we have passed the hardest part of China in getting through Guangzhou. We got super lost there. It took about five hours to get through the city. We had trouble as there are certain parts where cyclists cannot ride. We ended up saying screw it and cycled across this bridge to get into the city. Coming off the bridge we were met by a few police officers who stopped us but then told us to go go go! I think he didn't want to have to explain in the little English he knew that we weren't supposed to do that. We knew but we really didn't know any other way to get across.

Pic 1: My pedal finally had to say goodbye. We aren't carrying a wrench so I had the street bike mechanic in Guigang replace my pedal.

Pic 2: The sign is clear as day right? Well not for us... we have had to memorize Chinese characters to know where we are going.

Pic 3: Entering Guangdong praying for better roads and convenience stores. I would say after Guangzhou the roads have been a lot better and there have been more convenience stores... so I am guessing that worked.

Pic 4: These are the kind of roads we have had to deal with in China... not for bike touring that is for sure.

Pic 5: Me taking a chill pill on the side of the road while pondering life.

Pic 6: One of my pannier's lost a screw so here is me screwing in another.

Pic 7: Outside Guangzhou while we were lost. I got a decent map from this hotel and we were on our way!

SE Asia Conquered... To the Far East!

So glad we are done with Vietnam. We took a major beating there. Not only ourselves but our bikes. Coming out of Hanoi I broke another spoke and had some guy who didn't really know what he was doing fixed it. Then after about 67 percent of my gears went. I could only ride in a select few. This was not easy especially with all the hills in China. I got killed there.

The road in China though has been really rough and there was nothing in between towns. As such if anything went wrong we would have been royally screwed. I was always worrying my bike was going to collapse at any second.

Right now we are in Nanning. Both Trevor and I were super worried we were not going to find a decent bike shop to fix up our bikes. When we got into the city it was pouring like crazy. We got drenched from head to toe. It was like swimming in a pool really. Once we found the bike shop it had moved to another location. Trying to find it was extremely difficult when you can't understand a word of Chinese. After going back and forth 2 cyclists saw us and noticed we wanted to go to the shop. Luckily they worked there and led us to the shop. The shop was great and even had our bikes for sale! After I type this post we are going back to pick up our bikes. This was a huge relief. I was thinking we may have to pop into Hong Kong and get them fixed there and then find a way back into China. But that is now out of the question since it is very difficult to enter China without proper documents. I am super glad we got our visa in Bangkok (thank you ladyboys once again!).

Pic 1: Since there was absolutely nothing in Hanoi, I had to do the repairs myself. That's me somewhere in the Old Quarter working on my bike.

Pic 2: Me on the road down crappy Highway #1. The road wasn't as bad coming out of Hanoi heading north as it was from Vinh to Hanoi though... but still not good.

Pic 3: The guy that fixed my spoke but I think did more damage to my bike. Like I said my gears were screwed up after this...

Pic 4: Didn't see a lot of nice scenery in Vietnam but this looked pretty nice.

Pic 5: Enter the dragon.

Pic 6: Me very relieved as we found a place to stay in this small town of Banli. I think it was the only room in town. If we didn't stay there that probably would of meant going into the night on our bikes... not good...

Pic 7: A lot of huge spiders on the side of the road.

Pic 8: Me walking in water in Nanning. It seriously came down super hard. We were riding in deep water getting absolutely drenched.

Road Rage

The gloves have come off. Both Trevor and I are going mad. Sorry to say but biking up Highway 1 is horrible. Almost everyone honks their horn. I hate that horn... I hate it with a passion in fact. I really don't get the nonstop honking. It sucks too because I think some want to get our attention to wave or say hello but really just end up pissing the both of us off more.

There are also way too many hello's. I do not like to be mean but I can't keep saying hello to every single person in Vietnam... can't do it. Most of them yell it in a rude way. It is tough because sometimes (well actually rarely) a young child will wave and say hello but I am so pissed to say it back. I feel bad because I think I am giving them a bad impression of foreigners.

A few more piss offs (trust me there are a lot more though... I could probably write a book) here are they need to keep your passport at the hotels overnight. I do not like giving that up. I persuaded the guy in Vinh to let us keep them but the last 2 stops I have lost the will and strength to try and keep them. It is hard enough getting our bikes in the room.

Seriously it is a free-for-all on the roads... two idiots came right at me along the highway forcing me to fall off my bike and jump down this hill. They were off before I could yell 'What the bleep you bleeping piece of bleep and you too you bleeping load of bleep!'

Another annoyance is people like to touch things that is not their's. Trevor really hates this as do I. Touching our bikes as if they own them... not liking that. I have been touched as well and do not appreciate that. I am not a touchy feely kind of guy... especially with strangers.

I keep yelling and cursing because of all the chaos. I am pretty sure they do not know what I am saying but probably know I am pissed. I need to vent my anger because it does help. Trevor keeps it inside which isn't good. Case and point... yesterday a few kids tried to catch us and say hello a million times. Trevor then asked me to pick up the pace which I in turn got pissed at him for always needing to go go go (it was one of those days we were both so pissed anything so small would trigger anger). And so he booked it and flew off. He did this earlier in the day as someone else pissed him off and he booked it. When we met up I got pissed at him saying how am I supposed to fix a flat should one occur if he is super far ahead of me with the spare tubes and patch kit along with all the Dong. Anyways so he booked it again to get away from the kids and me. It was late in the day and I unknowingly ended up passing him somehow where he waited. I got into the town of Ninh Binh just before sunset but couldn't find him. I thought he was so pissed at me he booked it with the intention of leaving me stranded with no money. I couldn't find him and so I had to end up taking money out of an ATM and find a hotel. I had no clue where he was. Luckily he emailed me telling me he waited for me in some town about 20 km away. I told him where I was and told him to bike to the place. A huge relief there. Trevor ended up getting the worst of it as he had to bike in the dark as well. That is horrible along the main road... when he finally got in he was in bad shape. I didn't get pissed at him as I could tell he learned his lesson for going well ahead and not sticking together. This was the worst biking day. I did however break my single day record... now 220 km! Trevor probably did 240 km that day.

Right now we are in Hanoi. Spent hours trying to find a decent bicycle shop. We have now learned there isn't one. Basically some dude on the side of the road is your man. This guy led us to this other guy who ended telling me I need to buy a new bike and my bike cannot be fixed. I was just trying to get our bikes tuned up. Our bikes are dying... I really hope they can hold up until China. Then I pray we can find a decent shop there...

So yeah it definitely has been absolute downhill since leaving Thailand. We really miss biking there as well as Malaysia and of course Singapore. We pray China will be better... it has to be though...

Picture 1: A spoke broke again. Too many rocks flinging around on the highway... annoying. Anyways it was difficult but we managed to find a place in this roadside town to fix it. Wasn't a great job but it got me going again. I need to get it professionally done but where is the question... definitely not in Vietnam.

Picture 2: On highway 1... I look real happy don't I? That was the worst day...

Picture 3: We couldn't get any peace anywhere so we bought some snacks and warm drinks and booked it until we found a spot that wasn't as chaotic. It is just annoying when people come up and hassle you... I need peace!

Picture 4: Another picture of me ecstatic about biking in Vietnam!

Picture 5: At the HCM mausoleum with about a billion motorbikes around... Trevor still hasn't got the crossing of streets down. Just got to walk at a casual pace really... it is like real life Frogger here.

Picture 6: Paid 30,000 dong for this shirt only to cut it up into pieces... no I wasn't letting off steam... basically we needed rags to clean the bikes and lube up the chains soooo that was the only option!

PS - I think when this is all over Trevor and I need to enroll in a good anger management course...

Where Did All My Food Go???

It has been crappy biking since we left Thailand. Not liking it. Don't get me wrong the scenery in Laos has been superb but it is just that there were too many stupid hills and not any decent places to have a rest and snack.

There was absolutely nothing in Laos. We had to stop off at huts and shacks at the side of the road. Not much of a selection either. I am glad we are done Laos as there is Malaria there. I didn't get bitten but I did get some nasty bite on my shoulder which I still have no clue as to what it was. Four bite marks in a row. Trevor got eaten four times and now he worries he got malaria. We are both on Malarone at the moment so I think we should be fine. Sucks with malaria. A tiny mosquito can do so much damage.

Right now we are in Vinh, Vietnam. The motorbikes are coming out in force now. It is going to get much worse I know in Hanoi. I would like to get out of Vietnam as quickly as possible. What really pisses me off is getting a cold drink. I had this problem a lot last year travelling around SE Asia. Right here in Vinh I walked blocks and blocks and only could find warm drinks. I finally found a freezer with some drinks but not really liking the selection. They serve a lot of beer. Not ideal at the moment.

Also we have been getting a lot of hello's ever since entering Laos. It is nice to say hello but everyone is saying it and I am one of those people who says hello back all the time so it is kind of getting annoying and tiring. I don't want to be mean but saying it and waving all the time does take energy.

Quite a few photos here:

First one: Me saying goodbye to 7-11 in Thailand. That was my last delicious chocolate cappacino drink I had. Not sure when I will have the next. Seriously we have had some good times chilling at 7-11 in Thailand.

Second one: Me on the boat across the Mekong River to Laos. Kind of funny Trevor got shut down when he tried to get in Laos with his Swiss passport. They wanted the one that he exited Thailand with. As such he didn't save 5 bucks USD. Still don't get why Canadians have to pay the most to enter Laos. We are up there with the war torn countries of the world. Strange I say...

Third one: The rain came down for a short while once we were in Laos.

Fourth one: This was horrible. We cycled to Hinboun thinking we were going to sleep there but then realized there was no accommodation and the next guesthouse was in a place called Namthone about 50 km away! It was around 6 pm in the evening and we had a lot to do. I was also low on water. Absolutely horrible situation we were in. The bugs come out too and I had all these bugs flying at me. We had to cycle in the dark again which was again stupid. But really didn't have much of a choice otherwise. I was thinking of asking a family if we could crash at their place but it isn't easy when they don't really know any English. Another thought of just sitting at an abandoned gas station crossed my mind as well. Anyways, worst cycling day thus far. We got in at 9:40 pm. Only positive out of it was we now have a new record cycling day of 219 km!

Fifth one: Taking a breather up a hill somewhere in Laos. Also where I wrote the single 'How I Hate Hills (The Laos Remix)'. I am hoping no killer hills for some time to come...

Sixth one: A viewpoint on the number 8 road in Laos. That road is very scenic. Just annoying biking up all the hills. But another good piece of news is that I went down some hills as well and again have a new maximum speed record!!! Not sure if I will beat this one. The new record is 67.9 km per hour.

Final picture: Very surprised to have found this restaurant on the number 8 road. It took a long time to make but it was delicious!

How I Hate Hills...

Really, really am not liking these hills... they are starting to come out in full force. I know we will be getting major ones in Laos but didn't expect the massive ones we had in Thailand. Seriously the day of riding between Kabin Buri and Nakhon Ratchasima the stupid hill wouldn't end. It just kept going up and up and up and up and up and up... and up... and oh wait up again. Didn't stop. I had to get off and take a breather so I kind of feel I was defeated. But I didn't walk. I was dripping in sweat. Not pleasant. Also cursed the hill like crazy and wrote a song about how I dislike going up hills. I think by the end of this trip I will have a new album entitled, 'Songs by Kevin on A Bike'. Most of them unfortunately I think will be with a lot of cursing because I really get pissed at a lot of things while biking.

Today as well we had another stupid hill. Wasn't as bad but still a pain. To make matters worse I broke my pedal. It is on its last heels but I will keep riding it until it dies. It is currently ripped apart. Luckily I picked up a spare in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Other than that we have both had a few more annoying flat tires. Seems like these tiny splinters or microscopic nails are getting through the tire and pinching the tube. So that makes it real difficult to locate the hole and remove the prick. We end up spending like a good 30 minutes just fixing it. Argh and a half.

Also had a spoke get busted. A tiny rock deflected I think from a passing bus that dinged my back tire and in doing so broke one of my spokes. For the longest time I couldn't figure out what was wrong but kept thinking something was. My tire was wobbling but I had no clue. Finally Trevor realized after we were about 10 km from the nearest town that my spoke was busted. So, I had to remove my back brakes and cruise back into Nakhon Ratchasima. Luckily someone there could fix it. I think he was the only guy in town because we went all over and I asked all around. A big phew there.

The only real positive news I guess I have these past few days is that I obliterated my maximum speed record! The good thing with the major hills is what goes up must come down! And so I hit a max speed of................... 62.2 km per hour!!! I was flying! Kind of scary though because if I wipeout then that wouldn't be so good...

Right now we are in Sakhon Nakhon. Tomorrow we should be entering Laos! Excited tis I. Always exciting entering a different country. New food, people, culture, etc.

The first picture: Dead or alive? Well... dead unfortunately. I didn't do it though. Seen a lot of roadkill along the way...

The second picture: The spoke that broke. Wow, I just made a rhyme. That was huge... probably could make a song out of that one... hmmm...

The last picture: A bunch of cows we passed going up one of the major hills.