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Lhasa to Bayi | |
| 15th
April to 19th April Lhasa to Bayi Distances Covered !5th to Medro Gongkar 16th to Rito Gompar 17th to Gyashi 18th to Kompo Gyamda 19th to Bayi
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Our departure from Lhasa as is usual after a prolonged rest was rather
chaotic - trying to say goodbye to the Kiychu Hotel, and Rene and Fred
at Dunya Restaurant, trying to meet Sony and the truck and to make final
arrangements with Dean for her journey east into China - and then our
meeting point in Dali hopefully. I felt quite sad to say goodbye to Dean
- the last two months back together have been such fun - and here we are
again - goodbye for another month at least. It was hardly any surprise
therefore that I wondered in amongst all this to-ing and fro-ing -
'where is my passport anyway?'. Sure enough at the first stop I searched
everything - all my bags right to the bottom of each pannier - and there
was no sign. I remembered Dean having it yesterday and therefore
presumed this was where it was - and so I readied Sony and Lappa to make
their way back to Lhasa so we could attempt to locate Dean. Just then
there was a screeching of tyres and a taxi skidded to a halt and a
friendly smiley face popped out - Dean had found my passport in her bag
and had dived into the first taxi to give it back - 'What would I do
without her for the next 4 weeks???'. We had one last cup of tea
together, joking about the passport and then she was off again - back in
the taxi whence she had come...the ride for me for the first part of the
day was alone - not really wanting to talk to anyone.
Soon enough though the scenery perked me up - the combination of the smooth tarmac road and the huge winding Kiychu River Valley makes for an inspiring ride - for once we can ride and appreciate our surroundings. The river by our side is fast flowing but shallow and wide. Every now and again a rickety prayer flag festooned footbridge slings its way across the mountain river. The water gushes across a shallow bed in many places - white foam showing the positions of the rocks beneath. We arrive in Medro Gongkar at a good time despite our late start - and find good cheap accommodation and a great Chinese meal: pork and spring onions, chicken and peanut fry, mixed vegetables, and tomato and egg - topped off with helpings of fried rice - a glorious feast for not much over a pound a head - the Chinese certainly know how to cook a good evening meal. Breakfast on the other hand is not their forte - and we struggle with doughy dumplings and plain fried eggs - but we can't have everything - its certainly an improvement on curry for breakfast - Indian style, or chorba (mushroom soup)- a distant memory from Turkey. The road climbs more steeply today - Lhasa at only 3650m is a relative low point in Tibet and so we need to gain altitude for our first pass. The Kiychu River is dwindling as we ride and so is also steepening - making the ride tougher - but the tarmac road certainly helps. We meet the truck for the first time after 20k's and we discover that now as well as a faulty fuel pump that Lappa had been working on last night - the truck has developed a broken front right wheel bearing - that's the last straw for Sony our guide - especially as we are about to enter the wilds of Eastern Tibet - and once over the next pass it will be more than a days journey to get back to Lhasa to change trucks. He acts decisively and we arrange a meet point before the pass - he heads directly back to Lhasa to swap truck. We take the afternoon ride more easily - as we know that Sony won't be back for quite some time. Just before the road leaves the Kiychu River we pull into Rito Gompa - a small village - but gladly big enough for a couple of guesthouse come restaurants. We cause quite a stir here - clearly long distance cyclists don't come this way very often. Its also refreshing to find the locals interested in us and what kind of strange people we are rather than simply holding the hand out for money - that was all too common along the Friendship Highway - another clear sign that we are heading off the beaten track and into a new adventure! Sony eventually arrives back and has a new vehicle, and even better, a new driver. We greet Torjee and his apprentice Tjimee with some relief - and pray that they have a better influence over the new Dong Feng beast than Lappa - our ill fated last driver who - through repeated fiddling under the bonnet and inappropriate hard revving of the engine at standstill - without much doubt ruined the last truck. I prefer the look of Torjee - he has an experienced eye - and a friendly caring smile - and although not being able to speak English he immediately strikes up a good relationship with the group - somehow we have faith in him. Lappa our previous driver, it was clear from the start was no mechanic and had little affinity with his machine - this we could ascertain immediately. On arrival he was wearing an American Express Cap - white and without a single sign of oil of grime - 'Much too clean' we all exclaimed 'for any sort of mechanic' - and so it turned out to be - he was no mechanic! The truck started, even with the light dusting of snow and freezing temperatures overnight, without even a cough or splutter, and so for the first time in many days we were all able to set off together - a good omen indeed! The road as expected soon began to leave the river and climb up towards the Mila Pass. A most spectacular wide sweeping valley welcomed us in as we left the Kiychu - and we smoothly climbed watching the metres on altimeters rising easily. This is the first pass we have climbed on tarmac - and it makes our task hugely easier. The tarmac however doesn't last and 5 km short of the top we hit gravel and dirt road again. We expected a 4600m pass - and are greeted with a 4950m high - not insignificant - and even after all this time in Tibet we find ourselves struggling for breath and headaches beginning to pound. The road on the other side as we begin to fall is no better - in fact we find the most awful stony surface - that makes descending this hill a viciously painful experience. By lunchtime when we reach the truck next - just 20km down the descent we have aching biceps from the shaking and wrists that feel fit to collapse. We fall into the lorry - and whilst eating we wonder how this can continue. After lunch our road actually gets worse - and we realise what is causing the road to be so bad. The road we are now riding - although bearing the same number as before Lhasa - the 318 - is now referred to as the Qinghai highway (said Chinghai). This makes it the only direct road route between China - and the first city of Chengdu - and Tibet. Bearing in mind the incorporation of Tibet some 40 years ago into the People's Republic - a proper road would seem a priority - but it is only now that the road is getting its tarmac surface - and as a part of this process the under strata must be prepared. By hand the huge armies of workers are carefully laying a bed of sharp stones along the entire length of a 120km stretch of the road. What makes this work most problematic for us is the absence of any alternative provisions for the road's traffic. Whilst this work is proceeding all the traffic continues to use the route as a thoroughfare. For Landcruisers - we glance jealously as they storm past oblivious to the surface - the stones seem to present no problem - the wheels bounce up and down ironing out the lumps without a second thought. But for us these lumps that we have to overcome are like a bed of nails - dangerous and uncomfortable. Tim clocks a record score on the puncture stakes - 4 in one day and Nick clocks one just as we are on our final approach into Gyashi - our night stop. Progress is painfully slow - at times it looks as if we are trying to cross lines of upturned flint axe heads - and our bikes and our bodies protest violently - a snapped rack for Andrew, 2 snapped spokes for Nick and aching limbs for all of us when we arrive. We are back out into the same conditions the next day - but at least we are rested - and we know that today will bring us to the end of this torture. We set out at around 10 - with 60 kilometres our target for the day at the very minimum. After some 4 hours we have covered a depressing 25 kilometres - and Nick exclaims - 'oh YOU!' - Nick's shorthand for 'useless'. It certainly seems like a long hard day ahead. Indeed - we struggle and fight the road - even with a downhill gradient its grueling - and we grind it out - trying to laugh - but at times I seriously wonder what we are doing here - can't really be bothered to carry on - especially when we know that there are still some 600km of this blasted Qinghai highway ahead. Six kilometers before the town of Kompo Gyamda we hit a series of clues - leading us to suspect that the tarmac may be near - our pain warped minds hit upon every half sign as surefire evidence that the blacktop must be nearing. We pass a tarmac plant - and smell the fresh odour of production - we find the flint stones become coated by a surface of sand and we also see tell tale specks of black spilled by the roadside. Around a corner and we see it - the roller - a bunch of dayglo hi visibility orange workers, and the sharp contrast of the jet black road surface. We proudly pose kissing the ground like the Pope arriving in a new country, and stand next to the road roller - the workers seem to understand but we can't be sure - whatever they think it must be a funny sight to them! We get a good nights sleep in a luxurious hotel in Kompo Gyamda, although we do have a nasty shock when one bike goes missing temporarily. We also attract some attention from the local security bureau - although Sony smooths things out nicely. The Big Payback comes the following day when we find the smoothest of smooth surfaces all day - and we are able to actually take our eyes off the road before us and look up around us and see the wonderful scenery. The river that accompanies us is a tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra, and it seems to grow by the mile - glacial mountain streams plunging down to join it from every side valley. The weather is warm and sunny, and as we drop we find trees sprouting up around us. Eventually we even find ourselves riding through pine forest - and the waft of pine needles greets our noses - a truly unfamiliar smell - and so refreshing. The kilometers fly by easily - Andrew and I ride together for the first time in ages - and it almost feels like the easy days of riding through the Middle East on great roads. We swap and rotate - taking our turns in front and its easy enough for the mind to wander and consider plans the route ahead a million and one things - it's a joy. The river is in places a deep racing green colour - and so pure - without any settlements upstream there is no way this river is polluted - it's a beauty - and when the road climbs high above we can see directly through the water to pick out every individual rock on the river bed. It looks good enough to swim! A trifle cold maybe - and besides we still have to reach our goal for the evening Bayi. We eat lunch by the roadside - noodles and fresh veg in tomato soup - a good feed - enough to carry us along the road. The last 40 kilometres are easily covered and we come in sight of Bayi - our rest day stop - looking forward to a shower and a rest from the saddle. |