September 12, 2015 Xian to Pingliang

Today was an absolutely glorious day for riding a motorcycle - blue skies and cool temperatures

We got on our filthy bikes at 8:30am to leave Xian City, and rode 383km (240miles) to the countryside of Pingliang.  We had trouble keeping the group together this morning. This took about 15 minutes to sort out.

Our first stop was at a monument to the Silk Road.  It was the major trading route between China and Istanbul, Turkey.

David rode our bike into the square for the pictures.

It was hard to get a good picture with all the photo bombers around.  8-)

Then it was out into the traffic and a ride to the countryside, or so we thought.   At one construction site, the cars and trucks were all over the place.

For the whole morning, one city merged into the next city.  Apartment buildings reached upwards at every turn.

We passed through several toll booths, but since motorcycles don’t pay, we were shunted through a small area on the extreme right with the scooters.

 I’ve seen small vehicles with some incredible loads, but this one looked like an impossibility.  I’m not sure how the bags on the back were loaded, or how they stayed on.

It was midday before we reached the countryside, but then the fun began.  The guys raced their motorcycles up and down the mountainsides through curve after curve, switchback after switchback.

We had occasional heavy machinery and tractors to avoid, but for the most part there were hardly any cars on the road.

 Up high on one hill we saw this mining complex. 

 This area of China relies on terraced farming.  Almost every hill has been cut into terraces.

Yaodongs have been used by the farmers in this area for centuries.  An estimated 40 million Chinese still lived in these earth cave shelters as recently as 2006.  The caves were dug into the side of a cliff.  The surrounding soil insulates the house, keeping it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

While we took a break and explored the caves, Mary Jane noticed that Geoffrey wasn’t present. Uh-oh. How did that happen?  After a short discussion,  several people recalled last seeing him in the small town after the first mountain sweeps.  We only had one turn off since then, so that limited the search possibilities.  Boz, Tom and Mona went back to look for him, while Mike and Marilyn stayed at the caves.  Janis proceeded with the rest of the group to our lunch stop.

But first we had more mountain riding and sightseeing.

We passed through several small villages…

 …drying hay on the road – note the tire tracks,

mini corn pickers driving down the road…

 and corn drying in the road.

 Lots and lots of corn drying on the road. 

 People with white paint and brushes were up and down the roadside painting the bottom four feet of the trees.  Is it for looks or pests?

 The river water is muddy here.  I think it’s due to hillside erosion. 

Even in the countryside, we found groupings of tall apartment buildings, mostly still under construction. 

Saturday market was in full swing in our lunch town.

We parked our motorcycles and headed across the road for a bowl of noodles.  Soon children were gathering around our tables, smiling, giggling and trying to take photos.

  

 As we exited the restaurant, we couldn’t see our bikes because of all the townspeople surrounding them. 

Everyone had lots of fun showing off the motorcycles, letting people sit on them and of course many, many pictures.

This young man spoke very good English.  He was extremely curious and polite.

David made his day by allowing him to start the bike and give it a good reving. 

At first this little girl didn’t want to be on the motorcycle, but her mom convinced her.

All this hubbub was creating a traffic jam in the middle of town.  So we mounted the bikes and rode a little further down the street to get organized.

The next town was just as crowded and had its own traffic mess.  Someone double parked a tri-wheeled pickup truck and left it.  Cars and trucks were backed up for a couple of blocks. 

Mike tried to squeeze past this truck, but the driver was having none of it – he turned his vehicle into Mike, blocking passage.  Mike decided to show him who was boss and moved forward anyway.  His panniers put a nice long scratch in the truck door. 

After about 10 minutes things got sorted out and we began to move.

A couple other observations in this town included…

… new way to dry corn…

…coal piles are everywhere in China…

and sheep herded down the street.

The afternoon was pure motorbike bliss.  Lots of sweeping curves and hairpins.

I enjoyed the scenery as it whizzed by.

We arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon; tired but happy.