At last - a day with sunshine.
The planned route was relatively short, so we slept in a bit.
Everyone walked down the street a short
distance to get on the motorcycles, which were parked in a narrow alley beside our breakfast restaurant.
We climbed back out of the valley and headed off for new
adventures.
Road collapses on the
riverside were frequent.
People were out working at their various tasks.
One community was cleaning up trash from the riverbed.
Good idea, until then they decided to burn it
all.
There must have been two dozen
fires billowing smoke into the air.
After the last couple of days of muddy construction sites,
John was doing his best to avoid really bad roads.
But of course, nearly every road in China is under
construction.
A local informed Yingchu
that the road construction only extended for about 1 mile and wasn’t too
bad.
After deliberation we were
given the choice of chancing the mile through the construction for some terrific
views, or a lower “better” road that did not have the scenery.
Feeling a little more rested, and not having
rain and mud on the roads, we voted for the scenic route. It was worth the effort.
So up we went, past horses carrying dirt,
…new buildings under construction…
…scooters with mothers on the back and babe in arms…
…quaint roadside homes with corn drying under the eaves.
The views kept getting better.
Riders enjoyed the switchbacks and curves,
But needed to be wary of landslides hiding around the corners.
We avoided at least 7 or 8 slide areas during
the course of the day.
The slope next to
the roads are cut so steeply, that inevitably soil will break loose after a
good rain.
Landslides in this area are cleared from the road and the
dirt is tossed down the mountain on the other side of the road.
About midmorning, we entered a fog bank for about half an
hour of ethereal riding.
The sun soon broke through to reveal some more gorgeous
views.
Partway down the mountain, Dave and I noticed a waterfall
with a little ladder next to it.
Exploration
was in order.
A few feet up, however, I
got cold feet.
It’s not that easy to
balance on logs wearing gear.
Further down, we came across two women waiting patiently by
the road, hoping to sell their chickens.
More pleasant views proceeded another chance for
exploration.
David waited by the
motorcycle in case the rest of the group caught up, while I hiked down some
steep steps for about an eighth of a mile.
Not even hearing a waterfall, I decided the hike was too long (it's not easy walking any distance in motorcycle gear), and
returned to the bike just as everyone else motored by.
We followed them down, passing small villages with cute homes
touching the road… through construction and dirt...
…through landslide areas, recently cleaned up…
…down to the river level, where we saw several more
instances of road collapse.
The asphalt
on some of the roads appeared as if it had been laid less than two weeks
previously.
The valley landscape was just as alluring as the hilltop
scenes.
We stopped in a small village for a morning snack.
Harvest activities were all around us.
People were working in the paddies…
…loaded bags carried home…
… and rice drying everywhere, including on the bridge.
The sign at the end of the bridge attempted to explain the purpose of the nature reserve. For the life of us, we just couldn't figure out what a baild firry is. Educated guess is that it's some kind of fir tree.
All morning we saw different aspects of rice harvest.
Cutting, thrashing…
and drying – sometimes with chili peppers along side.
Other than chickens, we haven’t seen many farm animals loose
on the road recently.
These goats were an
exception.
The small villages are built close in on the road,
occasional spanning the river with covered bridges.
Every square inch or arable land is used for agriculture,
right up the buildings.
The afternoon was going well. We were enjoying the twisties and getting
into a rhythm. But had to come to a
quick stop when we rounded a corner and found Steve and Mary Jane down on the
ground. Steve had taken a switchback sweeper too tight, and in the course of making a correction had nicked the back end of a car, causing them to go down. Fortunately, no
one was hurt badly except a few scratches. The car’s driver
waved off the ding on his car, and Steve and Mary Jane wiped the blood from the
minor wounds on their hands and got back on their bike. Needless to say, everyone was a little more
cautious for the remainder of the trip.
The roads improved as we neared our destination for tonight,
Dong Xiang Mi Hotel in Rongjiang.
Green
and Janis were there to greet us and expedite our arrival.
A few of the guys decided to head over to a local car wash
and clean up the bikes.
They needed it.
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