Bumpy Roads
On May 20th we rode 64 kilometers from Lancang to a tiny tiny town called Fubang. 64 kilometers may not sound like a lot, but we were riding on what Andy and Evan describe as one of the most difficult roads they have ever taken. We were expecting trouble because we had been told repeatedly by different people that the road out of Lancang was under construction, but we didn’t fully grasp the muddy, rocky, hilly, slippery nature of the road that lay ahead (it was raining off an on all day, which made the roads more treacherous). However, despite this fact, the 64 kilometers wouldn’t have been so bad had we not encountered an even bigger snag. Forty kilometers into our ride we arrived at a sudden and unexpected roadblock. I was about 45 minutes ahead of the boys, and thought the road was just closed off on our side to let traffic on the other side come through, and that it would only be a few minutes wait. I was dead wrong. Apparently the road was closed to all traffic until 7 pm that night. It had been closed since 2 pm. We had arrived around four, so it meant we had a three hour wait. Yes, they closed the ONLY road in and out for five hours in the MIDDLE of the day. Of course our American sense of logic and reasonableness was thoroughly offended at this. Evan asked why they had closed the road during the day, to which the reply was that they were dynamiting and it was going to rain that night, so they had to work during the day. Nothing could be done but to wait by the side of the dirt road for three hours. We weren’t the only ones that had to do so, there was a long line of trucks and passenger buses that were stuck as well, but oddly not as many as you would think. There were even some local entrepreneurs who came and set up drink and instant noodle stands. Although there were no signs to announce the road closing on this side of the road, the locals knew about it and came to take advantage of the business opportunity of stranded travelers. Thus, with nothing to be done but wait, Andy, Evan and I pulled out rain coats and plastic bags and made ourselves comfortable on the ground with Kindles, iPhones and iPods to occupy our time. Stay tuned for a VLOG view shortly.
The road fortunately opened promptly at 7 pm. We were still thirty kilometers from our destination, and nightfall was fast approaching, which was worrisome. We came across a hostel 15 kilometers in, and would have stayed the night there had there been any open rooms. Unfortunately it was full, so we had to press on. Interestingly, at this junction we did come across a sign facing the other away that described the road work ahead. Instead of announcing the times the road would be closed, it instead announced, at the very bottom in tiny lettering, when the road would be open, which was a grand total of six hours a day. The only times one could cross the ONLY road in the area was between 7-9 am, 12-2 pm and 7-9 pm. Gotta love China.
The rest of ride was rough. Really rough. At this point we had 15 km to our destination, and it was already dark. The road was still the bumpy, slippery cobblestone, and it was entirely uphill for the rest of the way. I went ahead to try to get a hotel before everything closed, and found myself driving alone, in the dark, up twisty, dangerous, dark roads. I was completely terrified actually. It was one of those moments where you build character and fortitude, and just have to keep pressing on because you simply have no other alternative. It was lucky that I even found the road to the village we were looking for, as it was off to the right up an unmarked concrete road. I only found it because two guys on motorcycles were stopped there, and they directed me up the road. I found a place to stay, and was quite proud of myself when Evan and Andy, who showed up nearly two hours later, decreed it the shoddiest place they had ever stayed throughout their 8 months of biking. Indeed, the place was little more than a shack, built with plywood, tin plating and disjointed walls. There were barely walls between rooms, and there were gaps between ceiling and wall. However, after the mental and physical exhaustion of the day, I had one of the best nights of sleep of my whole life in that shoddy, dirty place. The boys also professed to have slept incredibly well. I think we were just so supremely happy to be off the dark, uphill road that the place could have been ten times worse and we still would have slept like kings.
