Day 4. Thursday May 19.

 Zhangbei to Xianghraunqi(China)

Distance:  160 km

Cumulative Distance: 428 km

Time: 5 hrs 30 min

Speed:  29 km/hr

Feet Climbed:  1725

Cumulative Climb: 8387 ft

AHR (Average Heart Rate) 119 bpm

Punctures: 0

Altitude tonight: 4450 ft ASL 

An earlier start this morning because of the longer distance and the chance that wind could switch about during the course of the day.

Bags loaded and bikes at the ready as all headed off for our new usual breakfast.

The edge of town came after just 4 km and we spent the rest of the day on that same road.

Trucks were our principle company. The vast majority of them were large rigids. Only late in the day did I spot a few cab and trailers. Couldn't exactly spot the cargo; all was well covered in tarp but the loads were extremely large. As before they announced their approach from behind but also kept well over to the far side when passing; no close shaves.

The landscape during the first 80 km was still dominated by cultivated strips. Planting was in progress. If we were here a bit later in the growth season, more variety would be visible. At this early hour the men (and women) were off to the fields. I'm told that some of the small seed drills were sowing corn (oats and buckwheat are big in these parts).

I dropped down to one field. The young plants seemed to be of the brassica family. I'm sure the experts will inform me of their true nature. There were acres and acres of them around me.

Although I had set out in a group from the hotel, we all drifted apart from 20 km on. I enjoyed the solitude and freedom to stop for a photo here and there. In a group you just tend to cycle on and stop only at the major sites. I had the road to myself; regularly there wasn't a vehicle in sight in either direction. I had the opportunity to kneel down in the centre of the road and be creative. Nearer Zhangbei the roads were lined with trees on both sides but just open country beyond these.

The wind was of assistance on today's stage. We were generally heading in a north-west direction with the wind coming from the south west. It was catching us just behind the left shoulder. On occasions the road turned due west and that wind tended to halt progress. It became very pronounced when we went on a counter-clockwise half circle around the town of Huade. When we swung right it was a perfect 100% tailwind but after swinging around to the left at the top end of the semicircle, the wind together with a 2% gradient told us just how difficult our could have been.

Lunch today was at 84 km at the point where Hebei finishes and Inner Mongolia begins. Inner Mongolia is an integral part of China. Chinese refer to Mongolia proper as Outer Mongolia. That will come next Sunday. Inner Mongolia is an Autonomous Region like Tibet and Xinjiang (west China). It has a population of 23 million and covers vast fertile meadowlands (steppe). In winter it can go down to -14 Celcius and is now only emerging into the growth season. It's main diet is mutton and dairy produce.

Huade (whose centre we bypassed) seems a place of development.. On the bypass was a magnificent theatre/arts centre. Also lots of residential development cropped up on both sides of the road.

All along the route truck stops and garages dotted the road. I dropped into one for a break and the attendant came out as if I needed a fill-up. Neither of us could communicate but I did notice that 97octane was at 5.1 yuan/ litre around 0.70 Euro.

And spotted the local Credit Union

Shortly after that a squad was putting the finishing touches to a hilltop depiction of the Silk Route. The workmen allowed me to go right in around the site by the welder  sand painters. No need for Safe Pass or a leithead.

Now the terrain had changed. Very few tillage strips but larger holdings devoted to cattle and grazing. Spotted cattle and sheep being herded as they grazed. Wells from previous times but obviously still in use appeared here and there.

Only one bit of a long slow climb today but it hardly registered on our scale. The road surface was so good with a wide shoulder that progress was pleasant. Once over the crest, the long drawn out descent was a blast. No problem careering down at 40+ km/ hr right to the toll booth with the barriers down. There hadn't been a toll at the other end so it was a bit of a surprise. I just kept moving slowly through and no one approached or demanded payment.

Soon Xianghraunqi appeared down below - a colourful set of buildings. Once in the town the grandeur of the buildings astounded me. But nothing much happening in any of them.

Our hotel for tonight, Yi Wang Hotel is the only one in town licensed to accept foreigners. That's the situation all over China. It looks great but rooms etc are just about basic.

So, a day of favourable cycling - nice heat, relative tailwind and good road surface. Might not always be so!

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.