I installed a new chain. But some gears in the cassette is already quite worn. So, until the new chain wears out a bit, I can only use gears 1,2,3 and 8. Fortunately the area is quite flat, so I pedal mostly in top gear.
I spend quite a bit of time looking at the map to find quiet rural roads that head north. When I find something that looks promising, I test them with the routing app to make sure they are through roads.
I also avoid the dreaded trucks by cycling through towns and cities. If the trucks aren't outright banned, there will often be separated lanes for bicycles and scooters.
But unfortunately there are some places where I had to get on trucking roads and endure the noise and the dust while concentrating hard to stay as far right as possible.
These guys are at the head of a marriage procession. They throw strings of firecrackers.
The Loess Plateau overs much of Shanxi Province. The soil is sandy that was deposited by wind millions of years ago. It's easy to plough, but prone to erosion.
Sometimes I walk into a restaurant and point at someone's food to order. When I pointed as this bowl, it turns out that it was going a begging. So I could start slurping immediately.
Most of this 60 km rural road was in good condition and truck free. For some reason, the trucks really ruined this section. The residents responded by placing rocks and boulders on the edge of the road.
