February 14th

February 14, 2024

Valentine's Day spin

It's the last day of the Lunar New Year vacation as well as Saint Valentine's Day. We're both back at work tomorrow, so as it's a glorious day again, we decide to go on a ride out to Puxin - not too far away. We can follow quiet streets and a bicycle path to get there. Puxin has a Uniqlo outlet and a Starbcucks, so Debbie can look at some down jackets that are on sale and we can then get a coffee. That's the plan.

There's sun cream on my face and arms when we leave home at gone 10:30. I stand and take a snap of Debbie riding around the corner of our block simply because I want to record the fact that the white-painted unit standing there is still not open for whatever business venure the owner has in mind. It must be a year since it was bought.

It's roughly a 10-minute ride to get to a bicycle path that runs along a river bank. The streets there are decent enough for cycling, but there's little in the way of photogenic sights, but on a side street there's a wide door with red Chinese New Year greetings pasted on it and a letter slot, so I take a snap knowing Scott here will appreciate it. Most of these things are nondescript now, but this door is an older wooden type with a bit of character. Most have neen replaced with polished metal ones.

The white unit on the corner still hasn't opened

One guy who looks to be in his 60s has slung a hammock between a couple of small trees and is taking a nap in the sunshine. We ride along the path and get to a junction with an elevated section of highway and cross the river via some large pentagonal concrete stepping stones and Debbie gets handed the camera and takes a few snaps of me for a change.

We rejoin the path where it resumes just past the junction and soon spot turtles sunning themselves on concrete beams beside the far bank. We probably see more of them than people, which is a bit of a surprise as there are usually locals, cyclists and joggers on the path, but this warm morning there's barely see a handful.

They always take flight when you stop to take a snap

One of numerous bird boxes - the two characters on this one say 'gold jade'

The bicycle path drifts away from the river and we head down a series of side streets of Puxin District and park our bikes outside Uniqlo. The down jackets that Debbie saw online are children's ones but the biggest size is OK for her. She tries a few on, but they don't seem quite right. They're cheap enough at less than US$30, but with summer almost here, many clothing shops will be discounting them soon enough and she can take her pick.

Starbucks is less than a minute away and I get a big frothy one and we share a lemon tart and sit near the window. Again there are few people.

It's now gone noon and we need lunch, but most places are still closed so it seems like a good idea to get a train from the nearby station and eat closer to home.

Google maps shows the train station is just along the road, but after a block Debbie tells me we're heading in the wrong direction. She says she spotted a sign for the station outside Starbucks, so we double back - against my judgement - and ride over a bridge and after cycling for a few minutes realise that sure enough there's no train station. Eventually we end up on busy Route 1.

Neither of us really knows this area, but after a few minutes there's a sign telling us it's just 4km to Zhongli, so we ride with the traffic and eventually spot a bike path and follow that for a short distance then know we're heading to the city centre. Insinct kicks in and I make a right and as luck would have it we end up on the road that takes us to the back of the train station that leads to the Indian restauant I frequent.

We get a couple of somosas and Debbie has a chicken tikka masala (once voted the UK's most popular dish) with rice, while I opt for a lamb korma and a garlic naan. A decorated Christmas tree stands beside our table and on the wall opposite is a replica firearm and some indian currency is displayed in clear plastic envelopes. It'll be interesting to see how much longer the tree stays.

It's a 10-minute ride home and there's now a more direct route that we take. It's not completely finished, but it should be in a month or so. It'll be a four-lane road that thankfully has adjacent bicycle paths.

It's hard to say how the whole area will get developed. At the monent it's a waste land but no doubt apartment blocks will loom up sooner or later, and the bicycle path will likely get obstructed with scooters and whatever. We'll see.

We start with samosas... note the Christmas tree

Ralph drops me a message, wondering if a beer is an option tonight. Silly question. We agree to meet and I don my cycling jacket and head into town, riding back along the new, direct route.

Ralph's already arrived at our local called Hop In and has a glass of 8% beer in front of him. There's not much choice of draught (on tap) beer and that one is too strong for me, so I order a can of IPA that's come all the way from Nevada and follow that with bottle of Tribute - an English beer I enjoyed while touring Cornwall a few years ago.

We chat about movies, recent events, our travels and the Super Bowl and call it a night around 10. We both have work tomorrow.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 3,720 km (2,310 miles)

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