Something made my stomach unhappy yesterday evening. So unhappy that once I was sure I was very definitely going to be the only person staying in my section (and using my section's shared bathroom), I closed and latched the outer door and stopped bothering to put bottoms on between runs to the toilet.

At one point, maybe around 2am, it did occur to me that I have Pepto in my handlebar bag but my handlebar bag was still on my handlebars and I didn't want to get sufficiently dressed enough to go down to where my bike had been left. Also, although I know that Pepto does more than just stop you up the way Immodium does, as long as I had access to a toilet, wasn't in danger of dehydration, and could tolerate the pain from the gas burbles, I really preferred to get whatever was in me completely out of me.

It's little wonder that I ended up sleeping past 10am and didn't get on the road until after 11. The first part of today's ride will be the last part of this trip that is familiar cycling. The Guizhou section of the plotted out route features all sorts of stuff that I want to see again but, even if I wasn't facing the specific deadline of a flight from Chengdu to Barcelona on December 3rd, the speed at which I am traveling south is not enough to defeat the turning of the seasons.

Even at midmorning, the lingering smokiness of wood and coal fired heaters and stoves was enough to have me coughing something awful. At one point, I actually ended up in one of those coughing fits where my lizard brain decides (without consulting any of the higher functions) that maybe this discomfort is stomach based rather than lung based and I should try throwing up.
I'm pretty sure that vomiting during a "cough until I vomit" fit has never actually helped and this instance was no exception to the rule.

I thought I was going to do a wiggly wobbly route along the banks of the Bailong River that didn't have any serious climbing but the turnoff, which exists on my paper maps and on satellite view, doesn't exist on any of the electronic maps and is sufficiently non obvious that I miss it. Instead I take the National Road up and up and up and up and up to a 1000m pass which really isn't all that much but which explains why, six years ago, when I got to the ups and downs and downs and up section between Shazhou and Sandui, I found myself in a losing race against the sunset.

I am exceptionally pleased to say that, once again, I did not get off and walk. Now, obviously, by this point in geography six years ago, in addition to having sent all sorts of cruft packages home I had also gotten thinner, but I'm pretty sure that the 9+kg of body weight I've dropped so far this trip is even more than both of those combined.

I had a few 'photos of interest' which I wanted to recreate if possible and which I think I managed to get. Also, most amusingly, there's a particularly picturesque farmhouse which I had not put in my "try to find" queue and which I snapped a shot of without realizing it was a repeat because, well, it looked cool. Later on on the climb there would be more similar picturesque farmhouses but this one is the first.

Shortly before Shazhou I could have turned west on the old Provincial 105 (which is now National Road 567) but I continued down to Shazhou instead in the hopes of lunch. Didn't find it but I got myself some drinks and snacks that served to take the edge off.

Instead of going back up to the intersection with the S105, I went south across the Shazhou Bridge to a delightful concrete farm road which runs in twists and turns along the south side of the reservoir. What with sharp corners and the occasional bit of debris in the road, the effective top speed I could manage on the downhills had me a little bit worried that I might find myself in a sunset race if I spent too much time taking photos of the scenery so I settled for snapshots taken over my shoulder while still pedaling.

As it was I actually made it with a good 10 or 20 minutes to spare which gave me enough time to scope out the town, find likely candidates for lodging, find food, and find someplace to get a massage after dinner.

Unfortunately, a scheduled power outage for line maintenance took place during dinner and most of the town took this opportunity to join their neighbors in sitting outside around portable bonfires. No massage for me. Also, it made finding a hotel whose people were within shouting distance of the front desk a bit more complicated than usual.

Power was supposed to be back on within 45 minutes of going off. Based on when the lights came on in my hotel room, I'd guess it was more like 4-5 hours.