February 13, 2016
Above a small supermarket in Neilianxiang
meandering further west
Pure luck and instinct guide me on to the right road west out of Dayu and my memory takes me back to a coffee shop 30 minutes before that, to one I’d spotted yesterday day when searching for a room. Unfortunately it isn’t open at 9:30, but a noodle place across the street is and there are quite a few people dining there, which is always a good sign, so that's where I have breakfast, sat at a table outside, watching the cook prepare the fresh thin strands in a manic whirl of hand movements and flour dust.
A few kilometres into the ride west, I stop at a petrol station and the woman confirms I'm on the right track and as luck would have it, there are cans of coffee in a refrigerated display, so I grab one and stick it in my bar-bag to enjoy once free from the traffic and urban blight of the city.
The general idea today is to ride as far as a town called Neilinagxiang, around 50km away, and decide there whether to do another 30 to Chiangjiangzhen. My printed notes remind me there's a ferry ride across a lake involved, and it seems there will be a few stiff climbs en route.
The sun is diffused behind a hazy sky and the temperature has dropped a couple of degrees overnight, but there's little to no wind, my summer shirt and shorts are on and when I get to a small town called Jicunzhen, it seems like an excellent idea to stop and drink that chilled coffee.
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I also have a couple of cans of fizzy drink in a shop in the ramshackle town and chat to the young female assistant. She estimates there are about 30 more kilometres to Neilianxiang, confirming the day’s ride will be a piece of cake.
Not long after the road swerves left across the top of a dam, but another, slightly smaller one continues straight ahead. I opt to carry on. What traffic there has been, and there hasn’t been much after about 30 minutes’ riding, dries up, which should have alerted me. However, it follows the shoreline of the reservoir, the surface of which is around 30m below, and it's a wonderful ride, with a basically no climbs. I expect to get to that ferry, but there's nothing at all, just the lake and lots of cut bamboo, with stacks of the sturdy poles piled beside the road.
At one o’clock a hamlet lines the road and I ask a couple at one place where Neilinagxiang is. They point back. This is a cul-de-sac. A very nice one though.
Once I’ve retraced the 7km back to the dam and crossed it, a long climb begins. I get my moneys worth out of the small chain-ring as sweat runs down my forehead as I spin the lowest gears. There's little chance or inclination of getting to Chiangjiangzhen, but even with that scenic detour, riding to Neilinagxiang isn’t going to tax me too much.
One of those now regular invites to tea transpires after photographing a traditional whitewashed house. The 30-something woman who lives there is out front, hacking at small bits of bamboo with a sickle and welcomes me in. Oranges and snacks are placed on the table for me to enjoy, and she gets her six-year-old son to take a snap of me with her phone. It's another enjoyable dose of hospitality that has become familiar. It's just a shame my pathetic language skills prevent any meaningful conversation.
Neilianxiang is a small, nondescript town. There is just one hotel as far as I can tell and it takes me a while to locate it, as it's located through a small supermarket, up on the 4th floor. It's one of those rudimentary places and the rate is just 50rmb – a fiver, or about US$8. You’d pay more to pitch a tent in Europe.
Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 727 km (451 miles)
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