D19: 三元桥 → 东仙坡

October 13, 2024

How else are you supposed to transport decorative goldfish?

I got back to the hostel last night close on to 10:30 only to find that the laundry room closes at 9pm. Considering the super energy efficient near-silent models of washers and dryers in the laundry room and the very impressive amount of sound proofing¹ the rooms had, I can't think of any good reason for the laundry room to close at all, but I'm not one to make a fuss over dumb rules².

My first wake up happens while it's still too early³ to do my laundry, which in turn results in my not leaving until it's gone on past 10:30, but not leaving until it's stupid late is normal for me and I would end up cranking out enough kilometers by nightfall that I'd get leg cramps around midnight so no real loss.

This Wohkoon Hostel is an average 10y more per bed but includes free laundry. The other one charged⁴ for their laundry room.

For the past 30 or 40 years, the trees have been winning the battle of Old Trees vs. Modern Road Planners

Arriving about 11am, well before I expected them to be open for the day, I find that the famous Li Qun's Hutong Duck Restaurant hasn't closed yet and still smells as amazing as always; but the cheapest duck meal on the menu is for two people, the Break Fast leftovers that I noshed on while doing my laundry have me barely feeling any hunger, the current weather is warm enough that meat will want refrigeration, and I just don't see myself eating that much before it spoils.

So, with much sadness, I keep going until the GPS unexpectedly spits me out on Niujie Moslem Street near the windows full of halal deliciousness that Myf took me to on my way out of Beijing in 2018.

A steaming mushroom statue⁵ that I suspect is an attempt to make a steam vent look pretty.

Ring Road Traffic and a weird tower that looks like air traffic control but clearly isn't

I pick the window⁶ with the shortest line. Foreigner in line attracts attention to the line I picked and, by the time I'm up at the front, it's gone from 5 or 6 people waiting to buy something to over a dozen. Then, because this line is long and long lines must be for better stuff, it just keeps growing.

I'm glad that I bought one of nearly everything but sad that I didn't get two or three of the amazing looking (and tasting) Cow Tongue Bing⁷ because, by the time I've had a taste of everything, my original window now has at least twice as many people as any other line and I can't justify going back.

Bag of goodies, a glutinous rice thing with purple flavored filling, cat's ear pastry, cow tongue bing, and a block of hawthorn⁸ jelly

Is it still Neoclassical Architecture⁹ if the classical in question is Chinese instead of Roman?

Although I frequently abandon my thoroughly planned routes, I've usually got more of an idea where I'm going than I now do with this Restart and no particular Detours have shown up in a passing perusal of Maps so it's mostly just different ways of trying to be on roads that aren't broad boulevards of nothingness.

I'm quite pleased to say, the periodic resetting of my destination point and occasional ignoring the GPS's instructions in favor of obvious greenways or more interesting looking roads gets me quite a pleasant ride with gingko trees that are starting to show fall colors and little canals whose banks are lined with fishermen.

I think he was skimming weeds or dredging garbage

A collection of red banners¹⁰ in a neighborhood that is in the process of being demolished

At the Liuli River, around the time I crossed from Beijing into Hebei, there was one historic stone bridge that I've previously had a look at and, with nightfall approaching, wasn't interesting enough to want to cross five lanes of traffic.

Other than that though, over the centuries, this area has too consistently been well-ish off for anything to get old enough that people see value in it for being old and want to preserve it.

Funny thing about tonight's hotel check-in is that, being one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) online bookable hotels on the border with Beijing and on the kind of arterial road that Chinese cyclists insist on riding for some reason¹¹, she's used to getting bikers, and it isn't until after I've been shown a room and am discussing my ability to—with her permission—go behind the front desk and register myself, that she even realizes I have a booking.

Manually operating a height restriction gate

Width Restriction for a Dangerous Bridge

¹ Better than the hotel near Jiaxian where, during our evening game of Scrabble†, Dr. M was able to identify which of our neighbors were having sex

† The same travel set she and her Mom took on their Silk Road ride from Suzhou to Venice.

² If the "no foreigners" rule actually existed outside of urban legend, misinformation, and laziness, I probably wouldn't have stayed in China as long as I have and—as a consequence—wouldn't be making a fuss about it.

³ Not because the laundry room was still closed but because the Front Desk person I needed to buy a sachet of detergent from was still sleeping

Cheap enough honesty box mushrooms that I was sorely tempted to buy them, except for my total lack of any way to cook

First functional level crossing of the Tour

⁴ I knew I'd want to do laundry before leaving Beijing, so I don't know by how much

⁵ Decorating with mushrooms was very much a Chinese Urban Art thing in the early 00's.

⁶ It turns out to be the pastries window. Which, since Chinese Muslim food is quite Turkish in nature, is so much sugar that most items get only a single bite before being wrapped back up and put in my handlebar bag for later.

⁷ Shaped like a cow tongue, stuffed with nut paste and spices

Probably dating to the 90s but updated and maintained, a surprisingly decent map of places and roads people just crossing into Hebei might want to know about

⁸ The sour red flavor that gets sweetened is cranberry in North America, ligonberry in Northern Europe, and hawthorn in Northern Asia

⁹ The amount of green and orange tile makes me think it's from the 60s

¹⁰

Awards for signing agreements prior to the beginning of eminent domain related demolishing are limited, if you miss your chance to get them, you won't have another opportunity.

Cheerfully, Legally, and Harmoniously Accept Relocation

Sign an Agreement. Pick a Home. Move. Have Good Fortune.

Don't Make or Spread Rumors, Each Household Will be Compensated Accordingly

¹¹ Everyone has GPS. Fear of getting lost should not be an issue.

Now that I'm no longer with Dr. M, I don't have to feel obligated to avoid foods I know she doesn't like

Since she wanted to take pictures with me and her best hotel rooms, I probably should have tried harder to include the cringeworthy round bed with red vinyl headboard

With regards to letting me sit in the chair behind the Front Desk, Hotel Management is far more dubious than the Hotel Owner

Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 1,267 km (787 miles)

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