January 22nd

January 22, 2023

New Year's Day

It's a bit cool and grey again, but Debbie is up for a spin and her tyres get pumped up hard just before we head out the door at gone 10 o'clock. She hasn't used her bike for a while and her small saddlebag has signs of mold, so she takes it off. I'm in a merino top, but have a light jacket in my saddlebag just in case. It's hard to know how nicely the weather will cooperate. The forecast is for sunshine, but I've heard that one before.

We've decided to ride to Longtan and follow the usual route and after a few minutes I wonder if the long-sleeved wool top is going to feel a bit uncomfortable, as it's warm, certainly warmer out than we expected.

After ten minutes we approach a small temple that's protected from the elements by a metal barn-like roof and there are about 100 people gathered around and a couple of percussion instruments can be heard. There's a what sounds like a drum and a gong, or perhaps a chime bell, which gets pretty loud once I stop to have a closer look. A man in ceremonial clothes is bestowing New Year blessings on the people lining up and as it seems OK to take a few snaps, that's what I do.

Once across the intersection with Route 66, we veer off onto a small road and at the edge of Longtan wonder where to go. Most shops will be closed today, but Louisa Coffee will be open so that's where we head.

Today is a bit like Christmas Day in the West. Last night was New Year's Eve and is when families usually gather, with children returning to their parents' home and sharing a meal and staying up late. Today is the day after and visiting a temple is the norm, so it's not a big surprise to find Louisa Coffee to be pretty quiet. It's about 11 and brunch-time, so I order a muffin and Debbie has a toastie.

There's tradition music being played as it always is at this time of year. These songs remind me of the Gilbert and Sullivan musical 'The Mikado', which my mother had an LP of, but this is higher energy stuff with clashing cymbals, a two-stringed erhu and a host of other instruments that are hard to put names to. Then, oddly, The Carpenters's 'We've only Just Begun' overlays it and is another piece my mother had on vinyl. Debbie and I surmise that one of the customers is streaming it on a phone, but there are only two tables occupied. It gets even more bizarre when the Chinese music evolves into a version of 'Jingle Bells'.

After turning off route 113, we ride on a small road to Longtan

It's now sunny outside with a clear sky and I wish I'd worn a lighter, summer top.

The clothing store NET is along the road and we pop in but don't find any bargains and are soon heading towards the south side of town. We get to the town's large pond and there's a street market in full swing. This is where everyone is.

There's a row of stalls selling drinks and various snacks like corn on the cob and grilled pork, while others have games like shooting balloons with a pneumatic pistol. It's hard to imagine that being permissable in the UK. What I was a child the fairs had air rifles that fired pellets. After surveying the 100 metre strip Debbie says she'd like to visit the big temple located on what looks to be an island in the pond. It's a busy place today. She prays for a minute and then we're on our way.

The fields are fallow and only some random sunflowers and a narrow blanket of purple flowers are growing where rice usually is. It's winter, but today has become warm and we agree to find some shade where we can eat the two oranges we've brought with us. We find a bench below a tree and opposite is a field of bright yellow.

It's only just gone noon and it seems too nice to ride back home so early in the day, so we decide to ride to the town of Daxi. I lead the way and opt to take a turn down an alley as it's somewhere we've not cycled along before.

We make a few turns and spot a bicycle path sign and follow that through a small park. Shortly after we reach an area full of homes built for soldiers probably 50 years or more ago. It's about 15 years since we cycled here. We cruise around a few empty streets not really knowing where we'e going and then come out on a famaliar road and decide to skip Daxi as going there would make it a long day and riding back from there is not very straightforward.

We ride along a route that's kind of parallel to the one we came out on. Debbie is lost, but I have a pretty good idea of our location and direction. We ride past a few flat fields of tea bushes and eventually connect into our outbound route and as Debbie is feeling peckish, we pop into a very familiar 7-Eleven. She has two tea eggs.

From the convenience store I opt to take us on an alternate route, one which is wide in places but has very few cars. We soon spot a nice bamboo two-seater that someone has discarded by the side of the road and it's the same style as two chairs we have. It'd be great to have a three-piece suite, but without a motor vehicle it has to stay where it is.

Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 2,262 km (1,405 miles)

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