March 10th

March 10, 2024

Yingge

The weather has been strange. On Tuesday it was around 27°C and so sunny that my skin got burnt on a four-hour ride. However, since then it's been chilly, windy and damp with the temperature having dropped around 15°C. It's predicted to be a bit better today, so Debbie and I opt to go for a spin and wheel the bikes outside at gone 10:30 and start riding south towards the town of Bade. It's overcast, but the wind has died. It was gusting like crazy on that Tuesday ride and really wore me out.

Some paddies have already been planted, but not this one

Paddies on the way to Bade are flooded in ankle-deep water and some have rice planted in them in long, wavey rows, with the thin green shoots sticking just a few of inches out of the muddy surface. It won't be too long before the fields transform into vibrant rectangles the color of pool tables. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

My daughter and her two boys fly over here in a few weeks. It'll be good to show them the sights, a few a bit off the beaten track. I've been busy looking at the options, but cycling here doesn't seem like a good idea, what with the boys being quite young and the general traffic being a law unto itself. having said that, I do have one place pencilled in - a small island (Liuqiu) just off the southwest coast that doesn't have many vehicles. There are places there that rent out tandems. It's about 10km all the way round its shoreline and a couple of beaches to enjoy. Hopefully the weather is pretty decent then. We'll see.

One leg of my Gorillapod stuck in the end of a bamboo fence...

One of the reasons we're heading to Yingge is that I need at least one wet day option. Being a pottery center, the town has a few places that offer workshops for children and it seems like a good idea to check them out before my grandsons arrive in early April.

The first one only does them on weekends, but the second place we try has them all week, with the third likewise. We're happy and will likely go to the last one as the guy seems friendly and patient.

Debbie browses some of the numerous shops that fill the center of town and soon buys herself a large, white mug like the ones you drink from in Starbucks when you order a Grande. It's US$3. I buy a couple of terra cotta plant pots which only just squeeze into my saddlebag after being wrapped in cardboard. Mission complete. It's time to head back.

Debbie has just bought one of the large white mugs

Vendor with small cakes for sale from his bicycle

We soon get on the bicycle path that brought us here. It runs beside a wide river and we now ride upstream. There are people out on YouBikes - the local rentals - and quite a few on road bikes. We spot a group of four ahead and soon catch them up and notice they all have Ortlieb rear panniers and sure enough they're foreigners. They dawdle and we overtake before I think about stopping for a chat.

We eventually veer off the path and away from the river and cycle along a a series of narrow lanes that have little traffic. They bascially feed farms and I think we see just one or two cars before reaching the bottom of a hill. It's not the one we usually cycle up, but near the top of this one is a clothing store that Debbie wants to check out. It's a stiff climb for a few minutes, then we reach route 114 and get to the clothing shop called Net.

The sale rails get our attenton and I pick a flat cap and a pair of pyjamas. Debbie gets a few things too, as there's 50% off. The bag the items get put in goes over one of my bar-ends, as our saddlebags are already full. It swings about a little bit, but it's not a problem - in about 30 minutes we'll be home.

Debbie with a haul in a Net clothing store

As we get closer to home we wonder about dinner as it's now gone four and we're both feeling peckish. There's a smal Thai place we've been to before hidden down an alley off route 114 and that's where we detour to. There are only four tables. A man is sat at one and I decide to have what he's having - a spicy soup.

For the past few weeks my left sinus has been blocked and I've been coughing a lot, particularly at night. I went to see the doctor over a week ago and got prescribed antibiotics, but they've not had any real effect. This spicy soup seems to have more remedial properties. My eyes water.

A small Thai place not too far from home

This worked better than some antibiotics

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 3,765 km (2,338 miles)

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