D17: 中原 → 长丰

February 27, 2024

Has it really been three whole years since the last time I stayed at a hotel that advertised backhoes for rent?

A surprisingly unmemorable day where nothing much of interest happened and not just because I've taken two days to get around to write my journal entry.

After some morning coffee involving the new mokina gasket¹, I set my intermediate goal as the Former Site of the Wanning Soviet without really expecting it to be anything fabulous² but also expecting more than a very expensive marker indicating that something was here, and now wasn't. Extra disappointment points for the Site, when it was the Wanning Soviet, having been in a temple, and absolutely zero care being taken for the few relics (just some column plinths and a dedication stone from Guangxu 18) of said temple.

Speaking of poorly maintained heritage sites, this is a massive Martyr's Tomb for someone whose name I forgot to write down to look up for later

Sure, it's only 19th century, but you'd think the combination with Party History factors or how much they spent on this enclosure would have it at least standing upright

Being as I managed almost the whole day on roads so small that they had neither number nor name, the ride was pretty enough even if the weather was gray and constantly threatening to actually rain (as opposed to intermittent mizzling).

Was gifted some free pineapples³ by the universe⁴ only to not only regret carrying the weight of them for the rest of the day, but also have them use up all of my fruit carrying space, such that when I finally saw the first ripe Donor Papaya⁵ of the tour, I couldn't take it.

My first pineapple came from a discard pile by the side of a field.

Second one literally had fallen off the back of a truck

Martyr's Tomb in the middle of a pineapple field

In line with the universe giving me things, I somehow scored a 30y hotel room on account of multiple stacked discounts and them lowering the online price because it was 5pm and not sold yet. Of course, my having done this meant that I had to push on the extra 15 or 17km after Beida Town and couldn't take my sweet time watching the people with the backhoe who were trying to right an overturned van, but honestly, how many times did I need to see them fail to get it upright before I would have been bored?

Although the Shaxian Snacks where I ate my dinner allowing me to go back into their kitchen to cut one of the pineapples was certainly one of the bright spots, I believe the highlight of the day was most likely a rather governmentalish looking building in the middle of nowhere built sometime in the 1960s⁶ where I managed to completely mangle nearly every character I was able to just barely pick out from the heavily lichened and lightly inscribed concrete, only to have one of the people in my "Marian 🚲 China" WeChat group successfully identify the whole quote.

I had × 有酒生多×志， × × 日具澳新天。It's actually 为有牺牲多壮志，敢教日月换新天。⁷

First "Three Represents" slogan of the Tour

But, as I said above, it was mostly an unmemorable day with nothing particularly exciting, particularly frustrating, particularly interesting, or particularly bad.

It simply, and quite damply, was.

¹ It won't actually matter that the gasket size isn't quite perfect as the first thing I do after successfully making coffee with the new gasket is fail to notice it falling out while washing the coffee pot.

Goji berry and mixed raisins, I think with tallow

A rare "this road is closed to through traffic for Covid controls" sign on a road that isn't closed

² With the exception of the museum's English†, the Former Site of the Lingshui Soviet, visited on last year's Round the Island certainly was disappointing enough

† Because everything Lingshui does with English is amazing

³ The first pineapple was picked up out of a cull pile by the side of a pineapple field. The second and third pineapples had literally fallen off the back of a truck. The third pineapple was more ripe than the first, so, lacking any additional space for pineapples, I left the less ripe one by the side of the road.

One of the modern schools children go to now

⁴ One of my key superstitious in terms of Road Luck is that one absolutely must accept all Gifts From the Universe and that if you turn your nose up at something like a free pineapple or a Chinese knot someone lost by the side of the road, the universe won't give you the truly Awesome Things. When I'm being scientific and pragmatic about my superstition, I've decided that this is because accepting Gifts From the Universe requires a go slow go positive attitude that makes it easier to find the Awesome.

⁵ "Donor Papaya" are ones that have grown wild, either from human or animal discarded seeds and which local humans are not harvesting the fruit from†. They generally aren't as tasty as intentionally grown fruit, but they have a broader range of flavors.

†It should be noted that obvious accidental papaya that are being maintained/harvested by local humans do not count as "donor papaya" and cannot be taken as that would be rude.

⁵ Only the 1, 9, and 6 were legible

⁶ “Thanks to so many martyrs for the great cause, we smashed the old world and created a brave new world.”

Old barbershop in Longgun Town just off the National Road

Sometimes, when I see a single oil palm like this, I wonder if it's still treated as a crop tree

First "call the 12121 hotline" to get the weather report

Of course the sky started to clear just as it started to get dark

Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 1,056 km (656 miles)

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