According to the weather report it is already pleasant in the place I will be tomorrow. According to the weather report when tomorrow comes it will be pleasant in the place I am now. But it is not pleasant weather where I am now at the time I am here. That is too much to ask for.
I thought maybe looking at what Chris and Dea are doing in Xinjiang with it's -25° weather would help me appreciate what I've got but, honestly, all it really does is make me feel even colder. I'm wearing regular long tights with my thermals over top of them. Especially this early on in a trip there is no way my skin will tolerate the same chamois against in for so many hours in a row. It's like asking for chafe or a rash or chafe and a rash.
So long as I never need to pee, I'm almost comfortable. Peeing involves peeling off way too much clothing. It's bad enough with bibshorts but full length thermal bibs? Full length thermal bibs are both a gift and a curse.
Shrimp cake for breakfast. With a little Old Bay, this would be divine. As it is, it's not too bad.
The ride to the ferry is kind of alright. Nothing very exciting but no one burning random trash or crop stubble either. There are a handful of old buildings in the village of Eastfort 东炮台 but no sign of a fort—not even on satellite view.
The old village house off to my left may actually be modern construction. It's not exactly common to see modern buildings that look just like old buildings, but it does happen sometimes
Long long wait for the ferry to cross the baylet. Probably close to an hour. Not sure if the ferryman is waiting for a specified time or a minimum number of fares. The sun is out (albeit briefly) and I've got a sunbeam to sit in so I'm okay. I try talking to an adorable snot nosed 3 year old but her Mom says they aren't going to start teaching her Mandarin until she goes to school and she can't understand a word I'm saying. I find myself thinking, if it were just a few degrees warmer, this would really be quite pleasant.
I'm quite proud to say that I got my bike down those stairs, over that line, on to the first boat, and then on to the second boat with very little help from the boatman
He needed to put a hole in a piece of wood so he got out his drill and drilled in. I don't think I've ever actually seen a bow drill in use prior to this.
That lasts until I get to Binhai Road. This is now the third time I've been on this road. Not the same part mind you but definitely the same road. Once in 2006 when it was wide and empty and dull punctuated by the occasional scary truck of doom speeding by. Once in 2014 when it was wide and empty and dull and straight and wide and empty. And now in 2018. It's the epitome of "if you build it, they will come" only without anyone coming. For most of the day it's a just shy of limited access expressway standard divided highway with two lanes and two broad shoulders in each direction. Since it gets no use, however, both shoulders and half a lane are full up with dust and debris.
It's only when I start getting in close to the Port of Qinzhou that people start using the road. Even then, not a whole lot. There's an actual limited access expressway and a train line. I find myself a nice cheap hotel in the port town's little downtown where the front desk girl is happy to let me teach her how to register a foreigner. This will be so helpful the next time they get a guest from Vietnam. The bed is actually pretty comfortable so long as I avoid the random hard spots caused by it being a box spring with no mattress on top.
