Tuesday November 4, 2014, 124 miles (200 km) – Total so far: 5,775 miles (9,294 km)

Tuesday November 4, 2014 two days 124 miles After four weeks off our bikes (3 weeks in Osh, Kyrgyzstan for our China visa and illness and one week training in China) except for a few around town miles, we finally were on the road again. It felt great to cycle again although working our way out of Chengdu was a bit challenging due to all the traffic. But as usual Jocelyn was shining with her excellent navigation skills and a few hours later we were finally out of the city. We came up on a tour cycling couple from France headed our way and shared lunch with them. The four of us had our fill of fried rice and steamed vegetables for about $6 total. China can be very inexpensive once away from the cities. After lunch we continued cycling together for several miles before they branched off to the west and we continued south to the city of Pengshan where we decided to get a hotel for the night. Across the street was a supermarket where we bought two bowls of noodles, we love Chinese noodles, and a fine bottle of Chinese wine ($4).

The next day we rode to Leshan, the home of the Giant Buddha of which we will tour tomorrow morning. We were shocked to find such a large city after climbing into the mountains. We were expecting a small mountain town after riding through so many small towns today. We found a hotel and the entire staff and others carried our bikes and gear up a few flights to our room. We had such a blast with all the super friendly people. I was even escorted to a store where beer was sold. For dinner we had a dish made from a street vendor. It was too spicy for me but Jocelyn certainly enjoyed it. Every day is a new adventure in China. You never know what is going to happen. We are in the land of “no English” so it does get interesting and fun especially when both us and the Chinese start laughing.

The hotel we are in has a big gaming area full of Mahjong tables. I have never watched this Chinese game but it sure seems like a lot of fun. There are also groups of guys’ playing cards with cigarettes hanging from their mouth. It seems so 70’s America. You can’t buy this sort of entertainment!