Rainy season, open skies
N 22°59'17.2'' E 103°41'21.7''
Date:
24.05.2016
Day: 332
Country:
China
Province:
Yunnan
Location:
Pingbian
Latitude N:
22°59’17.2”
Longitude E:
103°41’21.7”
Daily kilometers:
70 km
Total kilometers:
17,243 km
As the crow flies:
53.42 km
Average speed:
19.3 km/h
Maximum speed:
48.8 km/h
Travel time:
03:22 hrs.
Soil condition:
Asphalt
Maximum height:
1.550 m
Total altitude meters:
41.549 m
Altitude meters for the day:
918 m
Sunrise:
06:21 am
Sunset:
7:42 pm
Temperature day max:
21°C
Temperature day min:
17°C
Departure:
10:30 a.m.
Arrival time:
2:30 pm
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
Billowing clouds pass close to the window. Her white and moist fingers reach for the nearby mountains and make them disappear completely. “Looks bad,” I say, watching the constant rain and thinking again about sitting out the bad weather. According to the weather forecast, however, it will stay like this for the next week. It looks like the monsoon will have us in its grip by the end of May. “The farmers will be happy,” I say, thinking of the parched fields we drove past a few days ago.
We leave the village in full rain gear. The floodgates of heaven have opened their gates and let their water rain down on us. After just 20 minutes, the moisture seeps through our clothes. There is almost nothing that will keep the cyclist dry in such severe weather. Behind me, I can hear it sneezing violently again and again. Tanja’s cold has come back like a bummer. No wonder.
Despite the bad weather, the mountain world we cross has a special charm. I would love to take photos, but risking the camera is out of proportion.
In the afternoon, we reach the mountain village of Pingbian at an altitude of 1,500 m, completely soaked. Splattered all over with dirt and mud, we are allowed to ride our bikes back to our accommodation. The shiny floor is immediately dirty. “Duibuqi”, (excuse me) I say to a Chinese woman at reception. She gives me a friendly smile and waves me off. Then two young women rush over to clean our completely filthy trailers on the forecourt. “I’ll do it myself,” I say, thanking him for his help. They give me a water hose with which I spray the dirt off the trailers. An hour later, I’m standing in our room, tired and wet. There is no air conditioning and therefore no heating. We take a hot shower and hang up our wet clothes, which will be impossible to dry by tomorrow given the humidity in the room…
If you would like to find out more about our adventures, you can find our books under this link.
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