Back to the Rural Life: Dali to Shaxi

We decided on a rather convoluted route to Shaxi to maximise time cycling through the smaller towns and back into the rural areas we have really come to enjoy.

Our first day out of Dali was dampened a little by the morning rain but that quickly disappeared as we clicked by kilometre after kilometre descending for hours through a wonderful tree lined section of the G320 highway. The unexpected descent continued for most of the day until about the last 10km where we climbed steadily and then steeply (regaining most of our altitude loss) to our destination of Beitou. Our room for the night was the cheapest we had come across so far and the biggest with two double bedrooms, lounge and bathroom. However, by the end of the night we had company and shared our mansion with a young family.

 The ride through to Yunlong was a slow wind up through the valleys. We made an ambitious afternoon call to push on through to Yunlong through the windy 20km on the map. This only ended up being a very small climb, a 1.2km tunnel that did not allow motorbikes, horse and cart, or bicycles, but that didn't stop us, and an amazing, pictureqsue long descent into the city of Yunlong.

Crop fields

In Yunlong we took a stroll up to a lone pagoda on the hillside to take in the view of the surrounding mountains. We marveled at the beautiful walkway lining the river, covered in pagolas laden with bright pink flowers and lined with photos showing bridges that cross the river dating back to 300AD.

We had a bit of a sleep in planning to have a short day riding after the previous two long days. After finally getting out of the crazy traffic in Yunlong, presumably because it was the first day of Dragon Boat Festival, and there was a huge market in town, we wound our way up the valley in the drizzling rain. It made for a very peaceful and calm ride after some sweltering hot days. We got stuck in a major traffic jam in the village of Changxin as the people flooded in for the market, parking on both sides of the road and creating a bottle neck that all the traffic passing through town had to get through. With biggest trucks demanding right of way the mess was cleared up in about 15 minutes by a policeman and we were off on our way again, not far from our destination. After a grunt up hill we made it to our town at 2pm. After consulting with locals, and content with the fact that the sun was now shining and we were happily dried out, we decided to push on the next 44km of "flat road" to get to Lanping. Within 30 seconds of setting off down hill the heavens opened up and we were caught in a down pour. Three and a half hours later it finally stopped, and soaked to the bone we rode through the mud laden road of the final town before making it up a steep climb to Lanping. Our short day turned in to 98km of showers and rain. We were tired.

Shelter from the rain

Midday traffic jam

Setting off from Lanping we were straight in to a hill climb, and we pushed on up the valley, climbing with tried legs, only to be rewarded with a beautifully long descent. It was brilliant! An hour or so later we stopped in a bus shelter for a break,and after checking the GPS realised we had been overconfident in our route and had missed a turnoff 2km back up the valley. So we set off on a detour across the rice fields heading towards the mountains on the other side of the valley, hoping to connect up with our road. This turned out to be a highlight for us as we wound our way over the concrete paths, through men and women heading to and from the fields, with the rice fields spanning out below either side of us. This was a moment to remember.

We arrived relatively early in the sleepy town of Madeng and were grateful for some rest time after a few long days riding. We found a place to eat and were given such lovely hospitality by a family with two daughters (12 and 15 years old). We had a few rounds of photos taken, and were offered some free homemade Zongzi (sticky steamed rice with a sweet centre wrapped in a palm leaf that they had made for the Dragon Boat Festival) to enjoy with our meal . After dinner we set off for a stroll around the man made lake in the middle of town. Here Calvin was licked on the leg by a sneaky stray dog that had snuck up from behind him. We made it around the lake once amid cries of rabies and claiming he felt his muscles weakening, only to set off back to the hotel to wash the saliva off his leg.

Detour across the rice fields to get back on track 

The next day we rose early, uncertain about the what the road would bring for the next leg of the journey, but eager to get to Shaxi for some much needed rest. We packed our bags, loaded our bikes, handed in our room key, and then stared at the rain that had evolved from the drizzle. We consulted the man who ran the hotel (who laughed like a cartoon character), and with many gestures and references to the weather map on his iPad we determined it would be better to unload our bikes, take back the key, unpack our bags and stay put for a day.

Boy were we glad we did! We grabbed our umbrellas and went on the hunt for Baozi only to discover that for the final day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday this town had a massive market. What had been an almost dead town the day before was now a hustling, bustling thrall of stalls selling fresh produce, baozi galore, craft goods, clothing, household goods and HUGE woks. We wandered the markets for over an hour, made a couple of cheeky purchases we were certain wouldn't effect our pannier bags weight too much, and then made our way back to the hotel to relax as the rain came and went over the day.

Woman in traditional Bai clothing selling Calvin his favorite berries

With our legs rested we were much more happy to take on the drizzle that fell from the sky. Attempt number two at making it to Shaxi found us making a steep climb over a hill and descending into the first of two valleys we would follow for the day. This road was marked as a smaller road on the map and we had assumed it would be in poor condition. We were, however, pleasantly surprised as we meandered down this valley on narrow but sealed road. The final 20km turned out to be a different story, and as the weather changed to full blown rain the road too declined to cobble stones. These were bumpy to say the least, and with Kate's panniers jumping off their rack with any big bumps it made for very slow downhill sections. The rain grew heavier, and the road deteriorated further with sections of the road becoming dirt and then mud. We hadn't seen anyone on the road for the last 10km and with a large number of landslides only recently cleared we were both secretly anxious that we would come to a blocked road and have to backtrack. Luckily for us this never eventuated, and in an instant the road turned from mud and cobblestones to smooth concrete. 

Cobblestones

Muddy cobblestones

Celebrating our successful pass we sheltered under a bus stand and devoured some mantou and banana. While we stood huddled under the shelter an elderly woman walked by looked at us said something and started cackling away to herself. She looked back at where we had came from, turned to us again said something else and cackled to herself again. As she wandered on by we stood there a little dumbfounded and amused at our interaction.

The sky cleared a little and we continued down the valley crossed a bridge, rounded the spur, and headed back up the next valley in lightened rain. After climbing and dropping again we pedaled in to the small, ancient, charming quiet town of Shaxi.