Kunming to Dali

Kunming to Tuguan

Leaving in Kunming traffic

Leaving Kunming turned out much easier, less wet and progressively warmer than expected. Kilometers were flying by and the roads were just as we remembered them - smooth, spacious and gentle climbs.  Then the road narrowed and got a little patchy. Then it just turned to a mashed up mess and mud bath. This time it was mud rather than snow clogging Calvin's wheels. We pulled into the small roadside town of Tuguan and after trudging through the mud bath there we turned back through it and decided to find somewhere to stay. With some luck we chose a place with an industrial hose that the owner insisted we use to clean our bikes, and a restaurant to satisfy our bellies. Great outcome.

Tuguan to Cangling

Our next day we enjoyed some great descents, river valleys and more interesting roads. Road choice once again was thought to be reasonably peaceful but we still managed to find loads of trucks. China has a lot of trucks, some things never change. We did get some brilliant sections to ourselves. This possibly may have been due to riding on the wrong side of a river valley that had roads on either side (probably one way each side) and traffic our side only came from the other direction. It was wide enough for us all anyway! Lunch break was a delight of fried bread things for Calvin and an array of sweet and savory baozi for us both. Onwards we went down the very degraded, lumpy road only to turn back so we were going the right way to Dali - once again, GPS didn't help Kate's map reading skills. This led to more mud bath and an ever changing quality of road for the next 20km. Seal to dirt, two way became single lane, and the bigger the vehicle you had the faster you must drive!  And we also got our first taste of a small climb in the ever rising heat and humidity. Good to be in the tropics. Sometimes.

Cangling to Shaqiao 

After such rough roads the previous day, it was hard to guess what the G320 would bring next. We pedaled off amidst bumpy road works only to hit brand spanking new tarmac double lane road a couple of kilometers into the day. Although new and sealed, it apparently was not complete for full use. So for parts of the ride we were directed to go on the left side, at other times the right hand side, and then we weren't told at all so it was a free for all with traffic going both ways on both sides of the road.

Choose your tunnel

We had been pretty unsure about what the weather would be like in Yunnan, May and June being labelled the 'rainy season', but we got nothing but full blasting sunshine on our backs, and the reflected heat off the black tarmac beaming up in our faces. Today was the day we learnt the real strength of the sun and we both came out a little on the red side.

After hoping back on the saddle after a lunch stop, and get-out-of-the-sun stop in Nanhua, the road turned rutted and bumpy again. This became an excruciating problem for Kate who had realised on day two of cycling that her new bike shorts had seams in ungodly places and had been suffering from pretty bad saddle sores. We stopped for the night at the lakeside town of Shaqiao, the new shorts promptly disposed of in the rubbish bin, and the question lurking in the air of whether it would be better for Kate to catch a bus to Dali to get a couple of days recovery.

Shaqiao to Xiazhuangzhen

Not wanting to miss out on the road ahead, we planned a shorter day to allow Kate less time in the saddle. The road started offwith a good 6km of bumpy degraded road, only to turn into a smooth concrete road. We meandered up a long valley, climbing, climbing, climbing, dropping and climbing again. At the top of the hill Calvin spotted a Chinese cycle tourist about to take off down the hill. Through our limited communication skills we figured out that he was cycling all around China (maybe for a year), and currently heading towards Lhasa.  We let him set off on the descent, only to catch up with him again shortly down the hill as we enjoyed the smooth, beautifully cornered road down hill.

Calvin tailing the cycle tourist down hill

From here we climbed again and dropped into the city of Xiazhuangzhen. The streets were lined with market stalls, bustling with patrons on what must have been Sunday market day.

Xiazhuangzhen to Midu 

Once again we planned a short day to give Kate some recovery time. However, we had reached our destination city of Xiangcheng by 11am, and weren't quite ready to stop riding. We pulled over on the side of the road to make a plan only to find a man and woman pull up behind us. More Chinese cycle toursits, also heading for Lhasa. They were planning on making it to Dali that day, and although that was a little too far, and too many hills, for Kate to fathom, it gave us the push we needed and off we cycled over the first hill climb towards Dali. After another great descent we turned off the road to Dali and detoured south to the city of Midu for the night.

More cycle tourists!

This town was an absolute gem to find. It was a stinking hot day (33 degrees by Calvin's watch), and since the hotel said there wouldn't be water until 6pm we decided to set off for a wander around the town, showers and laundry to be dealt with later. We headed towards a big park on the map and found a beautiful lush green garden set around a large pond being enjoyed by the locals playing cards, playing music, dancing and just relaxing in the shade. We followed suit and found ourselves a spot on a bench to take off our shoes, lie back and watch the clouds go by.

Midu to Dali

As we had detoured from the main route to Dali, the day started with a gentle 12km climb up a valley. At the head of the valley we turned off and started on what was to be our big ascent in to Dali. Once again China proved itself to be incredible at building roads at such a low gradient that even the most nasty looking climb becomes incredibly manageable and even enjoyable. We made it to the top with a spectacular view of the valley we had stayed in the night before, and then dropped off the other side heading towards Dali.

The view before the descent 

Dali is in two parts. You have to pass through the new town of Dali, head along the side of Lake Erhai for 15km and you end up at the ancient town of Dali sandwiched between the lake and 4000m peak mountains.

Heading through the new town of Dali, a large city, we hit pretty busy traffic. While being funneled through road works, trying to navigate and dodge other vehicles, Kate hit a lip in the road at just the wrong angle. Some out of control monstrous skidding ensued and she saved herself just in the knick of time from splattering herself against the tarmac. Luckily a large black SUV had been paying enough attention to his surroundings that he came to a screeching halt one meter behind her. Being a tad freaked out at her first real close call (there have been plenty of manageable close calls with cars cutting in front of us and then slamming on their brakes to turn a corner) it was a very slow and quiet ride out to the ancient town of Dali.