THE DUSTY SILK ROUTE

At the only listed hostel in Lanshou (hard to find in that big city)I again bumped into Canadian Marc, who took the plateau route and beat me by 2 days.

Leaving Lanshou I was still determined to head up the silk route and then through Western China. Even although I had been informed that I would not be able to extend my visa for another month, I thought I'd still give it a go. Daily distances were:- Road works camp 62 km; Yellow River valley 81 km; Railway village 79 km; Weiwu district 67 km; Canyon campsite 159 km; and Lanshou (X2) 128 km. Total distance is 123 910 km.

ENDLESS SOUTH-WESTERN MOUNTAINS

I headed North out of Chengdu fairly comfortably, and for the next 2 days I was in the Northern Sichuan valleys cycling through what seemed like and endless city. Then I suddenly got to the mountains, and the built-up areas came to an abrupt halt.

After leaving Chengdu to the North my daily distances were as follows:- Deyang 91 km; Jiang You 97 km; Shi Yuan 84 km; Blind Valley 43 km; Pam Bridge 75 km; Gansu border town 37 km; Gansu Jie 45 km; Construction camp 32 km; Pepang 32 km; Majiapa 52 km; Wudu district 43 km; Riverside town 60 km; Chongquing district 54 km; Weichang district 77 km; River camp 62 km; Road village 61 km; Farmer depot 61 km; and Lanshou 70 km. Total distance so far is 123 334 km.