Nancy, the sexy Guangzhou chick

The ride to Qinghai Lake from Xining reminds me of my first ride from Chengdu to Ya’an. The first day on our ride, it was kinda boring. Very dusty, leaving China city, constructions are everywhere. Very noisy, too many honking, to many buses and lorries. Very very smoky too. It was kinda slow for us.. takes us 2 days to get to a town called Daotangzhen. It was easy for me, flatland… and its only riding below 3500m altitude. I guess if i ride real fast, i  could get to Qinghai Lake from Xining in a day… its only 150km in distance. But for Nancy, its her first time. Shes from Guangzhou, lowland… almost the same as us like in Kuala Lumpur. Coming to highland as high as over 3000m altitude will surely make her suffer to ride for a long distance. We stopped many times because she got tired easily. We started to ride kinda late too about 11am. since we stopped many times… we reach the next town to rest about 9pm at night… it was kinda dangerous riding in the dark. Its only 50km from Xining, but took us 10 hours to get there because its first time for her. But riding for 50km in a day for a first timer… and a girl… is impressive to me.

Nancy struggling inside a cloud, climbing a mountain pass

The second day of our ride, its another 50km, but better today. I think Nancy is getting stronger, its tougher than the first day, we started around 10am and reach Daotangzhen about 7 pm. Its much tougher and this is the first time, i cycled under the rain for the WHOLE DAY since i cycle in china. It was very very cold, at 1 point it reached 6 celcius. Im kinda suprised, Nancy is very strong… not physically… but mentally. I saw her struggling, her face looked so tired but she just kept going. I felt sorry for her because i didnt warn her about riding in Qinghai Plateau. Its not as tough as Tibetan Plateau but still, weather here is cold and its still kinda mountainous. At 1 point i just kept riding, leaving her behind climbing a mountain pass which sits at 3465m altitude, when i reached the top i just watched her struggling, climbing the pass very slow. It reminds me on my first time, reminds me struggling climbing hills everyday during my schooldays under the hot sun. When she finally made it to the top, i smiled, happy watching this girl made it. She was shivering, couldnt stand the cold, just like how i was shivering when i was really cold in Tibet. I think im kinda used to the cold, even tho i still hate it. We were riding constantly on the cloud level, we were even in the clouds sometimes. It was really cold! I seriously pity this Guangzhou girl but at the same time im happy for her… because she has the spirit, highly motivated. We’re not riding tomorrow, weather forecast stated that it will rain heavily tomorrow and also i told Nancy to take a rest. She has struggled for 2 days, she definitely needs some rest before we pedal another 50km to Qinghai Lake…

these locals are sexy...