Trip Update: Lanzhou to Golmud

pushpedal (67)in #partiko • 6 years ago (edited)

Trip Summary

We departed Lanzhou climbing up to tremendous heights to Qinghai's Golmud (青海·格尔木). We arrived on May 19th after cycling a further 1050 km. We cycled through some windy days but devised a system to cycle more efficiently (see below: Cycling Together). Most of the route was ascending with our highest altitude at 3800 meters.

Chinese people say their country is shaped like a chicken. Can you see the chicken tightly grasping Taiwan?

Snow Mountains

After leaving the big smoke of Xining, we ascended for two days straight and on the second day saw many white capped mountains. We were high enough where we could see rolling hills of grass — uncultivated land that is tent-friendly!

Nothing beats a hot drink with cookies to dip in

Entrance Ticket 门票

Arriving at China's biggest lake we were excited to see a body of water once again. Sadly it's not fresh water otherwise we would've gotten our free shower once the tourists were gone.

The road wasn't beside the lake so we would have to go on private roads which aren't free… to see the lake up close they'll charge you ¥10 ($2). We valued spending that money on food instead.

Sometimes the view from the road is good enough for us

Sunrise over the Lake

Once we cycled along the bottom of the lake to the west side, we found ourselves a hilly spot to pitch for the night. Although it was beside the road, we were very satisfied with the view and safe distance from the cars.

We tried out the GoPro gifted by our Christchurch friends. We edited the photo to give the stars more shine

Come next morning, we heard a tourist saying "oh look a tent!". We know exactly why they're here so got up, grabbed our cameras and waited patiently for the sun to rise.

① Free bed offered by a fellow traveller ② Avoiding the silly fee to see the lake ③ Horse racing by the lake ④ Tenting up on a hill for the sunrise

Generosity of Strangers

Since leaving Xining (including Xining) we have not paid a single day's accommodation! There's been so many random situation where we ended up being offered a bed, a safe camping spot, or an empty room in their house.

A friendly motorcyclist wanted to stay in a motel but the cheapest option was a 4 bed room. He invited us to stay with him and also shouted us to dinner.
Michael works at a hostel and the owner used to tour cycle too! Introduced by a mutual friend, they generously let us stay free for three days.
Two husbands from the Mongol ethnic family that took us in the night we got lost (see the blog entry Police Escort)
Two wives from the Mongol ethnic family
Supermarket owner offered their empty room instead of letting us camp outside in the cold
Another supermarket owner letting us tent in front of his shop

Cycling Together

One day was particularly difficult due to strong headwind and morning rain which lasted til 1.30 in the afternoon. We needed to get on the road to catch up with friends who were one day ahead of us.

Having cycled over 2000 kilometers we've noticed there's two types of road markers. One for every 100 meters and one every kilometer.
We remembered how the Olympic cyclists do their rotating technique when racing around the velodrome. We implemented a simpler version for us: