#2: [25-Jul-15]

05-Sep-2006 -- This is the third confluence visit on a bicycle trip from China to Central Asia. The story starts at 32°N 107°E.

That day I started cycling in the neighbouring district town Zhouqu 41km beeline away. On my way I passed through a nice valley with small villages populated by the Tibetian and Hui Minorities. In the village Lijie (15 km from the CP) an accident happened. I was passing through the village on the main road, when on my right side a parking motor-tricycle started his engine. I thought he would go straight, but he made a sudden 180° u-turn and bumped into my right side. A somersault prevented me from hitting my head and I landed safely on the asphalt. Luckily, the tricycle hit my back panniers so there was no damage to me or my bike. But I had a little shock and took a break sitting at the side. Meanwhile the whole village had gathered. Even without accident the village people would have curiously gathered around me since this place rarely sees foreigners. This time two fascinating things came together: a foreigner involved in an accident! The poor tricycle driver felt sorry about it. He went to a pharmacy and bought some band-aid for me. Indeed, I had two little bleeding wounds on my knees. The crowd around me became too intense and didn’t allow for resting so I hit the road soon after.

At 1 pm I reached the village Luoda (2.4 km beeline away). Due to the rough mountainous terrain I dedicated the rest of the day for the hunt. I booked a room in one of the two hostels and took off for the confluence. There was a little road to the mountain village Jiabu (10 km from Luoda). But the local people advised me not to take the bike – so I hiked without it.

But it turned out that the road was a normal gravel road and biking wouldn’t have been a problem at all (may be a bicycle without gears wouldn’t have been useful). Actually the road came as close as 62m to the point. From there, a 5-minute climb took me to the confluence.

On my way back I met a Tibetan couple who were hiking the long way up to Jiabu in the heat of the day. After a short conversation I was gifted two pears.

It was just 3 pm when I returned to Luoda. There was no reason to spend the night in the tiny village Luoda anymore and I decided to check out of my hotel. That day I spend the night 50 km further north at Lazikou, a famous place along the route of the Long March.

CP visit details:

• Time at the CP: 14:21 p.m.
• Time to reach the CP from the main road: 30 minutes
• Distance to a track: 62 m
• Distance to a road: 2 km
• Distance of bicycle parking: 62 m
• Distance to houses: 2 km
• Topography: on a steep grade, almost in the bottom of a deep canyon. Landslide and erosion area.
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0.38 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 12 m
• GPS height: 1852 m
• Vegetation: thorn bushes, nettles
• Weather: mostly sunny, 27° C (felt temperature)
• Description of the CP: In southern Gansu Province, just at the edge of the Tibetian Plateau. On the Western slope of a deep canyon.
• Given Name: The Unnecessary Hotel Confluence

Story continues at 35°N 104°E