Ming, mud and lunch.

On the penultimate day of our family holiday to China, I was finally allowed out for a bike ride. It was led by an expat Aussie, Tim, who runs a cycle tours business in Beijing, and the four was made up by my BIL Rob who lives in Beijing, and his neighbour Reece.

Reece is also an addicted MTBer and had dragged a collection of bikes with him from Canberra. Thus he could lend Rob and I a hardtail each. We spent a pleasant afternoon before the ride doing maintenance and set-up.

Woke up Sunday morning to grey and damp skies. The first bad weather of our whole trip, and slightly chilly. My eldest son had been forecasting spring snow for Sunday in Beijing the whole week... ha ha ha. All the locals assured us this was impossible! We loaded up the bikes in Tim's car, which swallowed a Giant Reign and 5 wheels, plus gear, in the boot, and were away on a 1 hour trip up the expressway. Destination: The tombs of the last 11 Ming emperors. http://www.google.com/maps?ll=40.301433,116.2431...

As we pulled into the village where we were to start from, the light drizzle hardened up slightly. By the time we parked at the top of the hill above the village, the harder drizzle was full blown snow. There was even snow on the ground..... ha ha ha Jack, little smart arse. >:)

Tim gave us the ride plan, in the car with the heater on, and we all scrambled to find enough clothing to keep us warm on the trails. Rob was outfitted in a pair of running shorts, t-shirt and light pullover, I at least had the dumb luck to bring a shell which could keep my upper body protected.

The route was a mix of tar, cobbled ceremonial walkways, clay and grass walking paths, and ploughed fields and orchards.

The first decent on tar was fast slippery and cold. The hair on my legs was stiff with ice, and my toes and face were numb. Note to self, never wear your summer shoes to ride in snow.

We rode from tomb to tomb, passing through farms and villages which were all less than 80 years old, but looked ancient. This was thanks to the valley being sealed off from the general population from 1420, through the Ming dynasty, and the Qing dynasty which ended in the 1911. The valley was opened up by decree of Chiang Kai Shek in the 30's, and villages sprang up rapidly. These villages look ancient because they still use the same methods of construction, and in some cases the houses and walls are built using stones and bricks salvaged from the tomb complexes themself.

Most of the tomb complexes have been clinically restored to some extent, though many have lost their ceremonial gates, all have a wall around them, so the only tomb accessable by the public is the first built, the tomb of Emperor Chungling. The Tombs had to be less impressive as the years progressed so as to not dishonour the ancestors. Though this honour didn't protect a number of the occupants from being interred due to nefarious practice, and outright murder. At one stage two emperors were replaced in the space of 3 months, and the new emperors were often children.

Riding between the tombs was like nothing I'd ever experienced here. No sandy mud to chew the chainrings, just thick red clay. Boggy in the fields, but quite firm beneath the top surface everywhere else. Riding up the ceremonial paths in front of the tombs reminded me why I have a full susser at home. Bumpy, slippery and hard, the sort of terrain that shakes out fillings.

By the time we reached the fourth tomb complex Rob was seriously cold, and had begun full body shakes to try and get some core heat back. We stopped for some tea and a snack, and headed off to try and find a restaurant to warm up in. Being spring the state had decreed that the heating should be turned OFF, but we managed to persuade the staff to turn it on for us. They were very accomodating even though we tracked mud all through their establishment. A lunch of Gyoza, Hot and Sour soup, spicy eggplant, fried chicken and MSG, tea and rice set us up for the rest of the day. Four hungry MTBers cost of feast, AU$20-00. Sweet.

We must have made an interesting sight for the locals, as they tended to shout things at us as we went past, generally translated to me as "it is too cold/wet to be riding today" or "put some clothes on you idiots" or my favourite " get out of my orchard".

Rob did take the opportunity to put some more clothes on when wehappened upon a village store. He asked if they sold clothes, and was told "no". They did have rain clothes though? He bought a poncho, and was admonished as a stupid westerner when he proceeded to put it on beneath his light sweater, "it goes on the outside". When he explained it was to act as a wind break to keep him warm, they said, well why don't you buy some thermals. He replied, "but you said you don't have clothes?" "No, but we have underclothes!"...... I think the final straw was when he also asked for some plastic bags which he proceeded to put on over his socks, but inside his shoes......

The dinner table conversations in that village will consist of "Do you remember that stupid Aussie that wore his raincoat on the inside?" for a long time.

All in, it was an excellent day on the bike, great food, amazing scenery and sights, unique (for me) riding conditions, funny stories, and a stunning ride across the top of a dam wall. I wish I'd taken the Garmin so I had a track of the ride.