Hello from China!

I used to frequent this spot in Beijing. Great Leap Brewing http://www.greatleapbrewing.com
Jing A and Slowboat were also solid choices. Beijing actually has a craft beer festival every year. This photo is from the 2014 event.

 

Smart people!

 

Roads!?! Where we're going we dont need roads!
Old, and new...

 

Our journey to bring the old folks home has been a success. The locals come out to see the lao wei, the outsider, me. They come to the home to watch me eat and offer me cigarettes and bai jiu.
We will leave the wet bamboo forests for the desert of Gansu-more like SoCal with dry dusty conditions. I also have a bike stashed there! 26er, but you run what you brung!

Handmade clay bricks, sans any extra support. No wonder these come down disastrously during quakes.

Nobody knows how old this bridge is

When I was here last, 2007, this river and many others I saw were grossly polluted. Now, while there is still a lot of work to do, it is much cleaner. China has a war on pollution and the changes are evident but a lack of trash pick up services leads to burning and clandestine dumping.

Local street market. Anybody want some pork?


Following the path my wife took to elementary school

Old school replaced by newer white building in back

Bamboo forest


Guess what this is. Hint: not a bottle opener

 

Any Kung Fu Ross???

 

It's on TV 24/7.
Here is Chi Shu (7th uncle) practicing calligraphy though.

 

The number of reams it must take just to write "Happy Birthday" is staggering.

 

I got nothing
Love the pics Ross. Keep it up

 

I know what it is! A company not paying royalties to Apple for using their logo.

 

Stop posting stuff while we’re sleeping amigo, oh wait... yea never mind
This whole tomorrow time travel thing messes with my mind

 

I am 15 hours ahead of you guys. Right now it's a little after 8pm on Thursday, May 2nd.
I get more screwed up time-wise when I return. The jet-lag sucks. Blackout curtains and earplugs help a little.

 

Just made it to my furthest destination, Lanzhou, Gansu, China. 11,000 km or 6900 miles from LA. Lanzhou is an old city on the Silk road, at the edge of the western Chinese desert. The Muslim influence is apparent with halal meats and breads available.
First thing I do when I get here is get a steaming bowl of Lanzhou niu rou mien.
This is a local specialty that "cannot be duplicated" elsewhere. The soup is made exclusively by the Muslim minority and I have been told the secret ingredient is the sweat that drips from the cook's nose as he stirs the cauldron of hand-pulled noodles. Nice!
Price went up from ¥6 to ¥7, still just about a dollar.
Hao Chen de hen!

 

Oh yeah, I finally get to my bike today!
I'm dying to turn the pedals!

 

Spotted on the rainy streets of Lanzhou.
Just your typical Jiant...

 

Just noticed in the pic that there is a black steel tube jammed into the rusty fork to stop it from compressing. Didn't expect that on a classic super bike!

 

New Desgin Classic Super Bike FTW

 

LOL!!!!!!

Much entertainment in that photo. Thanks, Ross.

 

and a lock on the back to keep it from getting pinched....

 

That's the New Desgin I've been reading about!

 

My mistake, it's a fanbelt wrapped around the tire with a pad-lock.

 

Ha! I missed that. Thought it was just a cheap cable lock. That bike has been there for days, weeks, as far as I know. Too crappy to steal.

 

Care to explain how that fan belt is wrapped through the wheel? Looks like an Escher drawing.

 

I think it's just looped upon itself. The bike is too crappy to steal anyway...

 

Ahhhh, now I see that they pushed two ends of the fan belt through the spokes, then cinched them together with the padlock. Brilliant in its ineffectiveness!

 

Thats a lock out. Otherwise I'm sure the rake would be negative.

 

Going on the 5th straight day of rain here in Lanzhou. While my bike gently weeps...
Showers Pass jacket getting a workout while looking for some beef noodle soup

Rainy nights and a long exposure using a bridge handrail for support

First permanent bridge across the Huang He, the Yellow river.

 

Can China recover from its disastrous one-child policy?

 

Don't doubt the article is true but the Guardian is well-known for sensationalism and the begging for money every time I click on an article is getting old.

 

In case anything gets lost in translation

Passing a vehicle in China involves high-speed tailgating, while flashing the high beams and honking the horn. If the offending slow driver does not concede defeat and move out of the way, the they are passed dangerously close and cut off. All this happens at 130kph and occurs several times a minute while dodging potholes that would make a Taliban suicide bomber jealous.

 

I'm loving these photos! Keep them coming!