Lonely lethargy

I wake up feeling tired, lethargic and lonely.

I can only imagine that yesterday’s long walk was to blame, or hmmm… maybe it was the 8% beer that we enjoyed so liberally with our dinner…

I also miss that feeling of human company, of settling down somewhere, with somebody. I'd love to just STOP and do something concrete in one place.

Part of the reason might be that the shop has been really quiet, almost devoid of customers, though to be fair it has been a winter weekend. There's a lot of fancy stock on the floor and I wonder whether it belongs to the Fire Tribe brand, which perhaps isn't in such a rush to move it on.

Nevertheless I'm enjoying staying here and the two-thirds reduction in my ongoings, although charging issues are making it difficult to capitalise on the opportunity to update my blog.

While it is tempting to stay in bed and sleep forever, there's a world waiting for me outside so I'll layer up and head out to explore it.

Today that means visiting the Yungang Grottoes World Heritage Site and the National Mine Park which is on the way.

Although I plan to leave quite early, I don’t get going until well after 10. I’ve been told that mornings are best, so I anxiously skip breakfast.

The road is wet and busy with weekday traffic. Zhihong rides with me to the city limits and I take from his smiles that he enjoys this part of hosting - the camaraderie that cyclists experience when riding together and acting as a guide in his home town. Or perhaps he is just grimacing at the icy cold wind that numbs our faces.

The road to Yungang

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Red letters.

Window in the rock.

The road out to Yungang is busy but not uninteresting.

I pass several towns, an army base with a tank in the courtyard, a temple (?) in a rock face and regular glimpses of snow dusted mountains and green coloured wind turbines.

On the hunt for breakfast-replacement snacks, I pop into a nearby town. There are lots of school kids around, but the place is a total dump. Why are all these people coming here?

Jinhuagong Residential District

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Mining memorial.

Wall mural.

Ramparts on the edge of town.

In Jinhuagong there's a mining theme which is reflected in plaques and wall murals.

Tall ramparts keep the countryside at bay as I head towards the mine park.

Jinhuagong National Mine Park

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Signboard.

Light no fires.

Rusty bike art.

Mine carts.

Steam engine.

Industrial epoch.

Miner and mountains.

5K or so down the road I reach the mine park.

It's nicely presented and seems to be a working mine because there are miners with helmets walking around. There are also lots of toilets, a control centre, which I don't go into and a museum, which I don't pay to go into, other buildings and trains. Maybe you could ride a tourist train down into the mine shaft, that would be cool. But I just take some photos, then head up the hill until I find the way blocked, then head back down.

Pilgrimage Avenue

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Infinite pillars.

Trees.

Elephants do the heavy lifting.

Slow procession.

Bridge babes.

It takes a while to figure out how to get into the Yungang Grottoes, but I persist as I need a coffee to get my head together.

The security guard looks after my bike for 3 Yuan, then I head downstairs and continue on foot.

The entrance path to the Yungang Grottoes complex is impressive.

Tall stone pillars recall memories of exploring Rome some 10 years earlier.

I cross a long bridge and emerge at what seems to be a man-made island.

Lingyan Temple

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Pagoda.

Metal motifs.

No striding.

Check your watches.

A pagoda takes center stage here.

The building roofs have small metal motifs on them.

The structure is covered in crunchy snow. A warning sign warns me to watch my stride, good advice as my secondary school classmates used to call me Big Dan, striding out…

Yungang Grottoes

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Sandstone cliffs.

Tomb Raiders this way.

Humans for scale (Cave 3).

Buddha beam (Cave 3).

Prayer nook.

The usual suspects, in Cave 6.

Flat features.

Standing proud, in Cave 13.

Keeping composed, at Cave 20.

Open-Air Buddha, at Cave 20.

A wide path runs below sandstone cliffs.

The caves are numbered, with portals providing access to the exhibits within. 'Doors' lead to steps and corridors evoking a Tomb Raider lke experience, while 'windows' provide quick photo opportunies - quick because removing my thin gloves results in sore hands from the biting cold. I wish I'd worn a more robust jacket with pockets.

On the upside the buddhas are perpetually smiling and waving, their creators passing on good vibes to lonely travellers in need of validation. While a few have weather worn features, most of the carvings seem to be in really good condition.

But with it being off-peak and off-season, various exhibits are 'undergoing maintenance'. The museum and some of the cafes are closed, and the art gallery is empty.

Feeling the cold and paranoid about paying inflated prices elsewhere I see what I can then retreat to the cafe for more hot coffee.

Pin pong

The ride back into town is mostly downhill, which is nice.

When I get to town, I decide to find an ATM but this means not going back to the bike shop and I only barely know where that is. After an unsuccessful tiki tour around town, I decide to go back to the bike shop anyway because time is moving on.

But then I get a flat tyre and have to stop, eliciting honks from the traffic and reciprocal swearing from me because I just don't need that today.

As it isn't far to the bike shop I decide to pump the tyre up and keep riding, but when I reach the bike shop it isn't there. I check the map and discover that the pin is for Datong, not a bike shop in Datong. I feel foolish, as it was hard work getting to the pin in the first place.

Intersection insanity

Getting around isn't helped by the intersections, which are insane.

There are four lanes of traffic, two on each side - and it never stops moving. As a cyclist, you're in the right-hand lane, which is also a right-turning lane.

If you want to go straight ahead (or left), you have to get up on the left-hand side of the right-hand lane to get out of the way of cars turning right. Then you have to just go for it.

If you're turning left, you don't have to wait for cars or red lights, you just go to the middle of the road, find an opportunity and shoot the gap. The problem is that two lanes of cars are coming the other way at the same time and sometimes they want to go exactly where you are.

Running back into town, the footpath is similarly challenging. Bicycles and scooters head toward me without lights. Cars parked on the footpath open their doors at random. People amble along - until they see me and abruptly stop, causing motorcyclists to take evasive action to avoid hitting them.

Sensory overload

When I get back into town I'm pretty over it.

I haven't had breakfast, I haven't had lunch, I haven't even had much to drink apart from two coffees.

And bloody hell it's loud - every shop that is playing music or has an announcer has the volume cranked up to ten so that it's distorting, urgh.

So you have that, you have the honking, the tiredness, dehydration, a flat tyre, ice on the footpath, plus the strobing overhead lights which activate when people drive past. It's kind of overwhelming, especially at night, and unenjoyable, even though I generally like riding in towns as it's more exciting, if you need the buzz.

Finally I find my way back to the bike shop, but the Troll has to stay by the doorway as she's already dirty again - we only cleaned her yesterday.

Snowy mountains

Then we talk about routes and about snow on the mountain routes.

Apparently it's going to be really cold in the mountains and my clothes won't be warm enough. Zhihong recommends not riding in the mountains to the north, but clarifies that other mountains are okay if it doesn't snow. But of course I won't know if it's going to snow until after I leave.

So I don't know if the proposed hill route is a good idea, as it seems like the hills could be massive and it would take a long time to get over them. And if it snows it's just going to take it to another level.

At least I've got some Wechats from a guy in Taiyuan - something concrete for the next place I'm going to.