The Long Journey Home

Traveling during May holiday without any prior reservations is not a fun thing to do. It would be a long journey, standing room only, with a sleepless night ahead.

After dinner, the journey would begin with a four hour bus ride to the nearest train station. The four hour ride was through the mountains in the dark. The Chinese engineers who accompanied me on the trip to the train station told me to get as much sleep as possible. In the darkness it was no problem and I was sleeping during most of the trip. This bus ride would prove to be the most quality sleep I would have the entire night.

When we arrived at the Xuzhou station, we went to the ticket office to buy my train ticket home. Because of the May holidays, everyone would be traveling home and no seats to Suzhou would be available. I would have to stand between two train cars for the whole nine hour train ride to Suzhou.

As I was waiting for the train, the Chinese engineers would keep telling me, "Remember, what ever you do, don't fall asleep." It was an eerie feeling to hear them tell me. They would repeat it several times just to make sure I completely understood. I felt like I was in "A Nightmare on Elm Street", and as soon as I would fall asleep, Freddy Kruger would jump into my dreams and tear me to shreds with those blades on his hands.

As soon as I got on the train, I found a place to stand and would stay there most of the time. It was a strange picture being the only foreigner on the train and on top of that, the only foreigner standing.

I started to talk to a young man who was also with a standing ticket. He was on his way to Suzhou from Guangzhou. His whole trip would be over 24 hours standing until he would arrive in Suzhou. Because of the economic crisis, he had lost his job and was moving to Suzhou to find a new job.

He had found a nice place above the conductor's safe where he could sit down, get some sleep even though he was with a standing room only ticket. I imagine, he must have been one of the first passengers to board the train. He was a very kind guy and he let me take turns sitting so I could at least get some sleep.

When we arrived to Suzhou, I helped him with all his belongings he had which was just two large suitcases and a backpack. It reminded me of the U2 album, "All You Can't Leave Behind", better said, the song "Walk On". One part of the lyrics states, "the only baggage you can bring is all you can't leave behind". It also makes me think what did he leave behind.

Recently, we packed and moved most of our belongings back to the States. We packed 84 boxes of things to ship to the US. I still have 17 boxes in China. I think we Americans have become too materialistic and if someone actually tells us, "the only baggage you can bring is all you can't leave behind", could we fit our life into two large suitcases and a backpack? What would be in your luggage?

Qing Ming Jie 清明节: Wuyuan 婺源

Well, it was the tomb sweeping holiday in China and we were invited to go to Wuyuan with the Shanghai Engineering group. We would spend three days out in the mountains walking, enjoying fresh air, and absorbing beautiful scenery. The whole weekend would cost 300 RMB ($43.79)per person, all expenses included.

The trip started out with an early morning five hour bus ride. When I wasn't attending meetings on the phone, I was either sleeping or listening to my mp3 player. We would stop for lunch in Huang Shan City. A week earlier I had been here for the most famous bike race in China. After lunch we would ride a few more hours to our destination.

Our first stop was a small town with some rape flowers. These flowers are used to make canola oil which is used in cooking. Also, it is used to manufacture bio diesel fuel for motor vehicles. This application is not that good considering the N2O bi product of this fuel is worse than CO2. Of course, the pollen coming from these flowers is not good for anyone with asthma or hay fever, but it is so beautiful to see endless fields of yellow.

After visiting this area, we would climb higher up the mountain and see a beautiful lake. The lake was beautiful situated between many mountains and we saw a fishermen on the lake casting his luck.

After a brief stop for pictures, we headed to the place we would spend the night. It was a little village at the footsteps of some mountains surrounded by beautiful yellow sea of rapeseed.

We had dinner and then the adventure wasn't meant to last. I received an emergency phone call and had to return to the office to work the following day.

The Beauty of Huangshan

Our last day in was spent on a 50 km ride to the Huangshan cable car station. It would be a 900 meter climb on bike and worth every second to see the beauty of the countryside. It is incredible to ride around China on bike and appreciate what nature has to offer.

This post is a special just for pictures of the beautiful area we were able to see on bike during our three day stay. The area is known for it's beauty and many young aspiring artist come to draw some of the beautiful scenery.

Huangshan MTB Festival Race Day

Well, it was a beautiful day to race. Just like the day before, it stayed warm and I could still wear a short sleeve jersey. I would wear the Astana Stars and Stripes jersey worn last year by Levi Leipheimer. I love to wear this jersey because it is the US National Champion Jersey. I feel that even in China, I can represent the US when I race. It gives me extra motivation to do my best.

In the 20 km open men's category, there were over 200 participants. We would all line up at the start and ride for maybe 2km before we got into the single track. I was lined up close to the back of the group, so I was unlucky on the first climbs. I can climb, but people ahead of me could not climb and it forces the group to have to walk or run with there bikes to pass the people who can not climb. This problem makes it harder to pass people and get to the front of the race. I was able to pass many people and start to move up to the front.

It was an exciting feeling riding, climbing, and passing people, but it did not compare to the adrenalin rush on the downhill sections. Since it was single track, there was only one thing to do, just do it. I successfully road the downhills sections, even the twisty technical section. This section went straight down and at the end had a sharp right turn followed by a sharp left turn and then downhill again. This section was the section the day before I could not ride. Race day on the single track, I would not think, I would just react. After that section, I could feel myself trembling. It was an amazing feeling. Then, I maneuvered through the rock garden with no problem. I was feeling very good. Race day means race face. I like the look of concentration on my face as I fly through the course.

For Suzhou, the team was overall very successful. We took first place in the Men's 40 km race, 4th place in the Women's 40 km race, and 3rd place in the Women's 20 km race. All in all a special day for everyone. If you are in China during March, this event is a must do for anyone who likes mountain biking.

Huangshan MTB Festival 2009 Recon

Well, it has been quite a while since I have posted my adventures. I have been told that I will return to my home country by the end of June. The economic crisis has now effected my life. There are always two ways to look at things and I am finally coming around to see the glass as half full and not half empty.

I was really not sure if I wanted to go to Huangshan and participate in the event, but I decided to take a chance and get on the bus and go to the biggest mountain biking event in China. It was a decision I was really glad I made. I enjoyed the whole weekend of riding and I will never forget the event. The only regret I have is doing the 20 km race. I should have done the 40 km race. Next time!

Friday we would meet in the morning and load up the bus with a group of about fifteen people eager to participate in the event and all of our bikes. We would take a four to five our trip to Hongcun where the race would start. Friday was considered a reconnaissance day to get to know the race track. The race was to be Saturday morning on broad casted on China national television CCTV 5.

We arrived and had lunch then checked into what is known as a family hotel. This hotel is a small hotel with maybe 15 rooms owned by a local family and very inexpensive. I do not actually know the price because the whole weekend including hotel, registration, and one meal was 700 RMB ($102.19 US). Depending on how many beds were in the room, was the number of people who would stay in the room. My room had two beds, so I would share it with Jiri, the only other foreigner with our group. He is from Poland and has been biking since before mountain biking was considered a sport!

I loved the local hospitality provided by the family at the hotel. It would have to say it was a little different than other hotels, but it made the weekend all the more enjoyable. It felt like a real adventure with new experiences. Below are a few pictures of the hotel.

The one thing that I think westerners would not be able to get use to in this hotel is the bathroom. It is quite different than the bathroom seen in many western hotels. The shower is part of the sink and the bathroom is the typical public bathroom you find in China. Showering was a much different experience with this type of device. Also, the whole bathroom gets wet when one showers. For large westerners it would be a real challenge to have to squat and do their business in the bathroom. Maybe this type of bathroom would cause many to loose weight just so they can go use the toilet, haha.

Well, after check-in, we would go ride the course. It was a very interesting course. There was some nice climbing, very nice single track, dangerous rocky uphills, fast and furious downhills, rock gardens, and twisting technical downhills. This day I would feel a little weary of the competition to follow. I come from a completely pancake flat town with no climbs and no descents. I have learned all my little downhilling ability here in Suzhou. I can climb all day and would prefer a hilltop finish over technical descents. Below you can see some of the sections of the course.

Dragon Pond Scenic Park

Dragon Pond Scenic Park is an excellent one day get away and it is located right here in Suzhou in the SND Area. It has fun and games for all ages. It is considered a AAAA ecological park. The entrance fee for the park is 60 RMB ($8.76 US). Lunch can be a nice picnic lunch somewhere in the park or a variety of local food can be purchased at very reasonable prices. We really did not know about this park until our Chinese teacher invited us for a field trip in some very nice spring weather.


One of the activities my son enjoyed was the bungee jumping. Everyone had a turn at the bungee jump, but my son had the most fun. It was his first time and he really enjoyed flying in the clouds. He did this activity twice!




Also, in the park was a very nice playground with many physical activities. I think the kids could just run around for hours in this playground and never get tired. I had fun challenging myself to a few physical activities.

In the middle of the area there are two ponds. The two ponds are divided by a waterfall. One side of the water fall has water hamster balls. This activity is quite difficult and my son had a very hard time standing up, let alone getting the ball to roll in the water. He spent many minutes falling down inside the ball! The other side of the pond has paddle boats that can be used for a leisure stroll around the pond.

One of the best activities to do in this park is climb. There are areas around the park that one can climb to get a magnificent view of the city and the park. It is a truly fun experience to climb up the hills and relax while enjoying all mother nature has to offer.

We all enjoyed this activity and when we reached the top of the hill, we took a group picture. I recommend anyone looking for a nice day out in the sun visit this park. Bus 333 goes directly to the park!

两百五-Liang Bai Wu (250)

Liang Bai Wu! These three little words mean 250 in English, but in Chinese it simply means stupid. These words come from an ancient tale of a king whose friend was murdered. Well, the king did not know who to solve the murder and after many hours of thinking found a solution to his problem. To try to solve the murder he would offer a reward for the person who murdered the enemy of the state. So, he offered 1000 gold coins to the killer of his "enemy". Well, not one person arrived to claim the prize, but four people arrived. The king asked them how he should split the money. They of course said 250 each! The king replied off with the heads of these 250s. From then on, 250 became universally known as stupid.

So if you hear liang bai wu (两百五) and your name in the same sentence, beware.