Well folks, it was time to put on the padded shorts, and hit the road. I was wary of how I would hold up against the altitude of over 3700ft and the jet lag, so I decided to hang back with Raymond and start off at a very easy going pace. Our strategy worked out well for us as we found ourselves passing towards the head of the pack. The initial ride would take us along the highway towards the Mogao Caves, a series of thousands of manmade caves with intricate forms of Buddhist art embedded into the walls and ceilings. After spending the morning biking under the oppressive heat of the desert sun, I began to get an appreciation for a sense of ‘dessert nothingness’ – and found it completely awe-inspiring that anyone could think to do more than survive in these conditions. The artwork also reveals the influence of the different cultures that came to trade along the Silk Road. Getting a feel for it
This first day introduced me to a couple new factors – desert heat, desert wind, desert nothingness – but I had biked 40 miles in a day before, so this wasn’t the real test for me yet. But I got a feel for how things would go. We’d breakfast at the hotel, take off for a morning ride, break for lunch (‘feast’ would be more appropriate – it’s so much fun eating with purpose!), do a little sight-seeing, hop back on for an afternoon ride, feast again, and then get a cheap foot massage. We had a great support team who arranged rest stops along the routes, supplying Snicker bars and Red Bull, but I usually stuck with my Cliff bars and water. Bathroom breaks were occasionally via ‘nature toilets’. By the end of the days, we were so drained after burning through thousands of calories, that we were content to eat more, have a few beers, and go get massages - which my muscles probably couldn't have lasted without.
It was exciting to get started, and I was still eager to see where things would go from here.
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