Enshi to Suizhou, 318 Cycling Record
Some people say that stepping onto the top of a mountain means conquering. In fact, it is the mountain that gives people height, so climbers are lucky enough to stand on its shoulders and see more beautiful scenery. Some people also say that cycling is about seeing the scenery with your own eyes. In fact, it is more important to bring perseverance, soul and dreams to complete every ride.
The hot summer has just come out, but we encounter the hottest autumn in many years. A group of five members of the Suizhou Outdoor Tiger Team, three men and two women, braved the high temperature and performed a show of fierce tiger team members fighting autumn tigers with tenacity and perseverance. For seven days and six nights, on National Highway 318 and Provincial Highway 216, I completed a difficult ride of more than 620 kilometers from Enshi to Suizhou, of which the cumulative mileage of climbing reached more than 130 kilometers.
Enshi has created a cool and quiet paradise with its screen-like peaks, thousand-foot waterfalls, clear water and clear rivers, and majestic caves. It is an excellent choice to escape the summer heat, meditate, and return to nature. Cycling in Enshi, you can feel the coolness and enjoy the beautiful scenery like the Sichuan-Tibet Line, but the long slopes of more than ten kilometers or even dozens of kilometers can really make people despair.
After descending from the vast mountains with thousands of tall walls to Yichang, you enter the furnace of Futian. Although the long slopes are less long, the high temperature can cause people to become dehydrated immediately. Passing through Jingmen and arriving at Suizhou, the long road under the blinding white sun tests the physical strength, but tempers the will.
Fisherman (Wang Shimin), one of the five team members, recorded this painful and happy ride in the form of a diary.
D1: August 20, 2019, Suizhou-Enshi.
At 6 o'clock in the morning, the five members of the Suizhou Outdoor Tigers Cycling Enshi Team Viagra (Cheng Wei), Jing Ge (He Jingyu), Fisherman (Wang Shimin), Hongyan Yixiao (Wu Xiaohong, female), Zhong Qun ( Female), with the assistance of Tiger team member Jiang Tao, loaded the mountain bike at Suizhou Passenger Station, and set off on the long-distance bus from Suizhou to Enshi at 7 a.m. The fisherman's lover "Youran" and others also came to see him off.
At 4:30 pm, the team arrived in Enshi, stayed overnight at Tucheng Dynasty Hotel, and visited Tujia Daughter City at night.
D2: August 21, Enshi-Gaoping.
Get up at 6 a.m., assemble the mountain bike, and set off on the bike at 7:30. Leave the city and head east on National Highway 318, up the first long slope (9.5 kilometers), and have lunch at a roadside farmhouse, simple After lunch break, drive directly to Gaoping and stay overnight in Gaoping Town.
After riding 97 kilometers throughout the day and climbing 1,421 meters on a sunny day, several male and female team members felt not too tired on the first day of riding.
D3: August 22, Gaoping - Xiaoya in Badong County
Today’s goal is Yesanguan Town. This is a hard day’s riding, almost basic It's all uphill. We got up at 5 o'clock in the morning, each had a bowl of noodles, set off at 5:25, and ate at a roadside restaurant at 1 noon. After lunch, Cheng Wei and Zhong Qun set off first, while the other three took a brief lunch break and continued on. The temperature was high in the afternoon and the weather was hot. They stopped and stopped on the way. It was getting dark when we climbed up the long slope. Considering the weather, The dark downhill section is very dangerous, so we stopped and stayed at a farmhouse for the night. The location showed it was Xiaoya in Badong County.
It was a sunny day after riding 83 kilometers and climbing 38 kilometers throughout the day. Although the mountain altitude was high and there was no wind, it was still very hot. Everyone feels tired, very tired.
D4: August 23, Xiaoya-Gaojiayan.
Get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and set out for a 10-kilometer long slope walk (the slope I climbed yesterday), down to the bottom of the valley, out of Enshi, and into Langping Town, Changyang County, Yichang. It was too early in the morning. It was a long and long climb. I asked the locals and they said it was ten kilometers long. It turned out to be more than seventeen kilometers to the top of the mountain called Bei Col. Today was the third day of riding. Everyone was showing signs of fatigue. We were really tired. After going down the mountain, we headed to Hejiaping Town for lunch. After dinner, Cheng Wei and Zhong Qun continued on the way, while the other three took a short lunch break and then rushed on. Going out is another six and a half kilometer long uphill road, followed by a blissful 20 kilometers of downhill road, from 1,300 meters above sea level to less than 200 meters above sea level. My hands are sore when I press the brakes, and the mountain spring water at the bottom of the valley flows happily. After the group went into the water, the four of us stopped the car and went into the water to have a good time.
We arrived at Gaojiayan Town at five o’clock in the afternoon. We stayed at Gaojiayan Hotel for the night. The farmhouse conditions were poor last night, but tonight we stayed in a local star-rated hotel. We had a wonderful night's rest.
Cycling 87 kilometers throughout the day, sunny day, reaching low altitude areas.
D5: August 24, Gaojiayan-Dangyang.
Get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and set off. The last five kilometers of climbing, after descending, went straight to Yichang City. Maybe it was only more than thirty kilometers away from Yichang. The friends ran all the way with all their strength. It’s too late in Yichang, so we cross the Yangtze River through the city and transfer to S216, heading straight to Dangyang County and entering the Jianghan Plain. Feeling that the temperature had suddenly risen and the heat was unbearable, I found a roadside shop for lunch at noon. After the meal, Wei Wei and Zhong Qun went first, and me, Brother Jing, and Xiao Hong borrowed a wooden bench to take a rest and then chased after us. We stayed in Dangyang County for the night.
Riding 120 kilometers all day, the weather was sunny. hot.
D6: August 25, Dangyang-Jingmen-Zhongxiang-Zhangji.
It was too early to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and run 40 kilometers to Jingmen. I originally planned to stay in Zhongxiang County, but seeing that it was still early, I simply passed Zhongxiang and went straight to Zhangji to stay. Everyone has been out for a few days, and I feel homesick. The mood is just as urgent. Unexpectedly, there are 20 kilometers of rough roads from Jingmen to Zhongxiang. The washboard road is really difficult to walk on. The dust kicked up by passing cars blocks the sky and the sun. The next morning the connection line from Zhangji to Hongshan was the same. I wanted to ask Secretary Zhong Xiang how can we develop the economy if the roads in Changchun City are not good? It was already nine o'clock in the evening when we arrived at Zhangji Town.
Riding 150 kilometers all day, it was sunny but still hot. Let your tired body slowly recover from the snoring at night.
D7: August 26, Zhang Ji - Suizhou.
Get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and turn on the lights to ride. There are only 85 kilometers left to Suizhou. After being away for a few days, I feel the most urgent need to go home. It takes more than an hour to arrive at Hongshan Town. Each person has a bowl of fried noodles. Let’s take some rest first, and then move on, passing by Huantan and Anju. Before 11 o’clock in the morning, we returned to Dasui safely. We returned to Xiaobie’s hometown and met Xiaobie’s family. It felt like a long time had passed. It’s so long, I can’t express my excitement. Let’s have a drink first to catch the wind and wash away the dust.
Cycling experience:
Our tiger team, a group of five people, rode for five and a half days, with a total journey of 620 kilometers and a cumulative climbing mileage of more than 130 kilometers. One day, it was August 20th, but I didn’t expect to encounter the hottest autumn weather I had not experienced in many years. For seven days, it was all sunny, not even cloudy. Along the way, we rode under the scorching sun. Fortunately, there were watermelons, popsicles, ice water, and ice beer along the way to cool down and quench our thirst. Viagra said that he bought at least eight bottles of water every day by himself.
People who have been to the 318 National Highway in Enshi say it is comparable to the Sichuan-Tibet Line. Its scenery and long slopes that never end, for cyclists, are like heaven for the eyes and hell for the body. It is really a severe test for the physical fitness of the cyclists. Brother Jing, He Jingyu, and Weiwei, Cheng Wei, both rode the Sichuan-Tibet Line a few years ago. They said that when riding the Sichuan-Tibet Line, the weather was still cool anyway, but riding in Enshi was hot and tiring, even more strenuous than riding the Sichuan-Tibet Line. They used their rich experience in high-altitude mountain riding to ensure a safe journey for the team.
Fisherman Wang Shimin suffered a stroke in 2014 and was on the verge of death. As a professional soldier who spent half his life in the military, he has a strong will. He said that long-distance riding requires firstly excellent physical fitness; secondly, strong perseverance; thirdly, team spirit is an infinite source. In the WeChat group of the Tiger Team, team leader Liu Yunxi and the majority of team members kept cheering for our five expedition members every day, which made us feel twice as powerful during the journey and allowed us to reach our hometown smoothly and safely.
There are also two female team members, Zhong Qun and Wu Xiaohong. They are women than men. Oh no, women are better than men. In the Tiger Team WeChat group, many male team members said, "Zhong Qun Xiaohong, you must call us on the next expedition!"
Due to the length, this cycling record only scratches the surface. The five strong men riding Enshi said that there were many interesting things along the way, as well as breathtaking scenery, delicious local food, and customs that were very different from Suizhou. There were so many... .Next time, let’s find a time next time to talk about it in detail.
(Written by Wang Shimin)