After my off yesterday I was not looking forward to coping with more fluid granules so off I set on my own, knowing that I would have to build my confidence to where it was prior to the crash but with a little more wisdom.
A mile in and there it is, the pesky sand and not even drifted on bends but on the straights not deep but deep enough for someone who has had the confidence bashed to pieces. Yesterday I would not have battered an eyelid
Ok one more photo next to a perfect blue lake and the squint is because the sun is in my eyes, Honest!
With gritted teeth the first few miles were taken shall we say without much progress but remaining vertical. Phew!
As each mile went past, it started to feel more natural until suddenly bends with drifts on, “GULP!”, give me a break, please.
OK I will get the chance to exorcise those demons with sand
Corner after corner those drifts appeared but it really was what I needed to get my normal riding head back on.
The G219 road that we are travelling down is mainly used by trucks but today we are seeing a lot of military vehicles who are completely oblivious to the space a motorcycle would like.
Mile after mile of rough roads and then around a corner onto a lake and there it is, a solitary building in the distance. This turns out o be a fish restaurant and one or two from the group did try some fish from there. All they said was that it took a long while and it was not worth the wait.
Finally we have tarmac and how smooth it is but the still spill rubble on it from local trucks
The white stone markers have been with us since Kashgar and this is the distance in Kilometres from there.
Petrol station in the distance is where we all have to regroup so our agent can check us in with the local police and for once, this had fuel and would dispense it directly into the bikes. This was a stop for the 800’s with their little tanks
Although the sun is shining you will see that even I have a woolly hat on. Anyone who knows me will know it must be a bit on the cool side. Firstly it was cool but secondly, when you are at 4286m it takes no time at all to catch the sun and burn due to no clouds filtering the sun’s rays. (Clever, Huh!)
The road of Tarmac just kept going and going, Marvellous
Then you are presented with a decision, WHICH WAY KNOW? The sign does not mean anything to me and thankfully the GPS will give the rough route. It is only rough as there is a fault with the map details for china supplied by Garmin. Apparently it is down to wrong information supplied by the Chinese government but others think it has been done on purpose. It is not perfect but it does help you make these sorts of decisions
Final stop of the day is always the petrol station and even our trusted owner of Globebusters, Kevin can drop his bike, even leaving the pump after filling I up
Off to the hotel we go and unfortunately we have to wait two hours for the hot water to be switched on and ready for us to have a shower, the first in four days. LOVELY and very, very needed. It does give us a chance to get a bit of washing done and get I dry and check the bikes over, mine needed a little top up of oil
7951 miles – Ali, Tibet
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