From making the decision to leaving for Chengdu, it should take 5 days. It happened that I was extremely busy these days, but luckily I managed to get everything done at the last minute.
It is indeed a trip that comes and goes.
Why ride a 317?
The pretentious version of the explanation is: because reading a thousand books is not as good as traveling a thousand miles;
The lifestyle version is: you can lose weight/exercise + travel + avoid raising children.
Day0, the starting point of clocking in at 317
The flight from Guangzhou to Chengdu was smooth. After getting off the plane, we took the subway and arrived at the Cheyou 57 Cheyou Club with a small three-wheeler (three-wheeler?).
I got on my bike and went to find Benben. He helped me configure a bunch of small equipment in his shop 800 meters away. Such as raincoats, thick gloves, helmets, flashlights, inner tubes, etc. Wearing a thermal hood, do you look like a robber?
I happened to meet a few cyclists who were setting off together tomorrow. They had just checked in at the starting point of 317 in the morning.
Since I won’t start riding there tomorrow, I’m eager to try it out and check in. It's also a good time to warm up.
I will officially hit the road tomorrow, but I haven’t ridden a bicycle in more than half a year. Thinking about it makes me feel arrogant.
It’s about 18 kilometers one way and 35 kilometers round trip. I got on my bike, opened Baidu Navigation, and went there.
The last time I came to Chengdu was ten years ago when I was riding the Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line. I arrived a day early and met my favorite novelist Ming Yuejuan for dinner. Unfortunately, time was too tight this time and I couldn't make an appointment with her, which was a bit regretful.
Along the way, Chengdu's old city and new areas each have their own scenes.
As we were approaching, we passed Southwest Jiaotong University.
Finally, the navigation ended and I found that I couldn't find it. After repeatedly watching the video posted by a riding friend, I realized it was at the entrance of a highway. I'm a little dumbfounded. A bunch of cars are gathering at a highway intersection. How do they get through and get to the middle?
I pushed the car sneakily and shuttled in front of the big and small cars, but the staff at the toll station came over, and I was prepared to be scolded.
As a result, he actually waved to me, and I was stunned. Was that what I understood? I pointed to the boundary marker and he nodded.
It seems that this is a very famous stone.
Emma, you are so handsome.
I immediately cheered and pushed the cart and ran over. I found this "amazing" stone in the gap between the guardrails and paid homage to it.
Fortunately, I made it back to the club before 6 o'clock.
Then everyone goes out to eat together. We had bean curd hotpot, and it drizzled a little.
With more than 20 people together, it was very lively. Before the hot pot started boiling, I chatted with the young man sitting 6 seats next to me and found out that he quit his job and came out to ride a bicycle.
Last year when I rode the Sichuan-Tibet Southern Line, I quit my job so I could have such a long break. I was afraid that it would be difficult to take leave this year, so I simply reported my resignation in August and was only approved in October.
It’s really not easy when you think about it. A job like mine that you can leave at a moment’s notice must be cherished.
After dinner, before 8 o'clock, I went to a barber shop to have my hair washed. It's not convenient to take a shower or wash your hair at the car club.
What surprised me was that the service provided by the young man at the Chengdu hair salon was really considerate. Even worse than Guangzhou.
The person who washed my hair massaged my scalp so well that I almost fell asleep while lying there; the person who dried my hair actually told me if I wanted to try a hair growth and hair care product, free of charge.
Haha, I couldn’t help but think, if gentleness and caring are the common characteristics of Chengdu boys, then if I divorce my husband in the future, I will definitely move to Chengdu.
After buying some snacks and stuff, I came back to the club, just in time for the meeting.
More than 20 people introduced themselves first, but I didn’t remember them either. What impressed me most was that everyone except me was probably a great person.
Returning to the house only deepened this impression. I am indeed the smaller one. There are 8 ladies in total. I was born in 1977, ranking third from the bottom. Except for the two born in 1978 and born in 1990 who are younger than me, the other five are older than me.
There are also many older men.
What’s funny is that October 18th is the World Menopause Care Day. Initially, Benben joked that we should just name our camp “Menopause Care Camp” because most of the people are older. Later, we were strongly protested and criticized by the ladies. resist.
Older age does not mean poor physical strength. Among the ladies, the oldest one, Sister Wang, has cycled more than 10,000 kilometers this year (she is not the only one). Wow, I'm probably the only one who overestimates my abilities like me.
In fact, experienced cyclists can almost tell by looking at their body shape. I ride slowly, definitely not for no reason.
While chatting, I almost fell asleep after posting to Moments around 10 o'clock. Haha, without the kids around, I feel like my sleep quality has gotten better.
Day 1 Unforgettable big truck🚚
I got up at around 6 o'clock in the morning, it was still dark, I bought some steamed stuffed buns and soy milk, and then I was on my way. I tried to get more time than others and didn't take part in the group photo.
In this way, it is estimated that after riding for about 15 kilometers, others started to hit the road.
The front was okay, although the 30-odd kilometers yesterday already made my knees and butt hurt a lot, but after being relieved by hot compresses and a hair dryer, it didn't seem to have much of an impact.
We also passed the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China on the way.
The first 60 kilometers are on flat roads, and the road after that is gentle. The final destination, Yingxiu, is more than 900 meters above sea level.
I was afraid that I would be hungry, so I started eating at 11 o'clock, eating at a roadside stall with my brothers at the construction site. Am I adaptable?
Starting from Dujiangyan and ending at Yingxiu, it was really scary to see the large trucks shuttling back and forth on the very narrow two lanes.
But what I never expected was that this was just the beginning.
Along the way, the density of large trucks was unimaginable. Benben stopped and counted, 8 cars passed in 14 seconds.
I only felt that the big truck was ten centimeters away from me. When riding a 318 in the past, another trick was to count the tires calmly. Generally, large trucks have 6 sets of wheels. You must count 6 pairs before you can feel relieved.
Now this trick doesn't work at all. Because one car follows another.
I originally thought I was the only one who felt this way, but later when I met other teammates, they also said the same thing, it was terrible. This is not about riding a bicycle, it is about riding a life.
I dodge cars while riding, and sometimes I have to stop on the side of the road. Because I felt that my life was in the hands of the driver. Even if he moved even a little bit, I would probably die and fall off the wheel.
I was just thinking, how will my husband spend the 7 million insurance compensation? What if something bad happens and the person who is not dead becomes disabled?
…………
I passed the time with random thoughts. Otherwise, I felt really uncomfortable. Everywhere hurt. The sound of the big truck was like the BGM in a horror movie. I was scared to hear it.
The three tunnels before reaching the destination made me feel that it was really not easy to save my life under the wheels of a large truck.
At the first tunnel entrance, the leader Benben was waiting for me to go through the tunnel together. Fortunately, because of him, I turned on the light on the helmet. The two men broke up and I rode in front.
It was truly an unforgettable experience. The air flow from the large truck passing by was extremely loud. Under the illumination of the vehicle's headlights, the entire tunnel was filled with dust and roaring sounds...
I stepped on it as hard as I could, until I saw the light from the exit, and I felt a little relieved. The tunnel of more than 400 meters has finally passed.
Later, when we arrived at the destination, I discovered in the group that Benben could still free his hands to take videos. I was really impressed. Is he desperate for his life?
It seems to be the same as setting up an upgrade to kill monsters. Soon, the second tunnel came. This time I was desperate because it said more than 900 meters, twice as long as the last time. There is definitely no way to step over it in one go.
Fortunately, there are two more teammates with me. In the final stage, I just want to talk about WC, and I especially want to use swear words. I don’t know what’s going on. It seems that I feel extremely unhappy if I don’t use swear words.
Now that I think about it, I must be afraid. Scared to the point of going crazy, haha.
The third tunnel is longer, 1.5 kilometers. When I saw the numbers on the entrance to the tunnel, I didn’t even have the energy to speak foul language.
Because it was slow, I estimated that I was at the end of the queue. I checked the headlights and helmet lights, and when I rode in alone, I felt like I was taking my time.
I silently stared at the front wheel of the car, riding and riding. I don’t know how much time passed. I looked at the Baidu map on my phone. It was still 10.3 kilometers without moving at all.
I feel so depressed, why is it not 9.3 yet? Later I remembered that there was no signal in the tunnel, so how could the numbers change?
After riding for a long time, I saw the emergency parking strip. My heart dropped. It was definitely only half of the ride. Don't expect to see the light at the exit right away.
To make matters worse, I fell because the asphalt curb was a bit high, and I was nervous and wanted to pull over. As a result, I failed to control the wheels and the car slipped and the car fell over.
Fortunately, there was no big car coming from behind at this time, otherwise I would have been a mess. After that, I pushed the car onto the drainage channel surface and pushed it out of the tunnel.
To be honest, if the next 317 is still such a crowded road with large trucks, I will go home.
Yesterday, some friends advised me to come back and not take risks. I said that I didn’t feel that there was much risk. I thought that if I stayed in the city, the probability of an accident would be about the same as riding a bicycle on a national highway.
I can take it back now.
I arrived at Yingxiu at 4 o'clock. I thought I was the last one, but it turned out to be the second last. In the end, because there was a friend, the navigation made a mistake, and I didn't arrive until 6 o'clock.
Anyway, those who are older than me are all great gods; those who are younger than me are much better in physical strength than me.
When I went down the stairs, I found that my knees were about to give out and the pain was so severe.
Then, tomorrow is 54 kilometers, all uphill.
The dinner we had at Yingxiu Old Taste was basically a clean-up. Everyone said that there will be no more food like this. Once we enter the Tibetan area, there will be nothing delicious. We should cherish it now.
The landlady said that there won’t be so many large trucks tomorrow, and most of them went to Wenchuan, which was in a different direction from ours. I hope so.
The room was on the third floor. When I went up and down the stairs, I found that my knees were almost giving way and the pain was severe.
Then, tomorrow is 54 kilometers, all uphill.
Don’t know what kind of day tomorrow will be?
Conclusion
Back to the beginning - reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles; traveling thousands of miles is not as good as meeting countless people. Among them, the most important person is yourself.