Today’s distance / ???????: 40.6 miles / 65.3km
Average speed / ????: 7.5mph / 12.1km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 5h 25m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6925mi plus 386mi (?) / 11,145km plus 622km (?)
Ascent / ??: 345m
Descent / ??: 375m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N31°21′40.9″, E118°22′08.0″
An epic day. My body is totally done. Heartburn, sore legs, tired…
Along these small rural road today, there are many small private businesses, mostly metal casting factories pumping out all sorts of products from pulleys to gearbox housings.
The factories are all more or less open-air or shacks. Working conditions seem to be not very good, and safety is obviously not on the cards at all, with workers wandering around in soft foam rubber slippers.
The highlight of the mess was a large cement factory literally blocking out the sun at times with it’s dust and fumes.
I was happy to see some hill action today despite feeling weak and tired. A short sharp 200m climb out of the quagmire of pollution and noise into a quiet forested hill was a welcome change. Brutally hot, but welcome all the same.
The roads after the small hill deteriorated considerably. They are all in the process of being re-made. That is, not repaved, but entirely re-made from the foundations up. Half of the road at a time is being worked on, so traffic was an issue, as was sections of hard-packed gravel that made skating dusty and bumpy.
A rail crossing near Wuhu:
To get into the city of Wuhu from the west, you need to cross the imposing Yellow River. Skating along the massive stop banks of the river, I felt a momentary repsite from my pent up stress…the flow of the river seeming to wash away some of the stress inside of me, calming me.
I did not venture very far into the city, choosing instead to stop at the first inn I could find. Tomorrow will be a day off.