Category Archives: China (Gansu)

Today’s distance / ???????: 59.9 miles / 96.3km
Average speed / ????: 9.1mph / 14.7km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 6h 33m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6110mi plus 377mi (?) / 9834km plus 606km (?)
Ascent / ??: 405m
Descent / ??: 435m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N35°17′54.7″, E107°36′01.4″

The following photo sums up today’s skating.

Busier than it looks in the photo, China National Highway 312 from Pingliang going east is wide, noisy, boring, and non-descript. It was very much a head down, foot-to-the pavement pushing day to get the miles covered.

Lunch however was a welcome diversion, as it got me off the main road and onto a nice side street with locals hang-drying noodles on the roadside.

Try as I might, talking to the locals was like pulling teeth. Not only were they not interested (an extreme rarity), but they seem to speak a different language here. Not that this is the first time I have encountered a dramatic regional variation in the Chinese language in China. In Japan there are extreme differences in dialect. So much so that even native Japanese people cannot understand the dialect of another province sometimes. In Japan, the words themselves are completely different in some cases.

I have found however, that in China the words themselves are the same all over. It’s the pronounciation that seems to differ between regions. And unlike Japan, locals seem unable to speak in the standard Chinese; the ‘Beijing’ Mandarin Chinese. In Japan, at least someone who usually speaks the local dialect will speak to you in the standard Japanese if you’re not from that region. Sheesh…learning Chinese is tough when no one speaks it in China.

My day ended with a stiff 400m climb. That was after 85km and a big dinner. My stomach was not happy. I considered trying to push on to the next major town (Changwu), but gave up when I was told I had another 20km to go, and it was getting dark.

Today’s distance / ???????: 49.8 miles / 80.2km
Average speed / ????: 8.1mph / 13.1km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 6h 08m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 5980mi plus 377mi (?) / 9625km plus 606km (?)
Ascent / ??: 645m
Descent / ??: 705m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N35°31′21.30″, E105°44′11.90″

The day began with a repair job to the Keen Newport H2 sandals that I am using at the moment. I ditched my regular skate shoes in favour of the sandals, as my skate shoes were just too hot to wear in the heat of a Chinese summer.

The only drawback with the Keen sandals are that they are designed for watersports, so have have a very soft, super grippy sole. This sole does not handle foot braking very well, which is understandable. The cure has come by way of some old car tyre rubber, attached with contact adhesive and a few nails. The repair job cost me the equivalent of 0.20 Euros, so even if I end up going through a couple of these repairs a week, I should be OK in China!

The day, like yesterday, was either up or down. Long climbs up valleys, short and sharp, fast descents down the other side. The major pass today was over 2,000m, however I was only starting from about 1,500m.

At one point during a long uphill climb, I stopped at a small watermelon stand for my morning dose of liquids. I bought one watermelon (0.10 Euro/kg) and sat at the small table under their umbrella to eat it. A family also stopped to buy some watermelons, and after a short chat gave me one of the melons they had bought. How generous, I thought, as I contemplated the extra 2kg on my trailer to pull uphill. As I was leaving the watermelon stand however, the watermelon man at the stand gave me yet another melon! I tried to explain that this was all a bit too much weight that I would rather not be pulling, but he would not take no for an answer.

For a while I resented the weight, but further up the road, when there was no one around, and nowhere to buy water, I was a happy chap with two delicious watermelons in my bags.

Like yesterday, I was feeling strong, powering up the passes. The only things that slowed me were the interesting sights along the way.

And a stretch of wet tar…not nice.

It did not feel like long before I arrived at Chingning, my stop for the night. I checked into a small travel inn there near the east end of town.

A long term resident of the inn was an artist by the name of Zhu An Bing. His ink brush works were astounding. Apparently not only I felt that way either. One of his works had a price tag on it for 20,000RMB (2,000 Euro).

After chatting with Zhu An Bing for a bit, I went into town for dinner. Upon my return to the inn, it was clear that not all was well.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Robert,” the inn owner said. “You cannot stay at our inn. The police have told us you must stay at another hotel.”

“Well, I cannot afford anything expensive,” I told them.

I ended up being taken to another hotel, and given a cheap 30RMB dorm room bed. All seemed fine, until I went to bed at 9pm and was woken at 10:30pm with three police officers knocking on my door. Before I could get up and dressed, they were in the room.

I made it clear that I was not happy with being barged in on, and shooed them out. I closed the door, got dressed, and let them in again.

They only wanted to check my passport to make sure the details on the registration form I filled out were correct. Hardly worth waking me up for, if you ask me.

Today’s distance / ???????: 59.3 miles / 95.4km
Average speed / ????: 9.6mph / 15.5km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 6h 10m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 5931mi plus 377mi (?) / 9545km plus 606km (?)
Ascent / ??: 620m
Descent / ??: 745m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N35°41′26.60″, E105°03′19.70″

It is a curious thing, asking Chinese locals how far it is to the next town. They take one look at my mode of transport, and the distance suddenly becomes twice the actual distance.

“To (insert town name)? Oh, that’s about 70km, I would say,” one woman said to me.

I pointed to the map, and explained that from Lanzhou to Gantsaodian, where we were, was 60km. Assuming the map is to scale, the distance to the next town could not possibly be 70km.

“No, no, I have been there. It is a very long way. And the road is very bad. Very steep,” she said, indicating a near vertical slope with her arm.

“So it is impossible for me on my skateboard?” I asked.

“Oh yes, impossible. You should take a bus.”

I thanked her for her help, and skated away. Further down the road, a road sign told me in big, bold lettering that the town that was 70km away, was actually 26km away. I just took a deep breath and skated onwards, no longer concerned about the possibility of having to skateboard up a cliff face. I arrived at the town less than two hours later, having skated on a wonderful smooth surface all the way. Granted, I had snuck onto the expressway…

Like yesterday, trucks carrying bee hives were periodically speeding past, leaving a smattering of disoriented and annoyed honey bees. I escaped any stings, but a bee in the face as you’re screaming down a hill hurts.

The entire area I passed through today was made of clay. The hills, the cliffs, the houses.

Deep water-gouged gorges accented the scenery.

The hills were terraced, growing mainly corn and potatoes. Here and there people were ploughing the fields, all using donkey-drawn ploughs.

The day was either up or down. Two solid one hour plus hill climbs kept my mind alive. I marveled at how much stronger I am feeling now that I am eating and sleeping better (compared with Xinjiang Province).

I passed kilometer marker 2,000 on China National Highway 312 today just before the town of Huinishan here in Gansu Province. At the pace I am at at the moment, I should have no problem arriving in Shanghai in time for my flight home to New Zealand on the 7th of October.

Today’s distance / ???????: 37.3 miles / 60km
Average speed / ????: 8.6mph / 13.9km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 4h 19m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 5871mi plus 377mi (?) / 9449km plus 606km (?)
Ascent / ??: 700m
Descent / ??: 360m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N35° 47′ 49.00″, E104° 17′ 16.80″

10,000km on a skateboard. Done.

I remember sending an email to Matt Windsor, an old friend from high school who is also galavanting around the globe these days, and telling him that if I made it to 10,000km on my longboard, I would be happy. This was in Shanshan, a town in Xinjaing Province in China, in the middle of the desert, where I spent 3 weeks recouperating from travellers burnout. That was about three months ago. At that stage, I was not confident that I would make it.

And here I am in this little internet cafe in a town whose name I’m not sure I am spelling correctly, and I have recorded 10,055km on my skateboard. As much as this journey is not about distances, but the things I learn along the way, it is pretty darn cool.

I left Lanzhou late at 11am this morning after spending some time updating the blog. It didn’t take long to get out of the city, and the first thing on my horizon was hills. Marija Kozin, a cyclist from Slovenia, has cycled this route through Gansu Province before. In an email to me, she said “it will be interesting to see how you handle the hills in Gansu…”. I now know what she means.

The hills are not Qinghai material however, and the most I climbed non-stop today was about an hour. Long uphills interspersed with short exhilarating downhills. And the ever preent uber-smooth roads of China. Luverly.

Lunch was stir-fry noodles with beef, prepared fresh on the street for me. This reminded me of the fast food I had last night at the Dicos fast-food joint in Lanzhou. Whereas you have no idea where the ingredients come from in the fast food, here on the street, you can be sure that it’s all local, and all fresh.

I continued to enjoy the fresh seasonal local fruit all along the roadside today also. Rock melons, peaches, massive fat plums, grapes…no wonder I am feeling 200% stronger than I was in Xinjiang Province. I am eating so much better here. I am amazed at how incredibly easy it is to travel here in eastern China. Distances between towns is minimal, and great cheap food is in abundance. Covering distance has never been easier…ever.

After 10,000km, you’d think that certain bits on my skateboard have worn a little. The only thing that I have never touched in those 10,000km are the trucks (the axles), save from adjusting the tightness of them.

The trucks are Holey Trucks, and they are a fantastic piece of kit. They have been so reliable. Support from Holey is second to none, also. Emails have been responded to promptly, which is a massive bonus when you are on the road.

The trucks, understandably, have now worn to the point of being a little unpredictable on fast (25km/h plus) downhills. Due to wear on the pivot points, the trucks will ‘twitch’ when I am trying to keep them running straight. A bit unnerving at speed.

The top left photo shows the wear on the pivot on the hanger of the truck (for an explaination of truck terminology, see this link). The hanger should transition smoothly to the pivot, with no edge. In the photo, you can see a prominent ridge. That is the wear that is causing the twitching.

For now, I have wrapped a couple of layers of tape around the pivot point to reduce play, and this has stopped the twitching. They are now very stable, as they once were.

Holey Trucks has offered to send me some new trucks, so hopefully I will have some new trucks waiting for me in Xian when I get there in a couple of weeks. Another reason to use Holey Trucks. I never imagined that I would be able to get some replacement trucks in China!

I am now feeling a welcome feeling of pressure. I have just under 2 months to skate 2,100km to Shanghai to make it on time for my flight to New Zealand. Nothing like a deadline to get you moving!

My day began with some hide and seek. The mission was to find fibreglass to repair the damage to my trailer. This was harder than is sounds.

I visited a housing supplies market that sold everything from fencing to paint to door handles, and no one had it. Everyone had plenty of ideas on how I should use sheet steel to protect the base of the trailer however. Great ideas, but not what I was after right now. Right now I need to strengthen the crack.

In the end I was directed to a place that specialises in making fake trees. “If you can’t be bothered growing it, we’ll make it!” That may as well be their motto.

They had the stuff I was after. Good fibreglass mesh, and resin of some description. If you ever need fibreglass in Lanzhou, then go here:

For the small amount that I needed, they charged me nothing. They put the resin and the hardener in separate small PET bottles for me, and I was set.

I headed back to the inn, and commenced the process of repairing the crack, to the great interest of the owner.

The final product was as rough as anything, but it’ll do the trick for now. I put a full layer of fibreglass on the base of the trailer. A little more stuff to scrape away at for the next 3,500km. More on the repairs here at Skatefurther.com: http://www.skatefurther.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=69&start=30

Now, to the main event for today…the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony. It was raining, but I donned my jacket and headed out to the massive screen in the central park in Lanzhou (Dongfang something or rather).

I arrived at around 7:30pm, so had a few minutes to kill. I treated myself to the Chinese equivalent to MacDonalds. A fast food chain called Dicos. For 20RMB, I got a chicken burger, some french fries, and a coke. It was enough to put in your eye. For the same price I could have eaten two full meals at a traditional Chinese eatery. Or eaten four meals worth of noodle soup. Bit of a rip off, if you ask me.

The crowd continued to grow as 8pm, 8th of the 8th month, 2008, approached.

By 8:30pm, the square was packed, umbrellas jostling for room.

As the ceremony progressed, a large group of students began the trade-mark chant chonguo jyayou, chonguo jyayou, chonguo jyayou, chonguo jyayou, chonguo jyayou. For translation, see this link. I felt suitably dressed in red.

I stayed until the Chinese athletes entered the stadium. It was a long wait in the rain. Near the end, the New Zealand team entered. At the risk of sounding biased, I did think the Kiwi’s uniform was one of the smartest. It was actually something that I myself would be happy to wear. As for the Australian uniform…well…to their credit, it did stand out on camera. Very dramatic as a group. But as for actually having to wear the shiny thing…no thanks.

Predictably, the Chinese crowd went wild when the Chinese athletes entered the Bird’s Nest. Great roars of approval.