Category Archives: China (Henan)

Today’s distance / ???????: 44.2 miles / 71.1km
Average speed / ????: 9.1mph / 14.7km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 4h 51m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6688mi plus 386mi (?) / 10,763km plus 622km (?)
Ascent / ??: 100m
Descent / ??: 90m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N32°08′30.1″, E114°14′06.3″

So a few days ago I decided to commit to an extension to this journey. I’ll be going to South America in February next year and skating with longboarding legend Adam Colton. I’m excited about this opportunity. It is a part of the world that I have begun to be more and more interested in as a place to travel. Of course issues such as money will have to be sorted out. The fact is that when I arrive home in Christchurch in mid November, I will have no money. In fact, I will have no money, and I will still have my student loan.

I have this crazy tension between wanting to continue this lifestyle and not wanting to settle down, but knowing the reality that this lifestyle does not pay well. Do I sell my story? Become a free-lance motivational speaker, riding on my status as a ‘world record breaker’? Somehow that also creates a tension; wanting to inspire people and tell them about my journey without having to put a price tag on my speaking, but then realising that if I don’t get paid for it, it won’t happen.

Mmmm. So these and other random thoughts plagued my mind for most of last night and as a result I did not sleep well.

The day was a wonderful one though, despite feeling tired. Starting with a wodnerful hazy morning. The pollution in eastern China is good for something, it seems.

As I headed out of town, I spied a truck that was piled high with what looked like firecrackers. Upon closer inspection, they were something with only slightly less kick: peppers.

I have never seen so many peppers in one place before. You could smell the hotness of them. When I eat something with this kind of peppers in it, I start hiccuping. Really, I do. When I smelled this truck…I started hiccuping.

Onwards and out of the city…into a headwind of course.

Water buffallos are now on my list of favourite animals, by the way. Along with dogs, ducks, donkeys. Water buffallos are massive mammals, but so awesomely chilled out. This one let me get fairly close before deciding that the tasty morsels of grass were more to its liking. I must say though…a stick through the snoz mustn’t be too comfy.

The afternoon met me with a most surreal experience. On both sides of the road here, locals were drying their freshly harvested rice.

In a comment on one of these photos, someone asked “So does this mean that the rice I am eating that came from China might have been run over?!” Yes it does.

All that skating past rice made me hungry. The below plate of noodles was polished off with ease.

Today’s distance / ???????: 26.4 miles / 42.5km
Average speed / ????: 9.6mph / 15.4km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 2h 45m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6644mi plus 386mi (?) / 10,692km plus 622km (?)
Ascent / ??: 105m
Descent / ??: 110m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N32°11′39.6″, E114°31′35.1″

The only thing that comes close to chipseal in terms of crappy skating surfaces is grooved concrete. I had far too many kilometers of that today, and again I stopped early, just after lunch at 12 noon. Not all surfaces in China are the best for skating on!

Took a day off today due to a rough night’s sleep the previous day and generally not feeling my usual self.

Today’s distance / ???????: 32.3 miles / 51.8km
Average speed / ????: 8.7mph / 14.1km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 3h 40m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6617mi plus 386mi (?) / 10,650km plus 622km (?)
Ascent / ??: 160m
Descent / ??: 175m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N32°06′32.3″, E114°07′16.6″

Well after a more or less total lack of chickens so far in China, whether in food or otherwise, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of chooks in this part of China. Too bad for them.

The day started well, my body feeling strong. I was once again blown away by the awesome skating conditions in China. Smooth roads, lack of traffic, and awesome scenery.

Rice fields begging to be harvested.

The stoke unfortunately did not last for long today though, and after lunch I hit a wall. I felt hungry and fatigued despite the midday meal. I would say it had something to do with the heat. The midday sun is brutal here.

I called an early stop to the day in Shinyang at 2pm.

Today’s distance / ???????: 63.3 miles / 102km
Average speed / ????: 9.4mph / 15.2km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 6h 43m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6585mi plus 386mi (?) / 10,592km plus 622km (?)
Ascent / ??: 495m
Descent / ??: 325m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N32°18′57.8″, E113°42′43.2″

This was one of the days that you dream about. Where everything comes together. It was cool, crisp, no air pollution, and stunning scenery. The smell of rice ready for harvest reminded me of the beauty of Japan.

The whole day had a distinctly Southeast Asia feel to it. Not that I’ve been to Southeast Asia, but it looked like the photos I’ve seen of that part of the world. Rice paddies, water buffalo, peanuts drying on the side of the road.

The highlight of the day however was definitely the Tongbai WWII HQ Museum (or something to that effect…couldn’t quite understand what the person was saying). I was weary of making the detour off my route (all of 1km), since many tourist attractions in China are tracky and not worth the effort, but this was different. Absolutely stunning.

The place is more or less totally rebuilt, and renovations are still in progress. When I arrived at the gate, I got the standard stare of amazement at my mode of transport. I gave the standard stare back, and without a word, the gate person waved me in. I later found out that there was a 20RMB entry fee. Nice folks.

Today’s distance / ???????: 42.7 miles / 68.8km
Average speed / ????: 9.2mph / 14.8km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 4h 38m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6522mi plus 386mi (?) / 10,496km plus 622km (?)
Ascent / ??: 160m
Descent / ??: 190m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N32°41′02.3″, E112°49′57.0″

A bit of a blase day today. I finished the day at just before 3pm. It was superduper hot. I thought it was supposed to get cooler after August…

Today’s distance / ???????: 67.1 miles / 108km
Average speed / ????: 9.3mph / 15km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 7h 11m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 6479mi plus 386mi (?) / 10,427km plus 622km (?)
Ascent / ??: 410m
Descent / ??: 495m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N33°00′57.6″, E112°24′53.5″

A tired start to the day, but things livened up a little with the most chickens I have ever seen in one place…this kid obviously prided herself on being the master of the chooks, happily jumping into the enclosure and terrorising the poor birds.

I tried hard to keep a grimace off my face as I watched distressed birds being forcefully shoved into small transport cages. These little packages of meat on legs are treated just as that.

Another interesting thing that I have noticed on a few occassions here in China are the horribly graphic posters outside some Traffic Police stations. These large posters show actual photos of dead people, with all sort of horrific injuries. Blood and guts, all on display. Don’t be dumb on the roads, or you’ll end up like these people. I guess that’s the message. Sometimes the injuries are censored with pixelation, sometimes now. Beware, if you click on the photo below, you’ll get the bigger version.

Despite the early morning drowziness, time flew by in the afternoon, with a great long centrury to finish with. I began to feel the pull of Shanghai however. I just want to be done with this country now. I have been here too long, and the bureaucrazies have not made it any easier.

The people continued to be wonderful however. I stopped at a small restaurant/inn for dinner, and propmtly a group of four guys sat down at my table. They were not the usual big drinkers that I have come to despise in China, and we had a very pleasant meal together. They paid for the lot, and my bill for the night at the inn!