June 4, 2022: Setting off from Shenzhen to Cycle the Sichuan-Tibet Line (Nineteen)

June 4th: From Tongmai to Lulang, approximately 75 kilometers.

I had terrible sleep last night. I had planned to wake up at 6 am and depart at 7 am, so I started to sleep at 10 pm. Just as I was falling asleep, someone checked into the room on my left. The rooms here are made of tin, with almost no sound insulation. There was a commotion for half an hour and finally it quieted down. Just as I was about to fall asleep again, someone checked into the room on my right and there was another half hour of noise. By the time it was over, it was already half past eleven. It’s too difficult to have a good night’s sleep. When I woke up today, even my voice was hoarse.

I had planned to depart at 7 am, but I didn’t leave until half past seven.

I also needed to find breakfast.

The cost of living is high. A steamer of soup dumplings, a bowl of porridge, and a fried egg cost 23 yuan.

I departed at 7:52 am. The mountain was very humid in the morning, with mist lingering. It was drizzling all the way in the morning, probably because the mist had condensed.

The Tongmai Special Bridge is very spectacular.

Give a thumbs up to China’s infrastructure.

After passing the Tongmai Bridge, I encountered the first tunnel of the day, the Feishi Cliff Tunnel, which is 531 meters long. Please turn on your rear and front lights, as well as the flashing lights, before entering the tunnel.

Not long after exiting the first tunnel, I arrived at the second one, the Xiaolaohu Mouth Tunnel.

After coming out of the Xiaolaohu Mouth Tunnel, I passed the Xiaolaohu Mouth daylight tunnel. Today, the tunnels and daylight tunnels are all concentrated in the first half of the journey.

Palung No.1 Tunnel.

This tunnel has no lights, so be careful.

After that, I arrived at another special bridge: the Porong Gully Special Bridge.

The surroundings were shrouded in a misty fairyland, very atmospheric.

On the other side of the bridge, I went straight into Palung No.2 Tunnel.

Not far from the tunnel exit, I arrived at Peilong Township, which looks a bit like a scenic area.

The houses all have similar shapes, like guesthouses.

The first 14 kilometers or so were very smooth, but the undulating roads started to increase after 15 kilometers.

After leaving Peilong Township for a while, I passed the Peilong daylight tunnel.

The environment is still humid, with more undulating roads, and the climbing started to increase.

There are still more than 40 kilometers to today’s destination, Lulang.

The altitude is still relatively low now, and many sections have very lush vegetation, with high oxygen content in the air.

Around 10 o’clock, I passed Zhuoma Daylight Tunnel, which is not far from the lunch spot in La Yue Village.

At 10:02, after climbing this slope, I arrived at the lunch spot in La Yue Village. It’s only about 27 kilometers from Tongmai to the lunch spot, and it took about two hours to ride. Having lunch at this point is a bit early.

I ordered a bowl of egg noodles for 20 yuan, and after eating and resting until 11 o’clock, I set off again. There are still about 41 kilometers to the Lulang accommodation point, and the afternoon is basically all uphill.

La Yue Daylight Tunnel.

I haven’t had a good climb for a few days. These days have been undulating roads, and there haven’t been many serious mountain crossings. Today’s uphill road, 40 kilometers with an elevation gain of over 800 meters, although the climb is not very high, some roads are still quite hard to ride.

At 11:20, at the 4065 kilometer mark of the 318 National Road, there are still about 37 kilometers to the accommodation point.

Then I met a big brother and sister on motorcycles who greeted us and encouraged each other.

At 11:35, Dongjiu Daylight Tunnel, and then forward is Dongjiu Village.

After arriving at Dongjiu Village, the uphill roads began to increase, and today’s more challenging section is from Dongjiu Village to the back.

It’s basically uphill all the way, and the sun is scorching at noon, hot and sunny.

Since my friend’s face was sunburned a few days ago, when I was resting in Bangda, I cut two eyes in the magic scarf, and these days I have been covering my head while riding to prevent sunburn.

At 12:49, I arrived at the 108 Daylight Tunnel, which was the time when the sun was the most intense. Because the jacket is black and absorbs heat, my back felt sore from the sun. After the tunnel, I took off my jacket and rode directly in a quick-drying autumn shirt, which was much cooler, and I felt a bit cold, but after riding for a while, I didn’t feel cold anymore. Because when I first took off my coat, my clothes were sweaty, and the evaporation of sweat absorbs heat, so I felt cold at first, but after the sweat dried, I didn’t feel cold anymore.

At 14:24, I arrived at the 4094-meter mark of the 318 National Road, about 8 kilometers away from the accommodation point.

The following 20 kilometers were quite tough because of the many uphill sections.

At 14:40, I finally arrived at Lulang. It was quite sudden to arrive at Lulang’s territory. I was just climbing, and I didn’t expect to arrive directly with a downhill.

The first feeling Lulang gave me was that I wanted to buy a cow to raise here, as the environment is very good.

I took a few photos by the roadside.

I arrived at the accommodation point, Dean’s Inn, at 15:05.

I chose a single room for 70 yuan per person to rest well and catch up on sleep.

Then I went to the supermarket to restock on snacks and drinks.

Because there are fewer people due to the epidemic, the inn doesn’t cook now, and there’s no meal plan, so I ordered the most expensive takeout in my life tonight, a fried rice, a bowl of noodles, and a plate of vegetables for 91 yuan. This is the price of laziness! This lesson is worth learning.

Lulang has beautiful scenery, so I decided to stay for a day to rest, wash clothes, and take a good look around. There are still 4 days left to ride to Lhasa, so there’s no need to rush!