May 26th: From Batang to Markham, approximately 103 kilometers.
Today was also a day when I felt completely drained. Apart from the first 32 kilometers of gentle downhill and flat road from Batang to the Jinsha River Bridge, the next 60 kilometers were all uphill, rising from an altitude of over 2500 meters to over 4100 meters, with a total elevation gain of over 1600 meters.
I’m exhausted. After cycling for so long, this is the first time I’ve felt completely drained.
Yesterday, while resting in Batang, I got a nucleic acid test.
The nucleic acid test was from 9 to 11:30 am. Since we need to cross the Jinsha River tomorrow and they will check for the test, we lined up at 9. After that, we wandered around the area, had lunch at a roadside restaurant at noon, then went back to sleep in the afternoon, and came out for dinner in the evening. We also bought some crushed cookies, peanuts, and raisels to put in a beverage bottle to make simple dry food.
We set off from the Batang inn at 7 am today and had breakfast at a roadside restaurant.
We set off at 7:30 am, the first 32 kilometers were a gentle downhill, riding along the Jinsha River all the way to the Jinsha River Bridge, which was relatively easy.
On the way, I saw this bridge with an interesting name and took a picture.
Then all the way to the Jinsha River Bridge, this is a new bridge built last year. Once you cross the bridge, you’re in Tibet. There is a nearly 45-degree uphill slope in front of this bridge, it’s really steep.
After crossing the bridge, they will check the travel code and 48-hour nucleic acid results.
After the inspection, log in to the Tibet Health Code mini program, which is the green code mini program in Tibet.
From the checkpoint, there is a downhill road, one of the few downhill roads today.
Until you see the Mingdong tunnel, it basically starts to uphill from there, now it’s a gentle uphill.
At half past ten, I was a bit hungry and took out my homemade dry food, raisins, peanuts, and rectangular biscuits bought in Batang last night, crushed and put into a bottle, which is convenient to eat.
After eating, continue to climb uphill gently.
60 kilometers uphill, take it slow.
It started to rain while walking, and I hate it when it rains suddenly in clear weather. During this rainy stretch, I also encountered a few wild monkeys by the road.
There is another check about 16 kilometers away from the pass. In addition to checking the health code, you also need to fill in the application for entering Tibet. After writing, you also need to go to the security check hall to check your ID card.
Starting from here in the picture, the real slope of today is coming, and it starts to steepen from behind.
Seeing this sign, we started to climb the slope from behind. Then I accidentally saw an old lady who also turned her face. When our eyes met to avoid embarrassment, I quickly smiled and said loudly to the grandmother: “Tashi Delek,” haha.
More than 10 kilometers to the pass, the slope is getting steeper and steeper.
These dozen kilometers are too tiring. If you want to save effort when climbing, you can only grind slowly, and the speed will slow down. The weather will also rain or hail from time to time, all of a sudden downpour in clear weather, suddenly hail, walking is more tired than the previous dozens of kilometers. We basically ride for a while and push for a while. The worst thing is that today’s pass positioning is not accurate. According to the navigation, there are only 2 kilometers to the pass, but when we arrive at the located place, there are still several kilometers to the pass. That feeling is really unbearable.
When we finally arrived at the pass, our bodies were severely overdrawn. There were about 5 kilometers from the pass to the inn, which was downhill. We changed into dry clothes, added a thick coat, and went down. The most refreshing thing on the way was the downhill, a carefree feeling.
5 kilometers downhill, directly to the inn.
At 4:47 pm, we arrived at the inn and went to Markham People’s Hospital for a nucleic acid test first. To prevent further checks, then came back for dinner, it still includes breakfast and dinner, but the dishes are too spicy to bear.
After dinner, we ordered two bowls of pumpkin porridge on Meituan. Because we have been rushing recently, we basically don’t eat lunch, only snacks. To prevent stomach discomfort, it’s better to drink some porridge to nourish.
Tonight we stayed in a standard room with two beds, my friend and I. The accommodation includes breakfast and dinner for one person for 80 yuan, and the 57 Alliance Restaurant on the road is still quite cost-effective. But tonight is quite embarrassing, the mobile phone charger and hat were left behind when we left tomorrow, alas, we spent more than 100 yuan to buy it again, it’s common to be forgetful on the road.
I’ll finish writing the strategy later and rest early to save energy.
Tomorrow: From Markham to Dengba Village, we need to cross two mountains, which is also a challenge.
Now we have almost walked half, there are still about 1100 kilometers away from Lhasa. Come on!