Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Baiyu

I am in Baiyu.
Greetings.

6 comments:

  1. Ed! I got a bit sad when I saw your ad for a cyclingcompanion on L.P.,you are obviously not willing to change your route. If your mind is well,then I guess it`s your right to play with your own life. It`s a bit funny that you as a "people person" originally choosed two of the most remote and least inhabited roads in the world to cycle alone. The road from Golmud to Ruodiang(Qarkilik) and the highest highway in the world in Tajikistan. I have tried to look at "thorntree" now,but I can`t get in. But I saw the other day that you were approximately 70 kilos on 22. of July last year. (32 vs.36 holes rim discussion). A few weeks ago you were 64 kg,and by now only 60 I guess. When your body has consumed the rest of the fat on you,it will look for other sourses and that kind of "cannibalism" is not healthy. You are getting closer to the high mountains,and a body with no resourses left will collapse much quiker than a healthy one. I read on thisisexeter.co.uk that you have to pass the mountains before the snow starts. Heavy snow would stop you and any other traffic on the road,so that would definatly be a no,no. But I believe the area you are in and are going to are rather arid and "heavy" snowfall is not expected untill May. Is that correct? And by then the sun is so strong and day temperatures so mild the snow won`t stay long. So why don`t you listen to your "inner voice" telling you to slow down and stay where you are now for a few weeks. On a "san kuai wangba" you can sit and plan the route to England while you update your blog,and start writing on your book. And very importantly regain several kilos of fat. As long as you get to Golmud by the end of April,it will still be counted as the first winter crossing by bike. By then the impossible Taklamakan south track will be even more imp.,but Dunhuang,Urumqi,Almaty to Bishkek will be possible. No need to go to Beijing for visas. There is no need to go to Kashgar either,I have been there twice and it`s absolutely nothing special. The Sunday market has lost it`s charm,and the only thing waiting for you is a box from C.W. Absolutely nothing to risk your life for. They will send it back to C.W. after one month. C.W. can then send it on to you. On my China map it looks like you cycled over mountains to get to Baiyu. I guess you don`t have a altimeter,but how cold did it get at night? You did bring a thermometer and a compass didn`t you Ed? Well most importantly to listen to your "inner voice" telling you to slow down anp play it safer. That is what it`s there for,calm you down in troubble,find a good solution and keep you living as long as possible. What? Your inner voice is telling you to push on? It is faulty Ed! Don`t listen to it! Your software got a virus! Ed you need a rest! Asmund.

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  2. Well there you go, new screen names is real she thinks? I'm here just about coughing and wheezing. The 5 aside team that is Asmund and all his mates are keeping an ever watchful eye.

    Ed I would say that "Walter Mitty" may have a point, I'm not taking sides or nuffing. You should find a set of scales, I'll try and find the BMI calculation it's very easy to workout or a clever bloke like yourself could find it in a jiffy on the web. At least that way you can set a reference point for yourself if you've not already done so. Let me know if your still set for the letter box drop, as I'm starting to wind the parcel shut, it has a rather good selection of things in it. As I have to get it to the post office before I go away with work for 4 weeks.

    Anyway well done for getting there... whats the place like man we need details it could come up in a pub quiz?

    Also if you get the chance perhaps you can help me "How does google earth work?" I'm gutted I looked at it for 20 minutes before working out it was doing NOTHING!" I could have just looked out of the window into darkness and seen more interesting stuff.

    So look after yourself and look forward to more twists and turns on the Ed Genochio Show...

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  3. http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/32/Baiyu.html

    is that the place?

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  4. These posts are getting pretty short, what's the place like?

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  5. Ed! Did you listen to your inner voice/instinct and stop to rest,or did you go on? If you stopped,you obviously did so in a place with no wangba,and if you went on then I wonder about your health. Most cyclists,me included,gets some kind of sickness in China. A bad cold is most common any time of year. You are cycling in the middle of winter picking up whatever goes around in the villages and towns you get to. Then you go back on the road cycling uphill in the sunshine. You are sweating. Cycling in the shade you are freezing and going downhill you are really freezing nearly no matter what you put on. So I guess by now you have a really bad cold and a double sinus infection with a flu likely to breake out within a few days? Or what? And then I was thinking on all those small falls you will have because of the ice on the road. If you are quick and know how to fall then they won`t cause you too much damage. But by now your wrists,hands and fingers would be acing badly. No big deal. And that right knee of yours,is it playing up again? All in all minor details you were prepared for,but what does it do to your sleep? Being badly underweight makes you freeze easily. You can`t breath through your nose with a heavy cold. And each time your wrists,hands or the rest of your body hurts,you will wake up. You sum all this up and you don`t sleep well do you Ed? Then it is this about high altitude sleepers waking up constantly by the fact they stop breathing in their sleep. In the end they are so worried of not waking up again when this happens,they won`t go to sleep at all. You have been to Everest Base Camp and know about this and whatever it is called. No sleep,or far too little sleep,means in the end serious trouble. The part of your brain constantly matching your heartbeats with your activities will fail. The same goes for "automatic" breathing. Automatic breathing you can help,but it takes a lot of effort when you are allready worn out. But your heart you can`t make beat faster using your will-power. So you are stuck with a heart that won`t beat as fast as recuired. If you don`t stop,your heart will stop you. And if there is no one around knowing what to do when/if it happens,then you never will get up again - ever. Ed you need to stop and rest now! Before it all goes wrong. I still don`t understand why this is worth risking your life for. There is no war to be won,no land you can claim for England and nothing you can discover. Exept life on the edge of death. But it is a lot safer to test that in a laboratory. If for some odd reason you survive all the way to Golmud,then every interview and every story you write about this should come with a "warning label". A warning about how close you came to dying or having a foot or an arm amputated because of severe frost. Or else every Tom,Dick and Harry would think it is easy and without any danger to do something "uniqe". I sometimes look at bbc.co.uk/weather to see how cold it is at night in Golmud at 2.800 meters in Qinghai. The pass Bayan Har Shankou is 250-300 km from Golmud "as the crow flies" so it can`t really be compared. BBC claims it will be -14 to -17 degrees C at night this week in Golmud,so lets say this week it is 10-20 degrees colder at night at the pass at 5.100 meters,and very windy. -37C. Are you prepared for that Ed? Are you really? How fast are you at that altitude anyway? At 4.000 meters I can slowly walk pushing my bike for a minute or less. Then I need to rest for a minute or more. Maybe that is your speed at 5.000? Please stop and rest Ed! Before you go into the high mountains. But do some kind of exercice every day,or else you will lose your strenght. And you will need it to stay alive in the mountains. Listen to your inner voice/instinct. If it doesn`t come up with an intelligent reason to stop,then it proves you are way over the limit no body should go past. Stop,rest and the best of luck to you! Asmund.

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  6. Hey Asmund! Just a question your not going nutty again?

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