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Patrick Barrow

Patrick Barrow

Visit Patrick Barrow's website here for more photos and additional information: http://picasaweb.google.com/belzebul5/PatrickChina02?authkey=FEicgFoPaGg

Was warm enough to sleep open and count the stars.

I got giardia from this pond. There was no other water around so was forced to drink it.

Roadside melon shack. Godsend.

Beginning of Sept. Thanks to my ruthless metabolism, tsampa and Giardia I'm down to about 62kgs. Started in April at around 72.

Drying red peppers. Roadsides were full of them and they could be pleasantly smelt far off.

I made friends with the road workers and got myself a road workers cap. Then wore it and made friends with each follwing crew cause they saw my hat. Very useful, and fun.

Many rock slides on the ascending gorge road. Reverted to wearing my helmet again in case of a fall.

Rose higher and climate and scenery changed again. The smell of the trees after treeless Tibet was wonderful.

Big Dragon lake behind me.

Up to one of the last passes. A pitch black 2km tunnel like a giant walk in freezer. Closed off to cars, got my head torch out and pedaled through slowly.

200km across at plataue at about 3500. Horses, camels, yaks, sheep, side by side. Kazakh country.

Yurt and horses. I imagine the Mongols breaching the ridges and yurt dwellers, like these scuttling about in fear.

The view back south east towards the desert and the rest of China. Made Urumqi the next day, 115km and made my highest speed 62km/ph on the down hill. The 62kmph felt much safer the being confronted with the traffic of a big city again. Total trip was April - September, just over 6400km. About 4 or 5 weeks rest time within that period.

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The end.

Visit Patrick Barrow's website here for more photos and additional information: http://picasaweb.google.com/belzebul5/PatrickChina02?authkey=FEicgFoPaGg

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