It took two full months to cross China by bicycle, and now we’ve been in Kazakhstan for a few days. A lot happened in the last month in China! We crossed the Tibetan Plateau, where we experienced some cold, but nothing too extreme; luckily there was always somewhere to sleep and stay warm, even if once the accommodation was so rustic (but authentic) that the stove was fueled by yak dung. At altitudes always above 3,500 meters, there are no trees in the area, and the best available fuel in large quantities is indeed yak dung. After finishing our adventure on the plateau, we reached Xining, where we decided to take a train to skip the 300 km to Zhangye, since there is an area full of tourist restrictions between these two cities that we preferred to avoid. Taking a train with a bicycle in China is a small adventure: it’s not enough to simply buy a ticket and get on board. You have to fully disassemble the bike, pack it, and put everything through X-ray scanners. With the help of some local people, we found everything we needed and, with some physical effort, managed to load everything onto the train. In Zhangye, the famous Rainbow Mountains were waiting for us. At first I was a bit skeptical, but after seeing them I can say they are truly beautiful. The only thing I didn’t like is that you cannot freely explore or walk around: there are boardwalks and a fixed route to follow, so even though the scenery is stunning, the experience feels a bit monotonous. From Zhangye we got back on the bikes and rode to Jiayuguan, where the beginning (or the end, depending on your point of view) of the Great Wall of China is located.

This section of the Wall is very different from the more famous one near Beijing: it is located in the Gobi Desert and is, above all, much less touristic. Leaving Jiayuguan, we found ourselves riding for many kilometers through the Gobi Desert. Going from cold to heat again was quite a shock, and on top of that we constantly had headwinds. Even though everything was flat, it felt like we were always climbing: we were pushing hard on the pedals but our average speed was only about 10 km/h, which was mentally quite draining. So we decided to take another train for 600 km to Urumqi. In Urumqi we changed our bike chains, which were worn out after more than 6,000 km; for me it’s already the third chain since the beginning of the trip, and it will most likely be the last one. From Urumqi we set off again with the goal of reaching the Kazakhstan border. These last days have also been quite challenging due to the heat, headwinds, and especially the constant police checks. The officers were always polite, respectful, and kind. One day, seeing that we had very little water, they even bought us 6 liters because they didn’t want us to run out in the desert. However, being stopped repeatedly and questioned all the time can become quite exhausting. Since leaving Australia, I have reached the 10,000 km mark, crossing the halfway point of this long journey. Now we just have to keep pedaling, always heading west.