Extreme Weather

Well, today we had all the extremes of weather conditions. It was one of the toughest days so far on tour; -5 temperatures, snow, rain, wind and some ice plus a 2900m pass.Thankfully, at the end are hotel rooms that have heating and hot water. A crisp and cold morning (as Miles put it – “feels like the first day of winter”) had the riders all rugged up and climbing pretty much straight out of Wuwei. Most were happy about as it kept them warm and cozy. Lunch at 80km up the road provided them with hot drinks, hot meals and a chance to put on extra layers before heading up a little higher and, boy, did the temperature plummet. The weather deteriorated into an windy, ice storm that had the trucks doing little slides and the riders ducking their heads and pedaling for home. Although the cold weather made things a little interesting, the ride itself was a beautiful; winding, scenic mountain roads that traversed through small villages and had that snowy, country lane feel. Still, and I believe the majority of the riders will agree, the best part of the day was the heated rooms and the hot showers. A few of us decided to finish the day of with a glass of red wine Lets just see how tomorrow goes shall we?????