Three!

Our riders awoke to a crisp temperatures today, but at least it was a bit warmer than yesterday! With the light at the end of the tunnel in sight, most riders were up and out of the hotel and on the road early this morning, continuing the battle with the myriad of vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and animals, that make up the local traffic.
Everyone seemed in good spirits arriving at lunch after a quick 80km, and were treated to French toast in addition to the usual lunch truck fare. Some riders even felt that the air quality had ‘slightly’ improved today! For the afternoon it was a flat, busy ride through little towns until reaching Baoding, our stop for tonight – and a nice hotel with lots of hot water and free internet in the rooms!
The African Routes boys have been kept on their toes the last while – traffic has been challenging, to say the least; and just finding somewhere to park the trucks has been an ongoing struggle in each city. As for doing any maintenance, well, just forget it!
At dinner we celebrated Chuck’s birthday, and discussed plans for our arrival in Beijing. It is hard to believe that the end of the Silk Route Bicycle Expedition is only two days away!