On the morning of the 19th the cemetery staff let us use their computer to check our email. Since our flight to Los Angeles was not until the morning if the 27th we had been a bit worried about finding accommodation for that length of time but everything seemed to be sorted now. The first three nights we could stay with some other cyclists and then we would relocate to another guy who we had been in contact with for almost two months. His apartment was located close to the airport which was very important for us.
However, this morning we got an email from him saying that he will no longer be able to host us because some of his friends were coming over. What nerve to cancel on us on such short notice! Especially after we had been in regular contact with him for so long.
Shoot, what to do? We did not know. We were already worried about where to find bike boxes to pack the bikes, how to get us and the bikes to the airport without paying an arm and a leg and whether it was true that China Eastern charges $400 dollars to fly a bicycle (=total$800). Now not having a place to stay for our last few days in China was not exactly a morale booster.
At least we had a place for the first three days in Beijing and we hoped that something could be arranged within that time.
Our hosts were on the far eastern outskirts of town which meant riding all the way through the city to get to their place. Although cities are always a dread for cyclists, I would say Beijing was much better than expected. The roads are very wide and most roads have an entire lane designated for smaller vehicles, scooters, bicycles etc. What is very annoying though is that traffic in these lanes runs in both directions and the Chinese very very rarely check for traffic when pulling out into the road. It seems as though it is your responsibility to make sure you do not get hit in the side or run into someone who pulls into the road without looking. I wonder if they are aware of their truly suicidal driving style.
It is a miracle we have not had a single accident. THANK GOD!
After a long day Chi welcomed us into the apartment which currently serves as warehouse and shipping center for the new Chinese bicycle company Boskey. Cool, we get to live in a bike shop for a few days!
Chi cooked us two juicy steaks each for dinner! So good! Thank you. We even got to try a century egg, which was surprisingly delicious. Kind of like cheese.
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