The morning greets us with nice weather.
The road is quite hilly. It's the least favorable topography, for it leaves the cyclist spent but with no serious altitude gain to show for it.
Today we'll cross Fenghuo Pass.
We stop at a road house for hot water and some eats. There is a jeep outside; nearby is a young man in a Gong An Ju uniform -- a policeman. This is the same 'gong an ju' we've run from on many previous ocassions on China. The one we have been very worried about in Tibet. Yet we have had such luck getting through thus far, we have become cocky.
We go outside and meet the police officer. We would like nothing better than to snap a photo with him, a souvenir of our success in thwarting the cops. It would have been unthinkable to some of our friends in Beijing.
We chatted the young guy up a bit. Then we casually asked him if he'd mind standing with us for a photo. A little unsure of himself, he agreed. Souvenir secured.
We arrive at the foot of the pass after climbing a series of hills in the first half of the day. Brice's altimeter reveals there is no net gain of altitude. We have to climb Fenghuo from scratch.
The weather changes. There is cold rain and wind blows in our faces. It grabs hold of the spokes and attempts to stop the bike. It urges us to hang it up and wait for another day. But there is no sense in stopping up here. It's a 16,000+ foot pass and sleep will be unlikely, not to mention warmth.
From the foot of the pass the rest of the way is sharply up, at first following a river valley, as most passes do. But the river valley is left behind because the road must confront the heights above and rivers don't exist there, glaciers do.
I do my utmost to hammer this pass but it is un-hammerable. I am unable to attack this beast, to turn the crank in a reasonable gear, body bent over the vehicle or up out of the saddle just tackling it and taking no prisoners. No, this is not such a pass, at least not today and with this body. It's a slow grind of a pass, rear end down on the saddle and gears arranged for least resistance. Just a grind up, up and more up. It twists and turns as it gets higher and there is no sign of the top.
Fenghuo Pass is making Kunlun Pass look like the joke that it was.
We've calculated that there are many kilometers involved in reaching the top, so I know I must have ten or fifteen of them left to eat.
It gets colder as I ascend and the rain has turned to sleet and hail. The wind is not fair, for it shifts in order to confront me at every turn. Then round a bend I am presented with a slight dip, a steep incline, a curve to the left and then a long reasonable ascent to a crest upon which fly a hundred laces of prayer flags, always the Tibetan Buddhist adornment of summit. The top, finally, is within sight if not convincingly within reach.
This is turning out to be a brutal day, the hardest so far in the trip. I put my head down and reconcile myself to turning the crank, just put every last calorie into this and the end will come.
At the top I join Brice, who is in shape to hammer this pass. Some other tourists at the top agree to help take a picture of us; first I need to replace my sweaty cycling jersey with a dry one and then add all available layers of clothing. Exertion from climbing keeps you warm for about five minutes after reaching the top. After that, the thin air and wind conspire to freeze you.
Ferocious and intent. One of them sticks to me like glue. I throw the shifters into high and just sprint, out of the saddle, looking down to my left -- still there! By the time he'd quit, I was a basket case, totally winded and gasping for air. Next time I'll have to jump off the bike and face the dogs, as Brice did successfully this time.
The oxygen is so scarce it's too much to laugh on the bikes, too too much. Brushing teeth takes oxygen. Any effort winds you. So how can we possibly cycle? We do. It's unbelievable.
I have never been so tired in my life. We are here in Erdaogou having just crossed Fenghuo Pass. For the first time on this trip I am light-headed. Although this is the highest altitude town we've stopped for the night in (4752m / 15,587ft) I think the light headedness is from the sheer exertion over the past eight hours. Blood sugar level must be low. The first 50-60 kilometers today were up and down, up then down again -- no credit for climbing -- until finally we reached the first of the Fenghuo ("wind and fire") Mountains, maddeningly at the same altitude we began the day at.
Even writing this now I feel that I am asleep. Brice says something and I gradually shift focus. Is this a dream?
Well, Fenghuo Pass isn't the highest pass on our route, just the 2nd highest. Tuotuohe (a town) is 65 kms south of us. Beyond that somewhere lies Tanggula, the ultimate pass: 5250 m (17,220 ft). I am truly afraid of that and wonder how can it be possible, given today's maximum taxation.
Every time I look up I feel as if I'm sleeping.
Last night in Wudaoliang was the first sleep of this trip. Don't know why -- it just finally happened.
I will be arguing for a rest day tomorrow.
We find the restaurateurs to be amicable. Maybe excessively so. They are a group of Hui people, Muslim Chinese.