Up and Away

October 5th - Beijing to Miaofeng Mountain - 140 km

My legs have recovered from the previous ride....but I think my bike may be sick.

Looking at my map of Beijing, I decided to head West, in search of some climbs. Picked out a road to take and got on my bike. As I pedaled a long, I felt the crank arms vibrating and a really disturbing grinding noise coming from the bottom bracket of the bicycle. Shoot....I didn't want to stop the whole ride. 

Went to the nearby bike shop and spent about an hour there, watching as the mechanic looked over the bike and began to take the bottom assembly apart. $20 later, I was back on the road and finally began to head West along the 3rd Ring Road.

Terrain was very flat until passing the 6th Ring road....that's how it always seems to be here. I continued to follow the G109 until I saw some winding roads going up the side of the mountains. Looked like fun!

Has to be the most bikers I've seen in one area in Beijing so far. Must have been at least 20 km of climbing....definitely a good wake up call to start upping my game. The scenery was absolutely stunning, with so many greens, red, and yellows dotting the mountains. Temples and similar buildings could be seen sprouting out from the tops of the trees. 

At the summit of Miaofeng

Got to the summit in one piece and began the descent shortly after. If there were no cars, this climb would be so much fun descending. With switchbacks at every corner, I hit 60 kmph but had to slow down as the muscles in my inner thigh began to cramp up....good thing for the speed too because all the cars were going 40 or below.

Feeling adventurous, I began to crank up the speed again, passing the cars, and trying not to be squished by oncoming vehicles.

Ended the ride back in Beijing with some comfort Japanese food.

Definitely the best looking place I've seen in Beijing so far