Our anti-riding trip on the 109 Qinghai-Tibet Line-Dangxiong

The first day, 2010.10.21, sunny

Lhasa - Deqing Township - Yangpajing Town - Nadola Mountain - Nyenchen Tanglha Mountain - Ningzhong Township - Damxung County

Mileage: 162 kilometers

Why ride against it? Why choose 109?

In fact, as early as the beginning of 318, I and my teammates took it to Lhasa and then rode back. As for which route, 317, 109, or 214 are all fine. It's just that at that time, no one was sure that they would be able to ride to Lhasa, and it was too early to discuss the anti-riding issue.

When Lhasa came up with anti-riding again, most of the teammates had already made plans and went home directly. Everyone took leave or resigned, so it was impossible to stay outside for too long. It’s also possible that it’s already the end of October, which is a bit late for the cycling season, and I can’t make an appointment with my teammates to ride together!

Finally, I think about how I have ridden 318 step by step. Now I am not considered a novice. There is nothing I can do alone. I just set off first. I guess I can still be picked up on the road!

As for why it is 109? Because this year my cycling starts from Qinghai Lake and passes by Qinghai Lake on 109, why not just draw this circle first!

It was really hard to find anti-riding strategies. In the end, I stopped looking for them. I took a map of Tibet and looked at it directly. I planned to take it easy on the first day, just over 90 kilometers to Yangpajing!

I didn’t set the alarm clock, so I slept until I woke up naturally. When I looked up, it was past eight o’clock, which was okay, not too late! Pack up your things, wash up, go downstairs and check out, have breakfast on the roadside at nine o'clock, and then go to the Potala Palace to take pictures!

This time I really want to say goodbye to Lhasa and the Potala Palace!

Lhasa is a beautiful, leisurely and pious city. It is also an open city. It is not as mysterious as I heard before. But I can only be a passer-by. I will eventually have to leave. I don’t want to go there again in my lifetime. Come again, I wonder if I can come again?

After taking a farewell photo of my Xiaoxi, I continued heading west...

National Highway 109 is from Xining to Lhasa. If you start from Lhasa, you will first go west and then north. , and then walk east to Xining. The whole journey is 1923Km. The lowest point is 1957 meters in Xining City, and the highest point is 5231 meters at the Tanggula Mountain Pass. The average altitude of the section from Golmud to Lhasa is more than 4,500 meters. The eastern end of the highway passes through the vast Gobi Desert where no grass grows; the middle section passes through the uninhabited Hoh Xil Nature Reserve; and the southern end passes through the vast Qiangtang Grassland. The high altitude here prohibits ordinary people and is known as the "life forbidden area".

The Qinghai-Tibet Line passes through high mountain passes above 5,000 meters above sea level such as Kunlun Pass, Fenghuoshuo Crater, Big and Small Tanggula Pass, Shenka Gangpo, and Nyainqentanglha Pass; it needs to cross the desolate Hoh Xil no-man’s land. and the vast Qiangtang grassland; it needs to cross the Kunlun River, Chumar River, Tuotuo River, Tongtian River and other rivers, the continuous white snow of several major mountain ranges, and the unique blue sky and white clouds of the plateau, so that the Qinghai-Tibet Line can be summarized in one word : Magnificent!

"Alpine hypoxia" is the simplest summary of the natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The harsh climate of the plateau often surprises newcomers to the plateau. In one day, you may experience four seasons of weather. The sun is shining just one moment, and it is snowing in the next moment. In this harsh environment, a large number of wild animals and plants still live. While riding on the road, from time to time you can see plateau pikas rushing back to their nests; groups of Tibetan antelopes and wild donkeys grazing and playing; goshawks and vultures spreading their wings and soaring in the deep blue sky. They bring vitality to the dead plateau, and you have to admire the greatness of life. Although the climate on the plateau is harsh, the scenery is magnificent and charming. The vast grasslands and majestic snow-capped mountains support a richly colored oil painting all around. Desolation, heroism, majesty and holiness are the main colors of the natural scenery of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The Qinghai-Tibet Highway has been built for more than 60 years and has always been the most important and busiest passage from the mainland to Tibet. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, opened in parallel with it in 2006, is another beautiful scenery. The Qinghai-Tibet Highway runs from the edge of the Han cultural circle in Qinghai to the core of Tibetan culture. The customs and customs along the way make people forget to leave. At the pass, there are clusters of longdas (prayer flags, wind horse flags) that rustle in the strong wind, piles of Mani stones with six-character mantras engraved on them are common on the roadside, and the snow capped mountains remain unchanged all year round. Snow White will shock your soul.

I passed an overpass not long after leaving the city from the Potala Palace, and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway appeared on the sign

Then I walked about ten kilometers and saw the 109 National Highway sign in Doilung Deqen District

This should be considered as officially setting foot on National Highway 109, right? Walking further, we left Doilung Deqen District, and the stopwatch indicated more than 20 kilometers. Finally, we saw milestone 3866 on the roadside, but because I was riding backwards, the milestones were all on the other side of the road. There were a lot of big cars on National Highway 109. When it was 3864, I finally found an opportunity to go over and take a photo of Xiao Xi.

The whole way forward, the sky was blue and white clouds, and fluttering prayer flags could be seen everywhere

< p> I arrived in Deqing Township at around 12 noon. I ordered a rice bowl, and the rice returned to the state of being stuffed.

The computer shows a mileage of 66 kilometers, which is still twenty or thirty kilometers away from Yangbajing. It’s a relaxing afternoon

Blue sky and white clouds, cattle and sheep grassland, leaving the Deqing Township checkpoint and bidding farewell to Duilong Deqing District. It’s strange. I don’t even check my ID card along the way, I’m so used to it!

We encountered headwinds on the road to Yangbajing in the afternoon, so we rode slowly

On the road, I met a group of cyclists from Beijing who greeted me and asked me where I was going. Momentarily speechless! Where am I going? I really didn’t think about it, I just didn’t want to go home, so I had no choice but to ride in reverse and choose to continue on the road. So I can only answer "anti-ride". I don’t know if they understood, but they continued to give me a thumbs up until they disappeared

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway accompanied them all the way

Look at Yangbajing Town under the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Today I want to sleep under the snow-capped mountains

After arriving at Yangbajing Town, I found that it was very bad. I just came out of Lhasa and I really couldn't accept it. Looking at the time, it is less than 4 o'clock. There are about 30 kilometers of uphill climb to the pass ahead. I will definitely make it before dark. Then, after more than 40 kilometers of downhill, I can almost reach Dangxiong! Keep moving forward decisively. This is the convenience when you leave alone. You can leave or stay at any time.

Looking back at Yangbajing, grassland, snow-capped mountains, cattle and sheep, blue sky, white clouds

The slope is not too steep and can be maintained at a speed of more than ten, so there is no need to be too anxious

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I didn’t expect to arrive at the Nadola Mountain Pass at around 5 or 6 in the evening. There were only prayer flags but no inscriptions, so I almost skipped them

Then it went downhill gently. The Qinghai-Tibet Highway was really It’s easy to walk, and there are no houses or cattle or sheep on the roadside. Without brakes, it’s downhill at a speed of 478 kilometers per hour. It’s really refreshing! I think I can ride with the train on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway next to me

I suddenly remembered something. Not to mention the cyclists who rode against me, I didn’t meet any cyclists who were riding in the opposite direction. There were also cyclists who were riding along to Lhasa. I didn’t touch any of them. What’s going on? Are there really so few people riding the Qinghai-Tibet Line at this time?

I passed Ningzhong Township at 6:30 in the evening and was still 18 kilometers away from Damxion County. It seems that I don’t need to ride at night today

Dusk on the Damxion Grassland

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If you don’t go out in the morning, the sunset will travel thousands of miles! Tomorrow will be good weather again

After eighteen kilometers of gentle uphill climb, we finally arrived at Damxung County at 7:30!

When I went to the city to find accommodation, I finally met a riding friend. The two of them shared a standard room to avoid the embarrassment of living alone in a room. This was the third time for the brothers to go to Tibet. This time Coming from Golmud to Lhasa, I admire you! We had a meal together and asked about the conditions of the road ahead. There was no uninhabited land for more than 200 kilometers, and there was no need to bring tents and sleeping bags. I felt relieved. However, it was very cold going north, and it was snowing in Kunlun Mountain. Another tight squeeze.

After dinner, I went to the supermarket to buy a bottle of water and two flatbreads. Tomorrow we will prepare to travel 175 kilometers to Nagqu. It will be very difficult, so it will not go wrong to prepare some dry food!