| Day by Day Summary of the 2002 Silk Road Ride |
| Cycling Average Date Destination kilometres Time Speed Notes May, 2002 5/2 To Xian from airport 52.8 3:17 16.0 via Yangling Tomb 5/3 To Mao Ling 75.1 4:43 15.9 including 37 km in Xian 5/4 To Famen Si 91.8 5:46 15.9 via some Tang tombs 5/5 Just past Baoji 122.6 8:06 15.1 5/6 50 km before Tianshui 91.8 6:15 15.4 5/7 To Beidao 105.9 6:27 16.4 sidetrip to Maijishan grottoes 5/8 To Panzhe 103.4 8:14 12.5 pretty plateau country 5/9 To Longxi 72.5 5:51 12.3 hilltop castles 5/10 To Lindao 124.7 7:42 16.2 5/11 To Linxia 101.1 5:52 17.2 Muslim heartland 5/12 To Xiahe 109.2 8:21 13.0 Long climb into Tibetan region 5/13 Rest day in Xiahe Visited Labrang Gompa 5/14 To Dongshen 136.3 8:36 15.8 Long climb out of Lingxia--pretty 5/15 Past Yongjing 72.3 5:56 12.2 Beautiful plateau country 5/16 To Tianzhu 133.6 8:11 16.3 Over the Yellow River 5/17 To Wuwei turnoff 131.6 7:52 16.7 Crossed the Great Wall 5/18 Near Shuiquanzi 109.2 7:11 15.2 Dull scenery, long climb 5/19 Before Zhanye 90.1 6:04 14.8 Camped beside Great Wall 5/20 To Nanhua 126.9 5:42 22.2(!) Downhill with tailwinds 5/21 To Jiayuguan 167.0 8:41 19.2 The end of the Ming Great Wall 5/22 40 km past Jiayuguan 96.8 5:46 16.8 Lots of sightseeing sidetrips 5/23 To Yumenzhen 123.0 6:14 19.7 Through chain of oases 5/24 To Anxi 106.7 4:53 21.9 Feeling really tired; bee attack 5/25 To Dunhuang 118.4 5:24 21.9 Tailwinds 5/26 Rest day in Dunhuang 67.8 3:24 19.9 Visited Mogao Grottoes 5/27 Rest day in Dunhuang 5/28 40 km short of Liuyuan 92.9 6:26 14.4 Uphill, headwinds, no water 5/29 To Xingxingxia 126.8 8:26 15.0 Harsh desert leg 5/30 65 km from Hami 138.6 7:22 18.8 Found corpse; near heatstroke 5/31 50 km past Hami 114.9 7:06 16.2 Feeling exhausted again May totals 2912.2 183:48 15.8 JUNE, 2002 6/1 To Yiwanquan 97.6 6:46 14.4 Met Uighur super-cyclists 6/2 To Qitim 151.2 8:59 16.8 Huge ride with the Uighurs 6/3 To Turfan 151.1 9:00 16.8 Badly dehydrated in 43 degrees 6/4 Rest day in Turfan 27.1 1:29 18.3 Out to Gaochang 6/5 Rest day in Turfan 6/6 Rest day in Turfan 6/7 To km 4052 75.3 8:02 9.3 Hurricane-force headwinds 6/8 To km 4147 96.1 8:28 11.3 Another tough day 6/9 To Urumqi 35.9 2:22 15.1 6/10 Hiking at Tian Chi Onset of rheumatic fever June totals 641.5 45:06 14.2 End of cycling for 2002; 8 days in hospital, flight home to Canada |