September 30th
121km (551m vertical)
There was a long ascent out of Korla and along the Tien Shan mountains today, which was the first climbing we've done since entering China. It was nice to push up the incline and then fly down the other side before returning to a mostly flat afternoon. We met a dozen local cyclists at the top of the climb, who were very interested in us, our bikes and our trip. We took some photos of them and they took some photos of us.
Leaving Korla, there were a few buildings and statues that looked typically Chinese to me. Until now, things in this heavily Muslim province have seemed much more Arabic than Asian.
Several riders missed a flagged turn (that came 5km early) and got themselves lost this morning. The most lost were Max and Trene, who rode 230km today! They were pretty upset that the tour wouldn't take a van to go and pick them up once they realized how far out of the way they had ridden. Thankfully, I had seen the flagging tape and made the turn.
Camp tonight is beside a vineyard, which reminds me a lot of southern Ontario. This region is famous for is raisins.
River in Korla:
Starting to look Chinese:
Fields and fields of hot chilli peppers drying in the sun, with ladies sorting them:
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