Bohai or Bust

Last Sunday, we went up to Bohai Township near the Great Wall to participate in the 2011 Bohai or Bust bike event. It's a fundraiser for the elderly of Bohai, and also a great opportunity to ride around the beautiful area: lots of hills--only two were too much for me and I had to walk up, lots of little villages, trout farms, chestnut orchards, and far-way views of the Wall.

I thought the short movie about the event was pretty funny (watch it here). (It helps if you've seen a couple scenes from Chinese movies...)

Here's the cast of characters (and some views):

Blue boy.

Green boy.

Papa bear.

Mountain mama.

Biking in Bohai.

Some guys sitting around.

Nice roads for biking. The traffic was not bad at all, just a few cars now and then. We also left early for our ride, so we barely saw the other bikers. (Plus, we were on the routes for 10 and 25 kilometers, not 60 or 90 kilometers as some were doing!)

Little village playground where we had a rest. Simon stretched his legs on the swings. Can you spot the Great Wall in the distance on top of the hill?

View back to the village from the playground.

Snapshot of a village street. I have to admit I saw far more cool things on this bike ride--like intereseting murals, statues, cute village streets, running street dogs, and people hanging around drinking tea on a Sunday morning--but I could't stop each time to take a picture. Sorry!

Another stopping point. The boys climbed up this tower. Toward the top it didn't seem so solid anymore, and everyone headed down quickly.

At the foot of tower was also this little girl with both her parents and grandma. I included this picture not only for the view, but also because it is actually so typical to see the parents--like this father in the picture--doting over their son or daughter. Without a sibling (thanks to the one-child policy) there's lots of attention to be had.

Another view from the base of the tower.

The boys' bike team. Both were riding cool tag-alongs attached to our mountain bikes (all rented). At this point, we've probably done about 35 kilometer and are heading back to the starting point.

Back at the Roadhouse (part of The Schoolhouse complex of eco-tourism venues near the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall).

Back at the Roadhouse we eat a big bowl of well-deserved and tasty dumplings.

We're not the only ones getting food.

Inside a music band played, the kids roamed around, and several officials spoke about the fundraiser.

It definitely was a great event. Who knows, we might be doing it again in 2012!

In het Nederlands: Afgelopen zondag zijn we wezen fietsen in het bergachtige gebied vlakbij het Mutianyu gedeelte van de Chinese Muur. Ontzettend mooi, al weten m'n benen nog precies hoeveel heuvels we opgeklommen en afgezoefd zijn. De jongens vond het ook leuk, maar moesten wel af en toe even de benen strekken bij een speeltuintje of een klimtoren. Het fietstocht was een inzamelingsaktie voor de senioren van de gemeente Bohai.