Ross encounters kindness on his journey
Stonehouse man Ross Mckechnie has had to overcome several obstacles in week two of his challenge to cycle from Shanghai in China to Glasgow.
Day eight got off to a difficult start as Ross was cycling in 42-degree heat, his GPS malfunctioned, sending him down several dead ends, and a wire went through his back wheel, puncturing it.
He didn’t arrive at his destination until well after dark, 147km in and about 12 hours of cycling.
A rest day allowed Ross to recover and repair his bike and his tent, and he formulated a plan to head off earlier on day 10, thus avoiding the scorching temperatures.
A much more manageable 71km followed, and 20km into the city of Jueshou, Ross found a cycle path that had been landscaped and was punctuated with Chinese pagodas as rest stations.
Ross said: “rolling into Jieshou, people were super friendly and the city seemed pretty new. Everything was clean and well-maintained. I had a nice chat with this old couple in their kitted-out golf cart they travelled around in.
“I’ve also got a bit lazy after arriving at my hotels. Instead of going back out in the heat to grab food, I’ve been ordering from local restaurants on the Chinese equivalent of Just Eat. It’s called‘e le ma’, which literally translates to,‘are you hungry?’.
“It had always been useful while living in Shanghai and still serves me well. Most of the shops have pictures of all the foods they serve on the app, whereas if you entered the actual restaurant, they may only have a picture-less menu with only Chinese characters. This gives me more options considering my limited vocabulary.”
Ross crossed into Henan on day 11, and encountered a market selling everything from clothes to cosmetics, but was surprised not to have found more markets.
While having lunch, Ross got chatting to a woman and a little girl and helped the youngster to speak English. As a result, the woman paid for his noodles, resulting in a stand-off.
Ross added: “eventually I gave the hongbao (red envelope containing cash) to the little girl as a gift and despite her grandmother telling her not to accept it, the little girl readily grabbed it and started dancing away, knowing exactly what was inside!
“After five years in China I am still somewhat confused by the Asian gift-giving culture. I believe this is a good way to go about paying people back for the kindness I have received and I’m not committing any social faux-pas here.
“They seem to treat it like a game, and whoever can get the other person to accept their gift is the winner!”
After struggling to find a hotel in day 13, Ross finally got accommodation and passed out from his exertions, waking up at midnight covered in sweat after the AC system broke down across the entire building.
A ‘night shift’on the bike followed, but again he was beset with problems as the battery for his light died, meaning a 40-minute delay while it was charged. The city of Luoyang was next, with Ross finally getting a rest in an air-conditioned hotel.