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Itchy Boots leaves Arxan with about 350 kilometers ahead and fills the motorcycle's tank because there are no petrol stations along the route. She rides quiet backroads through flowering fields, hills and summer snow, then sees a large crop-spraying drone. Rain approaches, and she keeps moving before the storm catches her. Her GPS tablet glitches in the damp weather, and a white van follows her through several stretches until she turns off the main road and it disappears. She reaches Jalaid, where rain arrives as she gets to her hotel. Later, she finds a local gym that also serves as a pool hall; the owners let her work out for free and give her water.
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Riding out from Arxan
Itchy Boots starts in Arxan, near the Mongolia border, and plans to ride roughly 350 kilometers toward Jalaid. She fills the motorcycle's tank before leaving because there are no petrol stations along the route. Her companions Bing and Xiao Yue help with the logistics, including ferry tickets for a later part of the journey. The road passes train tracks, flowering fields and quiet backroads. For a stretch, the hills and open landscape remind her of Canada or Alaska rather than the busy China some travelers expect.
The weather changes as a rain front approaches. She puts on her rain jacket before the downpour and keeps riding to stay ahead of it. She sees snow still on the ground in summer and a large crop-spraying drone crossing the landscape. The moisture affects her GPS tablet, which shows strange colors and stripes, a problem she has experienced before in Angola.
A van, rain and a free workout
After passing through Suiling, Itchy Boots notices a white van following her. It keeps pace when she speeds up or slows down. She eventually turns off the main road and the van does not follow. She reaches Jalaid, where a replica of the Eiffel Tower stands in town. The rain catches up as she reaches the hotel, so she is already indoors when it arrives.
She later goes looking for a gym. One place looks abandoned, with cycling bikes and table tennis but little fitness equipment. She finds the Minkshi Fitness Club, which also operates as a pool hall. The locals let her in without taking Alipay payment and give her water, and she completes a workout. The day ends with dinner alongside Bing and Xiao Yue. The route shows why a full tank, rain gear and waterproof protection for electronics matter on this ride, while the gym stop becomes a welcoming local encounter.
Before she sets off, Xiao Yue helps arrange ferry tickets for a later part of the journey. During the ride, Itchy Boots passes a man on a bicycle who appears to keep pace, then notices the enormous crop-spraying drone. The quiet route has few services, which is why her full tank matters. The rain jacket goes on before the downpour, and keeping the tablet in a waterproof case can reduce the chance that moisture will affect navigation. She has seen similar tablet glitches during a ride in Angola.
The white van's behavior increases the tension: when she speeds up it also speeds up, and when she slows down it remains close. She decides to turn off the main road, after which the van disappears. At Jalaid, she reaches the hotel just before the rain catches up. Her later search for a gym takes her first to an abandoned-looking space with bikes and table tennis, then to a club where locals waive the fee and offer water. The day closes with dinner with her companions, showing how the ride combines long-distance planning with small, unplanned encounters.
FAQs (From the traveler's perspective)
- Q: What was the white van following you?
- A: A white van stayed behind me for a long time, matching my speed when I sped up or slowed down. I lost it by turning off the main road, and it did not follow me.
- Q: Why did you stop in Jalaid?
- A: Harbin was too far to reach in one day from Arxan, so Jalaid was the halfway stop. After riding through rain and noticing the white van, I was glad to arrive and rest.
- Q: How was the gym in the small town?
- A: The gym looked half abandoned from outside and also served as a pool hall, but the locals were friendly. They let me work out for free, gave me water, and I had a good workout.
- Q: What did you do about the ferry ticket?
- A: My friend Xiao Yue helped with the ferry ticket. We could not book online using my passport copy, so the manager secured one ticket for me and another for my bike.
