Day 2: Cyclinavigating Xiamen

Today's totals:  47km, 173m, 16.3 akph

The two weather services I checked last night and again this morning had the rain (and high wind) rolling in after midday.  They were both wrong.

Getting wet on the first day seems like a baptism. The only thing that can be worse from today is bicycle failure or a traffic accident.  I've done the horrible weather and survived. In fact, what I was telling myself today was first, that I was fortunate to run into bad weather with a light load, and second, that doing the circuit despite the rain (when I could easily turn around, go back to the hotel, and not deal with it) builds resolve to make it the whole 700km. So, F-U rain.

In another challenge, the Strava app failed this morning (read more here), which means I no longer have to worry about an unbroken record of documented rides.  So, F-U Strava.

I set out around 07:30 expecting to get around the island and back to the hotel before any chance of getting wet.  In fact, I covered only 5km before I had to pull over and pull on my rain gear.  A roadside park with a number of trees offered the nearest shelter, which seemed sufficient given the light rain.  By the time I was ready to ride again, the tress were no shelter at all. My rain wear consisted of a poncho and a pair of long pants with an elastic stirrup and shoe cover.  After an hour riding in mild rain (it was neither hard nor lashing), I was fairly wet from perspiration and water vapor.  Surprisingly, though, my socks were still relatively dry.

The eastern side of the island has a fairly decent dedicated bike path. Given it was a rainy Sunday morning, there were few citizens using it apart from a handful of dedicated joggers who were quite literally soaked top to bottom. Despite the claims of the tourist literature, the scenery from the bike path didn't seem all that remarkable. Granted, today it was rather grey with low visibility, but the views on offer seemed to be mostly roadside parks, condos, and storefronts.

To my surprise, I found myself cycling next to the skyway and reversed course to find an entrance.  Unfortunately, I couldn't ride it far as my route took me in another direction. I hope to go back for a longer exploration tomorrow.

My route also took me past the ferry terminal, which I wanted to explore before I have to do business there the day after tomorrow. I couldn't get any closer than a gated entrance just off the road, but the attendant assured me I had the right location for my intended destination and that I could bring my bicycle on board. Let's see what happens Tuesday morning.

Wash up after a muddy morning

I didn't take photos today because dealing with a camera in the rain was just too much trouble on top of all the other inconveniences of cycling in the rain. But when I pulled into the hotel, I had the doorman take a photo of me in my rain gear.  I then spent the next hour washing the bike (which was dirt encrusted) and wiping down the poncho, pants, and other exposed items, as well as washing sweaty clothes in the bathroom sink.

Weather forecast calls for rain over night, clearing tomorrow morning.  One more day in Xiamen.

#