Lessons
If I do another such tour, I will buy a sturdier bicycle, something built for touring and heavier loads. I will also buy a bicycle with Schrader valves. Pumps for these are far more common and, as I found, Prestas are easily broken.
I might also consider doing a series of day trips from a series of locations rather than doing one long trip. For example, on this most recent journey I could have spent three days in Xiamen, then packed up and taken a bus to Shantou and done three days there, then packed up again and moved onto the next town. In that way I could avoid the awful highways and the nondescript towns in between, have the choice to ride in foul weather, carry only the most minimal gear (which makes for faster and more nimble riding), and always be within 50km of accommodation.
Even when you think you're travelling light, you can always travel lighter.
With patience and flexibility, traveling without Chinese language skills is not impossible. You do, though, need access to online translation.
The thing I worried about most is not losing my bicycle, but losing my phone, which is not only my primary source of payment, but my only source of navigation.
I might also consider doing a series of day trips from a series of locations rather than doing one long trip. For example, on this most recent journey I could have spent three days in Xiamen, then packed up and taken a bus to Shantou and done three days there, then packed up again and moved onto the next town. In that way I could avoid the awful highways and the nondescript towns in between, have the choice to ride in foul weather, carry only the most minimal gear (which makes for faster and more nimble riding), and always be within 50km of accommodation.
Even when you think you're travelling light, you can always travel lighter.
With patience and flexibility, traveling without Chinese language skills is not impossible. You do, though, need access to online translation.
The thing I worried about most is not losing my bicycle, but losing my phone, which is not only my primary source of payment, but my only source of navigation.
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