The bridge to nowhere.

Our itinerary was fairly scant when it came to information on the days ride, but today it did carry the brief note "Good mountain road G213".....and good it was .....

Bloody excellent, in fact ...

Stunning views...

And with Jeremy in front, my brakes got a good workout ! ....

This bridge just ends at the mountain face ! Presumably they will build a road or tunnel eventually, but a strange sight to see.

And just to remind us not to let our guard down, landslides such as this were quite common, sometimes blocking the whole road...

 ... but the diggers are usually not far away.

Stopped for a morning drink and the "shop" owner started bringing out chairs ....

And then the usual gas station photo call ....

Before arriving at our destination of Pu'er, where we were promised some co-ordinates via a text message...

 ... which didn't come by the time we got there.  This was the one aspect of the whole experience that tainted things.  Clearly Abdul was booking a hotel during the car ride that day, so after waiting for an hour, we finally get a call to say he has found one....

Anyway, he did find a nice new hotel, strangely called the Barcelona Hotel ...

... so after a shower we head out and join him for a beer .... no hard feelings, eh !

Which turned into a meal too, on the street.  Heading the long way back to the hotel, I managed to talk J & J into a few more beers, but by 9pm, the blogs were calling and we all headed back.

Has world War 3 started ?

A couple more shots of Dali as I walked back to the Sister hotel where we had left the bikes...

Abdul, the Guide, had asked we assemble for a 9am departure, so suited and booted, we all wait in the scorching heat .... while Ken now decides its time to adjust his chain ! Grrrr.

Onto yet another Toll road, where John lines up to "shoot the barrier" just as soon as that car clears...

 ... but clear skies and decent surface are the rewards.

You may recall that our route was changed at the last minute, due to road closures and bridge collapses in Tibet ... there was a lot of Chinese Whispers going on that it was just an excuse for the Guide to take us on an easier route, and that the closures were not true.

We didn't know who to believe, when we happened to meet up with Helge Pedersen, the founder of the well respected Globe Riders organisation.  He confirmed what a bad state the Tibetan roads were in as he also had to re-route a tour...

In the mean time, Alan with the Swiss lads, had incurred the wrath of the UK organiser, Motoexplorers, and I got sight of some e-mail exchanges that basically said "if you think you can do better alone, here is your refund and off you go then".  Tensions were high to say the least, and it had become an us & then situation now, with Max and his girl staying in neutral territory.

Max, who is already carrying 6 months worth of his luggage,
now has to make room for the girl, and her Autumn collection !

 In this mountainous region, you are either driving on a bridge...

... or going through a tunnel.

Ahhh... love at first sight, he tells me.

Another nice hotel ... I have to say the accommodation choices have usually been amongst the best each city had to offer.

Tonight we were in the city of Lincang.  It seemed like it was in the process of being built, with the roads all 4-lane, and arranged in a grid, but without the blocks being filled in yet..

... until our evening search for food took us past this huge high-rise apartment development.

We were lucky to find somewhere to eat, and after the hour walk back to the hotel, I was in no fit shape to walk back an hour to the city, just to seek some action. An early night was the only option. but as we walked through reception about 8pm, we find Abdul had been waiting there for around 5 hours for the 2 Swiss lads & Alan, who had apparently hung back, then disappeared on an "off-road" route they found on the GPS.

Abdul explained that every night, once we are all checked in, he gives the hotel his id-card, and they inform the local police.  The Police then visit the hotel and check all the permits, before we get our passports back.

The hotel were also getting upset that half of us had checked in early and they too, wanted to get the paperwork finished and wanted that police visit over and done with.  I suspect some of their "customers" don't relish a Police presence late at night for obvious reasons !

Not surprisingly, tempers were running high as I went to bed ....

And dont Dilly Dali on the way.

We were all looking forward to getting to Dali, so got an early start and once again, decided to jump on a Toll road initially to get some miles under our belt .....

One of the Swiss lads, Max, was meeting up with his girlfriend there, so he left at 6am, while I was just looking forward to a night-club and western food.

We stopped at a Service area, and drew crowds immediately..

And after making good progress on the Toll roads, we decided to exit before Dali, and take a rural road for the last 80 km or so ... was a good choice, and killed the monotony a bit.

And then we got into Dali, and hit the traffic, where John tried to fit into a gap between 2 buses, and they took exception and closed the gap, nudging his panniers....

Finally getting to the hotel it was a short walk down a pedestrian zone, but was a good choice by Abdul.  The rooms were nice, but not sure about the clear pane of glass segregating the toilet & shower off ... I mean, I have only known the Swiss lads a few weeks !

Dali was full of touristy shops, and tourists, but was still pleasant...

And after a quick check of the cultural bits, we found the un-cultural western influence...

And a bar of course....

... and the least we could do was drink local beer.

Back to the hotel briefly, then with J & J safely blogging, I sought some younger Company and after a quick beer with Max, his girl, and Irish brother in law, we left them to hold hands.  Me, Ken & Sam then found those promised night-clubs....

And after all that excitement, it was nice to know the hotel was a mere 2 minutes stagger home !

But its German ... it can't be broken !

Suited & booted, we convened in the car park for the off, then Big John announced that he wasn't going anywhere today ....

The ultra-reliable BMW had sprung an oil leak, and it looked serious.

With 7 pairs of eyes, and no end of advice, it turned out the oil plugs above the cylinders had backed off just enough to leak some oil when started from cold.  All attempts to tighten them failed, but as the leak stopped when the engine got hot, we "helped" John to make the decision to just live with it !

All too common scenery now....

but better than desert !

The 360 km to Chuxion turned out be be fairly uneventful, and we got there early afternoon...

Abdul had even managed to give us correct co-ordinates, so we arrived right at the door of the strangely named "Green Style Hotel".  But thats how it should be.

Later that evening, we had a stroll around the locality, and with the aid of Google translate, and a photo I took earlier in the tour of Pork in Green & Red Peppers, we managed to order a meal...

The obligatory photo with the staff.

And after that, back to the hotel, to which I also decided to retire early tonight.... nowhere else to go.