Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

As I ride this area thoughts such as;

This area was so traumatized when it was created with all of those freaky karst peaks, each with its own dramatic character. It must have been hell on earth for this part of the world as it was being shaped but what an awesome present the dark and violent side of nature left us with. It’s good to have a thumb and be here thousands of years after man lit his first fire that led to all of the changes that the wheel of life has been through to allow me to sit here with my beautiful Lisa Jane at my side, a cold beer, a meaty Chefs Salad and my rickety old Toshiba NB200 before me benefiting from all that natural violence that occurred millions of years ago here in the Guilin area.

Yep, I’m thinking that the 2012 Summer Beers N Noodles shall be called either;
Karst Away, Kiss my Karst, WOW, Such a Lovely Pair of Karsts, Karst Forrest Karst, Bubba Karst, iKarst & uKarst, The K Files, The Rolling Karsts or maybe Holy Karst Batman.

Bamboo forests and rolling hills along with picturesque scenes of a simple rural lifestyle that has hardly changed over the past century. My last blog was about rafting the Yulong and the Li Rivers, both are famous for their dramatic scenery and as with anything in the Yangshuo area, the next best way (after rafting) is to put foot on peddle and take in the scenery by bike. There are a billion rental bikes in town along with a handful of styles to choose from eg: the best of the best mountain bikes, good mountain bikes, old and crappy mountain bikes, girl’s bikes, kids bikes, Chinese style bikes along with this year’s favourite, the tandem bike.

Couples young and old can be found all over the shop riding these, usually it’s the male dripping with sweat, puffing away doing the peddling while Princess puts her feet up and cruises along looking pretty with a huge relaxed smile.

For those looking for an easy yet spectacular ride then point your wheels in the direction of Dragon Bridge. Maybe don’t hire a tandem bike for this one as much of it is through beautiful rice fields along a rather thin trail. It’s around ten kilometers each way with no change in elevation and if the day is hot then the clean Yulong River makes a perfect watering hole to cool off in.

I first rode to Dragon Bridge many years ago and one would have thought with the millions of tourists that ride in this area each year that the way would have been marked in both English and Chinese, but it hasn’t and most of the tourists that start their day deciding on Dragon Bridge as their destination simply find it all too confusing and either turn back or choose another destination. I rode it several times each week, mainly as I would either meet confused riders who had no idea where to find it or as a chosen destination with new riding friends over beers the previous evening. Some of the riding photos in this entry are also from rides I continued on with solo after leaving fellow Dragon Bridge riders. The ride is absolutely stunning with small traditional villages and farmers going about their daily activities, all of whom give the funny looking monkey on the bike a happy wave and hello as you ride on by.

Now For A Bit On Dragon Bridge

Yulong Bridge was built in Yongle Period during the Ming Dynasty, it is a stone bridge with a length of around thirty six meters, width of just over two meters, is almost ten meters high and is around one thousand four hundred years old.

Legend of Yulong Bridge

It is said that a student who needed to take the government exam in the ancient capital of China, was blocked by the river now is known as Yulong River. He prayed a bridge to go across this river so he could take part in the examination without delay and promised to build a bridge if he could partake in the exam. The heavens above were touched by his honesty and then a dragon appeared in the river to help him cross. Supposedly he arrived and not only sat the exam but graduated at the top of the national list. He then returned to the Yulong River and fulfilled his promise to build a bridge that would make life much easier for not only the future examination students but also for the local people.

Yulong means 'meeting the dragon’ in Chinese.
Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by The Charlatans
The album was ‘Jesus Hairdo’
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