Tour De Dandong - The Final Day

Day 3 was the final push from Mu Er Shan to Dandong. By the schedule it was supposed to be another 120 km day but of course nothing in this race went according to schedule.

As mentioned in the previous post the boys and crew were up at the crack of dawn getting bike and body ready for the last day of the Tour. Up until this point it was extremely doubtful that all would make it however after 3 frames breaking and ALL being repaired it seemed like nothing could stop these fearless souls.

Two of the teams (FengHuang and Jin Lu) took the opportunity to stop in LiZiFang village for a quick breakfast of jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) washed down with a beer or two. In China it's never too early to enjoy a beer. Quite a crowd gathered to watch the "big noses" eat (they call us big nose "da bizi" instead of round eye). There was slurping, burping and laughter all around as the locals had something to talk about for the next week.

As mentioned the day was supposed to be 120km of riding but the gods intervened in the form of bridge maintenance and MOST of the riders were forced to detour about 15 or 20 km. Team Phoenix (remember them?) decided to have an extended breakfast at a restaurant near the bridge whereupon they discovered that by talking nicely to the toll and maintenance people they were allowed to sneak their bikes across. They were understandably happy and no doubt thought this would really give them a leg up on the competitors. By taking over an hour to eat breakfast meant that this "shortcut" really just got them back into the swing of things. Most of the teams had been looong gone by the time Phoenix had finished their sweet and sour pork.

The days ride took the crew along the G201 highway through BeijingZi (not the city that hosted the Olympics but a small village with a similar name). The highway then head into DongGan at which point the race course called for the riders to leave the G201 and traverse a country road that parallels the Ya Lu river. At times they were riding alongside a barbed wire fence that separated China from North Korea. When I use the term "stone's throw" from North Korea I really mean it.

We were tailing and filming teams Jin Lu and HongQi as they met up and travelled the last 40 km together. Team YongJiu (including the intrepid race organizer Craig Engleson) was well ahead as they decided to skip lunch and instead attempted to be the first team to roll into Dandong. During the trip from DongGan a black car carrying someone official and military looking stopped Jin Lu and HongQi. He (whose name shall not be spoken) asked to see passports from all the riders and queried them on exactly what the hell they were doing. He got quite a kick out of the story of the race and sent everyone on their merry way. At this point FengHuang and Phoenix were behind and still trying to navigate through DongGan.

A short time later one of the Jin Lu team members ran low on gas so he and a teammate pulled over to fuel up from the gas can they were carrying for just such an emergency. At that point another police/military vehicle pulled up behind them on the road shoulder and monitored the whole proceeding. This vehicle was marked with police insignias and had the red and blues on top. As the riders got back on the road and rejoined their teams the police vehicle trailed closely behind.

Further up the road Mike from Team HongQi who had been so instrumental in helping Billy of FengHuang fix his broken chain and who also towed Adrian (also of HongQi) for 45 km on the previous day experienced a mechanical breakdown. The bolts mounting the engine had worked loose and one had snapped off. As the two teams stopped to assist Mike (10 riders in total) the trailing police vehicle stopped and 3 officers got out. We were only about 100 to 200 meters from North Korean soil and these guys were getting antsy. They told us that a large group of white faces stopped by the side of the road was very dangerous and that our safety was in jeopardy. We initially brushed it off but the looks on their faces made it clear they weren't kidding around. They ordered all of the riders to get moving but unfortunately Mike simply could not comply with that order. They agreed that Mike could try to fix his problem but only Adrian could stay behind to help and the rest had to get going. The problem could not be fixed easily and Adrian got a chance to repay Mike for his previous day's kindness as he towed Mike the final 20 km into Dandong.

As we were on the road filming and assisting with all of the aforementioned problems we got word that at 2:10 in the afternoon Team YongJiu had arrived in Dandong! All team members had made it to the "Broken Bridge" finishing point and were understandably overjoyed. We stuck with Jin Lu and HongQi as all members of their teams finished about 30 to 45 minutes later. Team FengHuang was plugging along and came in as a group (first time for their ride I think) not long after. As fate would have it Team Phoenix was still a bit behind and experienced a few more mechanical difficulties as well as running low on fuel. With all of their Hobbitlike food breaks along the way they ensured their bodies were fueled but the same due care and attention was not given to their bikes.

Finally at 3:50 PM a beaming Team Phoenix arrived at the finish line to chants they had heard the first night at 11 PM at the ChengZiTan bathhouse "Phoe - Nix! Phoe- Nix! Phoe - Nix!" For their troubles they were each greeted in the same fashion as the other teams - a nice cold YaLu Jiang beer. Bet it was the tastiest one they had ever drank in their lives.

As we stood in the shadow of the Broken Bridge with a beer in our hands, a smile on our faces and warmth in our hearts it was clear to all of us, competitors and crew alike, they we had just been part of something truly amazing. The smiles on the faces said it all. The joy and elation at completing this odyssey which took place in a small corner of Northeastern China cannot be explained and can never be repeated. As a spectator to it all I can only say that it reaffirmed my faith in the human spirit as people from 2 cultures banded together to spin a yarn of togetherness which now forever stretches along the highways and country roads from Dalian to Dandong. It shall never be broken.