Today’s plan was to explore the dirt around Yangshuo but it had been difficult to get info about the trails beforehand. Emily and Brian were going to watch the start of the triathlon. I said I’d go if I was up and I ended up being awake. It was overcast again but the temperature was perfect. We didn’t get to see the start but we went to the river and we were able to see the swim. Or, rather, the float. The competitors had such a strong current pushing them downstream that the people swimming weren’t going any faster than the people floating. The views down by the river were gorgeous. After we went to get breakfast and met up with the rest of the gang. Our first bit of dirt started on a beautiful beach next to the river. It then wound its way through the bamboo forest. Parts of it were overgrown and treacherous with stray bamboo everywhere ready to whip us or impale us. The deeper we got, the thicker and more impassable it became until we eventually realized we couldn’t go any further and had to turn around. But on the way, Nathan ran over a snake that flew into the air. Pam was following and the snake seemed unfazed as it landed and slithered away. We backtracked and tried to figure out a different way to move forward on our route. The next bit of trail was also next to the river. It started off on nice flat, easy to ride grass. Then we ended up on a peanut butter mud trail with roots and drops more suited for an MTB. Finally stopped by impassable mud, we started bushwhacking again in search of the way through and once again had to turn around. We backtracked back to the grass and tried riding along there but it got rocky. At one point Emily did a slow speed fall right into the rocks. RIP her hip. *Correction - it was her 🍑. We decided no more trails and just stuck to road. At least today’s roads were much, much, quieter backroads. We eventually made it to the climb up to the tea farm. On the map, I had seen that part of the route was orange, meaning it was steep and it went on for quite awhile. Well it was way harder than expected with most of it being 10-15% and several sections that were sustained at 20+%!!! I was wondering why this tea farm had to be at the top of the mountain. We made it and the views up there were spectacular. I didn’t expect this but they had a restaurant there and it was the best meal I’ve had on the trip so far. We had to make it back in time for a show but we made time to pick some tea leaves, see the steps they take to process the leaves, and do some tea tasting. During the tasting, we were told that, white, green, and black tea all come from the same leaves that we picked and vary by how they’re processed. We were also told about their medicinal properties, like how osmanthus tea is good for softening your sometimes hard breasts. Right Emily? Pam? By the time we left it was golden hour and the descent was beautiful. We also ended up on another pretty bike path next to the river. We made it back in time to shower before going to the show. I was sleepy at breakfast, lunch, and the show thanks to not sleeping great and waking up early to see the triathlon. In hindsight I probably should’ve stayed and slept but it was a fun day and I’m glad I went.