Guilin -> Yangdi (Xingping, the intended destination) Because of the rain in the forecast during our first bikepacking trip to Guilin/Yangshuo last year, Emily did some rerouting on to road and skipped some trails. Emily was going to be in Asia and I had time off so we decided to go back to explore the trails we missed. Originally the forecast for this trip was almost all rain but as the trip approached, the forecast improved. No rain today and hopefully only rain overnight if the forecast holds. Last time it was supposed to be really hot but we lucked out there too. Today was as hot as it was supposed to be last time and at one point the heat was getting to me and even started to feel nauseous. Luckily that passed when we got to a cooler spot by the river. Another thing we did for the trip was rent some e-hardtails. Initially it was weird the way the power comes on with these bikes but we got used to it. Unfortunately the power cuts off once you go over 15mph. i believe the limit is higher in the US. Without the assist, there’s a bit of resistance. I think my bikes motor may have started to overheat because the assist was starting to cut out at 13mph, then 11. I think it contributed to my heat exhaustion as Emily’s bike didn’t have this problem. I was working pretty hard to keep up with her. The rental company is bringing me a new bike for tomorrow. Many of the new trails we rode today were beautiful. Unfortunately, some of them also dead-ended or started to get pretty sketchy, and more and more wild and unused. The added weight of the motor made hike-a-biking more difficult, especially trying to lift them above a certain height. We were trying a trail that would take us to our destination for today and it was the me the trails that we had to turn around and backtrack quite a ways. We needed to grab a ferry to cross the river but they had already stopped for the day. Luckily, Emily found us a driver because we were running out of daylight with no easy way to get to our hotel. Speaking of ferries, we had several to take as there were no other ways to access the roads/trails we wanted. On our first ferry, our Alipay didn’t work, because he was just a guy offering rides. On the other side, the police stopped him and me, Emily bolted when she saw the sirens. 😂 I got questioned about how much I paid but they eventually let me go. We were on this wonderful trail on the other side which just dead-ended at the river. There was a number to cal the bamboo boat to ferry us. On their way over, they got stopped by the police but eventually came over to ferry us. Learned a bunch of lessons and none of it took away from how much fun today was. The day before arriving, Emily got her hair permed. To protect it from the humidity, she put the ends in a clear layer plastic bag. She was worried it would be an eyesore in the photos like my shoe bag from last time but I didn’t notice and forgot all about it pretty early on. This morning she spent some time looking for the right shampoo while I went back to McMellows for brunch. Their chicken sandwich was so good and Emily wasn’t back yet, I had another. 🫃