A Day Off

Actually, it's a day a half that we get off between the end of Tour of China 1 and the start of Tour of China 2. We are in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province (and in the same hotel for FIVE nights in a row - whoo hoo!). Tour of China 1 was a success, and the race visited several new cities that were very excited to host the race.

We spent our time off visiting the provincial museum of Hubei where many early artifacts of Chinese life are catalogued. Then we went to the East Lake District to a wonderful restaurant in an outdoor setting. The next day we visited the Yellow Crane Tower, one of the first holy towers in China. After visiting the tower, we tried to make our way to a lunch hosted by the Hubei Sports Council. Unfortunately, we ended up being 30 minutes late for lunch as the restaurant proved difficult to find. Despite a GPS unit in the car and helpful directions from complete strangers, Wuhan (and China in general) has so much construction that navigation is a challenge (new roads open, old roads close, and other roads are constantly blocked). But once we arrived... Wow! What a lunch. The dishes, as always, were beautiful and sumptuous. Also, for the first time I actually ate something familiar: sushi and raw salmon. Yum! This dish wasn't as popular with the others so I took another bite each time the dish revolved in my direction. Again it was the custom of each official to step behind my chair and offer up a personal toast. We would chat for a few moments about the race, with wishes that I bring back positive comments to the UCI. I've decided I like this custom; it's very personal and direct. Couldn't over-consume, though, as we had to return to our hotel for enrollment and managers meeting in the afternoon.

Ancient carvings.

Ancient carving found in a burial chamber.

Jump, we'll catch you! Fun inside the museum.

Some of the hardworking crew for Tour of China.

This restaurant was outdoors and really pleasant.

Trying to decide what to order...

Pouring tea.

Dig in! I really like the communal eating style of Chinese dining.

Elliot, at left. Sakimoto, the anti-doping officer assigned by the UCI at center. Tracy, his assigned interpreter, at right.

One of the locals, fishing at East Lake.

East Lake

The Yellow Crane Tower.

Mural inside the tower.

Inside the tower.

Sophia and me.

Sophia and Elliot.

Another mural.

View (sort of) of the Yangtze River from the top of the Tower.

The city streets around the Tower.

Sophia, Elliot, and Tracy.

The tower bell.

Such a meal! This table had a small motor that kept the dishes constantly in slow motion.

Cheers!

My glasses are both empty (wine on the left, Chinese white wine alcohol on the right) so it must be time to go.

 

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