08.08.09
This particular Saturday the bike club was supposed to ride to the Three Gorges Dam, eat lunch, then take a boat back down the river.
I took off a little earlier with a couple of the faster riders to go check out some cliff-side carvings that I spotted on a previous ride, which are located halfway up the first of the three gorges.
Many of the carvings are pretty recent.
Regardless of when they were done, it was still neat seeing them.
Someone took a long time to carve this discourse on the Three Gorges into the gorge itself. (Notice the horses above.)
These carvings are not advertised at all. You have to find this bend in the road and walk behind the shack to spot them. I noticed the path when I rested against the red and white retaining wall on a previous ride. It’s amazing that so much work was put into the carvings, but that very few people actually see them.
After having seen the carvings, we received a call from the others saying that plans had changed. The boat coming back from the dam wasn’t operating, so we would be biking to a nearby stream instead. My bike buddies and I rode back the way we came to meet up with the others at XiaLaoXi.
XiaLaoXi is one of my favorite nearby spots. It is a canyon stream that I often ride up. At the mouth of the stream is the Three Traveler’s Cave, a shallow cave famous for the visit of three ancient poets. (The cave is visible just left of the bridge in the photo.)
Did you notice the color of the Yangtze? Summer is the time of peak runoff from the Himalayas. The river is yellow-brown from the silt churned up by the high waters.
This is where the silt of the Yangtze meets the fresher water of XiaLaoXi stream.
Often, I see couples taking wedding photos in the lush canyon.
As you ride up the stream, you’ll pass dozens of swimming areas.
The bike club ended up at this particular swimming spot. I rented an inner-tube and went floating with a couple of the guys in the cool shade of the canyon. A nice end to the day!
Wow! What a neat day!
how long are your rides on average? great scenery. what’s the story on the three poets cave.
Depends on the day. Usually my Saturday rides in the summer start around 7:30 and we get back in mid-afternoon. Here’s the link to the story on the Three Poets Cave.