North China on two weals part 1
Inner Mongolia to Heilongjiang
10 days 1000 kilometres
Aron Qi （阿荣旗） to Beijicun （北极村）
We took a train from Shanghai （上海）to Qiqihar （齐齐哈尔）and a bus to Aron Qi where we started our ride. A journey that would test us and reward us as we rode through one of China's least inhabited areas.
17/08/2010
I just arrived in Shanghai having spent 22 hours on a train from Guilin. I had brought a hard seat ticket! And the train was full to bursting, like the week before Chinese New Year. People filled the Isles, the lobby, the space between the carriages, and every seat that was grouped into three had four people sitting on it. Despite this there was a lot more tolerance and high spirits than if it had been an English train. It helps that people here are not so concerned about personal space.
I arrived in Shanghai, Xiaoshuang came to meet me but she forgot her phone! She found me in the end, then we went back to the outdoor shop where she was working.
18/07/2010
Today was spent fixing up the bike I was borrowing. After fixing the bike and riding it for a few metres! I found that the chain jumped. I took it back to the shop and got a new cog set and chain fitted, 400 RMB total, after that a short ride to the train station where we put the bike on the train, then headed back to Dashan's house for dinner. Very good.
19/07/2010
Today was very hot. I went to meet Xiaoshuang and she came with me to Shanghai's Fuzhuo road, to buy a map and then to Decathlon to buy sunglasses and cycling shorts. It was very hot and after arriving back at her work I slept all afternoon! In the evening I took Dashan, his wife and Xiaoshuang to dinner.
20-22/07/2010
I got up late played on the net for a bit then went out to buy food for the journey to Qiqihar. I arrived at the station very early! I waited two hours for Xiaoshuang then we waited for another two hours to get on the train. In that time someone stole her train ticket and with the train very full and over an hour late we thought she might not get on at all. She did at the end but only by buying a standing ticket! Three days all the way to Qiqihar. I thought it would be okay, we could swap places I had a bed and she had to stand. But she was in a carriage, six carriages away and the train was very full. In the end she managed to find a seat and said she would stay there, if we swapped she would lose it!
23/07/2010
Two nights and three days later we arrived in Qiqihar. We hunted around and found the place to pick up our bikes. Then went to the bus station and bought tickets to a town about 100 kilometres away called Aron Qi. We arrived at midday found ourselves somewhere to stay, made our last-minute adjustments to our bikes, and then had an early night ready for our first days ridding.