130Km/ 80mi

Anything is possible
7am, Tuesday. Set off from the apartment on a two-day ride to the Great Wall at Simatai, 130Km north of Beijing. Feeling positive, full of anticipation - and shocked by the cool morning air. Beijing is busy but peaceful, winding up to work. Sleepy roadworkers file out of the tent where they spent the night. Starbucks is open. Buses roar by. Cyclists creak between and around us.

By 3pm we've covered the first 90Km of the ride, to the guesthouse in Jingziyu where we'll spend the night. Dinner consists of vegetables fresh from the garden; spiced aubergine, greens mixed with tofu. We're asleep by 10pm.

7.30am Weds we're back on the road, shocked this time by the sudden shift in incline. After 90Km of flat cycle lanes, climbing up through 20Km of hills kicks the morning hard into life. A short stop for buns and biscuits is followed by an easier ride down to the turning for Simatai. On the way, at least a dozen lorry loads of massive wind turbine blades whisk past us. Newly-built strip towns that Xerox middle America make bizarre interludes.

Dropping onto the Simatai road, the world changes. 10Km of peaceful, winding twin-track road carries us up into the village, where we find a room in a tiny guest house then head out for a late lunch with beer. Falling asleep in the countryside darkness, we're tired, exhilarated, happy and ready for the following morning's adventure.