All Around My Hat

To allay the curiousity of several people who have queried the exotic oriental headgear I appear to be wearing while riding through China - it is actually a very nifty Pommie/Oz combination of my Charles Owen Pro II riding helmet with a Cutana helmet brim.

The Charles Owen helmet(made in Wales!) http://www.charlesowen.co.uk/ has been quite literally a life saver. I am convinced my fall in May 2009 could have been fatal without it, when you consider the severe body damage that I incurred, and that I also fell on my head. But all I suffered headwise was a very slight tender patch. Apart from being to the highest safety specifications, its distinctive gold crown is heat reflective, a boon in the hot summer months. I also found it comfortable as it is well padded, and I particularly like the soft leather chin strap.

The Cutana brim http://www.cutana.com.au/ really is a 'wizard of Oz', fitting snugly on the helmet, and proving highly effective against sun burn and sun glare. My cousin Rowena who accompanied me on the first three weeks of the ride in October 2008, did not have a brim to her hat and suffered from sunburn even then. The brim also protected my face from rain - as I wear glasses, this was quite an important factor for me. It attaches with velcro tabs, so is easily detachable, and the company can also supply a hat band to cover the tabs. I could not manage without this product, and highly recommend it.

While I am on the subject, I will have a little preach about a personal hobby horse of mine. My accident really brought home to me the importance of wearing a good quality riding hat at all times when riding - although Zorbee is a livewire, accidents are possible with even the quietest of horses.

When I have quizzed people who rashly forego wearing a riding helmet on horseback, it is almost without exception a case of personal vanity and a " but I look silly in one" argument. This is in spite of the fact that they will look far sillier in hospital with brain damage after falling from their horse.

Take it straight from the horse's mouth (!) I undoubtedly escaped serious if not fatal injury by wearing my riding helmet on the day of my accident. If you are horseriding, don't be an idiot - make sure you wear a good crash helmet.

If you are looking for a good quality helmet, you can't go far wrong with a Charles Owen. They may not be the cheapest on the market, but their manufacturing safety standards are second to none. You pay for what you get, and when one's life is at stake, safety should come before price.

And on a lighter note, here is a rendering of 'Where did you get that hat' by the Cutana Helmet Company!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4YF-8PvQlE

Journey Map Information

On my last post I have embedded a Google map showing in more detail locations on the route of our journey from Guyuan, where we relaunched the ride on August 6th 2009, to Jiayuguan at the end of the Great Wall, which we reached on 22nd October 2009. Most of the points are exact locations, except where the map clarity is poor, or I was unable to positively identify the spot. It is more accurate than the Thuraya location map as I have adjusted those GPS points which were not exactly placed.

By using the zoom facility on the satellite map, in many instances it is possible to clearly see the places we stayed or visited. The point descriptions also give added information and act as a brief diary of our journey.

To view the map in larger full screen version, don't forget to click on relevant point below the map.

JOURNEY MAP from Guyuan to Jiayuguan

View Great Wall Aug - Oct 09 in a larger map

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Or for those of you who do not understand Welsh, Happy New Year!

Here is a New Year's photo of one of my Welsh mares Cwrtycadno Colomen in the snow in France, where she has gone on loan while I am abroad.

I am afraid that betwen Christmas celebrations and the SNOW, I have been a little remiss about keeping the blog up to date, so my New Year's resolution must be not to let it happen again.
The photo below shows the view from my bedroom window, which has changed from incessant rain. The mares and the stallion are showing their true native instincts by rooting around for grass. As the ATV has broken down and the water trough is frozen, we have been wheelbarrowing hay and lugging buckets of water out to them twice a day. The rest of the ponies are by the river with two big bales of hay in front of them.

I have at last been sorting out the video footage from the ride - mostly taken from horseback on my little waterproof and droppable Panasonic SDR-SW10. If you are interested, I am in the process of putting clips up on Youtube. Look under my username megan cwrtycadno. Here is a link to one of us riding along a canal across the Huang He floodplain, followed by swallows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhV1jLgA7_E





I now discover I can upload videos directly onto my blog! The one above was taken on the 1st September, when we rode through the countryside to stay at the Brother Win racing stables. The little herd consists of fat tailed sheep and a kind of goat used for producing cashmere.

Rain Rain Go Away

After three months of almost entirely dry weather in China, I have really arrived home to Wet and Windy Wales! For non UK residents who are unaware of the battering and swamping from gales and floods we have recently been suffering, this has been the view from my bedroom window for much of the last two weeks. Luckily I managed to wean the last little colt foal just before the weather set in with a vengeance, and he is now dry and warm in a stable.

Added to this I have been laid up with a nasty bout of flu which partly accounts for the gap in posts. But I am feeling much better, and today was interviewed by old friend Shan Cothi for her show on BBC Radio Wales. Below is a link to iplayer recording if you are interested - it should be available for the next week. The interview is towards the end of the programme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nzvf3/Shan_Cothi_22_11_2009

The Snow Makers

There was always a lovely view of the Bell Tower from my hotel bedroom window in Beijing, but I woke up last Sunday morning to the following magical sight.



An unprecedented 1st November snowfall had enveloped the city and its surroundings. My jeep is falling apart at the seams, but Peng and I were still able to take the opportunity to have a little jaunt out to the Ming tombs in the afternoon - the snow added an extra sparkle to the ancient buildings.

Unbelievably it transpired the next day that it was all the fault of the Chinese authorities!
A drought in North China just when the farmers were due to sow their winter wheat had led the powers that be to fire a few missiles carrying silver iodide into the sky in an attempt to seed the clouds and make rain. But they had not accounted for an advancing cold front which caused the resultant precipatation to fall as snow. It caused a few plane delays, but the farmers were happy, and everyone else seemed to rather enjoy the unseasonal surprise.

In the evening I went for a farewell dinner with Wutzala and Kubi of the Chinese Equestrian Association and Harry Tse of the Chinese Horseball Federation. Old friend He Guo Sheng, who was our indispensable ride manager on the first trial leg last year, also came with two TV reporters, and very generously treated us to the meal. Unfortunately, apart from Peng, the other members of our 2009 team had already dispersed homewards and were unable to be present.
As it was the first snowfall of the year, the meal had to be hotpot. In this case rather than one communal steamboat, we had individual hotpot burners containing the spicy simmering soup into which we dipped and cooked paper thin slices of meat and vegetables - warming and delicious on a wintry evening.

Replete after the meal. L to R. Guo Sheng, Peng, Kubi, Wutzala, Me, Harry.

Before leaving Beijing I was interviewed for the China based newspaper Global Times. Below is a link to the article on their website.
http//www.globaltimes.cn/www/english/metro-beijing/people/profile/2009-11/481976.html

I am now back in Wales after flying home on Tuesday, and hope to return to China at the end of March to set out again across the Gobi at the beginning of April.
Keep reading - I intend to keep posting at regular intervals - not only ongoing developments, but photos of the Great Wall stage that I did not have room/time to publish before.

Beijing Hikers

As I have had a week kicking my heels in Beijing, I spent one day kicking them in the hills with Beijing Hikers. If you are visiting Beijing or are a newly arrived resident, their well organised hikes are an excellent way of experiencing the lovelier parts of the surrounding countryside, and also meeting people. The variety of off-the-beaten-track hikes are all well away from the tourist trail, to the extent one may need to beware of scratches from pushing through bushes on steep hillsides!

The walks are graded for difficulty, and on this leisurely mid-week Grade 3 hike, we climbed up a pretty wooded valley through old terraced apple orchards to a section of ancient Qin wall on the ridge above.

After admiring the views, which included a stretch of the Ming Great Wall (running along the horizon in the photo above), we scrambled down via a small gorge to a very tasty late lunch at a local farmer’s house, in my case washed down with local beer.

For details see their website www.beijinghikers.com