Dalian update: back after three weeks in the North West

A quick message to say I returned to my appartment in Dalian last night after spending three weeks in the North West of China (Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Gansu regions). I left almost immediately after university classes ended for the semester, but not before doing another cycling race in Jin Zhou, 400 km northwest of Dalian. A flat criterium organised by GIANT Bicycles, which I managed to win to my own surprise. This was one week after the duathlon race in Beijing, where I also emerged victorious to confirm my earlier success in Hangzhou. More on these later.

Several people sent me emails last week asking whether I was still alive ;-). The thing is I did not pack my laptop for my trip, which is why this blog has not been updated for a long time. Blogger is blocked in China, just like Facebook, Youtube and other similar websites. I can access these from my laptop because I installed a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which circumvents the restrictions.

My travels were great and I will be reporting on a thing or two as well as add photos to my Picasa page during the next few days. I will be in Dalian for five days only, as next Friday I am joining the triathlon team to a competition in Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain). Sadly, a duathlon is not on the programme there, but I am taking my bike along to train on some longer climbs. After all, the Oetztaler is approaching now..