Mudslide Alley: Riding along slippery slopes

It’s the rainy season in Guangzhou and that means mudslides. Lots of them. On Sunday, I rode out to Maofeng Mountain, about 35 kilometers from my home. There’s a guard post on the road that goes into the hills, and it had a sign warning drivers the road was closed because of landslides, or landslips, as the British call them. A metal barrier was also pulled across the road.

Most mountain roads have guard posts, and dealing with the trolls who work inside them is an important skill for cyclists in China. I was determined to do some climbing on Sunday, so I opted for the classic “dumb foreigner” act and rode past the guard without stopping. I didn’t even look to see if anyone was at the post. Usually one of three things will happen. 1) The guard will notice you’re a foreigner and ignore you because he doesn’t want the hassle of dealing with you. 2) The guard will jump out of his booth and start screaming at you in Cantonese but won’t chase you because he’s too lazy or must stay at his post. 3) The guard will scream at you and when you don’t stop, he’ll hop on a motorcycle and chase you down.

I got chased down once by a guard on a scooter at Nankun Mountain. I was about a kilometer up the road riding like I stole something when he caught up to me. The conversation went like this:

Him: You can’t ride here!

Me: Why?

Him: You can’t ride here!

Me: Oh. Why?

Him: Because you can’t ride here!

Me: OK. But why?

We went back and forth like this about five more times. Finally, I asked if the road was being blocked because of the threat of landslides, and he nodded his head “yes.” I guess it was a secret that he was instructed not to reveal. Also, people in authority positions often don’t feel any obligation to explain themselves in China.

A couple months ago, I got to Niutou Mountain and discovered that the road was closed because of the threat of landslides. But the guard at the foot of the mountain let me through. He said, “I know that if I block you, it will break your heart so you can go. But be extremely careful!” It’s the two faces of China. One is blindly obedient, a slave to rules, serving without question. The other is mellow and laid back with the attitude that rules don’t need to be followed all the time.

On Sunday at Maofeng Mountain, after I passed my fifth mudslide, I started getting the willies. I was riding alone, and I started wondering how long I’d be trapped under a thick layer of mud before someone would find me. Actually, I was more worried about a boulder slamming into me and knocking me out. I eventually cut the ride short. As they say in China, “An quan di yi!” (Safety first!).