CQ26_FINAL_Spreads_Digital

intrigued by the different ethnic
groups in China and, whenever
a day’s ride ended in a town,
they would head in to look for
food, meet the locals and add
to their experiences.
“We couldn’t read the menu,”
Gaskill said of those excursions.
“We would just point to things
and they would serve us
whatever it was. We had no
idea what we were eating. But
it was fine, we never got sick.
But as soon as we moved into
the Muslim part of China, things
got a bit more difficult as it
happened to be Ramadan. They
weren’t particularly interested in
cooking, and were only cooking
for people who were non-
Muslim. Because of Ramadan,
they were themselves only
eating after sundown.
“As soon as we got to that
part of China, I got sick. I was
sick for months after that. I
would have brief periods where
I would be able to control my
bowels a little better, but it was
pretty bad.”
Gaskill laughs at the memories,
but it was clearly a very tough
time.
“I rode most of the trip, but
I was off the bike for quite a
while too. Probably a total of
two or three weeks in all. When
I was sick, I was really sick.
You’d get a little better, things
were okay, and then I would
get really sick again. When I
was like that I just couldn’t ride.
You are so weak, you can hardly
stand up.”
Cebryk noted that some
sickness wasn’t uncommon on
the trip, but that he and Gaskill
were repeatedly slammed by it.
“Peter and I were sick so much,
they started asking people if
we had Canadian disease,” he
said, cueing laughs from Gaskill.
“That is what they termed our
illness, Canadian disease.
“But we supported each
other, it was just part of our
experience, I guess.”
That support would prove vital,
as things were soon to get a lot
more difficult.
Ilkka
In early July the riders were
nearing the end of their period
in China. They were heading
through the Taklamakan Desert
and were a few hundred
kilometres east of Kashgar,
the last major city before the
border with Kyrgyzstan. Things
had been going relatively well
for the group beforehand,
although some people had
already gone home due to
injuries from crashes.
Bin County Cave Temple, China
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