tibet will be free

....qinghai, yushu vicinity : 850km mark...almost as soon as the road turns to dirt it begins heading up a wide valley - the pass is at the far end. Jagged mountains to one side, rolling hills to the other it qualifies as a most splendid pass. From 870 the road drops off the 4500m pass down to 873/4 where the turnoff to zaduo is . There's a restaurant with a blazing fire forever stoked and a champion noodle maker at the turnoff. From here the road goes wild, passing into a tight rocky valley that is unlike anything I've yet to see. In fact, you lucky devil, the road is almost completely downhill all the way into -- . Yes, there's a few quick ups and a number of level spots but barring landslides, road disappearance, wild beast attacks and anything else of that nature it's easy cruising all the way to town - restaurant, luguan, shops, gompa. <<1028 onwards a revelation - thought dinosaurs might appear out of the snow dusted tree filled gorges I wove through>> 902 town 910 restaurant 914 climb starts 920 pass 924 climb starts 932 pass 943 gets flattish till 986 at nanjin with ups and down throughout and a few gorge drops 986 - 1010 ups downs beside river 1010 climb to 1021 drop to 1023 climb to 1028 then down to 1040 (sleep on edge of gorge, not a sound in the air) minor climbs to 1054 where main river is joined. Along river to 1058 then climb to 4500m pass at 1068ish (amazing! gorges! spires! cliffs!) drop to 1080 through super tight gorge, enter heavy forest. don't stop. riwoqe checkpoint ? km ahead.

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