Day 18 #B.E. Ranwu Lake - Pomi : Motorcycles Aren't Allowed Into Gas Stations In Tibet, So How Do I Refuel?

LOL Look at my face full of confidence

The plan today was to cover 400KM and ride from Ranwu Lake to Lu Lang, where locals call it the Little Switzerland because its home to a sea of forest filled with pinewood trees.

Checked out of the hotel and off to a gloomy start. 

But first, time to fuel up before I start the journey for today.

Did You Know?

Motorcycles are not allowed into Gas Stations here in Tibet. Therefore each time I refuel, I'd have to:

1) Park my bike outside
2) Register at the counter with my Chinese driving license
3) Pump petrol (#93) into a kettle (provided at the station)
4) Transfer the petrol into my bike fuel tank

Usually in Singapore, we pump petrol into our bikes directly from the nozzle and it will automatically stop when our tank is full, right?

Here in Tibet, you've to do a rough estimate on how much your bike needs for refuel before pumping it into the kettle because if you pump too much into the kettle, too bad! The next biker in line benefits as it's non-refundable.

Interesting eh.

Sunrise at Ranwu Lake during Winter. Credits to chinatouradvisors

Ranwu Lake is the largest lake in Southeast Tibet, lying at an altitude of 3,800m above sea level and surrounded in the arms of many high peak mountains, most of which are above 5,000m high. What fills the lake is water from melted snow and ice trickling down from the glaciers around.

Ranwu Lake on a gloomy day in Summer now

Though its now still considered Summer, its 10 degrees here.

Without any sun, the winds and the heavy drizzle made it feel much colder than that.

I had to wear 3 layer of gloves this time to help ease the numbing cold of my hands.

My RS Taichi gloves did help in keeping my hands dry and blocking out most of the wind, but adding on those Watson's surgical gloves did help a notch.

Hardcore cyclists

Just when I thought I'm having quite a freezing time here, I see these cyclists ride past me like "ahh.. what a beautiful day today".

I salute their stamina and being able to embrace the cold this way.

Getting foggy in the mountains

When I reached Pomi check point, it was just past 11:30am. The officers told us that the road up ahead to Lu Lang is currently closed for road works and will only reopen at 9pm. It would be too late for me to travel by then, therefore my guide decided that I stay one night here at Pomi and wake up at dawn break tomorrow to try and catch up on our schedule.

Refreshing ride through the dense forest

Meaning I would have 600km to cover the next day to be on schedule. However due to the strict speed limitation in Tibet, it seems challenging to complete. With check points planted at every little town, based on the speed limit of 40 – 50kmh, and the distance in between each town, the police would know if you went above the limit if you reach the next town early than the calculated time based on distance to speed.

Oh well but the truth is, we ALL travel above the speed limit hahaha. We'd stop about 5km before the check point, take a 10 – 20 minute break and wait for the “right” time before heading over. Haha that’s how everyone rolls here.

In Pomi town

Reached Pomi town around 12noon, checked into the hotel and took this opportunity to rest.

Checked into the hotel

I treasure every chance I get to rest as much because riding up to 12 hours a day, daily, does take a toll on me. So I better catch some sleep whenever I have spare time!

P.S. Actually whenever I have free time, I’d try to update my blog but damn, in some towns, they block all VPN and I can’t login to Facebook/Blogger :/  Ugh.

[Singapore.Malaysia.Thailand.Laos.China.Tibet]
[Mileage Clocked: 5,770KM]
[Weather/Temperature: Rain/Gloomy/10°C]
[Altitude: 2,800m]
[Terrain: Mountain Roads/Tarmac]

Next: Ba Yi, Tibet