Rocket Bus

I am sorry it has been a while since I have posted. Catching up from a long week up north. Our final piece of the journey was the ride home from Jia Mu Si to Harbin. We traveled on a bus with the Harbin Men’s team. A few players went with the “Tall Man” and the equipment bus to make enough room for everyone.

We left around 8:00 am on Saturday morning on the big bus. After about 30 minutes of traveling to get through the Jia Mu Si traffic and out of the city we hit the highway. Our side of the highway was very rough, think cross-bronx expressway at its worst. The other side was newly paved.

Our bus driver put the pedal down anyway and we were off sometimes hitting huge pot holes tat about 75-80 mph, sometimes SWERVING around them at the same speeds. Occasionally, there would be a snow bank blocking our side of the road completely and a small opening in the guard rail with a small barely noticeable orange flag next to it. This apparently signals the road is closed for construction (although none was apparent) and we bolted through the hole in the guardrail at full speed into oncoming traffic in the north bound lane. There were no warning signs to signal this, no orange cones or jersey barriers to guide the traffic, just a hole in the guardrail and a snow pile in middle of the road.

Once in oncoming traffic, for the most part, drivers stayed on the right, but both sides passed traffic at will whenever someone slower was in front. We had three or four close calls trying to pass vehicles and having to swerve back into the right lane.

The most difficult thing to tell was when to go BACK onto your own side. There was the same small hole, and tiny flag, but nothing else on the road. We swerved at full speed through the hole in the fence a couple of times because the driver noticed it at the last minute, probably with the bus only on two wheels for a second.

We had to cross over and back twice during the harrowing, white knuckle ride home. We did make it home safely, but it was an unbelievable ride at amazing speeds. To top it off, at times the window was almost completely frosted over until the “spare driver” came over in front of the driver to wipe it off.

Half way back we stopped at a rest area for a bathroom break as there was none on the bus. It was nice to get some fresh air and catch our breath.

Back in Harbin now on solid ground. We begin our next tournament on Saturday, my parents arrive on Friday, so it will be a busy week.