We cruised through the first 6-mile stretch, not exerting too much energy in anticipation of what was to come farther down river. I was able to recall from some landmarks where good sections had been the previous year, and we managed to maximize what was available. I got onto a right that was peeling 50 feet off the steep cement river bank and rode it for about two miles to the stadium-like cheering from the crowd. Every so often I would look over and give a big fist pump or something of the sort, which would intensify the cheer.
It was the first week of October and China was in the midst of massive celebrations for the sixtieth anniversary of the rise of the Communist Party. Jamie Sterling, a couple of our photographer/filmer friends and myself were in the city of Hangzhou, on the Qiantang River. We’d come to surf the river”the fabled “Silver Dragon.”
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