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On a weekday, the Erhai Lake area is sparsely populated, making their entire cycling journey feel exceptionally spacious and comfortable.

In November, Dali seems to transform into a vibrant, colorful world. The waters of Erhai Lake are a deep, clear blue, reflecting the azure sky.

Along the cycling path, distant green mountains display varying shades of ink, while nearby seaside trees gradually turn yellow, creating a unique sense of layering with the evergreen species. There are also dawn redwood groves standing in the water, their leaves already a gentle, warm red. Though not as dazzling as the red leaves of Fragrant Hills, they possess their own unique, secluded charm.

Xiaomeng's favorite thing about this place is the exceptionally blue sky. Because of the high altitude, the clouds seem within reach, like a flock of white sheep, making every snapshot a masterpiece.

At lunchtime, the support convoy drove into a Bai ethnic town, where the organizers had pre-booked a private restaurant specializing in Bai cuisine.

Everyone can take a short rest before taking their seats.

The meal consisted entirely of Bai ethnic delicacies.

There are Bai ethnic group's sour and spicy fish, grilled fish on a boat, braised fish head, steamed crucian carp with minced meat, steamed snail head with rice flour, clear soup snail tofu, water chestnut, and so on.

By the way, most of the ingredients on this big table are fish, or shrimp and snails. Because they live by the mountains and the sea, the Bai people living by Erhai Lake are naturally the best at aquatic cuisine.

Xiaomeng thought all of these local specialties were quite delicious.

Especially the casserole fish; Xiaomeng scooped out dozens of ingredients from the casserole, including ham, sliced ​​free-range chicken, seafood, and mountain delicacies—it was like a treasure trove! It was fresh, spicy, and delicious, very appetizing. It was just as good with rice as the Bai ethnic group's sour and spicy fish.

In addition, due to the large amount of cycling activity in the morning, Xiaomeng ate three bowls of rice without any hesitation, her appetite almost matching that of Xiao Tang, a grown man.

The men at the same table all expressed their envy of her and Xiao Tang's good appetites, saying, "Wow, young people have such good appetites! They enjoy everything they eat, and their metabolism is so good that they don't gain weight no matter how much they eat."

There were also girls in our group, but they all had small appetites. They were full after eating some mushrooms and drinking some soup, and they were very careful to control their calorie intake. They couldn't compare to someone as down-to-earth as Xiaomeng.

Of course, Little Bird Beauty can't ride her bike straight ahead like Xiao Meng, full of vigor and energy.

After lunch, some people stayed to rest, since there were support vehicles and they weren't worried about falling behind the main group.

Xiaomeng and Xiaotang caught up with the first group of cyclists and continued on.

Cycling in such a beautiful place at a moderate speed, people with good physical fitness don't feel tired at all.

A few avid cyclists chatted with Xiaomeng and Xiaotang while riding. Xiaomeng was a newcomer, and Xiaotang didn't participate in activities often, so they weren't very familiar with each other.

How old is your younger sister? She's in great shape! What sports do you like to participate in? Does she like cycling? Does she like the environment around Erhai Lake? Is your younger sister working? What does she do? Does she work at a museum? That's good! It's rare to see such a hardworking and dedicated young person like you.

Xiao Tang, what brings you here again? Why weren't you home to help out at your grandpa's birthday party? Did your mom think you were in the way? I think you're just bored. Exam season is almost here, right? How's your tutoring going? Hope you don't fail any courses this semester.

Hey everyone, look what's going on up ahead! Let's go check it out.

It turned out that several cyclists had appeared ahead of them and found a good viewpoint.

It seems that because this small attraction is very close to seagull nests, there are many seagulls foraging here.

"Oh, hey seagulls! There are seagulls here at Erhai Lake? Is Erhai Lake really a sea?" This touched on Xiaomeng's blind spot.

"Erhai isn't a real sea; it's a freshwater lake. These seagulls fly over from Siberia to spend the winter," Xiao Tang corrected her.

Xiaomeng smiled sheepishly, "I knew it! How could there be a sea on an inland plateau?"

The cyclists pulled out various snacks and cookies from their pockets and held them in their hands.

Soon seagulls glided over and began to snatch food from their hands.

Xiaomeng had never seen a bird with such wide wings before. The first time she saw a seagull with a wingspan of one meter, it swooped down from above her head, and the wind it stirred up startled her.

Her hair was being flapped up by her large white wings, and everyone feeding the birds laughed heartily.

Soon everyone had finished feeding each other all the cookies and snacks.

The drivers in the support vehicle immediately grabbed two bags of nuts and birdseed and got off the road.

We distributed nuts to all the bosses, afraid they wouldn't get enough to eat.

The child riding next door shared his naan with Xiaomeng, and some seagulls seemed to prefer the naan.

Everyone enthusiastically fed the seagulls. After a while, they sat down and shared some dried fruit and drinks with other tourists to replenish their energy and fluids.

The child, clutching pistachios and macadamia nuts, said, "Sister, this is a bit wasteful. You're feeding the birds such expensive dried fruit. My mom never buys such expensive dried fruit at the supermarket."

"Use mine. I have lots of naan bread here, super cheap, I bought it in town, ten yuan a big bag."

"Oh, then I'll trade you dried fruit. What do you like to eat? Do you want some small walnuts? Macadamia nuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, and hazelnuts—take plenty of those, before the birds snatch them all away." Xiaomeng kept picking out the most expensive dried fruit from the plastic bag and stuffing it into the child's pockets, since his hands were already full.

Xiaomeng was so honest that the child felt embarrassed. "That's enough, sister, you don't need so much."

Seagulls truly live up to their nickname "thief seagulls"—they love to steal.

While everyone sat down to eat, those large white birds dared to fold their wings and walk among the crowd, pecking at the food they fancied. Even food held in people's hands could be snatched away.