With the Summer temps cooling I used the opportunity of a Beijing business trip to arrange a last-minute ride to Inner Mongolia.
On Aug-8th I rode the JH600 to the Shanghai South Train Station where I emptied the tank and handed the bike over to CRE for about RMB 550 (which included RMB 5,000 insurance in case there were any damages during delivery).
I arrived Beijing a few days later, then on Saturday I taxied to Beijing Station to collect the bike. I pushed her to the nearest gas station for a fill-up and then rode back to the hotel to pack the new Tourfella boxes with supplies for the next 9 days and off I went.
Sticking with the philosophy of Steinbeck that the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, I didn't have a fixed route. The general plan was to first head to Chengde, then just ride up into Inner Mongolia following the S-Roads (省道) and take as many off-roads as possible, which would allow the opportunity to keep testing the JH600 on as much different terrain as possible. At one point Time's evil head would appear and remind me to start making my way back to Beijing thru Hebei, enjoying the mountain twisties along the way. But road reality is always the best of trip planners, and on Day-1 out of Beijing the JH600’s stator fried which landed me a 2.5 day stopover in Chengde. At times there were thoughts of trucking the bike back to Beijing, but alas new parts arrived from Hefei via China’s mystical kuaidi express system and back on the road to Inner Mongolia I was.
So, time has come to do the Ride Report. I’ll post some of the highlights soon enough, but in the meantime here is a compilation of photos and video clips from the ride.
WARNING: For those who do not like to watch trailers before seeing a movie that is just released, DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO!
I’ll get to the RR soon.
For others who dare watch, grab a coffee or a beer....it's a long one (20mins).
Route: Beijing Train Station – Chengde – Weichang – Xilin Hot – Sonid Youqi – Zhangjiakou – Dishuihu - Beijing Train Station
Duration: 9 days (6 days riding + .5 days pushing + 2.5 days waiting for parts & touristing in Chengde)
Distance: 2,300 km (2,290km riding + 10km pushing)
Mechanicals: 1 fried stator
Flats: 3 (2 patches, 1 tube replacement + 1 big surprise)
09-08-2011, 11:04 AM
ChinaV
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
:clap::clap::clap:
Hurry up, I want to see the full sized version of this one :naughty:
"fried stator"? I'm thinking something else may have overheated that caused him to spend a couple of days in one location.
Fantastic video production Motokai. Really top quality stuff. Thanks!
09-09-2011, 02:31 AM
euphonius
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Yes, she can fry my stator any time.
Awesome shooting, and awesome editing, MK. If the NBA season truly is lost, you can freelance as a video producer. Thanks for a fantastic Dokument.
cheers
09-09-2011, 01:15 PM
felix
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
That was a class watch motokai, seriously great stuff! Your best yet. You really put some forethought into it too, like the shot of you riding past the camera. I guess you had to set that up with a tripod and ride past it once or twice!
That shot where you're on the hard shoulder riding past the miles and miles of trucks is mind boggling. Poor bastards...
09-10-2011, 06:00 AM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
:clap::clap::clap:
Hurry up, I want to see the full sized version of this one :naughty:
EDIT: Oh, sorry. Uploaded the wrong photo :naughty:
Anyway, the backstory on 小Motokai was.....
As you can see from the video, this little guy was enjoying being the subject of Motokai's camera for the first few shots. After flashing a few V-signs with his fingers he demanded I process the pics on the spot and give him the photos I just took. I explained the limitations of my camera and its inability to process photos, which was the catalyst that turned him into something that more closely resembled Motokai!
09-10-2011, 06:30 AM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Thanks for the comments guys. There were so many amazing and beautiful moments on the ride, so this was the ideal format to preserve the memories.
Quote:
Originally Posted by felix
That was a class watch motokai, seriously great stuff! Your best yet. You really put some forethought into it too, like the shot of you riding past the camera. I guess you had to set that up with a tripod and ride past it once or twice!
First time I shot myself riding. After riding on these long-ass straightaways thru the desert and grasslands you start to play a bit. This was one of the activities I came up with. I didn't have a tripod so I laid the cam on a highway marker (those little concrete stubs protruding out of the ground - hence the low to the ground angle). For the 2 shots like this, I just did one fly-by then back to pick up the camera. There's absolutely nothing out there. It's moon-like, so no worries about traffic or someone stealing the camera!
Quote:
Originally Posted by felix
That shot where you're on the hard shoulder riding past the miles and miles of trucks is mind boggling. Poor bastards...
Yeah, I was the poor bastard for about 2 hours riding on the G110 which sits a about 200m to the north and hugs the Expressway thru the valley and hills. This road belongs to Dante's Eighth Circle (Fraud): The fraudulent—those guilty of deliberate, knowing evil—are located in a circle named Malebolge ("Evil Pockets"), divided into ten Bolgie, or ditches of stone, with bridges spanning the ditches.
I was too busy navigating the Bolgie, coal trucks, potholes and ruts to truly capture how evil this road is. It's completely filled with trucks. You can't get angry at these guys (this is their world where they're just trying to make some cash to survive and you are a visitor). But nonetheless the pollution, the bottoming-out, the strips of construction with even deeper tire ruts (pits) and increase in fumes inhaled due to the lower speeds of the trucks which you need to navigate past can drive you mad.
So for me, escaping this hell and getting onto the Expressway to witness another hell (for the truckers) was a certain ironic sympathy. From the video, you'll see I was making good progress on the Emergency Lane, but this soon ended and I was forced back onto the G110 for another 2 hours.
09-10-2011, 02:35 PM
felix
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Sounds perfectly in line with ChinaV's 'rewards and punisments' theory of china riding. You have to pay for the good stuff with equal amounts of hell.
Except in zhejiang of course.
09-11-2011, 03:31 AM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Days 1-4
Leaving Beijing on Saturday morning was another reminder of the 2 Beijings:
1. Inside the 6th Ring (The City Proper)
2. Outside of the 6th Ring (Beijing Countryside)
The horseshoe of mountains that wraps around the city proper which is quite flat can trap the air and pollution from all of the cars purchased over the last decade. But as soon as you pierce this enclosure of smog you enter another Beijing. It's a Beijing that is filled with rolling mountains, countryside, fresh air and sunshine. Amazing.
So I jumped on the expressway to move quickly beyond the borders of city, and zig-zagging thru countryside heading towards Hebei. I stopped along the way at 玻璃台 (Bolitai) which was rather uneventful. While the road is picturesque and the nature that surrounds is astounding,
the concrete road that leads up the mountain does not provide the surface for good riding, nor do the over-tight corners which require too much navigational input on a surface topped with loose gravel to really enjoy. After making my way back down, I was enjoying a bowl of noodles noodles near the entrance gate and saw a group of Harleys pull up. They stopped for a photo session at the gate entrance then moved on a different direction without riding up.
I continued on thru Hebei on my way to Chengde (passing more parts of The Wall which is always so cool), when the bike stalled in a small village and wouldn't start. It was the battery. Looking for a quick fix, I planned a trickle charge that would get met to Chengde where I could further investigate the issue with a proper mechanic. Unable to find a charger I was successful to pop-the-clutch and get moving again. About 15kms later it died in front of a steel factory, luckily close to a small shop with a charger.
After about 60kms, 5 hours, and 2 trickle charges later there I was. It was 9:30pm and I was still out in the countryside at 9:30pm without juice.
The decision was to stay put there for the night or ride the remaining 30kms to Chengde and risk breaking down again in the dark. I banked the 60min trickle charge would get me to Chengde so I moved on. Using the full moon as much as possible I rode slowly with the lights off to save the battery. I moved onto a dirt road (must be construction but couldn't see clearly), so stopped at the next gas station to confirm. The kid inside (who was busy watching porn) said I was moving the right direction - it was another 15km. Right on.
I finally crossed the bridge into Chengde and the battery died right then and there - lucky! So back to pushing the heavy machine from hotel to hotel (first 5 hotels were full) I finally found a room for the night.
As Felix said: Sounds perfectly in line with ChinaV's 'rewards and punisments' theory of china riding. You have to pay for the good stuff with equal amounts of hell.
The next 2.5 days were spent sourcing the problem (the stator), sourcing a new stator from Hefei, and sourcing the history of Chengde as a tourist.
Special thanks to euphonius and Lao Jia Hou for armchair/roadside support. They were able to access the key docs (to discuss the parts with me in both English & Chinese) and provide TIC support!
The horseshoe of mountains that wraps around the city proper which is quite flat can trap the air and pollution from all of the cars purchased over the last decade. But as soon as your pierce this enclosure of smog you enter another Beijing. It's a Beijing that is filled with rolling mountains, countryside, fresh air and sunshine. Amazing.
OK, MK, did the eye-candy appear during the 2.5 day layover?
09-11-2011, 02:18 PM
corporal_clegg
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Nice vid. Kai, shame there's no RIDE REPORT to go with it.
09-11-2011, 02:23 PM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
OK, MK, did the eye-candy appear during the 2.5 day layover?
Okay guys....to put this thing to rest and stop the requests for bigger photos, when she appeared (which is an indirect way of trying to figure out where she is. I'm onto you Mr. Jia Hou :naughty:), and invitations for to her fry your stator! I'm going to just put it out here. For those interested, here are her coordinates:
Back to the Ride Report (clegg: Please pay attention) :deal:
Day 5
Riding into Inner Mongolia was obvious. Sure there was the border crossing, but after cutting thru the hills, mountains and valleys you arrive at a different landscape. Day 5 was filled with long stretches of grass which extended 360 degrees around you. If the road wasn't there under your tires, there would be nothing but a vast emptiness of nature. It is here that you can really feel that you've left the city behind. The areas between the small cities of Inner Mongolia are sparsely populated offering up some true "solo riding" - with the exception of the occasional oncoming car that passes.
Incidentally, we often refer to these as "yurt", but the Mongolians have no idea what you're talking about when you use this word. Excerpt from wikipedia: "yurt" was originally from a Turkic word referring to the imprint left in the ground by a moved yurt, and by extension, sometimes a person's homeland, kinsmen, or feudal appanage.
The term came to be used in reference to the physical tent-like dwellings only in other languages. In modern Turkish the word "yurt" is used as the synonym of homeland. In Russian the structure is called "yurta" (юрта), whence the word came into English. ger - in Mongolian simply means "home".
Now we're getting somewhere! Great photos MK, do you shoot in HDR or something?
09-13-2011, 06:17 AM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by felix
Now we're getting somewhere! Great photos MK, do you shoot in HDR or something?
No, but I love shooting high contrast scenes.
Playing with HDR sounds cool. I want to explore this on my next big ride (thanks)!
Day 6
More Grassland & Desert
Leaving Xinlin Hot for Sonid Youqi was a 350km ride with just one left turn!
What the road lacked in performance riding, the people and landscape gave back in kind: Warm hospitality from a couple of Mongolia twin brothers (and a girlfriend), amazing grasslands, sheep...sheep...and more sheep, and some serious desert scenes.
These curious guys were near some off-road tracks that looked fun, so after a brief hello I followed the tracks over a hill where you reach areas offering 360degrees of only grassland and the tracks beneath your rubber. A very cool feeling.
Further on the grassland vistas opened up and I saw some white Menggu Ger appearing in the distance. Upon my arrival, my motorcycle which got the dog barking, caused a young guy to come out to see what all this noise was amidst the silence of the grasslands. When he saw me open my face mask with a smile and "你好!" he also smiled (now trying to grab the dog which had broken free from its chain).
His twin brother came out from behind him also with a big smile. We chatted then they invited me to visit for a while. I was introduced to the younger brother's girlfriend and asked if I wanted some lamb. I had just had lamb for breakfast so wasn't very hungry, but they insisted on preparing something for me to eat later on. We drank milk tea together, shared stories and then after the older brother disappeared for some time, he reappeared holding a HUGE platter of lamb - they too had just eaten so this was just for me! 太热情！！
These guys were awesome. After a couple of hours it was time to get back to the road, but I'll be sure to visit them again when I'm back in Inner Mongolia. If anyone on MCM wants their contact info let me know - they can host for a stopover and overnight in the Menggu Ger!
Fantastic recount, excellent trip report....was fascinating to view it all from your perspective. Professional looking editing on the video too; it all combines as fuel for inspiration. My upcoming riding plans include Mongolia and your Day 5 shots of wandering through remote grassland paths looked like a dream.
Thanks for sharing...it's almost incredulous that you shot as much as you did in 9 days because while on my trip for a longer period of time, I skipped way too many amazing shots due to time constraints (night falling). I would have stopped every few miles otherwise.
09-13-2011, 03:38 PM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by MeowZeDong
Fantastic recount, excellent trip report....was fascinating to view it all from your perspective. Professional looking editing on the video too; it all combines as fuel for inspiration. My upcoming riding plans include Mongolia and your Day 5 shots of wandering through remote grassland paths looked like a dream.
Thanks for sharing...it's almost incredulous that you shot as much as you did in 9 days because while on my trip for a longer period of time, I skipped way too many amazing shots due to time constraints (night falling). I would have stopped every few miles otherwise.
Wow, when are you going to Mongolia? No shortage of off-roads there.
- What bike you taking?
- Starting/Ending points?
:gun_bandana:
When it comes to taking photos, my rule when riding is hydrate properly, take lots of pee breaks and take pics at ever stop!
09-14-2011, 02:07 AM
MeowZeDong
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Yesterday was my first day of research on it. I found a little information off of some guide/tour sites. What I "dream" about doing is from Urumqi, driving up to the northeast border and entering Mongolia from there and ultimately taking the northern road up to Ulaangom and continually traverse east to Ulaanbaatar...that will touch upon some beautiful lakes. From what I've read so far, it seems conflicting though on whether entering from there is possible.
In regards to the bike, I am researching that as well.....reading a lot of reports on here; it's so overwhelming. I rode a Galaxy XTR-250 for a tour in two provinces but it quickly had problems. I don't necessarily want to say it was the bike because it had already ridden a ton of mileage and was beat up from touring Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, etc...and other areas. It was a sick horse by the time I got it and had no mods.
If you have any two cents in regards to any of these topics (Mongolia, bikes for the region....etc), it would be appreciated.
09-14-2011, 02:10 AM
euphonius
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Dear MZD,
Awesome plan! But surely you are planning to wait till the spring/summer, right? It's gotta be too late for this year! You'd freeze your meeow off.
cheers!
09-14-2011, 02:21 AM
MeowZeDong
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
Dear MZD,
Awesome plan! But surely you are planning to wait till the spring/summer, right? It's gotta be too late for this year! You'd freeze your meeow off.
cheers!
Yes, Euphonius. I always research weather and know I'm a tad bit up north. :)
And in regards to photos on trips MotoKai - I like your technique. The funny thing is during my ride, I did the opposite and didn't want to drink too much thinking it would delay me on getting to a good place before dark (also, I couldn't stand getting off my bike - it was incredibly high and awkward, not to mention dangerous to dismount). But actually, maybe your idea is better and you get a two-for-one drinking more water....P&P break. Pee and photo. Look forward to seeing more of your photos/videos.....very inspiring.
09-14-2011, 02:58 AM
ChinaV
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
What is this "stopping" thing you people speak of? Wear diapers and shoot photos with your left hand.
Motokai, your pics are outstanding.
Cheers!
ChinaV
09-14-2011, 02:59 AM
euphonius
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Then there's the hose down the leg trick....
09-14-2011, 03:06 AM
MeowZeDong
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
What is this "stopping" thing you people speak of? Wear diapers and shoot photos with your left hand.
Motokai, your pics are outstanding.
Cheers!
ChinaV
HAHAHHAA :D .....yeah, well....if I had a hose it would be a lot easier. I really wonder now if any of you have taken a piss without stepping off the bike. That's a wonderful advantage to have.
09-14-2011, 03:21 AM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Thanks V, credit goes to the landscape (not me).
And for a complete non-stop action setup, you'll need diapers and a camelbak!
What I "dream" about doing is from Urumqi, driving up to the northeast border and entering Mongolia from there and ultimately taking the northern road up to Ulaangom and continually traverse east to Ulaanbaatar...
I keep trying to talk euphonius into the "Can a Jialing make it to Magadan" ride (haha), so if you turn north after Ulaanbaatar, let us know! :naughty:
Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
Then there's the hose down the leg trick....
Be careful if you're using a camelbak!! :puke:
09-14-2011, 06:54 AM
slabo
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by MeowZeDong
HAHAHHAA :D .....yeah, well....if I had a hose it would be a lot easier. I really wonder now if any of you have taken a piss without stepping off the bike. That's a wonderful advantage to have.
I totally forgot about that.. I was at ~4700m, desolate area, shitty kickstand, loaded bike, too much stuff strapped to the back of the saddle .. serious acrobatic moves were needed to get off the bike .. but a few times I just didn't bother.
take a leak, snap a photo, drink and ride again.. you're right, it's handy to have a hose
09-15-2011, 04:06 AM
nostalgie
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
great film ! super photo records ! real adventure ! JiaLing legend trip !
09-15-2011, 02:15 PM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Day 7
Day 7 was when "Time" reminded me I had to get the Jialing back to the train station in the next 2 days which meant I needed to start heading back to Hebei and ultimately Beijing. So after gassing up I got myself 4 full bars on the fuel indicator with 2 buckets! (You have to use a bucket to fill up in Inner Mongolia, so if you don't do the math each time you gas-up, which I didn't, you never know how much is needed to top-off....sometimes you get close as I did this time!)
And later in the day I'd find myself on the G110, which was another one of those "awry moments".
The G110 was already discussed with Felix earlier in this thread here - and see video for graphic detail of this account. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6068/...2a897755_z.jpg
09-15-2011, 03:05 PM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Day 8
After spending the night in Zhangjiakou, Hebei I had a fantastic day of riding thru Chongli and Chicheng eventually arriving at the Baihebao Reservoir which sits on the border of Hebei-Beijing.
We took some amazing twisties out of 递水壶 but started having problems keeping my line with the Duc & BMW. I noticed my rear start to "swim" so I pulled over and saw there was air lost from my rear. It was getting dark so I told the guys to go on ahead, I'll ride it back to find someone to fix the flat. It was completely flat when I reached this guy. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6068/...f1441ca18f.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6174/...eb8276b9e5.jpg
By the time he got the nail out and patched the tire it was already dark so I stayed there for the night.
09-15-2011, 03:37 PM
MotoKai
Re: Motokai's Inner Mongolia Ride 2011
Day 9
The next morning the tire was flat again. We surmised that the nail had compromised the tube in another spot. After opening the tire up again, we found the hole and he gave me another patch. He was reluctant to pull the whole wheel off an replace the tube (had a spare with me), suggesting when I get back to Beijing, find a proper bike shop to do the replacement. And off I went....
So after 9 days of riding I had some amazing experiences and a few "awry moments" (fried stator, the G110, 3 flats and 17cm pipe left inside my tire for 20kms!). Fulfilled and back safe in Beijing it was time to send the Jialing back to Shanghai. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6160/...8b143964_z.jpg
