Southern China 2009: The How Tough is Your China Built Bike Tour

Day 8: The push to Yunnan

We woke up early today with the idea of getting our feet into Yunnan province. We had hoped to get on the road early and had hoped to reach Liupingshui by lunch. We thought the expressway was open to motorcycles and we had been on it the day before. Most expressways in Guizhou do allow bikes so we didn’t think anything of it we made our plans and looked over the bikes. My bike had a mildly loose chain and had at sometime yesterday lost 3 of the 4 nuts that were holding my right side box on my bike. We were also approaching the 2000 kilometer mark and we decided it would probably make good sense to get all the problems taken care of early so we could have a trouble free day of riding.

We set off to the nearest motorcycle fixer and asked him to swap the oil in our two bikes, fix my box mount and tighten my chain. One would think this was a pretty easy fix for anyone with any kind of motorcycicular knowledge, but if you thought that you’ve probably never been in China. I made the mistake of not standing over the dude with the wrenches and instead decided to grab a snack and have another look at the map. Mr. Wrench was done in no time and we made our way to the expressway exit.

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I didn’t notice the sign, but Marcus later told me there was a sign saying no bikes allowed on the expressway. Not that it really matters, road signs and traffic signals in China are more of a suggestion than an actual rule. I flew through the toll booth and made my way up the on ramp. We were hoping to make some good time and key to this plan was the distance we could cover on the expressway. About 20km in I stopped for gas and the workers at the filling station were in awe that I was there on a bike. They all kept telling me they couldn’t give me any fuel because I was not in a car or a truck and that they weren’t allowed to put gas in motorcycles. I told them I was almost out of gas and that if they didn’t sell me any I’d be on the expressway forever and that if the police asked me why I was there I would have told them because I couldn’t buy any gas at this gas station. I don’t know why it worked, but they filled up my bike and I pulled out of the filling station.

As I was working my way up to crusing speed, I noticed a wave of power loss through the throttle. The bike had power, everything was running, I knew it had gas and a fresh oil change, I started to wonder if I had some bad gas. I figured I’d ride the bike a while and see if the problem would work itself out. About an hour down the road a big cloud of white smoke burst from my engine and my wife tapped me on the back and said we were losing some kind of something from the engine. I looked down and saw a spray of engine oil coming from the engine. A cloud of oil smoke was rising off the hot engine and I began to worry about what the idiot wrencher had done when I wasn’t watching him. I pulled over and had a look at the bike, everything was covered in engine oil. My wife’s leg the swing arm the engine jug, the gearbox, everything. I knew I couldn’t leave the bike on the expressway and wait for help so I decided to limp it down the road a kilometer to the next exit.

After sneaking through the toll booth we pulled into the local Suzuki dealer. During the last kilometer I had been thinking a lot about what might have gone wrong. The engine was fine yesterday, I hadn’t rev’d the piss out of it, it hadn’t been leaking oil, there weren’t any problems until the visit to the oil changer in the morning. I thought it could only be one thing, the idiot who put the oil in my bike must have put too much oil in my bike and it must have come back up through the crank case breather into the air box. Worst case would be that the extra oil in the sump blew past the piston rings and the resulting blowby is what pushed the oil into the air box and blew the crank case breather hose off the engine block. I was worried.

I set the bike up for the second oil change of the day. When we examined the amount of oil that came out of the engine I was shocked to see that even after the massive oil pissing incident I still had close to 1.8L of oil left inside the engine. This means that the fool at the bike fixer didn’t even drain the old oil out of my bike all he did was add another liter of oil to an engine with a 1L capacity. I changed the oil, reatached the crankcase breather and was hoping the rings were ok. The bike started right up and wasn't smoking so I figured there must not be any major damage, but this asshole's mistake did set us back about 2.5 hours. We knew we couldn’t get back on the expressway so we started to rethink our plans. We decided that we would take the secenic route through the mountains and stop in Liupingshui for the night.

The ride from oil change number 2 to Liupingshui was nice, but my bike was down on power and I attributed that to suffering from an oil soaked air filter. Sadly the shops in the last town didn’t have anything to fit my bike. The mountain road was smooth and full of the oooh and awe scenery we do these bike trips for. We only had 130 km to cover, so we took it easy. We enjoyed the road and views and stopped many times to take some nice photos.

We arrived in Liupingshui around dinner time, found a place to stay and started to talk about what we want to do tomorrow. Today Yunnan was out of reach, but we were still hoping if the bike holds up, to make it to Luguhu in 3 days.

Day 9: August 3, Liupingshui to Huize and into Yunnan

Today looked good. No bike problems from the previous day to fix, no rain, no long distance to cover. We planned for an easy and relaxing ride through the mountains and into Yunnan. Our distance for the day was less than 300km and we thought with good weather it shouldn’t take more than five and half hours. We decided the night before to have a late start to the day and planned to get on the road at 10:00am.

At 10:00 we started up the bikes and headed out of Liupingshui. We were excited to get out of Guizhou. We had already spent more time here than we had intended. A smashed foot, botched oil change a pile of other small problems had plagued our exit. Today was looking good with only 140km to the Yunnan border we knew we could make it out today. We also soon realized that this would be the first real test for the Shineray’s might and would be our first real time going into the mountains. I was really looking forward to finally getting on some interesting roads. For the past 8 days the roads had been mundane at best, sure some had some nice things to look at, but most were easy riding and didn’t really add enjoyment to the trip. They were more of something that needed to be transversed before the real fun could begin. Today promised to be that fun.


Pulling out of Liupingshui we immediately started our climb into the mountains. It was hard to believe that we were still on any kind of a major road. It was barely wide enough for one truck and in many parts was nothing more than a rutted gravel track. This was just what I wanted. A little bit of interesting roads complete with narrow winding switchbacks and drop offs so high they would give you plenty of time to contemplate your impending doom if you made one small mistake on them. The sides of the roads were marked by nothing except those immense voids of empty space. It was a great way to start the day.

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Moving up the mountain the Shineray started to pump out some gray smoke. I started to think the rings were going or close to gone. The crankcase breather hose blew off again and that and the lack of power lead me to think the bike was experiencing some blow by. Luckily it wasn’t overly noticeable, sure the bike was sluggish, but it still had the power to pull us and all of our gear up the mountains at a reasonable pace in 3rd, 4th or sometimes even 5th gear. Other 200s I had ridden in this kind of situation were usually stuck somewhere between 2nd or 3rd and that was with only one rider. The Shineray was passing trucks and making its way up the switchbacks at an acceptable pace. Honestly with the amount of gear, poor road conditions and foreseeable engine problems we were faced with I was just happy the little Shineray wasn’t dead.

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As we got higher and higher the scenery changed and became even more impressive with each passing kilometer. The faces of the people also began to change and we soon realized we were deep in the heart of one of China’s Yi minority communities. We stopped by the side of the road to have a snack and take some photos. The people were very gracious and although a little shy, they were happy to share a cookie, a drink and oblige us with a photo. It was nice to hear about their life and nice to meet some different people.

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Some local Yi people on their way to market

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We pressed on through the mountains and were getting close to Huize and the smoke cloud coming out of my bike was getting larger. I looked down at the engine and it was pissing oil again. I stopped and checked the breather hose and it was off again. I put it back on the engine started the bike up and pushed hard for the last 10km. About one km out of Huize the bike died. The breather hose was off again, oil was everywhere and now the bike wouldn’t start. Marcus rode ahead and found us a room for the night. He also helped me find a truck to pull the battered Shineray into town. The truck belonged to a motorcycle shop owner and he was sure he could fix it. I told him what I thought the problem was, but he didn’t listen. They stood over the bike for a few hours and said we could have a look at it in the morning. I was exhausted, the foot still hurt and I hadn’t eaten anything that day. I just wanted to get into bed and rest. I left my bike at his shop and headed to the hotel.

We would have to see how bad the bike was in the morning. I feared the worst. I thought I would probably need a new engine or at least a rebuild. I guess I’d just have to wait until tomorrow to see.

Day 10: August 4th, Stuck in Huize

Last night I ended up with a dead bike. The bike died about a kilometer out of town and had to pushed/ tucked into town. The person who helped with the trucking of the bike also happened to own some motorcycle shops and he said I could use his tools to help fix the bike. When I arrived at his shop with the bike the people waiting for me wouldn’t let me touch the bike and proceeded to do everything and anything to the bike that would and could not help getting the bike started. Every time I tried to tell them what I thought the problem was they would say, we fix bikes for our job, you’re just a foreigner, let us do the work. I said it was late and that we should just finish fixing the bike in the morning.

The bike was low on compression, the blow-by that kept kicking the breather hose off the engine case was a sign that the rings were gone. I expected to have to change the jug, piston and rings in the morning. I was a little worried, Huize is a small town and it isn’t really an easy place to find parts for anything over 150cc engines in small towns.

When I woke up in the morning I headed to the bike shop and I was shocked to see the engine broken down and the piston lying on the ground. I asked them why they didn’t wait for me and again they said, “You’re just a foreigner, we want to fix your bike and we know how to do it.” They changed out the piston and the rings and put a new set of gaskets on the bike. I asked them why they didn’t swap the jug or at least hone it and they laughed at me. “You don’t have to do that. The bike will work fine like this. That is just extra work for nothing. We woke up at 7am to fix your bike, why are you complaining and telling us how to do our job?” I said the engine wouldn’t last without fixing it the right way. They just look at me laughed and shook their heads.

In all fairness I took the time to have a look for a new jug and there was nothing in the town. If I could get the bike going at all I might be able to get some distance out of it and maybe, just maybe those dumb assholes working on my bike would be right and the problems would go away with a new set of rings, a piston and some gaskets. I wasn’t happy about the crap fix it job that these guys were doing, but if it got me out of the town I’d be happy. I went for lunch and when I came back the bike was back together and was running. I took it for a short ride to check it out and was happy that the power was back. The engine felt fine and there was no smoke. Maybe these guys were right, maybe. I still had my doubts. Never the less I paid the 200 RMB I owed for my engine rebuild and rode the bike back to the hotel. I looked it over quickly again and had to adjust the clutch and tighten the exhaust clamp, but the bike was running. I was happy but still worried.

After wasting the morning with these fixers I decided that I’d stay another night in Huize, check it out, snap some photos and rest up for the coming day. I was surprised to find that Huize actually had a lot to offer. It had a nice old part of the city, a bunch of temples, a nice park with a huge coin in the middle, some good street food and lots of nice people.My wife and I set out with the camera and our feet to check it out. The people in Huize were great. Everyone left me alone. There wasn’t the usual crowd following me when I rolled into a small town with. No one was talking about me, the people were just happy to have us there and were very welcoming. The city is short on Han Chinese. This is one of the larger minority regions in China and the majority of the people in this area are Miao or Yi. I was surprised to see most people in their traditional dress or in the Maoist Cultural Revolution Inspired blue and gray fatigues. It was like stepping back in time. I was impressed and even happier that this wonderful place hadn’t been ruined by tourist trail. I sat down for a 2 RMB shave and decided to relax and enjoy the rest of my day.

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My 2 RMB shave

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Lisa and I met Marcus and Lynn for dinner and in the pouring cold rain we settled down in a nice restaurant to eat and talk about the coming day’s travel. I was hoping to make up the day we had lost today and make it all the way to Panzhihua in one day. It would be about 350km, but it should be doable. We all wanted to get to Luguhu by the end of the week and we agreed that this was probably the best plan. If my bike could hold together it would be a good day and be a great setup for the rest of the trip.

Day 11, Aug 5, Huize to Panzhihua
Big coin from the night before. How many people can say they walked through the center of a coin on a foot bridge?

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We were up early today. The promise of more than 350km through mountain roads promised to be beautiful and exhausting. At 7:00 we hit the road toward Sichuan. Our first stop for the day was about 120km away. We had found some gel packs in the local Huize supermarket. The four of us were hoping these would help our tired asses endure the long hours on the bike today promised to bring.

The road out of Huize quickly went bad. I was amazed and I didn’t even think we were on the right road. I had to stop and ask 4 people to confirm that this was the best and only way to get into Sichuan from Huize. Everyone I asked confirmed the route and we made our way up the horrific mountain road. From broken, cracked concrete, to multiple rock slides to no road at all this road was a challenge. Overloaded trucks, lack of upkeep and a heavy rainy season had all taken its toll on the road.

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Going was slow. The mountain road kept getting worse and we were wondering if there would be any road left to get us to where we needed to go. Around every dangerous turn and up every broken switchback we were rewarded with amazing views. This was our first real day up in the clouds. Riding up through the clouds is always something that chills my spine. It is so amazing. So beautiful and so calming that it took a lot of stress out of the road. We stopped regularly for breaks and to talk about the terrible conditions.

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The rain water had turned streams into torrents and was cutting through the road and mountains like butter. The rising mist and descending clouds rewarded us with a surreal ride. Something a biker can only dream of. This was one of the most challenging roads I had ever ridden, but it also had some of the most amazing views I had ever seen in my life.

As the Shineray made its way up the mountain I was happy to feel that the power had been restored. However after about 10km the engine had started smoking again. I shrugged my shoulders. There was nothing I could really do about it and really it wasn’t a big surprise. I just hoped it would hold together until we got to a larger city. Huidong was not to be that city. I would have to make it to Panzhihua if I had any hope of getting the bike fixed properly. From the small amount of smoke I figured the engine wasn’t using a lot of oil and that it should be able to make it. I decided I’d double check it in Huidong and if it needed oil, I’d buy a bottle and top it off.

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Coming down the other side of the mountain we were faced with a rickety bridge crossing leading to better roads. We stopped for photos on the bridge and to appreciate the immense power of the river flowing under our feet. This rainy season had seen many mountains fall down, our destination for the day, Panzhihua had just last week received 18cm of rain in 9 hours causing massive rock slides and sadly causing the deaths of 22 local people. We knew this could make things difficult for us, but if this was easy everyone would do it and then it wouldn’t be any fun.

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After the bridge crossing we were rewarded with some nice smooth black top obscured by many major and minor rockslides. It had rained the day before in Huize and it looked like most of the rock slides were fresh. Some were still happening as we rode through them. This isn’t something I really advise doing, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. As we were riding down the road we heard a crash come from around a big corner as we rounded the bend we saw a biker picking up the bike he had laid down to avoid the falling rocks. The road was half covered and we knew if we didn’t get through it we would most likely be stuck there for at least a day waiting for a cleanup crew to handle the mess. With the amount of slides we had already ridden through we decided that it would be dangerous but a good idea to wait for a short lull in the falling rocks, get as far away as possible and get the bikes through as quickly as possible. I made it through with no problem as Marcus came through some rocks started falling again and one barely missed him. We were through and we were safe again.

Huidong was still 50km away. We pressed on and at about 4 pm we pulled into Huidong. My wife was complaining about stomach pain and was worried about food poisoning from the night before. She was running a fever and we all agreed that it would be best if we stopped in Huidong for the night. Panzhihua would have to wait. It took us almost 9 hours to cover 120km. It was a long day and with Lisa not feeling well we grabbed a hotel room and had a rest before dinner.

Around 8:00 Lisa was starting to feel better so we went for a walk to get something to eat. I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten anything today. I really needed something in my stomach and Lisa wanted some fresh air. We walked around the town for a while, ate some noodles and some Sichuan BBQ. When we got back to the hotel there were about 8 police officers waiting for us. Two of them were drunk and they were not happy to see us in their town. They kept asking us why we hadn’t registered at the police station when we arrived and why we hadn’t informed them that we would be coming to their town the day before we had arrived. We tried to explain to them that we had filled out the papers required by the hotel and that they were the ones responsible for registering us. We also told them that the only reason we had stopped in Huidong for the night was that Lisa was ill and couldn’t continue. One of the police officers went off on a rant that this was a special autonomous area for the Yi minority group and that foreigners couldn’t just come in any time they wanted. They wanted us to produce all of our documents from our passports to our marriage certificate.

I couldn’t understand what was happening. We had done nothing wrong. Legally we have 24 hours to register with any police station after entering a town or city and usually the hotel we stay at will take care of the registration for us, especially after we have filled out all the necessary documents at the desk. I figured the police were going to try and extort some money out of us as some kind of Guangxi (patronage) for us to have the right of breathing the air and eating the food in their small town. Most of what was coming out of these drunkards was totally false and if it were true why weren’t we informed of these facts when we arrived in town.

After about an hour of having people yelling at us the big police bosses showed up and talked to me. They were surprised to see I could speak Chinese and told me that they were just here to make sure we were safe and not having any trouble in their town. I told them the only trouble we were having was from the drunk cop inside and I asked if this was a special no foreigner zone, (don’t laugh China has them… think Tibet) the officer in charge laughed and asked me who was the idiot who told me that. He said we could come and go as we please as long as our papers were in order. He had a look at my passport told the other cops to piss off and said we could return to our rooms for the night. It was quite a hair raising experience and we were happy it was over. We went up to our rooms and settled in for the night. We all decided we would get out of Huidong as soon as possible. Another early day was coming. Luckily we were told by the hotel owner that the roads to Panzhihua were much easier and we should be able to make good time.

Day 12: Aug 6, Huidong to Panzhihua, maybe to Luguhu


Today we woke up early. The incident with the police had left us with an uneasy feeling and we just wanted to get out of Huidong as quickly as was possible. Lisa was still feeling sick, but she too wanted to leave. None of us could believe what had happened the night before and none of us wanted to spend any more time in Huidong than needed. We quickly packed the bikes and headed out.
Random roadside waterfall

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The road to Huili (the half way point) was easy and quick. We were done the 70km in just over an hour. There were some rough spots but nothing that could really slow us down. The four of us thought at this pace we might be able to make Luguhu by 6 or at the latest 7 in the evening. We pressed on and when we entered Huili we asked one of the motorcycles which road we had to take to get to Panzhihua. He pointed his finger and we set off. Our early morning smooth road experience had ended. We were onto of some of the muddiest roads I’ve ever seen. The whole road for 40km was ripped up to be widened and the huge amounts of rain made this one of the largest and longest mud baths anyone could have ever imagined.

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The crappy knobby Kendas came into their own and the bikes were breezing through the mud. Some mud was half way up the side boxes and again for me it was a lot of fun. My wife also thought it was funny to see the bike flinging mud and passing everything from water buffalos, to Land rovers to big trucks with easy. The light weight of the bike, the gearing and the tires made short work of the shit road and I was quickly ahead of everything and everyone Marcus was a little uncomfortable on the loose surface and opted for a side road that was supposed to be better. We agreed to meet in Panzhihua and decide about the rest of the trip after lunch. Lisa and I were cooking. We had the road to ourselves and the bike was happy, still smoking but happy.

Marcus in mudlside traffice

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Me in mudslide traffic

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Due to Lisa’s illness and the fiasco with the police the night before I had neglected to check the oil in the bike. Honestly I just clean forgot about it. There were more important things on my mind and I thought I’d only gone 120 km, the bike couldn’t have used much oil in that short distance. Really I wasn’t too worried about it. I knew I shouldn’t have any trouble making it into Panzhihua and I was enjoying the mud.


During the road construction all the road signs had been removed and we finally realized we had missed our turn after about 30 extra kilometers. Back tracking is never fun and we were told there was a new road under construction about 15km back the way we came. The road was small and narrow and went over the peak of a small mountain but we were assured the bike could make it over. We turned around and headed back to find the short cut.


Just as we were told about 15km down the road we found the unmarked road and turned left to go up the mountain. Another shit road, the hours of mud, the illness and the extra 45km were getting to Lisa. She needed a break and I promised we would stop as soon as we got into Panzhihua. The bike made it over the mountain with ease and after pushing it under a fence we were back on the main drag headed into Panzhihua. We still had 40km to cover but it was all nice easy road. The bike should be able to do it with no problem. About an hour later we were pulling into town and the engine went dead, no electrics, no spark no nothing. I checked the batter terminals and the positive was loose. I tightened it up and the bike started right up. Another 5 km down the toad and the bike died again. I flipped it onto reserve and it started up again with no problem. Just as we were pulling into town the bike made a big screeching sound and ground to a halt. It wouldn’t start, nothing I could do would get it going. I checked the multimeter, it said 12.8v, I checked the gas, yep it had gas, then it dawned on me I hadn’t checked the oil today. I pulled out the drain plug and knew the engine was toast. Even before I looked at the dip stick I could smell the metal. The dipstick confirmed my fears, nothing, not even a drop of oil on it. Just to be doubly sure I flipped out the kickstarter and tried to turn the engine over. The only feeling and sound I got was a nasty metal on metal scrape and a lot of resistance from the friction. The Shineray was dead. That asshole in Anshun had ruined my engine so he could have his 25 RMB for the oil change and those fixers in Huize didn’t really have a clue about the right way to fix a bike and then there is me, the guy who didn’t check the oil. The only thing that wasn’t at fault was the Shineray itself. It was amazing that the battered engine had managed to get us this extra 1000km. I ripped out the cell phone and got a hold of the factory. I ordered a new engine and am now stuck in Panzhihua for 4 days. It’s not all bad thought, this gives Lisa time to recover from her illness and gives me time to get up to date on work, ride reports, photos and emails. Marcus and Lynn pressed on to Luguhu. I hope we’ll be able to catch up to them soon.

Sorry not many photos today. The bike trouble, sick Lisa and road conditions meant the shutter button was on the back burner.

I’m waiting for the new engine now. I should be back on the road again in 4 days. Fingers crossed

Day 13-17: August 7-11, Stuck in Panzhihua
The past 4 days have been a major bore. I have been stuck in a hotel room waiting for and engine to arrive from the factory. The wait has been rough. No one likes taking a massive break from their vacation, but this one does bring some good connotations. The wait has allowed my wife to recover from her illness and has allowed me to prepare more for the rest of the trip and get caught up to date on the ride report.

Panzhihua itself as a city isn’t bad. Nice mountains flank the city on all sides but there really isn’t much to see or much to photograph. The people are nice, and the city is probably one of the lowest cost places in all of China. A taxi ride starts at 4 RMB and that 4 RMB will take you 3 kilometers. The relative lack of interesting areas and touristic style attractions were beneficial to the rest we both needed. Now our batteries are charged again and we’re roaring to go today.

I got a call this morning telling me the engine was in the bike and I could come pick it up whenever I was ready. I ran outside, hopped in a taxi and spent my 4 RMB to get to the fixer’s place. I looked at the bike and wasn’t completely happy with what I saw, but I decided not complain and that I would fix it myself when I got back to the hotel. I threw on my jacket, gloves and helmet and rode back to my room.

When I arrived at the hotel I noticed the bike wouldn’t start, I checked the battery with my multi-meter, all was good at 12.8v. I checked the terminals and noticed they were loose. I tightened the screws, pushed the starter button, still nothing from the starter. I touched the wires and they were cooking. I took the side panel off the bike to look at the solenoid and what did I find. The wire running from the solenoid to the starter was somehow wrapped around the exhaust pipe and had melted on the ride back to the hotel. I fixed the wire and all was good. In total the fixed bike came back with, every possible loose bolt, an incorrectly installed seat, a wire wrapped around the exhaust pipe, battery box missing a bolt, the engine short one engine mount bolt, the gas tank wasn’t on correctly and the chain had been tightened incorrectly. All in all it took me close to 6 hours to go over the bike and refix all of the fixed problems. By the time I was done it was too late to push on to Luguhu. Tomorrow might be rough, the forecast calls for massive amounts of rain in the region. All the roads to Luguhu are marginal at best and during rain storms are places you really don’t want to be. Rockslides and mudslides are common place. If the weather is bad, we might have to delay again. The waiting is starting to drain us. We really want to get back on the road tomorrow.

Day 18: Aug 12, Panzhihua to Luguhu or someplace else.

Last night Lisa and I had a serious talk about our future vacation plans. We talked about where to go, time remaining and whether or not to wait out the forecasted bad weather or to cut out Luguhu and press on to Lijiang. When we woke up at 7:00am we checked the weather, it didn’t look good. We decided early that Luguhu was out of the question and we started to think about going to Lijiang instead. The road to Lijiang was also filled with mountain passes, but according to the people we asked in Panzhihua the road was much better than the road to Luguhu. We talked about it until about 9:00am and decided not to wait any longer. The rain had started, but there really wasn’t anything for us to see and do in Panzhihua and we had spent almost a week here. We packed the bike, threw on the raingear and started out on the road.

Total distance to Lijiang was 267km. We expected to make good time even in the bad conditions and make it to Lijiang around 3:00 or 4:00, just in time to find a decent place to stay, get cleaned up and go get a nice dinner.

As we left Panzhihua, it was raining, not much but raining. We were optimistic that we would be in drizzle for most of the day. Sadly, we were wrong. After 30 minutes on the road the angry skies let loose on us and the little Shineray. The rain was intense, visibility was low and the temperature was dropping as we climbed the mountains. The rain was bad, but the fog was worse. As we climbed the mountains we found ourselves in the middle of the dense rain clouds. Clouds so dense visibly was at best 4 to 5 meters. Luckily the road was good and lined with trees. Anything less and we would have been in real trouble, going was slow, about 20kmph, but at least we were going. Every once in a while we would emerge from the cloud to see the crazy mountain roads we were on. Massive voids of space framed the road. I mean massive, sheer drops of 500m were a great reminder to keep speeds down and to stay alert on these roads.

As we pressed on we made our way down the mountain into a valley. This was amazing. One road about 15km long lined with 1 or 2 waterfalls every kilometer and a raging river on the valley floor. I was shocked that up until now we hadn’t encountered any mudslides and I was even more shocked at the lack of traffic on this major road. Then all of a sudden we came along one of the worst traffic jams I had ever seen. There was a 15km long line of trucks, all empty with the drivers all standing outside chatting and eating. The bike made its way up the empty lane. Passing what seemed like an endless stream of driverless trucks eventually coming upon one of the worst landslides I had ever seen. The whole road had been washed away and heavy equipment was busy clearing a path for temporary use. We waited for a few hours; the workers were having trouble in the rain. The soft, deep mud made things difficult and the road crews were weary of letting any vehicles try to transverse the deep, muddy road.

As the road was getting flatter one of the army guys directing traffic pointed at my bike and told me to give it a go. I nodded my head; Lisa got off the bike and agreed to walk through the mud. This mud was deep the bike got stuck 3 times and dropped once. The road workers had to help push the bike through the thick shit like mud. Ten minutes after I started I had gotten through the 100m stretch of road, Lisa climbed back on the bike and we started back on the road to Lijiang. I doubt any of the other, larger heavy vehicles made it through. I didn’t want to hang around to watch. It was still raining hard, I was cold and I wanted to make it to Lijiang as early as possible.

The rest of the trip was wet and cold, but happily uneventful. The roads were foggy, but the mudslide kept traffic to a minimum. We finally arrived in Lijiang just before 6:00pm. It had taken us 9 hours to ride the 270km to Lijiang. We were here, we were cold and wet and we needed to find a hotel.

As we made our way into the city we were stopped by the police. They wanted to know why my motorcycle wasn’t wearing a license plate. I told them it was a new bike and that I had 30 days from the time of purchase to register the bike. They looked at my odometer, it read 3400km, they didn’t believe me the bike was new. They also didn’t believe me the bike was mine. They asked me to produce the documents for the bike. I told them I didn’t have them. I told them the factory was holding them for me until I got back to Guangzhou and that if they needed to see them I could have them faxed to them at their office. They told me to get off the bike and go to the police station. I told them I couldn’t get off the bike because no one there was tall enough to ride the bike to the police station. After a long heated discussion and having three police officers make fools of themselves trying to get on the bike they agreed to let me ride it to the police station if Lisa went with them in the police car. I agreed and off we went.
When we got to the police station they asked us about our documents, we told them that we could provide them with the documents they requested through a fax, but they would have to wait until tomorrow because the factory office had closed already. They made me sign some statements saying that I was riding a bike with no plate and effectively that I had broken the law. If I didn’t sign the papers I would not have been allowed to leave the police station and I would not be able to get my bike back after I had produced the papers they wanted to see. I was pissed. I had done nothing wrong and I was well within the 30 days I am allotted by Chinese law. Really I had broken no laws and I told them they were the first police to give me any kind of trouble in the 3400km I had covered up to this point. They just laughed and said I could have the bike back after I showed them the documents and after I paid a small fine.

I was really angry and asked them why they even bothered to stop me. They told me they are stopping all foreigners on all motorcycles because some American guy who was here on vacation last month rented a bike in Lijiang, picked up a girl and proceeded to ride himself and his girl off a mountain road killing them both. They are now cracking down on motorcycle rentals in Lijiang and making sure that all motor vehicles are all registered correctly and that the people in control of the motor vehicles also have the required documentation. And because of this and because my papers were not on my person and were at the factory I was still subject to a fine of 500 RMB. I was really pissed. I had done nothing wrong, I was cold, I was hungry, I had a difficult 9 hour ride earlier in the day and now I was being forced to sit in a police station and pay a fine for no real reason. I was being extorted. I knew this and my wife knew this. One of the officers told me they stop all foreigners on bikes or in cars now because they know 9 out of 10 don’t have the papers they need and that the police can make a lot of money from the fine. In Lijiang the fine for riding a bike without a license is now 2000 RMB. If they can get that 9 times in one day the police can make a lot of extra cash for their own pockets.

After about 4 hours of talking to the officers I was told I could go find a hotel, but that I had to leave the bike there until they saw the fax from the factory. I agreed and Lisa and I took the luggage off the bike and set out to find the first hotel we could. We found a clean place, not far from the police station and not far from the old town for a cool 80 RMB. It had been a rough day. We hadn’t eaten anything since 9:00am and we were tired and angry. We had showers at the hotel and went out for dinner. It was now 11:00pm and we had a hard time finding a place to eat. We finally managed to find a burger at a nice little pub in town.

We weren’t looking forward to tomorrow. We had to go back to the police station, show our fax and pay our fine.

We didn’t take any photos today. The weather conditions meant the camera had to stay wrapped up for the entire journey. I’ll head out with the camera tomorrow.
If you ride into Lijiang make sure you have all your papers with you. The police are stopping everything now and if you don’t have what you need you’re asking for a lot of trouble.

Day 19: Aug 13, Lijiang – back to the police station and to the old town

Today we woke up at 8:00 am; we had to get to the police station before 10:00 to take care of the crazy fine I was hit with the day before. Lisa and I made our way to the police station. We called the factory and had them fax the needed documents. We had hoped that after producing the documents they wanted they would drop the fine and drop tear up the papers I was forced to sign the day before. After they saw the papers nothing changed. I asked them why and was told it was because I didn’t have the papers at the time I was stopped. I said they can see that myself and the bike are both 100% legal; they shook their heads and said I still had to pay the fine. Rather than fight these crooks I paid the fine and was told I take the bike whenever I wanted. I said I would leave it at the station until we were ready to leave town because I didn’t want to be extorted by them for any more money. I will pick up the bike tomorrow when we get out of town.

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After all the bullshit at the police office Lisa and I wanted to relax. We made our way into Lijiang’s old town to take some photos, have some lunch and do some shopping. Lijiang is really an amazing place. The city is full of old Chinese architecture, running streams and good food. It’s no wonder this place has received world heritage status. If it weren’t for the police we would have really be enjoyed the city, but we were still a little bitter.

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Probably the world's ugliest dog. A bald British Bulldog....

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We had our lunch, did our shopping and took our photos. By the end of the day we were starting to feel better about Lijiang.

Tomorrow we planned to switch hotels and move into the old town. The place we were staying was like a dungeon at best. We needed to pick up our spirits and really needed a change of habitation.
Lijiang is a beautiful place. I’ll spend a few days here with the camera trying to get as many nice photos as I can.

Some night pics from Lijiang

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Day 21: Aug 15, Lijiang to Dali for the Fire Festival

Yesterday had been a rough day. The weather had kept us indoors. It was cold and wet and we decided to take the time to relax. We were expecting more of the same weather today and when we woke up the forecast hadn’t lied to us. Just like yesterday there was lots of rain and lots of cold. I hopped online and checked the weather. All it said was more of the same. I was getting disheartened. I had left the bike at the police station because the parking was free and I was sure the place was safe. Today was Saturday and I knew that if I didn’t go pick up the bike I wouldn’t be able to get it on Sunday. Ten am rolled around and I decided, even with the shit weather that I’d go get the bike so we could leave early tomorrow morning.

I grabbed my helmet, gloves and jacket and went outside to find a cab. When I was in the cab on the way to the police station the rain stopped. The skies were still gray, but at least the rain had stopped. I paid my money, got out of the cab and wondered into the police station for the 4th time in 4 days. I unlocked the bike, popped the key in the ignition and just like that the sun popped out from behind the clouds. I started the bike up and rode back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and my wife. It was getting late in the day, but it had been a long time since we had nice ridding weather and I didn’t want to waste it.

Lisa was happy. The sun was shining and it meant we could get out of Lijiang and head down the road to Dali. Lijiang had been a beautiful city, but really didn’t seem that welcoming. We were happy to leave and even happier to see the sun. We checked out of the hotel and by noon we were on the road. We had about 220km to cover to get to Dali, but the roads were major roads and rumored to be in great shape.

The kilometers rolled by on the pristine blacktop. We were making great time and by 3:30 we had arrived in Dali, found a hotel and were looking for a place to eat our first meal of the day. Walking down the old streets in Dali we noticed a lot of people setting up torches for the fire festival in the evening. We had heard about this day during the past few weeks and were excited to know that tonight was the night the fire festival would be happening.

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Our idea for the festival couldn’t have been any further than the reality we would experience. In some cities and in some parts of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan when people enjoy the fire festival they usually have a dance, sing some songs and enjoy the evening. Here in Dali though, it was all out war. Everyone was running around with torches and gun powder. When you walked by the torches people would throw gun powder on to the fire and scare the shit out of everyone. I was amazed at what I saw. It looked like complete carnage. There was fire being thrown everywhere and at everyone.

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At one point some people thought they’d be really smart and try to ride their bikes through the “festival” as the people threw fireballs at the bikers one of the bikes was forced to stop and the following bike crashed into the leader at a good speed. They picked up their bikes quickly and rode off.

Here is a photo of the bikes smashing into each other and the bike's headlight exploding.

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I ran around with the camera for a couple of hours trying to capture what I was seeing and experiencing. It was ludicrous. If anyone wants to experience something completely nuts and completely other worldly you have to make it to Dali for the 15th of August for the fire festival.