The Great Ride of China- Attempting to ride through every province in China

Really long time now since my last update. So much going on on the road now that it's been hard to keep up on posts and what not online. I have been relatively good at keeping our blog updated with photos, stats, and trip updates though, but I still thought I'd share some of the highlights of the trip so far from the nearly two months now since the last time I posted.

We are currently now in Shenzhen. Having gone to Macau and Hong Kong, we have now visited 25 of the 33 provincial level regions throughout China, including Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Guangxi.

Since the last update in Urumqi, we spent some time in Kashgar (from where I had a crazy visa related border run to Kyrgyzstan), entered Tibet on the G219 with snowstorms there to greet us, road the CF650TR up to Everest Base Camp, visited the Leshan Giant Buddha (largest stone Buddha in the world), ate some pig brains in Chengdu, and much more!

The big news for us at the moment is that as we start making our way up the coast and back up towards Beijing, we are less than 2,000km away from the official Guinness World Record for longest motorcycle journey in a single country! We hope to pass the record in the next week or so with our next stop being Fujian province and then up towards Shanghai. If there are any riders around these areas, it would be great to try and meet up and maybe even ride for a section.

Also, one of our goals for The Great Ride is not only to break a record but also to help raise money and awareness for our partner charity, China based Free Lunch for Children. You can learn more about the charity and how you can help on the donate page of our website. All proceeds go to the charity as the trip is self-funded with the support of our sponsors.

And now, some pics! Unfortunately there's a limit on number of photos we can upload here, but we've got dozens (hundreds?) more on the site if you want to check them out!

Attachment 14601Attachment 14602Attachment 14603Attachment 14604

Hey Buck (& Amy), been following along the journey etc via the great ride of Ch!na website. All great stuff. If you get this in the coming week, I have a very good m/c fanatic friend down in the lower reaches of Fujian province (near DongShan Dao). I'm sure that he'd be more than welcoming provided he hasn't done one of his fortnightly trips back up this way, so PM me if you'd like his details etc., and I'll put you two in touch. By the same token when you head up this way (NingBo, ZheJiang), give me a shout.
Shiny side up... BD

It's been great having you following along. Always nice to have the comments to contribute to the conversation and experience. That would be great to meet up when we pass through Ningbo and ditto for your friend in Fujian!

OK, got your PM. I'll send you an email shortly with both contact information... When do you expect that you might hit the border into Fujian then Zhejiang?

Ok great! Actually we're hoping to get to Fujian tomorrow actually! Want to visit the Tulou area (earth buildings). Then down to Xiamen the next day. I imagine it shouldn't be too much longer after that until we are into Zhejiang

Looks like a great ride so far. I just caught up on your trip report. Looks great so far, keep the updates coming! I'm just living through all of these posts as i'm stuck in my cubicle at work hahah.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ahernandez74

Looks like a great ride so far. I just caught up on your trip report. Looks great so far, keep the updates coming! I'm just living through all of these posts as i'm stuck in my cubicle at work hahah.

---

Glad you're enjoying the stories ahernandez! It's nice to be able to share the experience with other riders. Just I hope I'm doing it justice!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bucko

Well, it's been quite a while now since the last update on our ride here on mychinamoto but a lot has happened since the last update which left us at Xi'an.

We've now ridden through 11 provinces (1/3 of the way done!) and have passed 10,000km.

We are currently in Xinjiang province, at our most western point in Kashgar.

We visited the western end of the Great Wall in Jiayuguan

Hiked the sand dunes in Dunhuang and visited the ancient Buddha grottoes (Some beautiful desert roads on the approach to the city)

We went to one of the lowest points in earth in the Turpan Depression getting stuck in a massive sandstorm while visiting the monument at Aiding Lake

Went up a gorgeous mountain climb south of Urumqi but required 100km of riding on unpaved road climbing up to 4,600m (highest point of the trip so far).

Taking some days off now in Kashgar while we wait for our Tibet tour guide and permits. Had to go on a pretty eventful visa run to Kyrgyzstan though while we waited!

Just some quick road and riding tips:

The guys at the CFMOTO (and also Shineray) shop in Urumqi are top notch. Best of the trip so far and highly recommend if you're there and having any troubles.

Both approach roads to Dunhuang make for some beautiful riding. Empty, flat stretches of desert highway lined the whole way with melon stands

There is a lakeside road at Bositeng Lake in Xinjiang that is really nice as well but a bit windy.

The route between Turpan and Urumqi has an area that is susceptible to extremely high winds and they have a pretty famous wind farm there. Check before leaving what the wind speeds are because on good days you have to drive at 60-80km, meaning bad days are almost unrideable.

Attachment 13289Attachment 13290Attachment 13291Attachment 13292Attachment 13293

---

Nice! Look at the Wind Mills... beautiful. Thats something youdon't really expect to see in China too much.

Public Service Announcement...

Have just spent two days at CFMoto factory Hangzhou, with Jon, in support of Buck and Amy:the Great Ride of China who have broken the world record with more than 25000km completed (and counting) being the longest distance ridden by motorcycle start-finish in one country. With six more provinces, another several thousand kilometres and some cold conditions to contend with...
Congratulations Buck and Amy...
:kumbaya:


Anyway I'm sure when the two get a moment they'll be updating this thread with more accurate information etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bikerdoc

Congratulations Buck and Amy...
:kumbaya:

---

Absolutely!! This is a MAJOR accomplishment, and I wish them well, with additional success for their last part of the journey. Really great to see this done!