Yes, we do count you in.... tomorrow you're gonna be here.....Quote:
Originally Posted by richardktm
Printable View
Yes, we do count you in.... tomorrow you're gonna be here.....Quote:
Originally Posted by richardktm
Hey td_ref, I liked the ride report, some of it looks familiar. I think we should get together and ride some time, I'm sure you know some good places...maybe we can go visit Grandma?
Yes Andrea, you do need to stop polluting your mind with that stuff, didn't you read the part where it said don't try this at home?Quote:
Originally Posted by andy74rc
Next up, 3 days, 3 bikes, 3 dumb guys do more than 3 stupid things :naughty:
Cheers!
ChinaV
I still need to understand who's the dumbest, me trying to involve you doing these things or you listening to me..... :icon10::icon10::icon10:Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
Besides, I just got 12 cam buckles, where the F##K is the trailer?!?
:dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike: :dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike:
So richardktm, (Rich), andy74rc (Andrea) and ChinaV (shit for brains) decided on a couple weekends of enduro riding. This was fueled by beer, testosterone, and watching stupid moto movies like Red Bull Romaniacs. My dad always said, "don't confuse ability with ambition", should have listened to dad.
First Ride:
Rich rode all the way from Shenzhen to Dongguan on knobby tires, I think that's probably tougher than any enduro ride. The next day we took him through most of our favorite trails with only a couple minor get offs amongst the group.
Little rest at one of the many reservoirs.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/FILE0031.jpg
Andrea leading the way.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/FILE0047.jpg
Rich following along.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/FILE0052.jpg
All went well, so we decided to try again the following weekend.
Second Ride:
We started with our usual loop and then looked for some new trails.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011560.jpg
New trail found, but does it go anywhere?
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011563.jpg
Quite a bit of effort getting one bike up those steps, so we let Rich go first and do a little recon. He said it looked good, so we shlepped the other bikes up. And enjoyed a nice bit of single track.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011568.jpg
Don't make a mistake, it's a long way down on the left.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011569.jpg
Andrea cruising in style.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011572.jpg
Me plodding along.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011575.jpg
We ended up taking a lot of wrong turns looking for new trails, unfortunately we only found one good trail and it was a dead end. It was getting late, so we stopped at "the pit" and monkeyed around for a few more minutes. That's me, catching a whopping half meter of air.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011584002.jpg
Another great day followed by an amazing BBQ put on by my wife. Should of got pics, it was truly a work of art. During dinner we decided next week would be "Romaniacs", the trail that I started this thread with. It kicked our ass once, but we were convinced three guys with enough rope could get it done.
Third Ride:
It was on...I had ordered some rope, Andrea made a cool pulley, and we were headed back to kick the ass of the trail that had beaten us and left us whimpering like little girls. We went straight to the beginning of the trail. Look at how giddy that boy is, meanwhile Rich was taking a piss, must have been nerves.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011595.jpg
Off we go.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011597.jpg
The trail gets steep immediately and you have to walk the bike down. Bike is in gear, rear tire is sliding, and you nurse the front brake hoping you won't slip.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011602.jpg
Then it gets rocky and tight.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011608.jpg
And then it gets really steep.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011615.jpg
I was going to ride it, but I didn't want to damage their fragile egos.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011617.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011619.jpg
Nerves of steel, Rich rides it down a rock slope.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011633.jpg
And then we reached "the gorge".
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011642.jpg
So out came the rope and pulley and we went to work. Only two more bikes to go eh Rich.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011655.jpg
I'm happy because my bike is already down safe.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011672.jpg
We work pretty well together, and manage to get all the bikes down without incident.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011684.jpg
Now we just need to make it UP the other side.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011688.jpg
More heaving and hoeing.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011713.jpg
Exhaustion.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011716.jpg
After an hour and half, we had managed to make those critical 100 meters. Now all we had to do was wander a bit more singletrack and hopefully reach the end of the trail. A half kilometer more and we finally intersected a road. Hooray, we had conquered.
Off we went to "the pit" for a few laps and a bit more fun.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011720.jpg
Rich making friends with the mountain bikers.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011722.jpg
What's that Rich, you want to do the trail in reverse next time?
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011725003.jpg
Cheers!
ChinaV
Fantastic ride report ChinaV ... one comment and one question:
- You guys are friggin insane! Seriously, you're all nuts!
- Why does your bike always look like it just came off the showroom floor? Have you applied some special coating that dirt slides off of?
Whatever ... back to my comment ... you're all seriously crazy. :lol8:
Thanks of the very good report. I wish I could pity my pony a little less and take her to some similar stuff.
This is all completely insane, but looks fun. I think I will trade in my JH600 for 2 of those ponies.
In one of the pictures, three of you are all in the frame. Was there a forth crazy man with you guys, or was that the mountain biker taking the picture?
Great report. Thanks.
Like the mafia, you're IN the JH600 club ... you can't exit!Quote:
Originally Posted by milton
Seriously, I'm amazed by the skills that are necessary to ride bikes in those conditions. No way I can do that. I wish there was a training program in China, as I'm sure serious off-road riding skills migrate to road riding (99.9999% of my experience and activity). It would be great to know how to ride OVER cars, instead of around them, in Beijing traffic. And also how to pulley my bikes up to my apartment.
These guys are extreme to the max. We take a written exam to get our road license - they write the DSM4! :lol8:
Haha, that poor guy looks terrified! It actually looks like Rich is going straight for him; what happened 2 seconds after this shot?Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
It looks like you guys have an amazing playground.
Love the pics.
I was beeping my horn at the mountain biker, and my bike is bigger than his, so i had right of way.. right?:thumbsup:
Sure ChinaV, I ride sololy here, and love to ride somewhere with a exotic buddy, if you weren't mind underwhelming (I'm not sure MZ is impressive, but hilly). PM me if you are visiting MZ.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
TD
Attachment 4096Attachment 4097Attachment 4098Attachment 4099Attachment 4100Hi all fellow MCM riders. Here are some details about a ride i did over the May holidays.
I managed to score 8 days holiday in total and decided that a trip back to my old stomping ground of Yangshuo was in order. It turned out that I was able to leave SZ on thursday the 28th april. Do a quick run up there with Mr and Mrs chinaV and meet some old friends and hang out, then ride east across to northern Guangdong and hook up with some more friends out on a week long ride up to Shuoguan and then back down to shenzhen and be back for work on saturday the 7th of May, all relaxed and ready for business... hmmmm
Thursday I woke up early, i start work at 1pm, and got my shit together, supermotard wheels, tools, bike gear and some spare clothes. chinaV was picking me up about 10pm after work and we drove to his house to prep my bike, change the wheels, wire in a usb charger, we called it a night, late after a few beers and mosquito bites.
Friday and we were off, not quite early but hey we'd allowed two days riding which was plenty of time, ten minutes in to the ride and it was raining, an hour later and it was pissing it down as we say in yorkshire.. note to self Rich, when someone offers you a high quality full rain suit when the forcast says rain all week, accept it!!
Is it just me or does it rain on you guys when you take off you rain gear and the sun comes out as soon as you put it back on?
Man that vstrom can boogie, but thrashing my little galaxy 250 i could just about keep him in sight if he rode at a very steady pace..."i've never had such good fuel economy on this bike!" was Lorne's comment late in the day.
Meanwhile my bike was vibrating it self to bits, the front pipe came loose twice and the end can was ejecting rivets at an alarming rate, i found out in Yangshuo that my top engine mount had snapped and the exhaust was resting on the frame!!
Saturday was bright and dry and we had a great ride to Yangshuo along some twisties following the new railtrack to Gullin for some of the way, i changed my oil and tightened my exhaust in the morning and was getting to grips with sat nav for the first time on a bike, i can't believe it taken me so long but I am totally sold on it now, so easy:riding: so now i will probably crash looking at google maps instead of at the hot girl with long legs haha
I found a hotel for the night and hit the bars for a few beers and to catch up with old friends.
A friend offered me his old apartment for 3 days while he was out of town so i decided to stay in yangshuo for 3 days and relax a bit and fix my bike.
More to come later
cheers rich:thumbsup:
Rich has already got the story rolling, so I'll just add a few pics and comments. There's also a bit more from the Shenzhen boys here. And my very first ride report about Yangshuo here.
This is the route we took during our five day holiday. The first two days (pink & blue) were with Rich, the green line we did alone and Rich also did alone a couple days later. The red track was our final day going home. Download the KML here.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/mapmay2011.jpg
We have no pictures from the first day, as Rich already pointed out, it never stopped raining. Fortunately, day two was a bit better. We kept our rain-suits on so as not to tempt fate.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090753.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090764.jpg
Our first stop very close to the border of Guanxi and Gaungdong.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090741.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090769.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011732.jpg
The usual mix of quiet country roads.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011739.jpg
And busy city streets.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011752.jpg
Stop for lunch.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090785.jpg
The menu.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090791.jpg
The cook.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090789.jpg
Another short break as we ditched the main road and headed into the countryside.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011784.jpg
Great picture taken by my wife.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011797.jpg
High speed train construction on the right.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011803.jpg
Water buffalo hanging out on the left.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011806.jpg
And a foreigner wandering the countryside. Interesting times we live in here.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011805.jpg
Wonder what they think of it all?
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011811.jpg
This place would be so much better with a high speed train and a WallMart.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011836.jpg
Bad roads go to good places.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011842.jpg
Plenty of rice farming and Karst peaks in the distance.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011848.jpg
After one last rain shower we finally reached the town of Yangshuo and this beautiful rainbow appeared.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090800.jpg
Looks better with a bike in the picture.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090807.jpg
And we end the day with everyone standing around picking their noses as those hard working government folks roll into town. Heaven forbid they ever experience traffic, that's harmony, bringing a whole town to a standstill so a few privileged people can get to their hotel 10 minutes faster.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011855.jpg
We relaxed and feasted with friends the next day. A big thanks to fellow MCM'er Mfpthebronze. Joe and his wife Sally saved our bacon by finding great accommodations during the busy holiday weekend. Thanks for making Yangshuo so easy for us :bowdown:
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011859.jpg
We decided to leave the next day and head for Ruyuan to meet some of the other Shenzhen bikers. We got lucky with the weather, clouds and rain surrounded us, but the sunshine followed the road.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090815.jpg
And oh what a beautiful road. Lots of waterfalls and other great scenery.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011870.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011874.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011885.jpg
I must say that G323 in northwest Guangdong kicks ass. One of the few G roads worth riding.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011896.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090821.jpg
Don't look down.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090826.jpg
We finally met up with the Shenzhen faction of MCM and headed into the town of Ruyuan for beers and dinner.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011909.jpg
Biker gang.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011913.jpg
Group photo before our departure the next day.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/1090832.jpg
We have no pictures from the last day, it started drizzling five minutes after we left the hotel and by the time we hit Dongguan I was wishing for a jet ski. Overall, 2 days of dry and 2 days of hard rain. Oh well, still better than a day at the office :riding:
Trip Data
Apr 29 - 302km Time 05:53 Average Speed 66.00 km/h
Apr 30 - 289km Time 06:58 Average Speed 61.49 km/h
May 02 - 448km Time 07:00 Average Speed 75.25 km/h
May 03 - 347km Time 04:42 Average Speed 83.09 km/h
Total = 1,386 kilometers
Cheers!
ChinaV
That's my favorite :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
Impressive average on May 3rd :eekers:Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
Seem to be quite some "Pearl River Delta" riders around :icon10:
Fantastic ride report ChinaV, tx.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
I was completely mesmorized by the above photo ... so incredible ... so amazing ... so interesting ...
NOT the girl ... no no no ...
LOOK ... there is DIRT on a ChinaV bike!!!!!!!!! :eekers: :eekers: :eekers: :eekers: :eekers:
Hmmmmm - he is human after all!
Makes me want to move from Beijing to south China. Such better views down there. Nice report.
:clap::clap::clap:
Great pictures as always. It captures nicely the experience in riding around in China. It really adds greatly if you can get the Misses to take some pix from the "back-seat". some really nice shots from that angle.
Ride on...
AW.
Hardy Har Har… It does end up looking like this after most rides.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
http://www.contactdi.com/2011/CX12273.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/2011/SX12049.jpg
And she has seen a fair amount of abuse in the last 41,000 kms.
http://www.contactdi.com/2011/IMG0134.jpg
After reading Chinabiker's last report, I almost thought about going to Beijing.Quote:
Originally Posted by GJN
http://photos.imageevent.com/chinabi...0506110423.JPG
:eekers:
Which is in stark contrast to this thread where the guys in Shanghai still haven't come up with a decent ride less than 3 hours from the city after 27 posts. :eek2:
Thanks AW, iPod and camera keeps the missus entertained on most rides and I really enjoy having her along. I'm blessed to have a wife that likes adventure. :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Pfaelzer
Cheers!
ChinaV
Excellent ride report ChinaV. Thanx again. Your photo's are always top notch. I agree, it is a real blessing to have a missus who enjoys the bike. For my wife it's all about the destination rather than the the thrill of the ride. I'm hoping the bug'll bite eventually.
I still think that you're rubbing it in a bit tho, we all know that Shanghai sucks for motorcycles but at least us poor Shanghai riders are trying to work with what we've got. I think the fellas in Shanghai should use this comment as a call to arms and get out there and prove fun can be had on two wheels no matter where you are. Felix, Euphonius etc, you're not standing for that are you surely?
Euphonius, are you gonna take this lying down? ?Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
Those expressways look awfully tempting to me. In less than 3 hours we can get to ........
Great pics ChinaV, as always your reports are highly appreciated on this forum. Funny how green your pictures are compared to the ones in Chinabiker's recent reports. I prefer the weather in chinabiker's reports.
A general thanks to both of you for reminding us shanghai boys what a shithole we're stuck in....
My wife is mostly interested in the scenery and restaurants. The destination is important, but the restaurant at the destination is more important. One valuable thing I learned early in our relationship was to feed her often (every 4 hours). As long as she's not hungry, she pretty much enjoys the ride, although hundreds of tight turns can make her a bit queasy, so I have to slow it down.Quote:
Originally Posted by dewsnap
I'm just picking on you Shanghai folks because I thought it was funny when I read Milton's quote:
There are a lot of things you guys have in Shanghai that we will probably never get down here in Dongguan. Access to freeways and license plates come to mind, along with good foreign restaurants. I know most people choose to live there for professional reasons, not for the scenery, I wish you guys all the best in breaking free of the concrete jungle and finding some riding paradise. :riding:Quote:
Originally Posted by milton
Cheers!
ChinaV