Rofl I am not sure either but I know what will be my reply :deal:Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
Thanks of the great report fellas!
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Rofl I am not sure either but I know what will be my reply :deal:Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
Thanks of the great report fellas!
This is a very good route. I was the first 2 times to come here. I appreciate your photo. But to tell you a "safe driving" Chinese called "carefully made years boat." I don't know if this is correct. Because we both have the same car. So for your posts very interested.
Lorne,
surely one of the best reports on this site, if not THE best :thumbsup:
The route, the pics, the story, ... I wish I had the time to do a similar :riding:
Is there more to come :rolleyes1:
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the compliment, I have 3 more days to add to the story. Pictures are done, but still need to do a little more writing. This is going to sound terrible, but I haven't got this finished because I've been spending so much of my time getting ready for a two month USA tour that starts July 14. :riding: Occasionaly I even go to work and accomplish something :rolleyes1:.
I think one of the funny things about writing this report is how much I have learned since it ended. I spent quite a few hours on Google Earth and Wikipedia reading about many of the places we went and what we saw. We pushed really hard, and I'm happy with how far we made it, but sometimes it's nice to stop, read the signs, and actually know what the heck it is you're looking at.
Cheers!
ChinaV
Hi Lorne,Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
I fully agree to that. There is always the conflict between getting as many as possible miles under the wheels, having fun on riding in different landscapes - and - riding around and getting actually to know something about places and people. If you look carefully around, in many RRs you can see what remains of each trip, no matter how ride focused it was, it's always the interference with people, which lasts longer in the memory than any road or track (well, that's except maybe when one has to watch his bike sliding off the edge of the road into...).
For that reason I am trying (it's hard) to change my trips from "less miles' to learn and prepare in advance and "stay a bit at places". Not easy if your plan is to get to a remote area and time is mostly the limiting factor.
Hope to see those last 3 days coming before you are off.
Cheers,
AW.
Maintaining a leisurely pace on bike in China is particularly difficult, as the highway riding is not an option in most cases. Attempt to reach an interesting spot usually costs you lots of junk miles on minor roads, which are highly taxing on the rider considering all kind of hazards along the way: the pedestrians, the goats, the dogs, the trucks, sometimes unbelievably lousy road conditions, road constructions, pollution, Kamikaze drivers....., all without much scenery to compensate for.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pfaelzer
Trying to get to where we want to be quickly is why we rush on the road. From Shanghai, where I reside, it takes at least 5 hours to see anything interesting. If highway riding is allowed, it would have shaved at lease half of the time. Unfortunately this reality is what we must contend with for now.
Sorry AW, your English is usually excellent and better than mine but you do NOT want to admit you 'interfere' with people, that usually means the things that Priests do a lot of with choir boys ... a better word is 'intercourse' but that gets similar laughs for other reasons so maybe, just 'relationships'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pfaelzer
I agree, since I hurt my back again recently I have been riding at 60 kph to avoid potholes and bumps; it is far more relaxing and I see things locally I wouldn't usually see. I have time to sit up and look around and even wave to neighbours.
It is a shame we don't realise these things when younger, I have travelled all over Europe and all the memories of roads are the same, black with white lines stretching out in front of you in a speed blur!
But I remember all the people I stayed and ate with in villages and small towns for the rest of my life. I stayed in the Rhineland in small villages during the mid sixties which was not that long after the war of course and sat and looked through photo books of soldiers lost. For a young English boy raised on stories of my own Father and Uncles as English soldiers, that was an experience that taught me a lot about common humanity. Very fine, decent folk down your way.
Teaches you a lot, the kind of travel where you stop and look and meet folk rather than just drive by and wave.
Day 13
Apologies for the long delay folks, lets get rolling again.
I tossed and turned throughout the night, a combination of elevation, cold, and howling dogs made sleep almost impossible. I was happy to see first light, and crawled out from under the covers to head for the outhouse. The only positive thing I will ever say about China squatters,... at least you don't have a cold seat when the temperature is -4º C (25ºF). As the sun slowly made its way over the hills, I could feel it warming up and was greeted with the most stunning view of snow capped mountains and grasslands.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h173.jpg
We had a very simple goal for the day, 200 kilometers on G318, stock up on provisions, and make camp at a "secret spot" CrazyCarl introduced me to in 2008. The weather changes quickly on the plateau, and it wasn't looking good as dark grey clouds began rolling in.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h174.jpg
We made our way down G318, a shit road that will challenge the suspension of any vehicle. Deep ruts from thousands of overloaded trucks kept things interesting, and just to be sure you never relaxed, dozens of 4X4 Land-cruisers blasted by with the arrogance only the wealthy can posses.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h175.jpg
As we approached the turnoff for the campsite, I realized the town we were supposed to resupply in was nothing more than a single concrete building without food or water. It was still quite early, so we decided to head for the site and figure out the provision issue later. The wind was howling while we searched for a spot, and we hoped something would offer shelter from the huge gusts blowing across the plateau.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h177.jpg
After staking our claim, I decided to be the supply guy and headed out to see what I could find. I rode for an hour, then came upon a child eating candy and asked where she got it. She pointed at a house and her grandmother shouted out to the owner to let me in. You would never have guessed this was the general store for the village, it looked no different from the other houses, and there were no signs of any kind. There was almost no inventory, but they did have plenty of beer. I tried to explain that I wanted bottled water, but they just looked at me as if to say, "what kind of idiot would pay money for water in a bottle?" After a little discussion, they brought some empty orange juice containers and filled them with hot water from the kettle on the stove. Boiled water in a reusable container, who'd have thought that would work? God help the water industry if that secret ever gets out. I noticed a huge pile of firewood and asked if I could buy some, they helped me load my bike with as much as I could carry and insisted on giving it to me instead of taking payment. I paid for the beer and other items and thanked them, by this time most of the village had gathered and I can just imagine the discussion that went on after I left.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h178.jpg
As I pulled into camp, the boys were standing there in awe of the scenery and practically frozen. They were elated at seeing all of the firewood and beer and we set out to make some dinner.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h179.jpg
Fine dining at 4400 meters (14,435 feet).
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h180.jpg
Just as dinner was ready, the wind died down and we went from surviving to camping. It became very quiet and the setting sun would poke through the clouds, occasionally illuminating the giant peaks off in the distance. This was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip and camping there was one of my best experiences ever in China.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h182.jpg
Although we had plenty of wood, we didn't have plenty of oxygen. After many attempts at getting the fire to go, we finally resorted to gasoline. Even that would just die after several seconds of giant flames, so Felix spent the better part of an hour blowing on the coals. Somehow he finally managed to get it going. Caveman TV...my favorite.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h181.jpg
Cheers!
ChinaV
Distance = 252 Kilometers - Time = 5:00 - Average Moving Speed = 49 kph
Wow, you are heading to the US for a 2 months trip on a bike? Is it worth it :confused1: [/JEALOUSY]Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
I am probably more the "mileage eater" since my biking record only sums up to 50k km in the PRC.
However, most things you remember are the moments of interactions with people and stunning views on beautiful scenery.
Awesome stuff CV! This is a hallmark report for MCM!
:clap:
CC
I'd rather say a benchmark for many other sites :icon10:Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyCarl
Day 14
There are mornings, and then there are mornings you will never forget. The temperature had dropped to -6º C (21º F) and I tried to keep warm as I crawled from my tent. Daniel and I were up at the same time and we both sat there, silent, in awe, as we sipped coffee and took in the amazing scenery. No picture will do it justice, no words can really describe it. Have a click on the photo for a larger view of what we woke up to.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/ma...h183_Small.jpg
The three of us struggled to get packed up and ready for the day. Every few moments we would stop for air as the 4400 meters (14,435 feet) of elevation quickly took our breath away. As soon as it was back, a glimpse of the magnificent scenery would just take it away again. We finally got our bikes packed up and headed off to find breakfast. We had two days left to make it to Chengdu, and it was decided that G318 was not the way to end such a fine trip. I plotted a route north to Danba and then east on S303 to avoid G317 and G318. 600 kilometers (373 miles) in two days should be a piece of cake, right?
A quick 1000 meter (3,280 ft) descent to Xinduqiao brought us to the junction of S215. It was nice to get off of G318 and the road started out in very good condition.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h184.jpg
Tiny farms and villages dotted the landscape. The bikes were running much better at 3500 meters (11,482 ft) and the sunshine was warming us up.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h185.jpg
Another 25 kilometers down the road and we hit construction, the rest of the morning we pretty much stayed on dirt. Fortunately, most of the commercial vehicles use other roads and we experienced very little traffic.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h186.jpg
A brief stop in Tagong to regroup and have a look at some of the buildings.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h187.jpg
You can see an interesting blend of Han and Tibetan influence in the architecture.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h188.jpg
Heading out of town we passed the Muya golden pagoda. Over 100 kg (220 lbs) of pure gold covers the building to commemorate the 10th Panchen Lama. Since the 10th Panchen Lama received his title from the National People's Congress (Chinese government), you will usually see his picture being displayed at religious centers instead of "the other Lama".
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h190.jpg
Horses waiting for tourists.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h191.jpg
Daniel in front of Mount Yala's 5,800 meter peak.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v192.jpg
Somewhere along S215 I stopped to enjoy a powerbar and the quiet solitude of the grasslands.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v193.jpg
Climbing into the mountains again and the bikes were losing power. We could almost guess the elevation just by listening to the engine struggle with the lean condition.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v194.jpg
Another view of Mount Yala, this time from the western side.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v195.jpg
Between Bamei and Danba, S303 was just magnificent. As we descended down the mountains, a whitewater river roared along side us and every corner just kept getting better and better.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h196.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h197.jpg
The deeper we went into the canyons, the more lush the vegetation became.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v198.jpg
And the faster the river would run.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h199.jpg
We had been in Sichuan for the last six days, but mostly in the Tibetan part of the province. Now we were making our way back into Han areas and more and more villages were populating the hillsides.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h200.jpg
We reached the small town of Xiaojin at 5:15 and had to stop for the day. We were 50 kilometers short of where we wanted to be, but we just weren't sure if we would find another place to sleep further up the road. A light rain started to fall and that pretty much sealed the deal. We found a dumpy little binguan with indoor parking and called it an early night so we could make up time the next morning.
We all slept soundly knowing the traffcpouce was across the street keeping us safe.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h201.jpg
Cheers!
ChinaV
Distance = 232 Kilometers - Time = 7:38 - Average Moving Speed = 49 kph
Dear ChinaV,
Goodness gracious. This just keeps getting better and better. I remember ringing your mobile just as the three of you were trying get on the road for this epic ride. I was thinking then this was just a shake-down ride to see how the Galaxy might do on an aggressive tour. I think none of us in this forum was thinking this ride would yield such an amazing body of reporting! Your pictures are taking my breath away even as I sit here at sea level in an office chair.
Keep it coming!!!
cheers
Thanks Euphonius, somehow I never imagined it would take longer to write the report than it did to make the trip :lol8:
Cheers!
ChinaV
Well that just goes to show there's a lot to say! :thumbsup:
I particularly enjoy this last entry because it was my old stomping grounds. Nice to see they haven't changed all that much! That was a real good call to take 317 back... what a 100% better experience. Less traffic and all farm valley up to this rediculous 4300+meter pass just before dropping into the Chengdu basin. People have gotten rocked by weather real hard at that pass... and what a crazy descent down through the WoLong forest before reaching the hills and flatland.
And can I get a hell yeah for the Gonga mountain range.. it's like "Where the hell did THAT come from!?" :clap: Just for some perspective... this is what it looks like from the east side. Some people have died climbing it and it was once the center for a small kingdom in the area. There's still a temple at the base of the glacier but it's only accessible by foot. Further north along the range, it gets a little less rocky and there's lots of pristine forest there. I think it's that area you can find the "Golden Monkeys". It would make for a sweet back yard! :lol8:
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-19.jpg
Thanks for all the effort you've put into this. It's a lot of work!
:riding:
CC
Hey CC, I think you meant to say S303, not 317 . I don't recommend 317/318 as they just plain suck. Especially 317 near Chengdu, the whole thing is torn to shreds as they are building an elevated train line above it. Funny thing, as we were going through here I mentioned to Felix and Daniel that I couldn't figure out why the heck you chose to take 318 back to Chengdu during our little 2008 trip. When we reached the earthquake damage, I then remembered all these roads were closed from 2008 until recently, and that was the only way you could get back home at the time.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyCarl
We will get to Balang Shan in the upcoming post, and yes, it did kick our ass :eekers:. You were indeed one lucky S.O.B. to live so close to all that beauty.
Cheers!
ChinaV
So when you going to do a ride around Yichang or Hubei so I can ninja my way in and join ya. lol
You're right it's S303. I spent so much time on 303 that I only went on the actual 317 only 3 or 4 times on bike. The actual 317 is still a better than 318 but theyve' started to dam up the once pristine river that ran along it. Should be some newly sealed pavement there now though since they had to build a higher road to get above the new water level. 303 is a much better way to get to the western half of 317 which, BTW is also friggin' beautiful. Plently o' passes there and much less traffic than 318 to the south.
You know.. one could always open a "sattellite" office in Chengdu! :mwink:
:riding:
CC
OK, I'll bite: What would be the ideal location for a satellite office if you wanted to have easy access to these best roads in China? Has to be a major city with good connections. Chengdu? Kunming? Lhasa? Xining? Any secondary/tertiary cities?
:riding::riding::riding:
cheers!
Ningbo... hehehe :riding::riding::riding:Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
It just so happens that I am free to take up the position as 'satellite office manager' for you at present Mr. Euphonius. I have an unsavoury past, speak no Chinese; I like younger women, whiskey and cigars. I collect sharp objects, ride an unregistered R/T 'bike, wear leather, steel-capped boots and hoodies all the time. My resume can be found by inquiring at any Federal Police Office. To take this further please send a money order to my bank account (details furnished separately) and allow a small amount of time for me to find/provide a suitable passport in a nationality best suited to the requirements. I should be ideal eh?
Here the list of my satellite offices :riding:Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
January: Guangzhou
February: Nanning
March: Kunming
April: Chengdu
May: Beijing
June: Harbin
July: Baotou
August: Urumqi
September: Lhasa
October: Ningbo
Novemebr: Nadi (S 17.7630, E 177.4422)
December: Home
What?? No month when you'd choose the endless city, Shanghai???Quote:
Originally Posted by chinabiker
With qualifications like those, Mr Jape, you'd be a real asset to any organization that lays a premium on quality service, skillful execution and far-reaching impact. Might I suggest a highly influential outfit headquartered in Beijing just west of Ti@n@nmen Gate in a compound called Zhongn@nh@i?Quote:
Originally Posted by jape
Far reaching impact and skillful execution? I admire an honest government that doesn't hide from reality or behind the euphemistic 'Will of God' when it comes to such matters as power and slaughter. I shall practise more with my trusty longbow and see if I can improve my skills in 'far-reaching execution with impact' . Today the rabbits on my property just sat and laughed as sharp sticks flew around their ears. Oh well, canned chicken tonight. So, do I get the job? I really want to ride those trails.
I think I would have left China long ago if it wasn't for the weather and long riding season down here in the south. To be honest, motorcycles are the only thing that keeps me going most days. If Yunnan had the manufacturing base we have in Guangdong, I would move in a second, but then again, if it had that many factories who would want to go? I honestly don't know how you guys make it in Beijing and Shanghai, for a country bumpkin like me, both those places are just too big and crowded.
Jape, your skill set is a perfect match for the expat life. In fact, if your leather wardrobe includes assless chaps, there are many positions available. :thumbsup:
Cheers!
ChinaV
Not sure how to respond to that ... I once walked into the local pub and found a 'bloke' in those assless trousers chained to the bar with free spanking paddle laid on for anycomers. Apparantly he/she had been a naughty boy and lost a subsequent bet ... too drafty for me though mate and I am a bit old to change my ways now, will stick to the females, leather clad and spanking or not.
Day 15
The Final Day - What a long strange trip it's been.
It was an early 7:00 start for the last day of our most excellent adventure. We were roughly 300 kilometers outside of Chengdu, and had one last mountain pass we needed to summit before our final descent into the city. It rained hard the night before and there was a bit of a chill in the morning air. The roads were covered in slippery mud, so progress was slow. One hour in, we had only covered about 40 kilometers as we stopped for a picture by this interesting little town. I mentioned it was going to be another long day, we all just grinned.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h202.jpg
We passed Dawei and began our ascent into the mountains. Daniel went by and that was the last I saw of him until the other side of the mountain range. A few moments later, Felix ripped past and I managed a shot as I fumbled with my heavier gloves.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h203.jpg
I looked down at the town of Dawei through the mist and thought, damn, this is going to be an interesting 2000 meter (6,561ft) climb.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h204.jpg
And climb we did.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h205.jpg
A half hour later, I found Felix on the side of the road shivering and mumbling something about only having a t-shirt on underneath his gear. He decided that the dead cow lying frozen on the ground might be a sign it was time for some warmer clothing.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h206.jpg
I snapped a pic and moved on, pondering what people might think passing Felix in his underwear next to a dead cow.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h206a.jpg
Higher and higher, colder and colder. At this point I could barely feel my fingers and I stopped every ten minutes to grab hold of the engine and let some heat sink in. I couldn't believe we were riding in snow.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h207.jpg
Fortunately, there was construction traffic grinding the snow into a slushy mud mix. This provided just enough traction for moments of bravery during acceleration, yet sheer terror whenever applying the brakes.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h208.jpg
The wind was howling across the peaks of the mountain, and every few minutes you could catch a glimpse of blue sky through the clouds.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v209.jpg
I finally reached the summit at 4500 meters (14,763ft) and stopped for a little break. I never expected we would be on this kind of terrain only 180 kilometers from Chengdu.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h210.jpg
A few minutes later along came Felix.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h211.jpg
Shit man, this is awesome… cold, but awesome.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v215.jpg
The weather continued to tease us with brief stints of sunshine followed by heavy, thick fog. Each passing cloud made the temperature drop from a balmy 0ºC to -5ºC almost instantly.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v213.jpg
The scene looking over the other side of the pass. It's all downhill from here to Chengdu.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h214.jpg
On the eastern side of the mountains we had much less cloud cover and finally got some magnificent views.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h217.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h219.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v218.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/ma...h220_Small.jpg
And eventually discovered Daniel on the side of the road warming up in the sunshine.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h223.jpg
We also met a Chinese biker who was waiting for his friend to catch up while on their way to Tibet. We swapped a few stories and shared intel on the upcoming road conditions.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h221.jpg
Check out his Yamaha YBR125. I couldn't believe he had so much stuff on such a little motorcycle.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h222.jpg
We headed off and enjoyed about 25 kilometers of beautiful twisty blacktop. Daniel tearing up a corner.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h224.jpg
With Felix in hot pursuit.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h225.jpg
Felix enjoying the good life. We had almost forgotten what riding on regular pavement was like.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h226.jpg
Around noon we stopped for lunch and Felix found a new friend.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_v227.jpg
Our usual feed of rice, oily vegetables, oily animal carcass with little or no meat, and egg mixed with tomato. Six days of Sichuan cuisine and you basically shit lava every day. Fantastic if you're really into spicy food, torture if you're not.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h227.jpg
Our good friend on the YBR125 warned us that we were going to hit some rough spots ahead and we all just laughed. He wasn't kidding. The flatbed truck in front of us was actually sliding backwards and you can see the huge jam behind him. What you can't see is the power line hanging in the deep mud puddle near the orange truck with the open door. Daniel surprised us as he took off passing the flatbed with all of six inches to spare between the truck and the cliff. He just squeaked by, and then managed to hold the power line down with his foot while crossing the mud puddle. I looked at Felix, shrugged and then we went for it. People were shouting for us not to go and horns were beeping as Felix practically tore his saddle bag off passing the flatbed. Somehow we managed to make it, this didn't make one of the cops stuck in the traffic jam very happy and he tried to flag us down. We took off and stopped a few moments later to fix the saddlebag. That was exhilarating. I imagine they are still trying to sort that traffic jam out.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h228.jpg
We continued on our way and the road gave us a good beating with trucks and construction obstacles at every turn. We were now in Wenchuan County, the hardest hit area during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that claimed over 68,000 lives. There has been a lot of rebuilding progress over the past two years as a result of massive government funding and the strong will of the Chinese people. Total respect for all they have accomplished and deep sorrow for the loss of life and destruction.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h230.jpg
In the late afternoon we finally made it to good roads again and stopped about 40 kilometers outside of Chengdu. We would be making contact with a friend of a friend to arrange shipping our bikes home and we felt a little guilty about handing them over completely covered in China, so we found a small car wash and gave them all a good bath.
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h229.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/2010/may/may_2010_h231.jpg
The last 40 Kilometers were a tedious maze of construction and chaos. Like most of China's big cities, Chengdu is upgrading all of the major transportation routes and my navigation and GPS skills were now over their limit. Somehow we managed to find the neighborhood CrazyCarl used to live in and we checked into the Ibis hotel at almost 7:00. The only thing we cared about was finding Peter's Tex Mex on TongZiLin Dong Lu for some frozen margaritas, cold beer and delicious food. We sat there for hours reliving little details of the last 15 days and many glasses were lifted over our safe arrival in Chengdu. It was mind numbing to think that just 7 hours ago we were freezing our buts off in snow covered mountains and now we were sweating in the summer heat of the city.
So… there you have it. I think the rewards far outweighed the punishment.
I will have one more post with the final route data, GPS tracks, etc. Hope you all enjoyed our little trip and thanks for coming along via this excellent forum.
Cheers!
ChinaV
Distance = 339 Kilometers - Time = 11:14 - Average Moving Speed = 44 kph
:thumbsup:
Excellent accomplishment!
:thumbsup:
That was a remarkable accomplishment guys and thanks particularly to ChinaV for the photos and the effort in sorting and posting them and writing the stories. You have kept us amused and enthralled for a good while now. Felix in his undies with the cow was the high point! :lol8: where is the pic I just KNOW you took of that?
It seems you all spent a lot of the trip travelling separately while riding from point to point, just meeting up at rest stops and overnight. Was this by design, does it work better that way with just yourself to think about and be conscious of? Did you have FM radio contact or was it too hilly for that to work?
This last day in particular with the snow photos and that incredible rutted, muddy bit of road with the traffic jam show us what was really going on behind your humour and light-hearted approach. Some seriously real travelling. Thank goodness the gods were with you on that first 'off' so near to the bridge, they must have wanted you to continue and show us all so much of that beautiful region and the varied folk who live there. Much appreciated.