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DAY 30 - The MKRIDE team has safely arrived in Kashgar, China. Today we rode 288km from Tashgorkan to Kashgar along the Karakoram Highway. The team will enjoy a rest day in Kashgar tomorrow. To be honest the team is still pretty spent from it's difficult day up to the Pakistan border. A rest day is seriously needed.
DAY 31 - The MKRIDE ride team is sleeping in Kashgar today. We are still pretty roughed up from our snow storm experiences on the border of China and Pakistan. Must rest needed before we prepare for our journey home.
DAY 35 - Sorry, we went radio silent for a few days there because of the lack of internet access, there is no Day 32/33/34 update. The MKRIDE team is safely on the border of Xinjiang and Tibet province. The 219 highway has been intense to say the least: thick gravel, sand, pot holes the size of SUV’s, flooded roads, etc, etc, etc. In other words, it is off-road riding heaven!! We have had to camp out several nights and have spent most days riding above 4500m. We will not have regular Internet access so please be patient with our updates. And, thank you again for following our journey.
DAY 36 - The MKRIDE team safely arrived today in Ali, Tibet. Ryan and Colin enjoyed their first day of riding in Tibet proper but nothing much changed from southern Xinjiang to northern Tibet; same harsh landscape, same harsh weather. Meaning more intense dust and wind. The team passed along the border of India on our way to Ali, Tibet - which is essentially the capital city of western Tibet. Amazing bit of riding.
DAY 37 - After leaving Ali the MKRIDE team was surprised by the beautiful paved road that stretches from Ali to Lake Mananosavar. Though the strong winds and scattered rain made the journey less pleasant than it could have been. After arriving at this stunning glacial lake the team enjoyed a restful evening at a nearby monastery.
DAY 38 - Today, September 20th, is Ryan's birthday; and it sadly brought the MKRIDE team some bad luck. After having an enjoyable morning of off-road riding, river crossings and some road construction, Ryan got caught up in some heavy sand and blew his clutch out. They had to find a truck to take his bike to Zhongba, Tibet where we found a local mechanic to assist in an emergency repair. The clutch is fried but it may still be okay enough to get to Lhasa where the team has spare parts en route. Tough birthday.
DAY 39 - Ryan's clutch repair job from the night before only held for 70km, and the bike is completely broken down. The team had to find another truck to take the bike to Saga, Tibet. While en route to Saga, Tibet Colin's bike blew a tire going through a tough stretch of road construction. Both bikes had to be trucked in to Saga, Tibet. Rough day.
DAY 40 - With Ryan's bike in need of major repair, and Colin's bike un-operable, the team decided to ship both bikes to Lhasa by truck. Major repairs will start soon once Ryan's new clutch arrives from Germany. The emergency parts were procured not by BMW China, who have no inventory of any parts at all, but by Jeff Parker and ChinaBiker (or Andy) - a popular blogger and bike rider in Beijing. The MKRIDE team is very thankful for Jeff's and Andy's quick response and will no doubt be on the hook for several rounds of beers upon our return.
DAY 41 - Today the team enjoyed a much needed rest day in Lhasa, Tibet. The bikes arrived by truck at 430am and were in decent shape. Several spare parts are en route to Lhasa as we update and hopefully the team will be back on the move within 72 hours.
Oh man, I know how it feels!
I fried my clutch between Lhaze and Tingri when Mt Everest was almost visible.
Enjoy the stay in Lhasa!