Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work

Thanks, for all the photos to get me through my working days.

The biking is holding up so far I guess, didn't get stranded with an empty gas tank yet either!

Incredible. Simply incredible. If at some point during my China career I manage to record a ride report that's 1/10th as worthwhile as yours, I will be able to leave the middle kingdom content. Good luck.

Barry! Glad to see you're reading.. and happy I can provide a distraction at work!

Lao Jia Huo, you've got good eyes! I just crossed the 10,000 km marker. I'll start keeping a closer eye on the tires as I continue forward.

Felix, I spent all day working on the next installments, I'm going to try to post something new every day going forward - now that I'm Yunnan, Internet access is pretty easy - although I've noticed it's super slow here in Shangrila, and all the traffic seems to be going through Beijing :confused1:

GJN, thanks for the kind words.. but honestly, this country, its people, and its terrain are all so incredible.. take a trip of any length to any place, and I promise you'll have amazing stories to tell afterwards.

sorry,long time we didnt go to internet

I dont think I am a hero
what i have been done,is everybody can do it,if u want

I read a lot here,but takes me long time,and always tired.........

I will try to write my story in english

2 days later we will back home

have more time for relax,write,put photo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Dear Lulu,

Thanks for your first post in MCM!!!! I hope it will not be the last.

Whether you know it or not, you are a hero to many people in this forum, making such an ambitious ride without much experience but with a great attitude. I very much look forward to seeing more of your pictures, and hearing your stories!

Also very pleased that you, Jeremy and Pat are all surviving the angry weather. Stay safe!

best thanks again,
cheers!

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G!!!! Those Photos are amazing!!!! I really wonder how your feeling was in such a place like this! Ya know the skys,the airs and the winds.......they must be great! looking at those pics are making me feel kinda high~~
I can't even believe China still got places like these!!! I'm so moved!!! what's you did there was amazing!!! keep going my friend!! Go go go!!!
Oh,yeah one more thing.... do you know where can I buy a moto oil that called Honda-"4 stroke motorcycle oil" or any other oil that recommanded for a 1000cc sport bike?(need oil for my new baby-2008 Honda CBR 1000RR)

Pat, excellent scribing there! beaut photos you've taken too. The trucker seemed awfully diligent with the share number and placement of the rocks etc. perhaps they were anticipating a somewhat lengthy stay so had decided he'd mark out his spot early just in case some other road user had ideas on occupancy. Speaking of occupancy, had you considered asking your new found friend (125cc rider) to try and book another room under his ID card in the first hotel you'd tried to stay in, in Dulan? Incidently how is the top box fairing up given some of the terrain you've been on? Looks to be quite solid construction, is it an ADLO by any chance? (I swear by some of the ADLO topbox models).
How did the spark plug look to you, when the motorcycle mechanic (suitably attired I note) removed it? Have you noticed/experienced any backfiring, miss-firing, pinging under acceleration or running on when decelerating? How about the air and fuel filters?

Day 17: Golmud to Keke Xili Environmental Protection Station

The next morning Wang and I set off for the plateau. The official entrace to the plateau was at Kunlun Shankou, roughly 160 km south of Golmud. We would continue to follow the G109 as it head towards Lhasa.

The area due south of Golmud was even more moon-like than the arid areas of Gansu. Adding to the moon-like effect, the sky was very... overcast - whether it was a sand storm, pollution, of simply fog is a matter of debate:

http://i.imgur.com/Gu39I.jpg


Huston, we have landed!

http://i.imgur.com/d3Yan.jpg


We began to see mountains rise:

http://i.imgur.com/3mDGV.jpg

And passed a caravan of Tibetan pilgrims *walking* to Lhasa. After every few steps, the man who is looking me over here (he was really friendly, I swear!) would kneel down, and then lay flat on the ground with his arms extended in front of him in an act of prayer. The women were pulling their belongings on carts. It will take them a year to get there!

http://i.imgur.com/HzY14.jpg


The weather started to clear a bit, and the snow capped mountains revealed themselves:

http://i.imgur.com/ymEWx.jpg


As we started to climb, gradually, the weather cleared and we reached Kun Lun Shankou, at 4767 meters, the official entrance to the Tibetan Plateau. We stopped along with the other cars and joined the people who were taking pictures of the prayer flags, stupa, and statues:

http://i.imgur.com/HobTx.jpg


These gentlemen were all thumbs up!

http://i.imgur.com/j8pdm.jpg


There was also a monument to a man who had given his life in defense of the Keke Xili nature preserve that extended to the west:

http://i.imgur.com/YFJSk.jpg


The weather on the plateau was just as I'd read Crazy Carl describe - four seasons in one day. We had ridden through a storm into perfectly blue skies:

http://i.imgur.com/pjaRu.jpg


But yet we could continually see storm clouds in front, behind, and to the side of us:

http://i.imgur.com/soU45.jpg


This part of the plateau was remarkably flat, and power lines stretching off into the distance was a common site:

http://i.imgur.com/lG2Z7.jpg


The weather continued to swirl, and as we approached a Environmental Protection Station for the Keke Xili Reserve, we decided to stop and let this bout of rain pass. The storm rolled in:

http://i.imgur.com/7eg1X.jpg


We hung out, watched the storm, and made new friends. The man on the left works for the reserve, the guy on the right was volunteering at the station:

http://i.imgur.com/iWeLt.jpg


And then the storm went from bad to worse:

http://i.imgur.com/UNt93.jpg


Snow! This was more than I had bargained for. I was given the unfortunate opportunity to learn the Chinese word for "hail." A word I'd have many opportunities to use as the days progressed. As the storm got worse and worse, we decided to stay there for the night. And, of course, shortly thereafter, the weather cleared up again! We took advantage of the break in the weather to shoot a little stick:

http://i.imgur.com/LuXHL.jpg


I executed my "let the opponent knock in all his balls first, then keep my balls in the way to prevent him from winning" strategy to perfection. Average game of pool: 45 minutes. And 45 minutes later, after I had managed to get enough of my balls out of the way, he finally put me away (the inevitable outcome of my strategy).

After our marathon pool session, I walked out behind the station next to the little pond:

http://i.imgur.com/LUbGP.jpg


And caught these little fellas staring:

http://i.imgur.com/PWi8c.jpg


And then we climbed the observation tower:

http://i.imgur.com/YKKRg.jpg


For a great view of the surrounding mountains and plains:

http://i.imgur.com/tYmTc.jpg


While we playing around in the back, some more travelers had arrived. A motorcyclist who was descending from Lhasa pulled up and shortly thereafter four bicyclists arrived. The bicyclists were all over 60 years old, retired, and riding their bikes from Shanxi to Lhasa!

A group of us walked across the road to the Tibetan Railroad - the highest in the world - which follows the G109 almost step for step. The passenger train coming from Lhasa soon passed. Out of the storm:

http://i.imgur.com/s0UkK.jpg

And into the sun:

http://i.imgur.com/CUT3a.jpg


We took a group photo - the bicyclist on the left, Wang, myself, and the biker who had just come in from Lhasa on the right:

http://i.imgur.com/psLkC.jpg


Jump!

http://i.imgur.com/IYdBh.jpg


The sun began to go down and we walked back across to the station:

http://i.imgur.com/9b5A2.jpg


We hung out in the living quarters for awhile, watched a few videos that had been shot in the nature preserve, and called it an early night in anticipation for the ride south the next day:

http://i.imgur.com/dAY8l.jpg

Day 18: KeKeXiLi Environmental Protection Station to..Yanshiping, close to the border of Tibet

The first thing I did the next morning was look at the sky. In the day we had spent on the plateau, I had learned to read clouds. No clouds meant no rain, but clouds later. Wispy clouds meant no rain, but fluffy white clouds later. Fluffy white clouds meant no rain, but fluffy, angry gray clouds later. Fluffy, angry gray clouds meant rain. Or in other words, it rains every day.

This morning, we awoke to wispy clouds - behind no clouds, the second best possibility:

http://i.imgur.com/Uwck5.jpg


Wang wanted to make Anduo, the first city inside Tibet. We still had more than 300 kilometers to the border, and then it would be another 100 to Anduo. But the road was flat and in good shape, so if the weather cooperated, it was feasible. And so we started south.

The towns that dot the road between Golmud and the border are mostly one street affairs with only basic accomodation (i.e. a bed and an outhouse). Almost all them (with the notable exception of Budongquan) had gas stations - so it wasn't necessary to bring backup fuel:


http://i.imgur.com/OmfuC.jpg


The road followed the train tracks and snow from the previous night was still on the ground. Wispy clouds began to shift to white fluffy clouds:

http://i.imgur.com/KJduP.jpg

We started to see wildlife - sheep, yaks, and antelope (I think - they looked like deer with white tails to me). The antelope scared easily, so it was difficult to get good photos of them.

Eight and a half full moons:

http://i.imgur.com/pafRb.jpg


Horses (Donkeys?):

http://i.imgur.com/f96Hg.jpg


Yaks:

http://i.imgur.com/F4bV7.jpg


Lambs:

http://i.imgur.com/w0d9m.jpg


Yaks, Lambs, and the inevitable shift from white to gray storm clouds:

http://i.imgur.com/hMQDf.jpg


While the road passed through the plains, distant mountains were our constant companion:

http://i.imgur.com/pd6Qy.jpg


And we passed stretches of snow covered plains:

http://i.imgur.com/n7Gf3.jpg


We passed the second to last city before the border and began the ascent that would lead to Tang Gu La Shankou and Tibet at 5231 meters. We were driving straight into gray, gray clouds, which was, at this point, unremarkable.

But this time, we rode straight into a snow storm. It grew dark, visibility dropped to twenty meters, my facemask was covered in ice on the outside and in fog on the inside. We slowed down to a crawl, letting the trucks still on the road barrel past. This was the first real experience I'd had riding in these conditions and I was simply waiting to hit a patch of ice and go down. ChinaV's phrase came to mind: "You ride, you fall."

We continued to ascend and it continued to snow, not vertically the way snow is supposed to fall, but horizontally, as if the snow was coming directly from Tibet. After what seemed like an eternity, I honked a few times, got Wang to stop, and did my best to convey that I was really, really uncomfortable riding through this and wanted to turn around. He said "Only 200 more kilometers to Anduo!" He's gone insane, I thought. We pressed on.

And the weather didn't get any better. Sometimes on the plateau the weather will change every five minutes. Sometimes not. My engine started to cough a bit - losing thrust. Bad gas? Weather? Altitude? Apparently his bike was doing the same and he finally slowed and turned around. I stopped and asked what was up. He said "Wo de che bu xing" - "My bike is not O.K." Great, I thought - this could get ugly. But at least we were turning around.

I turned around too, and we began the descent. The storm was moving with us and it continued to snow as we slowly made our way back down to the town at the base of the ascent. We finally made it, and safely down, I pulled out the camera for the first time since the storm had started.

Not fun:

http://i.imgur.com/NtU74.jpg


Our.. place of lodging for the night:

http://i.imgur.com/IY15H.jpg


This angry fellow would serve as an alarm clock the next morning (can't blame him, who would want to live outside in this place!):

http://i.imgur.com/D6pPF.jpg


Wet and cold, we crowded around the cow manure fueled stove and warmed up:

http://i.imgur.com/yglTV.jpg


Happy to be back safely and to have a warm place to stay for the night, we crawled into bed and went to sleep, expecting the storm to blow over through the night..

nice

cant wait our stories,hehe

have nice time in kunming

I've been reading from the start, but I'm a bit of a leecher! As pointed out by Jape, amount of views vs amount of replies in this thread.

I see you have learned a bit more about Chinese culture, you went for the family gloves instead of handguards. Two weeks ago I did a good 100 km in (heavy) rain and mostly at night including an off-road part with some nice sliding through the mud as grand finalle, but I was actually enjoying it in the end. My rain gear stayed dry because I left them in the hotel, so I had decent scrotum wash by the water running down from the gas tank and bit heavy feet since my so called waterproof shoes nicely filled up with water. The last 30-50 km back to the hotel I couldn't even feel I was wet anymore, I already got used to it!

Enjoy the rest of you trip!