For most folks, the riding season starts in March/April and ends sometime in November. For those of us down south, November means prime enduro time. Summer is just too damn hot for shlepping through the jungle in full gear, so we welcome the cool dry air of late autumn.
You might remember how much fun we had during our rides last winter, which was followed by even more mayhem during the spring. One final shot as we finished off the season last May. It's hard to believe we found such good riding in the middle of so much urban sprawl.
My riding partner/neighbor, Andrea, and I, have pretty much exhausted all of the decent trails around our neighborhood, so we decided we needed to expand our horizons by heading north, near the city of ZengCheng. I scouted out some decent trail areas via Google Earth, and was pretty sure we would find some nice riding deep in the forest of central Guangdong. Plenty of mountains, with no major roads in this area, so there's a great mix of logging trails and technical single track to choose from.
Just one problem, there's 75 kilometers of concrete jungle between home and the trails, so we had a little project to deal with first. After a few phone calls and 5 weeks of waiting, I arrived home to find this.
Great pics as usual and thanks for rubbing it in. I was happy we still had a good saturday here in BJ, it got quite a bit colder after the weekend.
11-15-2011, 09:07 AM
euphonius
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.
11-15-2011, 09:34 AM
Barry
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.
What, they don't have beer in Shanghai?
11-15-2011, 09:52 AM
euphonius
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
The only single track we have here is the space between vehicles while lane-splitting....
As for Tsingtao, the stuff we get here is made from only the finest Yangtze River water, i.e. 1/3 piss and 2/3 toxic sludge. I'd wager those cans of brine featured in V's report were made with only the finest Pearl River water, i.e., 1/3 piss and 2/3 toxic sludge.
11-15-2011, 07:27 PM
Maux
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
It's been a while since I posted, this was too good to pass up! Amazing pics ChinaV!
I have been checking up, I've just had nothing worth posting.
Eupohnius, are you sure the Pearl isn't 2/3 piss and 1/3 sludge?
Here in Taiyuan, I think the Fen is *somehow* 4/3 piss and 4/3 sludge.
11-15-2011, 07:59 PM
barnone
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
ChinaV,
That is a very nice trailer and that drop down makes loading a bit easier. Oh, and great photos as usual.
11-16-2011, 12:05 AM
Lao Jia Hou
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
GREEN with ENVY
Man, you are sooooooo lucky! Great toys, great location, great camera, great skills ...
But ... I noticed a few things in one of your pics ... (probably because I am feeling snarky at your good fortune!)
1. You are becoming a little too Chinese in your approach to mechanics. I see the stool is your table, and the cooler is your stool? Or maybe you prefer a "Chinese squat", allowing easy access to the cooler contents (appropriately placed in the middle of the workspace)
2. Glad to see that you have your laptop with easy access to MCM (although we can't see your screen to know what is REALLY being surfed).
3. Looks like a Harley rider paid you a visit and left a couple of puddles?
4. You are MUCH more skilled than I ... see that drainage grate? See all those nuts & bolts? If that was me, everything would somehow disappear down that grate.
And, last but not least ...
5. This picture can't really be in China ... where is the crowd of hundreds of "watchers" being amazed that a foreigner knows how to use a wrench????
Anyways ... absolutely fantastic pics that, once again, get us drooling enough for us to get off our butts and onto a bike!
Tx from chilly Beijing.
PS: I was going to comment that this pic also reminds me of getting my Jialing serviced ... "there, your trailer is ready to go! All fixed." ... but I think the JH600 crew is getting p'd at me, so I will remain quiet on that one.
11-16-2011, 06:24 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
GREEN with ENVY
How can you be green with envy, I think you still have more toys than I do.:cryfiddle:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
1. You are becoming a little too Chinese in your approach to mechanics. I see the stool is your table, and the cooler is your stool? Or maybe you prefer a "Chinese squat", allowing easy access to the cooler contents (appropriately placed in the middle of the workspace)
Don't pick on my stool.:sad: I've been using it for years as I'm unable to squat like those real mechanics you find in China, and I'm too lazy to go in the house for a cold one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
2. Glad to see that you have your laptop with easy access to MCM (although we can't see your screen to know what is REALLY being surfed).
Nothing but trailer pics, we didn't get any assembly instructions from the factory, so we had to use their "visual aids" to figure it out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
4. You are MUCH more skilled than I ... see that drainage grate? See all those nuts & bolts? If that was me, everything would somehow disappear down that grate.
Uhm, actually, a few things have gone down there. That's where we drain our oil, coolant and dispose of things like old paint and household chemicals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou
5. This picture can't really be in China ... where is the crowd of hundreds of "watchers" being amazed that a foreigner knows how to use a wrench????
Not to sound snooty, but this is why we choose to live in our neighborhood, it's mostly Hong Kong people, so it's very quiet and nobody ever bothers you. It actually cost less for a 4 bedroom house (with garage) than most people spend for a small apartment in Shenzhen.
Our Tsingtao is probably equal parts piss and toxic sludge, I can only pray that the water does not come from any river in the Pearl River Delta. However, you would be surprised how good the shit tastes when it's ice cold and you just finished 5 hours of enduro riding.
Cheers!
ChinaV
11-16-2011, 07:12 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
One thing I forgot to mention about the trailer.
I should say thanks to Morfar, :thumbsup: because he was the first guy I saw with a trailer in China. You guys may remember that we talked about it here. I purchased from China Central Supply in Qingdao. Model #CT0302A, hot dip galvanized with 13” wheels. I got them to throw in an extra wheel. Lead time was 45 days. Unit price was ¥4700 + ¥450 for delivery to Guangdong.
Now I just need to make a lockable storage box for our petrol can and spare wheel. Maybe add a cool umbrella like Morfar did. :naughty:
And if anyone is wondering, I don't think we've ever gotten clarification on if/how a trailer registration needs/can be done. We got a lot of strange looks from people as we drove, but none of the highway people seemed to mind.
Cheers!
ChinaV
11-16-2011, 07:20 AM
euphonius
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
And if anyone is wondering, I don't think we've ever gotten clarification on if/how a trailer registration needs/can be done. We got a lot of strange looks from people as we drove, but none of the highway people seemed to mind.
Great initiative and execution, ChinaV. As for a plate, why not get Lao Jia Huo's plate-maker to make one reading 我粤拖车8888?
Did the bicycle rack/hitch thing come from the same manufacturer? (Moot for me since I don't have a car, probably never will...)
The quality looks first rate. He shoots, he scores!
11-16-2011, 07:40 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
Did the bicycle rack/hitch thing come from the same manufacturer? (Moot for me since I don't have a car, probably never will...)
My car did not have a hitch so I went to Shenzhen 4X4 and asked them to make a hitch for me. They do a lot of custom 4X4 work so they know a thing or two about welding. I showed them a picture of a similar bike rack, and they just copied the design. The ball hitch and bike rack use the same mount point, so they can't be used at the same time. It takes about 10 seconds to swap them. It was ¥1800 for the whole system.
Cheers!
ChinaV
11-17-2011, 02:20 PM
andy74rc
2 Attachment(s)
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Been part of the fun, I also add couple of pictures of the great area we just started exploring.
ChinaV in the pics. :riding:
We got a lot of strange looks from people as we drove, but none of the highway people seemed to mind.
Cheers!
ChinaV
Well, i should add: "None of the people of the highway seemed to mind, but one over smart girl at the toll boot". When she saw us coming, after the first distract glance, she pull her head outside the boot and........ "Hey, you're driving a 3 axes something.... sorry, but it's 80rmb for the fee instead of 20....". D'ho!
11-18-2011, 09:53 AM
felix
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Thanks for the pics guys, and mostly for reminding us once again that there's more to riding in china than worrying about plates...
11-19-2011, 09:16 AM
Morfar
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Hi ChinaV
Happy to see that you got a nice trailer!!
Shadow is a must for old men, when drinking cold beer...he,he
11-21-2011, 11:38 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Another week crept by slowly, finally, Sunday arrived. We headed back to the jungle and went looking for more fun. The red track is last weeks ride, the purple track is from this week. Again, we were blessed with perfect weather, 23º C and plenty of blue sky.
We hit a bit of the singletrack from last week, and just as we're feeling all manly and cool, we stumble on 2 farmers who do this stuff daily on some beat up old Jialings.
We tried to make it down the backside of the mountain, but the road had become a giant landslide and washed away, so we had to backtrack. Looks like this section will probably slide off during the next rainy season.
He's also thinking, "Damn, I'm glad my bike has handlebars and that they are perpendicular to the plane of the wheels and bike." OK, maybe not those words exactly (unless he's an industrial designer), but I think without bars his bike would have been swallowed up entirely.
And how, exactly, did you persuade Mother Earth to disgorge this dirt bike?
Amazing pix and amazing adventure, as always. Envy!:clap::clap::clap:
What were two jialing farmer doing there? Trapping venomous snakes for dinner?
11-21-2011, 11:54 PM
milton
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Great pictures and story.
Now I understand more about those other aspects of motorcycling as a sport, in additon to picking up my 200kg JH600 from the ground after a getoff. I should have gotten into this "sport" in much younger age of my life. So jealous of your youth and off-road adventures.
Please keep on rubbing it in.
Cheers!
11-22-2011, 03:26 AM
fons
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
hey Milton,
we had just past a beginner etape in hubei compare to them.
11-22-2011, 04:27 AM
andy74rc
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
He's also thinking, "Damn, I'm glad my bike has handlebars and that they are perpendicular to the plane of the wheels and bike." OK, maybe not those words exactly (unless he's an industrial designer), but I think without bars his bike would have been swallowed up entirely.
And how, exactly, did you persuade Mother Earth to disgorge this dirt bike?
Amazing pix and amazing adventure, as always. Envy!:clap::clap::clap:
I'm not exactly and industrial designer, but yes, I did think that!
Well, I don't think Mother Earth was easy to be persuaded after I called her bitch. Instead I thanked Mother Nature for Lorne strenght and my 187cm-97kg....:naughty:
We just pulled the bike up and out the ditch. It has actually been much easier than what it did look at first (and second too...) glance.
Most important thing, no any damage to the bike.
11-22-2011, 04:52 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by td_ref
What were two jialing farmer doing there? Trapping venomous snakes for dinner?
Probably growing weed :28: :lol8:.
Quote:
Originally Posted by milton
I should have gotten into this "sport" in much younger age of my life. So jealous of your youth and off-road adventures.
You're never too old to start Milton, hell, I'm 41 and I only feel 57 after Andrea drags my ass across a mountain. Enduro riding is a great workout for mind and body and also really sharpens your riding skills. At this point, I've gotten so sick of the traffic and near death experiences of road riding that I actually prefer our weekend enduro rides over taking my V-Strom somewhere.
Cheers!
ChinaV
11-22-2011, 05:16 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
I recently picked up the new Contour+ helmet cam. It's a nice piece of kit with 1080p HD resolution, GPS, and bluetooth connection to my Android phone so I can position it and fine tune the settings. I've taken a few videos on the street and in the woods, then showed them to friends on the HDTV in my living room. Jaws drop and people can't believe how beautiful the video is. My big problem right now is hosting the videos.
YouTube = Too painful for use in China
Vimeo = Too painful for use in China
Viddler = Awful looking HD output.
YouKu = No english interface, awful looking video, I have issues with Chinese monopolies.
So here is a beautiful video that has lost 75% of its quality due to compression.
I would really like to be able to embed an iframe so I can host and post via smugmug, but I don't know if CC wants to deal with that. I am open to any and all ideas for how to post HD video here. I would even be willing to use youku, but I don't think they support HD and someone would have to make a step by step guide to show how it's done.
Cheers!
ChinaV
11-22-2011, 09:09 AM
andy74rc
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
At this point, I've gotten so sick of the traffic and near death experiences of road riding that I actually prefer our weekend enduro rides over taking my V-Strom somewhere.
Cheers!
ChinaV
Geez..... I create a monster! :clap::riding::clap:
Once you go Enduro-black, you never go back..... :icon10:
Glad to read that mate, I know you would never admit it face to face. :lol8::lol8::lol8:
Contour cam really rocks. HD Videos taken with it are asthonishingly beautiful compared to what I've seen so far.
Lucky you that you just feel 57 after our rides. For me it's at least 70 for the first 2 days.
My wife: "Well, few hours of fun on Sunday to feel like an old man from Monday to Saturday. Why?"
"To be ready for another Sunday...!" :icon10::icon10:
11-22-2011, 10:39 AM
bigmonkey
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
nice video, i also like this kind of trails, especially after heavy rain. just make sure the mountainside doesn't come down on you
11-29-2011, 02:25 AM
MeowZeDong
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Geez....can I live like you?! Awesome report. Never would have thought that densely urban area would be great for riding. You prove this myth wrong. Glad you're having fun! Continue on! :)
11-29-2011, 05:13 AM
td_ref
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
V, I check youku's support docs, it supports HD, their guidline as,
resolution requirement: 分辨率要求:
HD 高清分辨率>=600X480;
Very HD超清分辨率>=960X720
duration : >30s
时长要求:时长>=30秒。
bitrate 码率要求:
1.以下这些视频码率>=1Mbps时为高清,>=1.5Mbps时为超清:
—H.264/AVC(Advance Video Coding)/AVCHD/X264 通常使用MP4,MKV文件格式, 也有的使用FLV格式
—RV40/RealVideo 9, 通常使用 RMVB文件格式
—WMV3/WVC1/WMVA/VC-1/Windows Media Video 9, 通常使用WMV文件格式
2.以下这些视频码率>=2Mbps时为高清,>=3Mbps时为超清:
—MPEG-4 Visual/Xvid/Divx, 通常使用AVI,MP4文件格式
3.以下这些视频码率>=5Mbps时为高清,>=7.5Mbps时为超清:
—MPEG-2, 通常使用MPEG/MPG/VOB文件格式
—MPEG-1, 通常使用MPEG/MPG文件格式
I don't have video for now so I can't test it myself. After all, "HD is avalable" would be notify to viewers.
11-29-2011, 08:29 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by MeowZeDong
Geez....can I live like you?! Awesome report. Never would have thought that densely urban area would be great for riding. You prove this myth wrong. Glad you're having fun! Continue on! :)
We do have some fun here, but I can't imagine what it would be like if we were trying this stuff just outside Chengdu :naughty:. I hope we get a chance to see some weekend adventures from you soon. Your photos + western Sichuan = amazing ride reports !!!
Cheers!
ChinaV
11-29-2011, 08:47 AM
ChinaV
Re: We're back...more Guangdong enduro
Quote:
Originally Posted by td_ref
V, I check youku's support docs, it supports HD, their guidline as,
resolution requirement: 分辨率要求:
HD 高清分辨率>=600X480;
Very HD超清分辨率>=960X720
duration : >30s
时长要求:时长>=30秒。
bitrate 码率要求:
1.以下这些视频码率>=1Mbps时为高清,>=1.5Mbps时为超清:
—H.264/AVC(Advance Video Coding)/AVCHD/X264 通常使用MP4,MKV文件格式, 也有的使用FLV格式
—RV40/RealVideo 9, 通常使用 RMVB文件格式
—WMV3/WVC1/WMVA/VC-1/Windows Media Video 9, 通常使用WMV文件格式
2.以下这些视频码率>=2Mbps时为高清,>=3Mbps时为超清:
—MPEG-4 Visual/Xvid/Divx, 通常使用AVI,MP4文件格式
3.以下这些视频码率>=5Mbps时为高清,>=7.5Mbps时为超清:
—MPEG-2, 通常使用MPEG/MPG/VOB文件格式
—MPEG-1, 通常使用MPEG/MPG文件格式
I don't have video for now so I can't test it myself. After all, "HD is avalable" would be notify to viewers.
Thanks td_ref,
I'm still not sure I understand youku, I was told that the HD videos posted on youku come from Chinese media sources (TV stations, advertisers, etc.) and I have not been able to find examples of regular users that can upload a 960X720 video.
What is more interesting, is the bizarre way youku is referring to HD.
600X480 and 960X720 = WTF is that shit. Why are they sticking with a 4:3 aspect ratio ???
HD = 1080p or 1920X1080 pixels ----- If they want to go smaller, it should be something like 1280X720 or 960X540 to keep things in a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Anyhow... regardless of what standards they have, I can create a very small 960X720 version of a video, but I don't think it will maintain its resolution when it gets uploaded to youku. I would love to be wrong about it.
Thanks for trying to help, I really appreciate it!