5 Attachment(s)
A little jouney to my homeland
:sad:A few months ago I decided to buy a motocycle... I endo up with a I-moto SM 125 (portuguese name for a Qingqui QM200GY-B (A) with 125cc).
Surely, the reactions of my friends were enthusiastics :lol8::
- what? chinese?
- Those things fall apart after a few meters...
- Etc, etc...
Never the less I buy 'Little China' (thats her nickname) and she looks just fine (at least for me):
Attachment 2231
Then a set to myself the goal of proving that its possible to travel with a 125cc... so a decided to visit my homeland in a rural (now I'm just a city boy) area of Portugal named "Trás-os-montes (translates to behind the hills).
Of course once again I was presented with very positive reactions:
- what? In a chinese byke?
- Those bykes broke as hell ... you will never get there
- Call me to pick you up...
I do not know, but can you see some trend here? :naughty: :icon10: :lol8:
However my mind was made up so I had to resolve some practical things like "how can i put a top case on little china?"... in Portugal I couldn't find any rear rack for this byke, so I decided to build one myself.
Here is the result of two days of hard work (my first job working with metal - and I fill proud :clap:):
Attachment 2232
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The journey total 650 Km (both ways) as you can see in google maps... start in Valongo, ending in Aveleda (city of Bragança):
Attachment 2234
So the big day came, and here they are (ride and rider) at 7 am, looking good:
Attachment 2235
Oooppss... it seems I can only put 5 pictures in a post :sad:
Is that correct?
Anyone knows how to show bigger pictures?
I'll keep the report in another post...
5 Attachment(s)
Re: A little journey to my homeland
So here I am again... like I was saying " So the big day came, and here they are (ride and rider) at 7 am, looking good"
Attachment 2236
One hour late I arrived to my first obstacle... the mountain of Marão:
Attachment 2238
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One thing I learn... 'Little China' is a very fun byke to ride, but (a big but) climbing is not her best quality :icon10:
So after being almost in the top of that mountain I decided that 'Little China deserved some rest... ok, the fact that my ass was numb, had also some thing to do with it... and as you no know, we riders, deserve only the best, so I stoped in the hotel of Marão... a very cozy place to stay:
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continues....
Re: A little journey to my homeland
Hi there Jonas, a great start to a ride report.
I am glad you are showing that a small machine is so much fun - no-one can complain at getting to the top of a mountain with a pack, without having to walk! Of course it is slow but when life is taken slowly, it is better. Don't listen to your friends laughter! Why spend many thousands of dollars on a 1000cc dakar type machine or a cafe racer to just ride a few Kilometers around home and see nothing on the way? Lighter bikes are easier around town and in the bush, it is only the open roads that slows them down and it is much faster than walking! In the village where I was born, my grandfather bought the first ever 'moped' many many years ago. It lasted him thirty years of daily use and it was always loaded with tools and soon all the old people of the village bought one because there were no buses and few had cars. It was amusing to visit because it was like a cartoon, all these people buzzing around on mopeds!
The only way to get larger photos in your post is to put them in an external server like photobucket and post the link in your text. But the small pictures we see enlarge if we click on them if we are logged in, so all good.
Re: A little journey to my homeland
Dear Jonas,
I have a friend whose slogan is, "Motorcycles aren't for everyone. Too bad." I'm relatively new to the sport, but I'd echo Jape's view that it's just you and the bike -- "ride and rider" as you put it -- that matters. You clearly already have a close bond of trust with Little China, and this is good. Treat her right, and she'll do the same for you. Solo riding through glorious countryside is a blessed thing. Can't wait to hear more about your adventure.
I'll also echo Jape about posting pix. There are free services like Flickr where you can upload your pictures, then have links to them in your posts. That way they appear in larger format in your text, without the reader having to click the thumbnails.
Welcome to MCM, a great place for iconoclastic riders like us!
Re: A little journey to my homeland
The views were amazing ... and look, thats my road:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...h7Vz8Y8/10.jpg
jape / euphonius, thanks for the tips about the photos :thumbsup:
After driving for about 2 hours I stop near a city called Mirandela to refuel 'Little China' .... ok, I confess... my ass was protesting again:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...sNsXCHQ/12.jpg
The landscape has changed dramatically (those are olive trees), thats a more dry environment:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...Nw3XoNo/11.jpg
It is just starting to look like the place I was born.... and, yes thats one more mountain a have to climb:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...P-py6pA/13.jpg
Now thats the looks of my homeland...
The pictures look a little bit gray, but thats not a problem with my camera... thats due from the smoke of wild fires, witch was my companion throughout the journey... in the return i'll try to take a few photos without smoke (I hope).
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...R_5N57Q/14.jpg
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
The new pics are showing larger, look good. That country is very similar to where I live now in Australia, dry and on fire in summer! Thanks for the ride report, enjoying it. 'Little china' holding up well, better than your bum anyway. Are the roads tarmac or gravel you are riding? Must be fun cruising those long curves. I would be distracted by the views and fall off I think!
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Amazing country, and also reminds me of my home turf in northern California. It's dry and hot in the summer, but cold and foggy on summer nights. No surprise that we call this weather pattern a "Mediterranean climate".
Great seeing the bigger images. (Maybe you can now go back and edit your previous posts!) Where are you now hosting these images? Looks they are coming from this strange URL http://lh4.ggpht.com/
thanks again for a great little ride report, and looking forward to the ride back...
cheers
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Hi Jonas,
Thanks for the ride report, it's always great to see what other people are riding in different parts of the world. Portugal looks like a beautiful country, and little china seems like a fun bike to explore it with!
Never let others mock your decisions. End of the day, you're the one crossing mountains and country on two wheels while they are at home. Ride safe and have a blast!
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Howdy Jonas,
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...h7Vz8Y8/10.jpg
That looks like a whole lot of fun! Good looking ride as well. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing with us.
Cheers!
ChinaV
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jape
The new pics are showing larger, look good. That country is very similar to where I live now in Australia, dry and on fire in summer! Thanks for the ride report, enjoying it. 'Little china' holding up well, better than your bum anyway. Are the roads tarmac or gravel you are riding? Must be fun cruising those long curves. I would be distracted by the views and fall off I think!
I am traveling through a mix of 70% tarmac and 30% gravel roads ...
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jape
The new pics are showing larger, look good. That country is very similar to where I live now in Australia, dry and on fire in summer! Thanks for the ride report, enjoying it. 'Little china' holding up well, better than your bum anyway. Are the roads tarmac or gravel you are riding? Must be fun cruising those long curves. I would be distracted by the views and fall off I think!
I am using Google PICASA to store my pictures..
oops... this reply was for euphonius
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Quote:
Originally Posted by
euphonius
Amazing country, and also reminds me of my home turf in northern California. It's dry and hot in the summer, but cold and foggy on summer nights. No surprise that we call this weather pattern a "Mediterranean climate".
Great seeing the bigger images. (Maybe you can now go back and edit your previous posts!) Where are you now hosting these images? Looks they are coming from this strange URL
http://lh4.ggpht.com/
thanks again for a great little ride report, and looking forward to the ride back...
cheers
I am using Google Picasa to store my pictures...
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Here i am again, this time near my village ...you can see a little part of it:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...fKvvhbI/16.jpg
It was very hot (39º C), so I went directly home to rest... it was well deserved.
With my backpack full of good stuff made by my mother (theres nothing like our mother meals), I planned to spent 2 or 3 days exploring the dirty roads of Montesinho nacional park...
These pictures don't do justice to the beauty and quiet of this area:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...ARicIF0/17.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...Q5B48i0/18.jpg
Here it is 'Little China' on a dirty road:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...T6jB_8A/19.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...8vLl0Zs/20.jpg
more on next post....
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
All I can say is I hope you spent some time in that swimmin' hole -- what a beautiful place!
Great rider report. I look forward to more!
cheers,
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
nice pics. ''little China'', hehe, cute name:lol8:. your enjoyment make ordinary chinese man like me glad. Little me is looking for more ride report:deal:...
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Hello again,
I did not finish my ride report, but I had a good reason... like I said, I was planning to spent a few days exploring the roads of Montesinho nacional park, but at the end of first day I received the news that my wife suffered a bad car accident; She was travelling with our two children... luckily they suffered only minor injuries :thumbsup:
The car was totally wreckage :sad::sad::sad:
As the family comes first, my adventure was over end I had to return home as fast as I could (this time with no stops)...
I took the pictures without smoke, has promised... now the sky is blue :icon10::
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...GaEGpWg/30.jpg
Another one:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_drw2830Jrtw/TH...ncTBgCM/31.jpg
Then, how was 'Little China' performance?
In simple words... almost perfect... a few numbers:
Total mileage = 845 Km
Fuel consumption = 3,0L / 100Km
Average speed = 85 Km/h
Problems = 0
The only thing I missed was some lack of power (so the word almost perfect)... I suppose the 200cc or 250cc versions are better on this field...
I'm looking forward to the next adventure :icon10:
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
I am really sorry to hear of your wife's crash. I hope that she and the children recover very quickly. Thanks for the story, it was a great little ride report, and I am sure we will hear from you again when things settle down for you.
jape
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Jonas, thank you so much for the update, and for the good news that your family made it through this car accident safely. The car may be wrecked, but you can thank that car forever for doing precisely what it is designed to do -- it protected its passengers! Cars can be thanked and replaced. Wives and children cannot.
Thank you too for the two images. Your part of portugal looks so much like my home, northern California, it's uncanny. Summers are very hot, very dry and very brown; winters are wet, cool and green. Lovely.
Re: A little jouney to my homeland
Hi Jonas,
I'll repeat what was said above! Thanks for the update and good to hear your family is still all in one piece!
Also glad that you made it back safely, rushing home across a country on a bike can turn into a disaster.
