200GY Shakedown Ride - Sichuan,China - I
This red QingQi 200GY is a sponsor bike from the manufacturer which will see motographic action in the mountains of South West China when myself and ChinaV will be taking two QM200GY's out for a two week motographic journey come the end of June.
I've been following this bike since I saw it two months ago in the factory. We had arranged to have it shipped to me after it served as a test ride bike for the ChongQing Moto Expo I covered earlier.
- At the factory -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...ssembly-27.jpg
- In ChongQing -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...Q-QingQi-5.jpg
When it arrived the bike, now named "Big Red", had less than 100km's on it and desperately needed a shakedown ride before the two week trip which also serves as a good excuse to get the hell out of town for a while!
- Spread your cratey wings and fly -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...ed200gy-03.jpg
- Ready to go -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Prep-04.jpg
The first day we wanted to make it to Kangding but we knew for various reasons it would be unlikely to make that destination and ended up in Moxi, the entrance to the Hailogou Glacier Park which lies at the foot of a 7500m holy mountain named Gonga Shan. For the past five years I've been fascinated by Gonga Shan not only because of it's proximity to Chengdu but also for the fact that it's absolutely awesome and dwarfs almost anything in North America, Africa and Europe.
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-16.jpg
Having wasted some time with administrative hassles, we ended up spending the first night in MoXi. Which is actually quite a comfortable town considering it's modern tourism development .
Usually during the May Holiday most of these parks would be literally crammed with tourists and buses but due to recent events, it was pleasantly empty. I reckon the absence of tourists also yielded other benefits as well like available rooms and food for lower prices.
We stopped by a local BBQ pit where they had a huge rack of roasted chickens for 70RMB. Although the price is a little steep, the meat was good enough to enjoy sinking your teeth into some fresh roasted bird.
- Eating with full ferocity -
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Our guest-house was just off the main strip and brand new. I think the investments-they had made a year before to develop the tourists facilities weren't quite paying off as they had hoped on this major Chinese holiday. Nevertheless the people were nice albeit inexperienced inn keepers. Our room was relatively quiet and had a good view of the old part of town.
- Old parts of town are almost always more interesting -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-01.jpg
Not allowed to ride bikes in to the park, the next morning we decided to take a road NW of Moxi which takes us up through Alpine forests to a 4000m pass. I had been down this road before several years earlier with a buddy of mine and found it to be a pleasant surprise.
Since that time my friend had traveled the road two years ago and reported about half a kilometer of it had fallen into a river. I figured it should be repaired by now and since our traveling options were limited, wanted to make the best of it.
Much of the road was under repair and this gave a chance for us to check out how the QingQi 200GY performs with two people on bad surfaces. Even though 200cc is not a lot by Western standards, it moved us along quite well soaking up any rough stuff the road threw our way.
A part of the road construction cut through a landslide area near a river and we decided to stop for a bit. In the past few years of riding in Western China and thousands of images captured, I've never gotten any pictures of myself since I often rode alone.
- Down with shooting -
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My wife is not bad with a camera so after capturing a few product shots of the sponsor bike, I rode some laps around the construction area. She got practice with the Nikon D300 and 80-200 while I got the chance to try the 200GY standing up over dirt and rocks of various sizes.
- Over the Hills and Far Away -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-05.jpg
- Rock-n-Roll -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-06.jpg
Since the QM200GY is of DR200 ilk, there were absolutely no problems and the bike responded well to all types of terrain.
I only have three complaints about the bike as it comes stock from the factory:
1) The grips are too small. For me they're okay but if you have larger than average hands, the grips will need to be changed.
2) Although good on pavement, the stock bars are little low if you're six feet tall and like to stand up while riding. I've since fixed this problem with higher bars which not only solved this problem but made the bike more comfortable as well. No changes were necessary to the stock wiring or stainless brake line.
3) The front KTMitation fender allows spray to shoot back onto your legs and headlight when wet. They've since sent me another front fender and hope it will help the situation.
Fun time was over and clouds started to roll in so we saddled up again to head our way up to the pass. For those of you in the Chengdu area looking for a fun three day ride I can heartily suggest this road. As it winds up to 4000m you have about 40kms of beautifully paved switch backs which wind through deep green alpine forests and dramatic overlooks.
- Long and Winding Road... -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-09.jpg
At about 3200m the mist started to roll in and we stopped for a leg stretch and piss break. There were almost no cars or trucks on the road, thanks again to the lack of tourist traffic and we enjoyed the sound of nothing but wind, drizzle hitting our helmets and the occasional local moto-taxi.
- Pleasant noise in the wind -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-04.jpg
Before too long we approached the top of the pass in heavy fog and sub-freezing temperatures. Snow was still on the ground and the trees disappeared giving way to nothing but silence and a heavy blanket of fog or, at this altitude, clouds.
- Okay, not quite 4000m..but close! -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-05.jpg
- Camera gear, it's what's in the box -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-13.jpg
With bitter cold at the top and strong winds hitting our faces it was almost exactly like the last time I was here. If there wasn't a full set of clouds behind us, you'd be looking down a mountain range full of peaks exceeding 5000m.
It was nice to be at altitude again and in the past few years I've grown to love life up on the Tibetan plateau. At the top I could once again feel the cold air casting hard wrinkles into the skin on my hands. Freezing rain pelting your helmet adds rhythm to the cold. The changes to your body at this height and temperature are immediate and makes you understand why people that live in the mountains get the complexion that they do...tough and full of character. No matter how far away I go from this place, it will always go with me...calling me back home in my dreams.
As always, time for a picture so I set up the camera on a rock across the road.
- Nice to share these experiences with someone you love -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-14.jpg
- Brother Zach and I in the exact same spot (2005) -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yholi05-17.jpg
200GY Shakedown in the Sichuan Mountains - II
No matter how much I enjoy these high cold places in my heart, there's no question that they are not for dawdling. As it got later in the day, the sun went down and you can feel it getting progressively colder in the clouds or shadow of the mountains. The mist gets thicker and the rain heavier, telling you it's time to make haste.
Although roads are surprisingly plentiful in the mountains of Western China considering the terrain, they are still few and far between requiring us to return the same way. We were set to enjoy a nice causal ride back through the clouds and "twist-backs" hoping the rain would cease down in the valley, we came across a jovial group of mixed riders coming down the mountain together posse style.
- Never really alone -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-10.jpg
"WooooooYiiiii! Yoooooo EEEEE!" We heard hooting and hollaring from the Tibetan riders as they cruised down the road. It's actually the exact same expression as "YEEEHAW!" and I figured I can belt it out as good as anyone else so gave her a rip.
"YEEEE HAAAW!" and any thoughts of an uninteresting ride back to Moxi faded into a bumpin' communal ride groove. I've always loved riding with Tibetans because they have such huge smiles when they're on the road and traveling. They are natural born travelers who know how to have a good time on the road and not afraid to express it.
As we rode by these two "dudes" - and they were dudes in every sense of the word - I noticed one was digging around in his pocket.
- What's in the pocketses? -
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As we rode by, without missing a beat, he busted out some of his lunch and extended a friendly offering...
- "Egg?!" -
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That was the first - and probably last - time I'll ever get offered an egg on the road. Now I was really groovin' in a happy mood and my wife enjoyed it as well. It just goes to show there really is a limitless amount of love in the world.
Besides Tibetans, the group had a few Chinese riders, one of which looked like they were more concerned with staying dry rather than all this tomfoolery running down the road.
- Stay loose man -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-13.jpg
But not all the Chinese riders were so serious. There was one other in the group who stood out amongst all of us and had a unique vehicle. We came up on this ATV loaded with luggage making good time.
- ATV Lovin' the corners -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-06.jpg
I had to get closer to check out the set up and such a cool rider so picked up the pace a bit.
- Almost there -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-08.jpg
I have never seen an ATV touring in China before and I took it as a good sign of things to come. I was surprised to see an ATV on the road but wasn't anywhere near as surprised when we found out it was a woman rider!
- YOU GO SISTER! - (Note big-ass smile on face) -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-07.jpg
- NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! ROCK AND ROLL SISTER! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-15.jpg
I could see happiness radiating through her visor and it rubbed off. I got excited and decided we needed to get a few pictures of her in action. I will try to find her on the Chinese motorcycle pages and give her these pictures... she deserves them.
Curious about how an ATV cornered on switchbacks, I blasted ahead to set up at the next corner and waited for her to pass by.
- Get your four wheeled lean on! Oh yeah! -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-09.jpg
Then I stopped for a bit to get some distance shots as she worked her way through the mist.
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-17.jpg
Completely satisfied with even such a short experience we cruised the rest of the way down behind the group far below.
- Ride the River -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...li08-LX-18.jpg
When we reached the river it was going to be smooth sailing all the way back to Moxi save some rocky road works but that just added some spice to the leg.
- The comfort and convenience of the valley below -
http://photos.imageevent.com/mychina...08-Ride-15.jpg
Back in Moxi the world is completely different than at the pass. Business and the marketplace of man mutes the good loving of birds on-high but it's comforting to know that no matter how stupid or overconfident man becomes, there will always be the mountains, valleys and the oceans to set us straight.
It's a big wide world of riding folks and it only gets bigger from here. Keep the wheels turning.
Much Love,
CC
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