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1 Attachment(s)
Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Pre-ride Prep
I recently got an internship in Kunming, so after close to two years in Beijing I'm preparing to make the move south. Most importantly, the start date isn't until July, giving me enough time to make the commute! I've got roughly thirty days and am basically planning to head west to Qinghai, turn left, and then head south to Yunnan.
Here's what I'm roughly thinking for a route (I'd like to loop the lake in Qinghai, which I forgot to draw on the map):
Attachment 4222
I'm hoping to keep this thread updated as best I can as I make progress. My route is very much a work in progress - so any suggested roads, sites, or anything else would be great!
My lease is up in less than 48 hours, and I hope to be on the road shortly after that - so time to start packing!
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Epic ride. What will you be riding? When will this happen?
Good luck!
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Nice work if you can get it, Pat. Congratulations! That looks like somewhere between 3k and 4k km, I'm guessing, with lots of high desert and desert mountains crossing the Qinghai plain.
Hope you are not trying to carry your entire household of goods on the bike.....
Envy!
cheers
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Here are some sections that might help with the Sichuan/Yunnan part.
This kml file I did with Felix and Daniel last year.
This kml file I did with CrazyCarl in 2008.
http://www.contactdi.com/2011/map4.jpg
Great stuff in these areas, and there are multiple ways to go based on how wild or mild you want the ride to be.
Looking forward to your adventure :popcorn:, can't wait to see stuff from Qinghai and northern Sichuan.
Cheers!
ChinaV
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
nice commute! i'm planning to do xian - xining with the girlfriend as soon as i get my new bike. this is the route i want to take. i can't comment on it yet obviously but you're welcome to steal bits of it if you want!
http://ditu.google.cn/maps?f=d&sourc...,13.392334&z=7
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Quote:
Originally Posted by
felix
with the girlfriend
The ride just went epic. Very interested in how that works out for you. Are you taking the sidecar?
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Hi Pat,
I can comment on the TaiYuan part - skip this town, one of the uggliest most polluted places allover. Coal Trucks wherever you go - you cant escape them!
TaiYuan is home to one of the (maybe THE) biggest Stainless steel factories in Asia - the need to coal to keep it running and the drivers are not allowed on many expressways, so they share the smaller, Free of Charge roads with you and your bike. Maybe head directly for Inner Mongolia, though coal trucks there as well...
Yunnan - Sichuan:
If possible enter Yunnan as most westernly possible, skip Xichang/Panzhihua that you have on your Sichuan route now. There is a small road directly at the tibetan boarder going south entering Yunnan just north of ZhongDian. Simply Breathtaking!
Otherwise on a 1 month trip I would not plan too much, have Map, have GPS, will find gas and food...the rest just take it as it commes...
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Thanks for the tips guys. I'll be riding a Qingqi 200GY 3rd generation (picked it up last summer).. if all goes according to plan, I'll be leaving in a couple days (Wednesday morning). Don't worry Euphonius, the worldly possessions will be shipped separately - I should be relatively light on the bike - back case plus two side bags. Although I haven't actually packed yet, so we'll see!
Instead of packing, I've been reading through ChinaV and Felix's trip last summer. It's inspirational (and a bit cautionary) to say the least. I'm hoping to hit some of those same roads once I make it down south. Felix, I like how your Xi'an route follows the mountains all the way to Xining.. why go around when you can go through! That route may be a bit too far south - but I'm definitely planning check out the area around Xining.
Thanks for the heads up Andre - There's a small village I'm hoping to visit SW of Taiyuan.. although I may see if I can find a route that avoids Taiyuan as much as possible.. sounds horrible! As for the entry into Yunnan, I've been looking through an atlas - is that road you mentioned in Sichuan/Yunnan S217? Looking at ChinaV's kml file - it looks like he and CC took it in '08. I may very well enter Sichuan on S217 from Qinghai - is it a good road to follow all the way through Sichuan?
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Best general advice: Avoid cities like plague!
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Quote:
Originally Posted by
euphonius
Best general advice: Avoid cities like plague!
I second that well thought out bit of advice... with gusto! I'm well known amongst the riders I ride with for finding the longest, most mountainous rides around, and thankfully this has allowed me to stumble across many gems, which I'd not swap for, well... "all the tea in China"... hahaha! I make no apologies for my long point-point rides which has alienated me from just one or two of the Chinese riders in the riding group - which is it's either their way or no way.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pat
...
Thanks for the heads up Andre - There's a small village I'm hoping to visit SW of Taiyuan.. although I may see if I can find a route that avoids Taiyuan as much as possible.. sounds horrible! As for the entry into Yunnan, I've been looking through an atlas - is that road you mentioned in Sichuan/Yunnan S217? Looking at ChinaV's kml file - it looks like he and CC took it in '08. I may very well enter Sichuan on S217 from Qinghai - is it a good road to follow all the way through Sichuan?
Hi Pat, the S217 I only know from Litang Southwards into Yunnan. Its a good one, between Yunnan border and Shargrila Gorge its a dirt road, be aware!
The road I mean is more westward, directly at the border to Tibet. Follow G318 - a virtually empty G road in western Sichuan, just before it crosses the JinShaJiang there is a small road going south - it will bring you into Yunnan on a road much less traveled. This road is not on Google maps, but it exists and is simply beautiful, glaciers, waterfalls...
In these areas you will hit nearly 5000m asl!
Summer is raining season, which means mudslides. With the bike you can pass them usually. That is for all the Yunnan and South Sichuan, not sure how much it applies to Qinghai and Northern Sichuan.
I went once from ZhangJe in central Gansu to XiNing - Qinghai. Can recommend that. No pollution and a clear day you see the mighty Qinghai plateau from 50km distance...and then you get there...
Have fun and ring when you in town.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Nuhaus, i'll be riding my new qingqi QM250 if i ever get it (bought it in feb, still waiting...)
Pat, sorry the route i sent was missing a point. This route takes a smaller more northern road of of xiahe:
http://ditu.google.cn/maps?f=d&sourc...,10.821533&z=7
Xiahe is tibetan village in southern gansu, that whole region is all tibetan plateau and villages, looks amazing. I cannot wait to get out there.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Wednesday May 18 - Pat departs Beijing on his major quest.
After staying at my place Tuesday night (poor Pat was homeless), we got up bright & early to depart. I fixed him a healthy breakfast of 100% bran (heh heh ... an old-school biker's practical joke).
Barry came by my place at 0800 and we were off. Barry took the day off work, as it was his birthday (16, I guess ... all young guys look the same to me).
We met three more bikes at the Iron Horse Cafe to help see Pat off.
With Charles in the lead, we headed NW to Hebei, riding through a National Park, and then stopped for lunch at a great roast lamb restaurant, just inside the Hebei border.
From here, we parted ways. Pat continued North, we returned to Beijing. Sad to see a riding buddy leave. And also had a huge touch of envy.
Here we are stopped in the park, and a closeup of the adventurer ...
http://i51.tinypic.com/1damc.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/2a4v7f6.jpg
Ride safe, friend. :riding: :thumbsup:
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Dear Lao Jia Huo,
Mighty kind of you to organize a sendoff. Rural Beijing is starting to look a bit greener. Awesome country out there, if you can extricate yourself beyond the Fifth Ring.
Dear Pat,
I hope you can post regular updates during your adventure. This little commute to Kunming is the stuff of dreams! Can't wait to hear what you encounter out there!
cheers to all
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
I made it into Hohhot, Inner Mongolia last night and after three days of riding and 900 km, I decided to treat myself to a rest day and take some time to do a little route planning.
Day 1: Beijing : Shuangjing to Changping
Lao Jia Huo summarized day one - it was great to get in another ride with some of the Beijing riders. It was also great to get to the storied Roast Lamb Restaurant - I'd been hearing about it since last summer, and the roasted leg of lamb didn't disappoint!
After lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed in opposite directions. My GPS had lost power - the cigarette lighter shorted out and blew the fuse. A friend helped diagnose the problem and gave me his fuse, so on departure my first task was to find a replacement cigarette lighter. I started stopping at every motorcycle shop I passed, and on the third try, was able to get it swapped out and get a few spare fuses.
By the time everything was sorted, it was starting to get late, so I rode over to Changping, met up with a couple friends for dinner and drinks, and called it a night. 300 KM and only made it 30 KM outside of the city! But escaping the confines of Beijing is no small feat, so all in all, the day was a resounding success!
Day 2: Beijing to Yangyuan, Hebei
The next morning I got off to an early start, jumped on sixth ring road, and rode down to G109 - my riding buddy for the next 500 KM. The weather was perfect, clear skies and cool, the road was mountainous, and traffic was light. A perfect way to start!
A village nestled in the mountains:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0027.jpg
A reservoir:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0030.jpg
As I was winding through the mountains, I saw an odd little pile of rocks and wood in the road.. I slowed down, and around the turn was greeted by this site:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0034.jpg
After awhile, I hit a checkpoint:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2871.jpg
Riding up, the police officer waved for me to stop. He asked for my registration, and I pulled out my license and blue book and passed them over. He glanced through them, asked where I was heading (Datong), smiled and waved me through. Everything's legal on my bike (plates, registration, license) - but I wondered what would've happened if it wasn't. I assumed I had hit the border with Hebei - but I didn't reach the border for another half hour or so:
http://i.imgur.com/nrwjE.jpg
Now in Hebei, the scenery continued to be great:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0038.jpg
Eventually, I descended out of the mountains and hit a relatively flat stretch of road with mountains off to either side. I stopped for lunch at a small roadside restaurant. It was a family owned, a large room served as the dining room (for both the family and the customers), with their bedrooms off the main room. After lunch, I walked back outside and found a guy sitting on my bike pretending like he was racing! I laughed and startled him - embarrassed, he hopped off the bike and went back to his shop next door.
I continued towards Shanxi, but the weather started to look ominous. A band of black, angry looking clouds stretched out in front of me. The GPS said I'd be turning away from the clouds and towards clear skies in roughly 15 km, so I thought I might be able to dodge it. It got darker and darker, and I'd almost made it through when it started to rain. I pulled into a gas station and under their awning to wait it out:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_2873.jpg
The rain passed, but it had gotten a lot colder and really windy. In addition, the good 'ole G109 had deteriorated and I was hitting patches of rock and dirt. Cold and tired, I saw a not-so-dodgy looking hotel, and decided to call it a day about 80 km outside of Datong.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
[I'm still having picture posting issues! I wrote up what I've tried here:]
Day 3: Yangyuan, Hebei to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia
The next morning I was happy to see that the weather had cleared and there was no rain in the forecast. I was less happy to see that it was 7 degrees outside. Freezing, I set a course for Datong, and got on the road.
I had almost made it to the border the day before, and quickly crossed into Shanxi:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0049.jpg
The road continued to follow the mountain range and there were hints of the coal industry everywhere - piles of coal, signs for coal mines, and, worst of all, big trucks full of coal everywhere.
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0053.jpg
Before long, I reached Datong. Entering the city I crossed a long bridge flanked by the ubiqutous high rise housing buildings and coal burning power plants - the ultimate destination for all those trucks.
Beeeeeautiful:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0057.jpg
Cold, I decided to visit the Yungang Caves and their 51,000 Buddha statues. Built before 400 BC, they're remarkably well preserved. Unfortunately, pictures aren't allowed in the two most spectacular caves, but in other caves you can get right up next to the statues:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0072.jpg
Peekaboo:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0084.jpg
On my way out of the park, I ran into this guy.
Hey Good Lookin'
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0097.jpg
Pose!
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0098.jpg
By the time I had finished visiting the caves and had lunch, it was already pushing 2:00 PM. And then a long conversation in the parking lot with a guy from Beijing followed by GPS problems (mismarked G109) and it was suddenly 3:00.
Still hoping to make Hohhot, I opened it up a bit only to hit a toll booth. As I rode up to the gate, a toll worker ran out and started to flag me away. I popped my helmet, and, realizing I was a foreigner, he grinned and ran over. Within minutes every spare toll worker at the place had walked over. A new friend:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0102.jpg
Thirty minutes later, I rode around the toll booth, and was finally on my way. Inner Mongolia isn't far from Datong, and I hit the border before long:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0109.jpg
The coal magically disappeared, and the road wound through a set of low mountains.
A typical village:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...2/IMG_0110.jpg
I had given up hope making it to Hohhot, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that the sun refused to drop. Five o'clock rolled around and then six and it was still broad daylight. At seven I hit the last small city (xian cheng) before Hohhot and was still about 60 km out. The sun had started to drop a bit, but I figured I could make it. Fortunately, the road into Hohhot was great, and, keeping it at 80 km/hr, made it into Hohhot as the sun set. Riding past the "no motorcycles" sign, I rode into the city, found a hotel, and called it a night.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Great pics Pat - the pics seem to be showing up ok. Using the Canon?
Hope the bike, gear & rider are holding up well.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Lookin good so far! How long are you planning to take to get to KM?
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Quote:
Originally Posted by
felix
Lookin good so far! How long are you planning to take to get to KM?
I second that. PM me when you get to KM. We'll have beers and what not... only andre and myself out here
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Pat, Looks like you are making good progress on your trip. The pics are great.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Made it into Zhongwei, Ningxia yesterday and am taking a day off to rest up.
I'm loosely planning to get into Kunming on June 17th and taking roughly 14 days to do the route through Xining - Yushu - Sichuan/Tibetan border - Zhongdian/Lijiang/Dali/Kunming.
I'm using a Canon G12 that I picked up just for this trip.. still trying to learn how to use it - so I pretty much just use Auto and Landscape modes.. (although I discovered the Super Vivid Mode just in time to 'bring out the green' in the grasslands!)
Day 5: Inner Mongolia: Hohhot to Wudang Zhao
After resting the previous day, I woke up early and headed for the grasslands north of Hohhot. The road north of the city was mountainous, traffic was light, and the weather was perfect.
The road twisted out of Hohhot:
http://i.imgur.com/Yzk7H.jpg
After decsending out of the mountains the terrain flattened out and after an hour or so of riding I entered the grasslands. Some areas have become tourist destinations where you can sleep in a yurt, ride horses, and sing Mongolian KTV. Hoping to avoid these spots, I rode until I saw an open plain and rode on in:
http://i.imgur.com/quKZr.jpg
I saw a herd of horses in the distance and set out for them. They let me ride up pretty close, but as soon as I got off the bike to take a picture, they took off!
http://i.imgur.com/P0UhY.jpg
These guys on the other hand, moved a lot slower:
http://i.imgur.com/WxTT9.jpg
A yurt and something that may or may not have been covered in prayer flags:
http://i.imgur.com/oQ8K1.jpg
After chasing the horses around for awhile, I had worked up an appetite and went looking for lunch. I saw a couple guys on motorcycles sitting on the side of the road and asked where I could go to eat. They asked if I wanted to ride a horse, and I told them I only ride Iron Horses. I'm not sure they got the joke. One of the guys asked if I wanted to eat at his house, thinking that this could be a cool experience, I followed him on his motorcycle... straight into one of the tourist yurt camps. Oh well!:
http://i.imgur.com/YEvoK.jpg
I was brought into a yurt, where this little number presented herself:
http://i.imgur.com/d9C2G.jpg
I obliged with a belly rub, not realizing in Mongolian culture I had apparently conscented to marriage. We were wed shortly thereafter in a simple ceremony:
http://i.imgur.com/JKnnw.jpg
Full stomach and newly wed, I decided to go off in search of villages in the middle of the grasslands area. After weaving around for a bit, I came across a wind farm:
http://i.imgur.com/8NbM5.jpg
And then this little beauty of a road:
http://i.imgur.com/YOrk6.jpg
The road, or actually series of dirt paths, led past a number of half abandoned villages:
http://i.imgur.com/4NvNp.jpg
The GPS quickly became useless, and I remembered reading a thread here somewhere that proposed the Theory of Following Power Lines:
http://i.imgur.com/0U1NJ.jpg
The power lines led past some more half abandoned villages:
http://i.imgur.com/gp1uC.jpg
And then came out on this perfectly paved new road.. in the middle of nowhere:
http://i.imgur.com/ILGUF.jpg
The new road led past another wind farm:
http://i.imgur.com/IBBdC.jpg
A village in the shadow of wind turbines:
http://i.imgur.com/zbtjT.jpg
Eventually I made it back out to a bigger road and set a course for Wu Dang Zhao, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. The road wound back towards and then followed the mountains:
http://i.imgur.com/zURwj.jpg
I made good time to the monastery, despite a couple unexpected detours - inexplicably being forced off of a perfectly good new road and into a dust bowl full of trucks, only to wind back around to the perfectly good road again. This, unfortunately, seems to be a common theme, one that would be repeated a couple days later. Hoping to spend the night in the monastery, I rushed to make it just before they closed, only to find out that visitors can't stay in the monastery, only at a little hotel next door. But all's well that end's well, as the hotel was a family run operation and everyone was incredibly friendly. And after a long chat with the husband and wife and a good dinner with four new friends that immediately invited me to their table, I called it a night.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Day 6: Inner Mongolia: Wu Dang Zhao to Dongsheng
The evening before, I had wound my way through the mountains looking for Wu Dang Zhao monastery, and coming around the final bend the monastery came into view:
http://i.imgur.com/SOg6P.jpg
Every morning at 7 AM the Lamas say their morning prayers. I set the alarm for 6:30 and walked out to the monastery. It was crisp and clear, and I was the only one around. At 7:00 sharp, the Lamas came out and started:
http://i.imgur.com/VvVyg.jpg
The monastery itself didn't open for another hour and a half, so I followed a path up the nearby mountain to get a better view:
http://i.imgur.com/WK2Fo.jpg
Once the monastery opened, I started wandering around. As I came out of one of the halls, Lama Bill accosted me with the all-to-familiar "Hello!" and we started chatting. I asked him how long he had been a monk, and he corrected me saying he wasn't a monk, but a Lama. He was Mongolian, in his mid-twenties and a student at the monastery. Of the forty monks, more than half were there to study. He was excited to graduate soon and was planning on studying for a Ph.D. at a monastery in Qinghai:
http://i.imgur.com/h7b61.jpg
He brought me around to the back of the monastery and to his room. The room had two bunk beds, we sat on one of them and his fellow classmates/Lamas came in one by one and gathered around us. Their ages ranged from twelve up to their early thirties. One smiling Lama told me he was planning to ride his bike to Beijing once he graduated. We continued to chat for awhile, until their teacher walked up outside and starting glaring through the window. The twelve year old Lama practically fell out of his seat, jumping up and standing at attention - hoping to avoid his teacher's wrath. Bill quickly said they had to go, but that he'd text me later, and like that the Lamas filed out to class. Alone again, I went back outside wandered around the rest of the monastery. The Lama's living quarters:
http://i.imgur.com/WCpLz.jpg
By the time I finished wandering around the monastery and had lunch, it was already closing in on 1:00. Given the success of wandering around the grasslands the day before, I set a course for Xiang Sha Wan - which had been compared to the Sahara. I knew it was probably a tourist trap, but I was hoping once I got nearby I'd be able to find nearby roads to ride through.
You never know what oddity will be around the next corner:
http://i.imgur.com/FXEsr.jpg
Picturing a sea of sand stretching as far as the eye could see, I was disappointed to find out that, while beautiful, it was more of a band of "clean" desert amidst the surrounding grown over desert area. And it had indeed been converted into a tourist trap. Gondola rides, lama rides, and sand surfing for the low, low price of 300 kuai! This picture is deceiving:
http://i.imgur.com/QJLLL.jpg
I was even more disappointed to see that there weren't any nearby roads I could take that would let me ride through the desert. It'll have to come another day (and hopefully that day will be tomorrow!).
It was starting to get late, so I headed towards Dongsheng, a rich, rich city full of new cars and new buildings, found a hotel, and called it a day.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Great, great RR Pat. Fantastic pics and entertaining narrative.
Where's your new bride? You didn't do a "runner" after consummating the marriage, did you? If so, you better keep moving, quickly
Hope the Qingqi is purring away.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Pat,
Thanks for sharing your nuptials and fantastic ride. Envy, Envy, Envy!
By the way, the G11/G12 functions best not in auto mode but in P (program) mode, which allows you manage the flash yourself. If you have only the Chinese operators manual, I think I can show you where to download it in English.
To be honest, I don't think you actually need that super saturation for the colors. That camera is great at capturing natural color just as it is.
Pix are awesome. Keep 'em coming, and ride safe!
cheers
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Be safe Pat. I'll be following your progress.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Beautiful report and looks like you're having fun! You couldn't take you new wife with you?
:icon10:
CC
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Made it into Xiahe, Gansu this afternoon. It's an amazing little place. The weather has gotten a bit dicey, but if it holds, I'll be heading for Xining tomorrow.
Thanks for camera tip Euphonius, I took some shots today in 'P' mode and am eager to get them on the computer to see how they look. I was able to download an English manual on Canon's website.. now just need to find the time to read it!
Day 7 - Inner Mongolia: Dongsheng to Ningxia border
After only making it rougly 150 km the previous day, I was eager to cover more ground. I jumped on the G109, the same road I had taken out of Beijing, and headed west out of Dongsheng. The terrain was flat and arrid. I spent most of the day riding through desert areas - not pure sand - but with some vegetation.
http://i.imgur.com/PFA15.jpg
At times, the G109 was great, and at other times, it was great, but for some unknown reason closed for (nonexistant) "construction." At these points, I had to jump off the road into dusty bypasses:
http://i.imgur.com/ZO9I8.jpg
Here and there, the road was blocked by cones (or more often stacks of rocks), which were easy enough to simply go right through. Although ignoring the cones on one end meant I may hit one of these on the other end:
http://i.imgur.com/tXdPN.jpg
Fortunately, there was usually *some* way around:
http://i.imgur.com/KDF1H.jpg
When I couldn't find a way around, I had to take the bypasses. Often which required riding through half a foot of dust. They didn't teach "Riding Through Sand" at my Chinese motocycle license "classes" - and while riding through loose dirt, the bike would slide all over the place. At one bypass, the dust was especially thick, I was in the wrong gear, and all of the sudden I found myself standing with the bike lying on the ground below me:
http://i.imgur.com/2ppHX.jpg
I tried to lifting the bike - first with my legs and then with my back - all to no avail. I walked down to the road and the first car I waved at pulled over. Two men jumped out, we climbed back up to my bike, and the three of us picked it back up no problem. They helped me push it down to the road and went on their way. I looked over the bike, didn't see anything wrong, and jumped back on the road.
I continued to hit bypasses, and started taking them as slow as the bike would let me. On one particularly long bypass, I went past a taxi cab driver trying to shovel his stuck taxi out (in the distance:)
http://i.imgur.com/gpJ8W.jpg
I'd rather slalom through rocks than leave road for the dirt, even with the all-to-familiar oncoming trucks and plumes of dust in their wake. Here, I stopped to brace for the coming dust storm:
http://i.imgur.com/4aCDc.jpg
Eventually I hit the S216 and happily left my old friend the G109 behind. A bit worn out, I stopped for lunch in the next small town. While eating, the sky turned from blue to gray as a band of storm clouds rolled in. The waitresses assured me that in this area when it rains, it quickly passes. I sat and watched the storm clouds from the restaurant window.. but despite the ominous look, it didn't rain. Still wanting to make up ground, I decided to chance it. And sure enough, after not 20 minutes on the road I felt a few sprinkles:
http://i.imgur.com/ygw85.jpg
I could see clear skies in the distance, and so I raced on, hoping to dodge the weather. Luckily, I was able to get clear of the clouds before it really opened up. The terrain continued to be flat and arrid as I made my way towards Ningxia.
Sheep crossing:
http://i.imgur.com/56l7J.jpg
Closing in on 400 km for the day, I hit a small city on the border with Ningxia and decided to spend one last night in Inner Mongolia before entering a new province. Ningxia could wait for tomorrow!
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pat
Little Miss Qingqi has an expression on her fairing-face ...
"I can't take any more of this sand ... please Mr. Pat I need a rest! Just let me rest for 15 minutes"
Another great update Pat - thanks!
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Day 8: Inner Mongolia - Zhongwei, Ningxia
In the morning I got on the S302 and headed towards Zhongwei, Ningxia. Before long I reached Yanchi, the first city in Ningxia. I had crossed the border at some point, but it wasn't obvious I was in a new province as the terrain continued to be relatively flat and arrid. Once I realized I was in Ningxia, I saw an access road up to a cell tower, so I rode up and took a picture.
Ningxia:
http://i.imgur.com/N8qsg.jpg
A little further up the road was an opportunity to take the mandatory picture of a massively overloaded tractor:
http://i.imgur.com/A58Cm.jpg
Some areas were deeply eroded, it probably doesn't take much water to cut through the dirt:
http://i.imgur.com/UaCvQ.jpg
It soon became obvious that I was no longer in Inner Mongolia. Ningxia is an automous region for the Hui people who are largely Muslim, and soon I started to pass mosques along the road.
A mosque, blue skies, and windmills:
http://i.imgur.com/5QMiF.jpg
Another mosque:
http://i.imgur.com/Zu1jZ.jpg
I was also started passing a lot of Hui villages, the men wearing their white hats and women with covered heads:
http://i.imgur.com/N1eRv.jpg
As I got deeper into Ningxia there was actually some elevation. A train passing in the distance:
http://i.imgur.com/9h939.jpg
And then I saw this guy! I had heard about these cop statues used to police remote areas, and finding one absolutely made my day:
http://i.imgur.com/duwTa.jpg
After snapping this picture, instinct kicked in, and I jumped back on the bike and ran! After I was sure the cop wasn't in pursuit, I stopped for lunch. At the restaurant they seated me at a table for eight, which quickly filled up as the chefs came out one by one and sat down. I'm continually amazed at how friendly and open people are in this country. Almost without exception at every meal and every stop I make new friends:
http://i.imgur.com/EpQaJ.jpg
After lunch I got back on the road for Zhongwei. The land continued to be arrid, and yet at every turn there were farmers hard at work, trying to grow crops up out of the dust:
http://i.imgur.com/eQvfV.jpg
And often with remarkable success:
http://i.imgur.com/maQYy.jpg
Women working in front of a cement factory:
http://i.imgur.com/Iy6mt.jpg
As the road shifted north, I decided to leave the named roads to take a "short" (potentially long) cut and head straight for Zhongwei. It was just after four o'clock, and the road was full of kids walking home from school:
http://i.imgur.com/QYxc9.jpg
Before long I reached Zhongwei, a city on the southern edge of the Tengger desert. On the way in, it had that "New China City" feel to it - large eight lane roads without a car to be seen!
http://i.imgur.com/QTt43.jpg
The center of the city was much more lively, complete with a Drum Tower (Gulou) which reminded of Beijing. It was still early when I arrived, so after finding a hotel, I went out to find dinner. There was a pedestrian street not far from the hotel, wall-to-wall with KTV/Chuar places. After a dinner of chuanr, I walked up and down the street four times in vain looking for a "normal" bar. Denied, I opted for what was probably the wiser decision of an early night's sleep.
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Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pat
Pat - is that your DL and Registration in your left hand? Did the policeman ask for it? If so, you need to spend more time in the shade!