Prep Round-China Bike trip, 2-up, April-May 2012

Hey all,

While the bike is in repairs, I'm now fully focused on the route preparation for our big trip with my GF : approximately 2 months around China, around 10,000 km trip.
Fahni ride prep thread inspired me to start this one too. :icon10:


Because we will ride 2-up, we'll take it easy and have distance constraints every day (cannot ride as much as solo), I'm considering 200km/day, with an average speed of 50km/h.
So this will prevent us from doing a full "round-china" trip, as maybe T**et, Qinghai & Xinjiang will be out of question. But still, the route would take us through major sceneries. Forgot how to imbed the map, will have to do this later.

The following map is a GROSS draft of what it will look like, and is not the final one, of course.
http://maps.google.com.hk/maps?saddr=Shanghai,+China&daddr=Moganshanzhen,+Hu zhou,+Zhejiang,+China+to:Nanping,+Fujian,+China+to :Ganzhou,+Jiangxi,+China+to:Guilin,+Guangxi,+China +to:Pu'er,+Yunnan,+China+to:Dali,+Yunnan,+China+to :Lijiang,+Yunnan,+China+to:Garze+to:Golog,+Qinghai ,+China+to:Haibei+to:Lanzhou,+Gansu,+China+to:Baot ou,+Inner+Mongolia,+China+to:Datong,+Shanxi,+China +to:Beijing,+China+to:Weihai,+Shandong,+China+to:Q ingdao,+Shandong,+China+to:Nanjing,+Jiangsu,+China +to:Shanghai,+China&hl=en&ll=30.902225,115.839844& spn=27.429351,53.569336&sll=27.654338,104.0625&ssp n=7.119978,13.392334&geocode=FbmJ3AEdqIo9BykzPPWxQ HCyNTGhZMMjlBKVAg%3BFcrp0gEdKnslBynbqwNNxEVLNDEv3Y XttNvc2Q%3BFWmFlgEdrD8LByk3P7Polc84NDGSNKs17qe-sQ%3BFVkfigEdMb_ZBikXHCQgj0cYNDHQSPwFYuBm5Q%3BFd6k gQEdE-WSBikzUSF1NvSkNjHhSnAdGcGG_w%3BFaWPWwEdqK4EBimzR3u tP6HVNjHEAAYgtk0Qdw%3BFVa5hgEddvb5BSm3V9pVo7gnNzFW uNfJ9qhO3A%3BFWYbmgEd6GT5BSnp0wtA5q8gNzGoXUc9g1jUu A%3BFfCEygEdR9ITBik1-eKuQCcdNzFgHMHUI8Wshg%3BFfv-DQIdI575BSmbj4EcsKgANzF-q0GWzwb0kA%3BFaHgMwIdQ6ADBin7zXDqXF1NNjH_Tjl9OvGvw w%3BFUdAJgIdCWMwBimDOQyZtZBaNjFcJA1dLgBMkQ%3BFSdib AIdAgiMBinbGTAXIlgENjF8Xdc_PBgRmg%3BFRCGYwIdntLABi n1EWAVh9PiNTFzAh8AIIgZlg%3BFdbjYAIddTzwBim5LBTnllL wNTGKqQ-vIFZiuQ%3BFWxnPAId5GhHBylF5IGiimiaNTGaFlPufqy3cQ%3 BFZRXJgIdKOQsBylr8PiC1Q-WNTHz8kxh-oJNYQ%3BFV8z6QEdTbIUBymDzY1mm4y1NTEGG995C7b7jw%3BF bmJ3AEdqIo9BykzPPWxQHCyNTGhZMMjlBKVAg&vpsrc=6&brcu rrent=3,0x3403e2eda332980f:0xf08ab3badbeac97c,0&di rflg=ht&mra=ls&t=p&z=5

When and how : The trip will be done in April and May 2012, on the YBR 250, with saddle bags, top case (trunk) and tank bag. Total capacity in terms of volume is 110 liters.
I already have the complete check-list, with things to buy in Europe during the Christmas holiday and in China.
The trip will start in Shanghai, go South to have the better weather at the beginning of spring (April), and then North later (May) when it should be warmer than if we would start with the North in April.

Fuel : In terms of fuel autonomy, the YBR is good to go with its 19 liters tank, good for 500 to 600km on 1 tank, depending on the load and riding style.

Clothing & Protection : Both riders will have full riding equipment of course, + rain riding equipment available for both + riding winter underwear for both (Alpinestars Winter Tech gear).
We'll pack 3 days worth of clothes, no more.

No camping gear, it'll be cheap hotel (hostel) all the way.



Would you guys be kind enough to list all the tips you can think of, mainly in terms of roads, for those of you who traveled extensively in China : where MUST we go ?
All comments are welcome of course ! :goodtime:

That looks like a pretty awesome ride. You're welcome to stay with us for a couple days in Guangdong, I can also give you some route suggestions to get you from point C to point E. There are a lot of nice roads between there, as well as some nasty ones too.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Hey ChinaV, I see you as one of the most experienced rider out here, so of course I'll be honored to stay at your place if we go near, and to get all your suggestions to get from "temporary" point C to Point E !

Cheers !

I did 2.900 km in 10 days, 2-up in the north this year. I would suggest to have a back-up destination for each riding day, some place in between your starting location and your planned destination. So in case you have some trouble or get on some really bad stretch you still can call it a day earlier. I got on some 130 km stretch of road construction during my trip, which took me about 4 hours, 30 km/h average. Ask locals about the road from their place to the next on your list.

Top up your tank every 100-150 km, it will save your ass in unknown areas. I had quite a long stretch (perhaps 200 km) in Inner Mongolia with only 3 new not opened yet gas stations. Luckily I had topped up not long before. Furthermore, I drove back from Mohexiang to Mohe on reserve. Since Mohexiang doesn't have a gas station.

You will bring any spare parts?

In case you missed/forgot about this thread by our guru!

Barry, thanks for your inputs.
Yes, we know we should be flexible on the schedule/destinations, and have Plan B every day. When we'll prepare the detailed route for every day, we'll consider that for sure. Anyway, we're both already flexible persons, so we won't have problems with this I guess.

Good tip for the fuel, I already had this in mind. Take it every time you can, don't wait to hit reserve...

As for spare parts, yes I'll do, the basic things, especially as they do not weight a lot or take a lot of space :
- oil filter
- air filter
- spark plug
- throttle & clutch cables
- tubeless tyre repair kit with plugs and CO2 cartridges (tyres will also have Ride-On inside them, to prevent flats) + small hand pump + a small tyre pressure gauge
- 1 set of fuses
- 1 headlight bulb

And then the usual : tape, zip-ties (to hold anything in place), WD-40, chain lubricant, tenders, a Swiss knife and the basic tools.

I would also take a spare front brake and clutch lever.They don't take up much room but if you need them you really need them.Oh and a spare chain link.

Hello Fred,

That's an impressive tour! 200km a day is a good average if you want to enjoy the scenery and keep yourself in shape.

While in Point E (Guilin), I would suggest to spend some time up north in the Guizhou Province which is quite remote and hilly. Lot of minorities tribes as well.

150km east of points G and H, there is the Lugu lake area which is an eco reserve and a matriacal minority tribe.

Betwen Lijiang (H) and South Sichuan, you'll pass the Tiger Leaping Gorge to go to Shangri Là. Take the alternative route instead of the main route, Still a tarmac road but nicer with fantastic views of the mountains.

cheers

Thanks a lot for the tips Brice, much appreciated ! :thumbsup:
We'll definitely check those out !

Hey, sounds like it is going to be an epic trip and planning is a big part of the fun, isn't it?

Looks like your way through northern Sichuan and Qinghai is almost the same as the route I have in mind. Let's see how timimg works out, maybe we can meet up somewhere. I noticed that you want to go through Aba. As far as I have heard, the county is basically closed to foreigners because of strong teabetan protests going on in the region. Wish you luck with your preping!

Hey Fahni, yeah planning is definitely part of the fun, especially going through the bike, check-lists and maps ! :riding:

Well noted about Aba, anyway as I wrote the route will be flexible, and who knows how it'll be in Spring 2012 anyway...


About the route, one thing I notice is that we have a lot of RR and suggestions for the South of China (Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan, Sichuan) but not so much for the North (Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shandong).
My understanding is that :
1. maybe we have fewer members up north
2. we are attracted to elevation changes, mountains, landscapes so the scenery in Yunnan is better than flat Shandong or Jiangsu...
3. Climate is generally better (eternal spring in Yunnan !).

In terms of the global route, I admit that we're still pondering the way to go after the Gansu province. We tend to plan big loops because we call them round-trip, but hey, we can do what we want, where we want, we could even maybe go back South after Gansu to Hubei and Anhui, see what I mean ?

I know China is BIG, so a definitive answer is not possible, but do you guys with experience think we will miss out great things if we don't go North after Gansu ?
Difficult question, I know...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fred

About the route, one thing I notice is that we have a lot of RR and suggestions for the South of China (Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan, Sichuan) but not so much for the North (Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shandong).
My understanding is that :
1. maybe we have fewer members up north
2. we are attracted to elevation changes, mountains, landscapes so the scenery in Yunnan is better than flat Shandong or Jiangsu...
3. Climate is generally better (eternal spring in Yunnan !).

---

Hey Fred, check out the website of crazycarl: http://www.carlparker.com/ under "links" you find some nice information on road conditions and even some additional files to be used with Google Earth. It is all about north-western China. Some amazing pictures included!

That info is a couple years out of date. A lot of the roads have improved since then but you can pretty much always expect broken roads and riskier weather at passes.

I found it's good to examine the roads on high res google maps. If you see black pavement, it's probably okay.

CC

Wow.
I'm so excited for you and your misses. I hope that things go as smoothly as they can for your trip.
I'm not familiar with the roads you seem to want to take through Shandong, however, I'm keen to accompany you guys from roughly Bin Zhou or Bo Xing (hahaha... boxing!) for a little way if you'll have my company. I could do some reconnaissance and get to know some roads ahead of the time you expect to hit Shandong if that would help.

Hey Pete, that's mighty nice of you, and who knows, we'll maybe take you up on your offer !

Shandong is for the last bit of the trip, coming down south from Beijing to Shanghai. We know for sure we'd like to go to Qingdao, so Zibo might even be on the way !
I'll be honest, Shandong is not the "most exciting" part of the trip, at least this is what I think now, I hope to be mistaken ! Could you tell me more about the roads, the landscapes (it's flat, huh ?), and the cultural bits we could go to on the road from BJ to QD ?

I'm much more a "landscape" kind of guy, but the missus is really more a "cultural bits" kind of girl, so we'll have to mix both !

Cheers !

Fred

Some two part epoxy is another little, cheap, thing that might be handy. Of course there's other stuff like toilet paper that is handy do have.

I'm in Dalian and there are a few other guys on MCM here. If you give me a heads up I might be able to join you for part of the trip. Dalian is a little out of the way, down in it's own little peninsula.

I know we have some stickies on ride prep but still, this is a great thread for anyone planing a trip.

Shandong, from my experience, is fairly mountainous. Zibo, at least, is surrounded by mountains but the majority of the roads are fairly flat.

I've a feeling that 'not the "most exciting" part of the trip' is an entirely accurate statement. Shandong doesn't have the best sights in China and it may seem especially uninteresting as you're coming to the end of a very exhausting trip. I've never ridden the roads up to Beijing but I've heard that they're just long, boring and lined with factories. Maybe you'll find them to be otherwise:confused1:.
The other roads, between Binzhou, Yantai, Qingdao and Rizhao are, apparently, similar to the roads south of Beijing but that's all I've heard. I'll have to see them for myself.

There's a rule that seems to fit the roads in Shandong: If it's a main road between two large cities then expect it to be full of cars, buses and occasionally overloaded lorries. These roads are also poorly maintained and very bland... It's not always true but mostly it is. For this reason, the rides I go on with ZMC888 are on the mountain roads that are rarely used by the masses. In your case, in the interest of convenience and time, you'll probably want to take your chances with the main roads.

***

Let's see what I can tell you about Shandong. I only know a little but here it is...

Zhoucun, Zibo: (Pete's recommendation for a cultural experience)
Zhoucun 'Old street' would be a really nice, relaxing cultural place for you guys to visit. It's a 300+ year old section of the city that has been preserved and turned into a tourist attraction. I don't go on any of the tours that they provide, I just like to go in at night time when there aren't many people around and go to my friends little coffee shop there to relax and enjoy the views. It's a little bit out of the way from your Google-maps route but not if you plan to go through Zibo. I live in Zhangdian (in the center of Zibo) and it only takes me 20mins to ride to old street.

Yantai:
It's smack-bang on your planned route. I've never been but everyone says it's really beautiful and I've always wanted to go there.

Weihai:
I've been there by coach but not on the bike. It's nice, clean and has some well preserved beaches (at least it did 2 years ago). Also on your route.

Qingdao:
I've been there about ten times and love the place. It's probably nothing compared to Shanghai (to which I've never been) but I love the feeling of Qingdao and the western restaurants that Zibo lacks. There is a beer factory, a little mountain to climb and number of other tourist destinations there along with dozens of things to do and places to see.

Rizhao:
Another place I haven't yet been to but would like to see and it's also on your route. I've am old Chinese friend there who also claims that it's a really beautiful place; Clean and free from too much tourism.

Taian/ Taishan:#(Far from planned route)
They're worth mentioning but not really a realistic destination unless you're will to add another 300-350km (round-trip) to your route. I climbed down Taishan once (haven't gone up it yet) and that was really tiring. I don't think that anyone touring China could spare the energy for Taishan at the same time.
I've heard that Tai-an has a new amusement park though.
I think that Weifang has a new one too. Weifang's old amusement park is WAY past it's use-by-date.

Qufu:#(Far from planned route)
The birthplace of Confucius (correct me if I'm wrong). Again, worth mentioning but it's even further away from you're planned route (+200km round-trip from Taian) and I've never been there so I can't say how much I like it.

I hope some of the stuff above helps. I imagine you'll both be emotionally and physically exhausted by the time you get to Shandong so I'm prepared for you to want to scrap most of those ideas when you finally get here. We'll see :lol8:.

P.s.
Yantai, Weihai and Rizhao should have the nicest, cleanest roads with lots of coastal views. If you are the same kind of landscape guy as me, then I should try and get you on some of the mountain roads that ZMC888 has lead me through.

Maux.
Is there any kind of Ferry that you can get from Dalian to Shandong? Maybe Yantai or Weihai? I've always wanted to see Dalian. So many foreigners go there and never come back. They go on holiday, find a job in Dalian and love it so much that they never return to their previous location. Is it all true?

Pete, I've really enjoyed it, but I moved here from Taiyuan, Shanxi which is pretty polluted and not very international. Most of the economy of Shanxi is based on coal mining and it doesn't encourage much foreign influence. Dalian is much more international and has much more trading and shipping. Its also a decent tech development zone, Intel built a plant here recently. While the environment here is much better than Taiyuan, I've heard from folks that it's gotten worse in recent years. I haven't got a chance to check out any of the other roads in Liaoning but Zhongshan has an easy day of nice riding. During spring, though, I'm pretty sure these same little roads get pretty well clogged with tourists.
I would guess that there are lots of options to take ferries to lots of places, the trick might be getting the bike on. I haven't checked into it myself but it might be a good route on a trip south. I'm not sure how long it would take either, it would be nice to take an overnight ferry, if there is such a thing. I'll ask local friends, but I expect I'll get a typically unhelpful answer like "Why would you want to do that? "Because I want to take my motorcycle to Shandong." "With a motorcycle?" "Yes, with a motorcycle." "Ah! this is crazy!".

Hahahaha. TIC; despite that fact I still have my hopes up for a vehicle ferry. I think I have some friends I could ask too.
If it is possible then it would be another destination option for Fred to consider.

Shame to hear that Dalian sounds like it's getting worse.
Zibo - when I first got here - had little in the way of western food and items. It was smoggy and had a fairly cold, grey feeling. Now, lot's of the surrounding factories have closed down, the atmosphere is clearer and warmer and there are a bunch of new western supermarkets, malls and restaurants. One door closes and another opens.

Pete, that's an awesome post you wrote there, thanks mate ! :thumbsup:

In terms of preparation of the roads on Google maps, I'm not up there yet to Shandong province, but I'll keep in mind everything you wrote about the roads and the sights.
What about Qingdao & the bikes, I saw in another thread in this forum that it was (in theory) forbidden to motorbikes. Is it enforced, is it easy not to care about it ?

Thanks a lot anyway, I'll put here the detailed maps as soon as I can get them to work (I'll post something in ChinaV's thread about "Mastering Google Maps", which clearly I didn't achieve yet)....

Indeed...
People obviously can't get motorcycles registered in Qingdao city center but can one get away with riding through it?

Hey Fred,

PM us when you can be sure of your exact dates for Beijing. Let's try to meet up and show you around BJ!

Hey Fahni, thanks for the offer, we might take you up as well on the offer !
Been several times to BJ, but that'd be nice to meet you guys up there and share stories !

Cheers,

Fred

OK, I pestered one of our good natured Chinese compatriots and at least from Dalian, Liaoning - Weihai, Shandong I have an idea of what you could expect.

Daliangang is the company (?) - 0411-39622988 (haven't called them myself)
Y170 - one seat
Y50 - motorcycle (maybe, maybe not?)
Call two days ahead to book the ferry.
The ferry leaves from Dalianwan, which is in NE Zhongshan, close to the center of town.

So if you want to loop around the NE clockwise via Mongolia >Ride> (Heilongjiang?, Jilin?) >Ride> Liaoning >Ferry> Shandong, it might cost you Y220 per person+bike to make part of your journey by ferry and get you from Dalian to the little city of Weihai.

Sorry guys, I forgot to ask about how long it takes and whether they have overnight ferryings (is it ferryings?).

Someone with a Mandarin inclined spouse could enlighten us much more with a quick call, I'm sure.

Things I forgot to ask: 1) Overnight? 2)When do they leave? 3) How long does it take? 4) Does the same company go from Weihai to Dalian? (I'm 90% sure they do, just makes sense but TIC).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soberpete

Indeed...
People obviously can't get motorcycles registered in Qingdao city center but can one get away with riding through it?

---

you can ride through any of the smaller cities at night no worries
most of the cops go home at dinner time
or during the day
just keep moving

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zhu

you can ride through any of the smaller cities at night no worries
most of the cops go home at dinner time
or during the day
just keep moving

---

That's what I was hoping to hear :icon10:.
"Keep moving"
I heard that the Chinese police don't pursue anyone who flees. Apparently, this is because chasing them would be too dangerous considering the surrounding public. I believe this is true but there is another reason: old Volkswagen Santanas and bag o'bolt 125cc bikes aren't build for chasing.
I've ridden past roughly ten traffic officers who have tried to wave me down, sometimes running out into the middle of the road to try and catch me but they've never chased me in any way.

0411-39622988

I'll ask one of my Chinese work-mates to give them a call tomorrow. I may give it a try myself.

I hope the numbers good. It would be great to have some more information about crossing each way, because as I said it is one more possible completion of a large loop around BJ and northeast China. I'd love to have some details and I'm sure it would be useful for other riders planing their routes.

My Mandarin is still crap so I could talk to them for 30 minutes and not get any more usable info, though I could figure out if they like hot pot more than hamburgers.

Practice makes perfect.

I just called the number that Maux provided and I accidentally asked about the ferry from Dalian - Yantai, not the one to Wehai. Just bought some Yantai apples from the supermarket and it must have stuck in my mind.
Anyway, here's what I just discovered about the Dalian-Yantai ferries:

Dalian – Yantai (6 hours, roughly)
08:30
14:00
20:30
22:30

Yantai – Dalian (6 hours)
09:00
12:20
20:00
22:30
23:50

165rmb per person
Motorbikes are allowed on, no problems there but after being redirected through three numbers there was nobody who knew the price (although I bet Maux's info is pretty standard for most of those ferries) or could tell me how the bikes would be secured to the deck. The last woman told me to ask the workers on the ferry for that info before hanging up on me. The first woman was the rudest of all though, probably because she was with the Weihai ferry and didn't have anything to do with the Yantai ferry that I asked for.