Road Research

As weekend riders we usually get only one, maximum two to three days of riding pleasure in one piece, and have therefore ridden most of the roads in our area several times :sad:
To get a bit of alteration, a close look into Google Earth opens a variety of roads and trails we have never ridden on before. It was, after discovering secret valley, the second time in 2008 that we tried to explore some roads we've spotted on Google Earth - Let's go :riding:


As usual, we left quite early to avoid outbound weekend traffic. We reached the spot where we planned our first side step from known roads after less than 50 minutes of enjoyable and quick riding on empty roads.


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About 15 kms North of the Ming tombs on road S212


We turned away westwards from the main road (S212), which by the way is a very nice mountain road with countless hairpins. After two km we were in the middle of a busy quarry, with all kinds of vehicles and machinery.


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Towards the quarry


After the stone pit, we climbed steadily and when we started to descent, we stopped at a small village for a break.


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Near the village

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Local bystander


A bit later we stopped for some pics at a pond and after some more kms we were back on S212, where we turned North.


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New villas at the pond

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Pond


Just around the corner we left S212 again, this time to the East, where we followed a concrete road into a basin. We made a wrong turn in one of the many hamlets but were soon after told by an old man where to go. Finally we got it right and started to climb a dirt road, where we found a nice spot to have our long awaited breakfast.


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Dirt road

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Robert preparing breakfast


The dirt road continued to go up and turned to gravel a few more kms after the break. We stopped for some more pics and then continued up, and eventually reached S212, following it North to Yongning.

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On the gravel road

Yongning town has a old city gate and a street with really old houses.


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Yongning city gate

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Yongning old town





After a refueling stop we continued North on S212 for another 10km, before we turned East on a newly built tar road for about 20km before we got on S323 and rode East towards Sihai. Short before Sihai we turned away from the main road to find another little road we spotted on GE. It was a dirt road and the rain of the previous days had turned into a mud road.
We reached the top of the little pass after slipping and sliding our way up for 3 kms or so. On top they had started to cast concrete and the first 5 meters were completed. We crossed over the strip of concrete and went down the other side, again in 10cm deep mud for another 2 kms.


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The first meters of concrete have been laid

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Mud trail


We were now back on black surface and followed this little road until we reached road X211, which we followed a few kms before we turned away for the day's final chapter of GE powered road research. The first kms were on tar before the surface turned to gravel and finally dirt (mud). We went into a dead end first, before some locals pointed us in the right direction. We climbed the hill on a gravel trail and down the other side into a tiny valley where we stopped for a lunch snack, just above an abandoned village.


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Valley ahead

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Abandoned village

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Lunch place


When black clouds showed up, we moved on but the rain caught up with us. After a few kms we reached a village where we stopped to wait for the sky to clear and cleaning the mud which stuck between the front fender and wheel of Robert's bike.


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In the village after the rain

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Mud between fender and wheel

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Mud removed


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Trip map


All pics

With the rain gone we returned home, excited that we successfully fulfilled our our plan.

With GE images around Beijing constantly improving, we laid out some more road research plans for 2009, impatiently awaiting spring.


Safe :riding:

Thanks for sharing another interesting ride Andy, nice to see you guys don't let the cold get in way of having fun. I like the helmet cam point of view in the video. :thumbsup:

Lookin' forward to more of your google earth adventures. :riding:

Cheers!
ChinaV

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChinaV

Thanks for sharing another interesting ride Andy, nice to see you guys don't let the cold get in way of having fun. I like the helmet cam point of view in the video. :thumbsup:

Lookin' forward to more of your google earth adventures. :riding:

Cheers!
ChinaV

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I pulled the choke to have my right hand free for the camera, it worked well. Only the resolution of the old PnS thing is not so high.

Many more GE plans are laid out already :riding:

Andy

Nice report Andy! Good pics and video clip too. You guy in the B-Jing are ridin' the hell out of the area!

CC

Here is one of the :dirtbike: research plans :icon10:

Andy

Hi Andy,
well done, pictures and comments are excellent.
I learned there is more of such dirt roads available. How long we need to wait for the next report?
Robert.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Free Rider

Hi Andy,
well done, pictures and comments are excellent.
I learned there is more of such dirt roads available. How long we need to wait for the next report?
Robert.

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Thanks, Robert. The next ride report? It all depends on when you have time :lol8::lol8::lol8: - Monday ?

Andy

... with the Forgotten valleys

I went out together with fellow MCMer Free Rider to explore a new road, or better path, which I spotted on Google Earth.

We had to go out 200 kms to reach the entry. As normal we left early at 6:00 a.m. to get there early and to have enough time to spend on the trail.

Our first stop was for coffee shortly before 07:00 at the Yellow Bridge Cafe. We continued to Sihai after the break to refuel since we knew that there are no gas stations along the way. Around 09:00 we stopped for breakfast near Baihepu reservoir.
We rode along the lake and reached the Beijing - Hebei border post shortly after. It took us 30 minutes (!!) to be cleared by police. We still don't know what they checked and why it took so long. Obviously two Laowei on two big bikes during the week are something very suspicious.

Shortly after 10:00 we reached the entrance to the trail, which I had marked on my GPS. We were welcomed by a very muddy river crossing and elected to cross a tiny bridge rather than crossing through the river - we would have if we had to.


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Entrance to the exploration


The gravel road started to climb immediately and we stopped after 2 kms or so to take some pictures, enjoy the quiet and deflate our tires for better, safer and more comfortable riding.


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Andy in a hairpin

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First stop - deflating tires

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On top of the first pass


We crossed over the first pass at 1100 m asl, went half way down the other side and stopped again for more pictures. It didn't take long before the first guy showed up with a horse, wondering about the 2 stupid foreigners coming to the middle of nowhere. Minutes later another guy with a herd of goat showed up.


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At the next stop

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Human no.1 with horse

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Human no.2 with goats


Another mountain crossed and we had to go through a tiny creek (with still ice on it) before the trail climbed again. Having crossed pass no. 3, we reached the village no. 1. It is inhabitated but aside from a 3 wheeled tracktor, a horse and two dogs we didn't see a soul. After this 30 houses village we saw two people working in their field (obviosly inhabitants of village no. 1).


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Creek still covered with ice

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Village no. 1

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Human no. 3 and 4 working in their field

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The trail ahead


From there the track became more rocky and the valley very narrow, with me thinking that we wouldn't be able to fulfill our plan. There was a small meadow with some cows and a little shelter. Around the corner we stopped for lunch. Just before we left an old man appeared (human no. 5), couriously looking at us and our big bikes. We gave him some water and cigarettes before we moved on.


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Cows and shelter

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Our lunch place

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Our friend - human no. 5


The surface meanwhile has changed from rocks to dirt and gravel again while the valley still was narrowing, but as the trail suddenly started to climb again I knew we are gonna make it.
On top of this pass, in the absolute middle of nowhere, a barrier appeared beside a small house - THE Hebei - Beijing border post. A young man, human no. 6, walked out the door, recording the plate numbers and our names, but since he couldn't write our alphabet, I took over and wrote our names in his notebook. The guy is living there with a bunch of young dogs - probably his food supply - left without electricity and probably seeing a maximum of three humans a day or less.


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Hebei - Beijing border post

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Andy with the border guard - human no.6


We went down again and eventually reached village no. 1.5, an abandoned one.


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Village no. 1.5 - abandoned

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On the trail in nowhere land

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More nowhere land

Another one up and down again before we came to village no. 2, with some of the approximately 25 houses still used but no one around. We stopped for a break and some pictures when suddenly all villagers were around us - 4 people, which sent human count to 10.


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Humans no. 7 and 8

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Human no. 9 ...

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... and no. 10


When we were about to leave village no. 2, we spotted Robert's bike leaking oil, which was no real surprise since he punched his K100 over the rocks like crazy. Let's get out of here as quick as possible was the decision, since there was no cell phone reception and still some kms and another pass to go.


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Village no. 2 ...

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... partly ruined ...

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... partly inhabitated

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One more pass

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On the road


After almost 40 kms of incredible dirt road riding in stunning scenery, we reached civilization again - a parking lot.
Robert fixed the oil-leak with some two component glue, we re-inflated our tires to normal and moved on after 30 minutes - now on a perfectly paved road, which brought us back down to National road G110.

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Some glue to fix the oil leak :eekers:


During our last break we decided that we had a reasonable amount of corners that day and we should take the expressway back home. Uneventfully we reached home and had our well deserved beer over the unforgettable riding day.


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The final pass down to the main road


We will ride this trail again for sure, most likely in combination with two nights camping.

Safe Riding

Ride overall statistics

Ride Start: 06:00
Ride End: 19:30
Distance travelled: 380 km
Total time: 13 hrs 30 min
Riding Time: 11 hrs 15 min
Overall average speed: 26 km/h
Riding average speed: 30.7 km/h
Max. speed: 140.9 km/h
Min alttitude: 45 m asl
Max. altitude: 1145 m asl
Accumulated altidue up / down: 6190 / 6190 m


The Forgotten Valleys detailed statistics

Start: 10:19
End: 14:54
Distance travelled: 46 km
Total time: 4 hrs 35 min
Riding time: 3 hrs 15 min
Overall average speed: 9.6 km/h
Riding average speed: 13.9 km/h
Max. speed: 71.5 km/h
Min altutuide: 524 m asl
Max. altitude: 1145 m asl
Accumulated altitude up / down: 1712 / 1911 m
Villages passed: 2.5
People met: 10
Cars seen: 0
Pictures taken: 124


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If you still hadn't enough pictures, here are more :lol8:


Safe :riding:

I was sitting and reading and my Smile became bigger and bigger. Great Idea to count the People you meat and I love the Pictures of them.
..........and now there is another Idea forming in my Head.
Do you know the small Book : "70 Daytrips arround Beijing"? We should collect our Rides and make something similar, from "easy going" to "Dirtroads". Tipps, Tricks, Petrol Stations, Camping Possibilities ....
Let`s talk about it next Tuesday.
Sabine

Always Great To Read Your Reports , Andy
And the PIC's are great too.
Thanks foir posting
I am back home in a week, and definitely plan on joining in on the fun
All the best
TIM L :thumbsup:

Awesome reporting Andy, hope you're going to take me there on a camping trip :deal:

Cheers!
ChinaV

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChinaV

Awesome reporting Andy, hope you're going to take me there on a camping trip :deal:

Cheers!
ChinaV

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Anytime you like, the earlier the better. I wouldn't want to ride there after 2 days rain or a heavy thunderstorm :lol8:

Hi Andy,
really jealous, hope to ride with guys asap.
Bis bald
Gruss Micha:riding: