Jialing riders visit the West of Beijing

This last weekend, three MCM members - Barry, Fahni and I (LJH) – took a little ride into the mountains on the West side of Beijing. All three of us were riding Jialings – one JH150 and two JH600s

Total door to door distance was 222 kms, according to my GPS tracker.

Here’s a screen shot of our route:

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We didn’t really have a “plan”, just somewhere out West via G109. Fahni knew the area, so we followed him:

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First, we rode under the 6th Ring Road to get outta town:

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After turning onto the G109, we passed by this wedding procession of about a dozen identical red cars:

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Soon, we left Beijing’s traffic and were heading into the mountains:

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The fall colors are starting. In a couple of weeks, this area will be jammed with traffic as Beijingers head out West to see the autumn leaves.

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There was some great scenery and relaxing riding:

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I didn’t notice this until I was looking at my pics. I was using a front-mounted GoPro with a wide angle, so perhaps there is some lens refraction? It seems this tower is not exactly straight.

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I recall this next person – I saw her from afar, climb up onto the bank when she heard the motorcycles coming. Are we really that scary?

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Along the way, while there was still some traffic, dangers presented themselves. Can you see ALL the dangers in these photos? Some you have to look very closely.

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We were happily following Fahni, as he was going to show us a cool camping spot he’d been to before. Zooming along, he suddenly brakes and makes a quick left … ooops … in front of a police car. It caught Barry and I by surprise, but we saw the cop (who also noticed Fahni) so we very slowly, and with a signal light, a smile and a wave, made our left turn.

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Heading down to the camping spot:

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A very idyllic spot. The water was crystal clear.

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But, what’s that Beijing taxi doing here? People take a taxi to go camping? No, it was the driver out for a relaxing break. But notice that woman in behind Fahni? She definitely noticed Fahni.

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We parked the bikes and took off all our gear for a break. It had warmed up quite a bit.

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I still had my GoPro turned on, and it automatically takes a picture every 60 seconds, so I caught the campers coming around to check us out, including this beautiful Golden Retriever dog.

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Soon, that woman appeared and despite my limited Chinese language skills, I was able to determine what she was saying as she was pointing towards Fahni. I also saw the guy eyeing Barry just a bit too closely.

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Hmmmm … both Fahni & Barry insisted we leave immediately, even though this was just getting interesting. Back on the road, this time to a little back road Fahni had seen on Google maps. There was no traffic, which was very nice.

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Soon, Fahni had us turning onto a narrow road heading directly up a mountain.

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It was a GREAT road, at first, with only one car for the first 20 kms. We stopped at the “Folk Village of Beijing” which was a “village” of this one house.

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We continued on climbing, and the road started getting even more steep, even more narrow, and often covered with rocks or sand … I decided that this old guy was going to take it slow. At one point, I stopped to take a picture with my hand held camera (in my rear box). Barry and Fahni must have noticed me missing and thought I might have fallen over the side (it was a damn steep cliff next to the road), so they came back to look for me. Pretty tight turning around after they found me, and I don’t think they were happy that I was dawdling along.

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We came to a summit. Very scenic. However, the edge of the road had an incredibly steep and deep drop off. I’m talking at least 100 meters, if not more, straight down. If you or your bike slipped … you’re toast.

I didn’t get too close to the edge to take pics, but did snap off a few from the safety of the road.

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Now, at this point, things change. My two young riding buddies decide it would be a good idea to walk out this tiny goat path on an isthmus of land with (I swear to god I am not exaggerating) straight drops of several hundred meters on each side. Then, MUCH to my dismay, they shout back at me … “come on out, there is a great view from here.”

Damn it.

OK, I have a zoom lens so I don’t have to go ALL the way. These guys are standing on loose gravel, mere cms from certain death.

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Apparently, one could get a much better view of some abandoned stone village far, far, far, far below in the valley. I took a pic from the other side of the narrow road, with my back pressed against the bank.

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Perhaps my riding buddies wanted to name this ride report after the TV Show: “Two and A Half Men”

We got back on our bikes (thank god!) and headed back down, through some incredible twisties. I stopped to take some pics, including trying to get one of my two riding buddies heading down. Unfortunately, the venue I selected just happened to have a garbage dump – an eyesore in an otherwise tremendously scenic route.

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Even though I had stopped a few times to take pics, my riding buddies didn’t return. I think they were tired of waiting for me, and perhaps secretly hoping I fell off one of the very steep edges at some point. I caught up with them several kms down the mountain, where they had stopped to admire a preying mantis that was crossing the road. OK, I know where I rate.

Unfortunately, my GoPro battery had died, so no more pics. The day continued to be fantastic, with a great lunch stop and more fine mountain riding before heading back into town.

Amazing conclusion …

At the end of the day, after we three had parted, I was zipping along a street in central Beijing on my way home when I saw a CJ750 ahead. Some foreign guy was driving it, and he had a couple of females with him. Yeah, typical, I smugly snarled to myself.

As I got closer, I saw the guy and thought “damn, that looks like Felix from MCM.” But knowing that Felix doesn’t live in Beijing, I just thought I was imagining things in my very-exhausted state after a long day’s riding. As I zipped past, I heard someone shout out “Hello!” … yeah, well, that happens, so I waved back and continued weaving through traffic on 2 wheels. I quickly left the poor guy & gals on 3 wheels stuck in Beijing traffic.

Imagine my complete shock when I arrive home and there is an email from Felix asking me if I was just riding down “X” street on a JH600! What are the odds of THAT happening in a city the size of Beijing? Un-frigging-believable! Felix, visiting Beijing, gets passed by the "old fart" on two wheels!

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A great day, a great ride, with super-great guys (men!) as company … with one extra lesson about wearing safety gear. I was wearing a hi-viz vest (bright yellow). Very useful, however I learned that it is a good idea to remove the high viz vest when one dismounts to take a whiz on the side of the road. It tends to attract a bit too much attention from passing cars (and “buddies” with mobile phone cameras). I’m also convinced these high viz things attract a lot of bees.

Looks like fun. Thanks for the detailed route. Filipu and I were in similar area later in the day. Wonderful roads and clear weather.

Ha Ha! Thanks for writing the report, LJH. You are right, I tried to get rid of you two but as I said yesterday: with your powerful beasts of bikes my odds on that poor little JH-150 were slim...

Thanks for the riding guys. If you want to do it again: any time!

Wonderful report, and I love the (almost) idiot-proof approach to ride photography -- a helmet cam that pops off a frame every 60 seconds! Ride long enough and something's gotta come of it!

Fahni's post does prompt a concrete question: How did the little Jialing actually stack up to the JH600s in various different riding conditions?

thanks!

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Fahni's post does prompt a concrete question: How did the little Jialing actually stack up to the JH600s in various different riding conditions?

thanks!

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Well, first I thought to myself: wow, my little blue wonder is holding up pretty well against the big ones. This feeling was all gone when Barry opened the gas for real the first time. Still, I think for me as a newb, the performance is fine and on the very narrow roads agility beats pure power... I was just lucky that I was riding without a pillion!

But let's hear the JH600 riders 2 cents...

Seeing all those overtaking possibilities go by, I thought it was about time to show overtaking isn't a problem and opened the gas!

When I just started riding earlier this year, I was happy coasting along and have others guide me through the curves. Now I got to a point where everyone seems to drive through curves a bit to slow for my taste.

Barry,

my advice:
After a year you start feeling really safe on the bike and like to open the throttle a bit more (... oooh I know this very well ... ended up in the dirt several times; luckily without serious injury). But especially now you should be more careful. There are still a lot of situations you have never faced. Now a safety training for bikers would be the right thing to do. Can this be found in China?
I heart about an Austrian guy who did these training for the Beijing Bike police. If available ... i am in to go through it.

some interesting information ... as I believe for all riders.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowsider
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highsider
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle...cycle_dynamics

All of this, just out your back door!
Ahhhhhhh, I miss Beijing.

Great RR LJH, and I'm starting to come around to Blue Bikes (love this shot of Barry)

Ditto to what Motokai said about Beijing.

Great RR. I may just ride my bike from Chengdu to Beijing in the coming holidays to check it out myself. Let's see if LJH can spot me or not when I pass through in his turf.

Cheers!

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Originally Posted by milton

Ditto to what Motokai said about Beijing.

Great RR. I may just ride my bike from Chengdu to Beijing in the coming holidays to check it out myself. Let's see if LJH can spot me or not when I pass through in his turf.

Cheers!

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HEY! No more sneaking into our city without giving any notice!

Pics look great.

@ Barry: thanks for the invite. i didn't end up working on Sunday - instead i found myself waking up in a bed that was not my own with a very lovely lass at my side. needless to say i decided to forgo any trips for the day, haha.

First, thanks Richard for your first (?) rr and riding pics here :rolleyes1:

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Originally Posted by ShuBen

I heart about an Austrian guy who did these training for the Beijing Bike police. If available ... i am in to go through it.

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I am pretty sure it is me :naughty::naughty:
If you are interested in such a training and can get a couple of riders together who are too, I'll do it - sometime mid November when I'm back here (pls e-mail me).
Be warned: It is not about wheelies, stoppies, knee sliding and speed - it's purely about safety :deal:
Sorry for going :offtopic:

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Originally Posted by chinabiker

If you are interested in such a training and can get a couple of riders together who are too, I'll do it - sometime mid November when I'm back here (pls e-mail me).
Be warned: It is not about wheelies, stoppies, knee sliding and speed - it's purely about safety :deal:
Sorry for going :offtopic:

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I would be very interested in this! (And I will find a way to betalk/convince/drag with me my GF as well). November might be cold already and when the season starts again next spring all of what we learned about riding safely will already be forgotten. So why not do it next April, before the May holiday?

I was riding another day with a chinese couple, they have BMW GS1150. Little Jialing just doesn't stack up. You see the motorbike in front accelerating smoothly and your 150ccm mosquito is screaming with pain already.

Let's get back on track, here.

First, a training program is always a great idea - someone should start a new thread. In addition to Andy as a high quality resource (and he certainly is), there are several ex-MSF instructors, as well as some very highly skilled off-road riders in Beijing (racers too!). Shit, even though I am an ex-instructor, I'd be in line to sign up ... I can always learn something new, or have someone beat me with a stick until I break my many bad habits. And I am sure Andy would be first in line for the opportunity to beat me with a stick!

Second, I've been lucky to have been with Barry since day one of his JH600 experience and I can certainly vouch for his riding skills. Definitely a quick study.

Third, Fahni is also a new rider, and I was similarly amazed at how well he handled the JH150. He's a safe, intelligent rider, and at least gives off the impression that he is very comfortable on the bike. But I sincerely hope he ignored my very bad example of "safe riding" when we were zipping back through Beijing traffic. Listen to me, Fahni ... "do as I say, not as I do!"

As for the JH150 ... like you Euphonius, I was very interested in going for a ride alongside of one and seeing what it would do. From what I saw, I never thought the JH150 lacked any power to do a decent run through the mountains. Of course, I wasn't riding it, but it didn't appear to be lacking. Maybe Fahni was red-lining it in every gear, but it seemed to have lots of pick up and go. As a sidebar ... following CJ750 sidecars ... now THAT is a unpleasant experience because of their lack of power & the weird way they go through corners ... without mentioning the frequent stops for breakdowns, flats, electrical gremlins & the picking up of pieces that fall off along the way.

I don't think the JH150 would be my first choice for two-up tours with luggage, although some people have done it.

Bottom line for me is that the more I ride throughout China, the more I am migrating to smaller and smaller bikes. They just make a lot more sense to me. And, frankly, they are oodles more fun!

It was only my first date with a JH150 (a stroll through the park), but I'm already asking for that second date with dinner & drinks. And a threesome with Filipu would be great!

The JH150 gets my vote. :thumbsup:

Am I the only one who can't see the photos?

Darn - very sorry about that - had this problem before. I hosted them with the free tinypic.com. I was trying to follow Felix's suggestion and use Windows Live, but I couldn't get the URL sorted.

Felix? Euphonius? ChinaV? Carl? Anyone? Suggestions for a free hosting service that is reliable and available inside the GFW?

Again, apologies.

https://blu2.storage.live.com/items/...4/P1070493.JPG

this is hosted at Skydrive from M$ .. it's a bit tricky to get a direct url to each image, basically you have to get a link for each image by manually clicking the thumbnail then copying the link, paste and then remove the junk after .JPG .. or maybe felix knows another way around this..

Alternatively, use http://imgur.com/ .. dead simple to do bulk uploads, but you loose original file name so it's tricky to get them in order. to use from within the GFW you have to register (free for basic accounts).. the upload tool gave a csv file linking filename on disk to direct link to jpg and thumbnail. Perfect, but that only worked for anonymous uploads, now blocked for China :rolleyes1: Another negative for imgur is that if bulk upload fails, you have to check each image to find where it failed because you there's no link to original filenames

Yet another option is http://host.fotki.com/ the downside is there's with the upload tool you're limited to 1Gb total capacity (not sure if still same now). if anonymous upload, unlimited, but you're limited to upload one photo at a time, but you get a direct link with the original filename so it's easy to sort your photos when writing a long RR (something I should start doing soon).

Cheers..

How about Flickr? I think Felix switched to Flickr after growing frustrated with Windows Live with all its intrusions and demands.

There is a sticky on Posting Pix to MCM but I'm not sure whether it's up to date. The dope that Slabo just filed on Imgur and Fotki would be important additions to that thread...

cheers!

Hey LJH, thanks for the flowers and your carefully selected wording of "giving off the impression that I am comfortable with the bike"...

As I said earlier, I like the bike and am happy for the moment. I even think that I'd rather plant the thought of bying her own bike into the mind of my GF (will watch "inception" a couple more times:icon10:) instead of buying a stronger bike for rides of the two of us...

As for your growing interest in smaller displacement bikes: How does that conform with your latest purchases?:naughty:

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Originally Posted by slabo

this is hosted at Skydrive from M$ .. it's a bit tricky to get a direct url to each image, basically you have to get a link for each image by manually clicking the thumbnail then copying the link, paste and then remove the junk after .JPG .. or maybe felix knows another way around this..

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Thanks Slabo - I struggled with my Skydrive trying to figure it out & gave up. Hope Leb is treating you well?

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Originally Posted by euphonius

How about Flickr?

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Yup - Thanks Euph! I hope people can see the pics now. That site has changed the way one links, but it is rather easy to figure out.

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Originally Posted by fahni

As I said earlier, I like the bike and am happy for the moment. I even think that I'd rather plant the thought of bying her own bike into the mind of my GF (will watch "inception" a couple more times:icon10:) instead of buying a stronger bike for rides of the two of us...

As for your growing interest in smaller displacement bikes: How does that conform with your latest purchases?:naughty:

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A harmonious domestic life = two bikes. :scooter::scooter:

My Duc-buddy told me that the Multistrada has a dial that allows the rider to detune the available power. I'm hoping it has a "Honda Cub" setting. If not, well, I guess I'll have to start eating some crow and try a GS in China (Andy, you are just imagining that I said that).