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!