Introduction:
http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...t-Ride-Forward

Website:
http://www.greatrideforward.com

Up-to-date route:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...f5bca1ce4d&z=7

So since GRF_Pete and I have been a week away from home as of tomorrow, thought it would be cool to update everybody. As mentioned in the introduction, Pete and I will be riding from Kunming southward to Thailand and maybe even Malaysia via Laos, and then hopefully back up through Cambodia and then Vietnam (although that remains to be decided due to restrictions at the border). Today we find ourselves in beautiful Jinghong in XiShuangBaNa having our first rest day. Hopefully within the next 2 days, the dreaded New Years holiday notwithstanding, we will be across the border and updating everybody from Laos!

The Shinerays have been holding up magnificently, with the only losses being Pete's horn, my head- and tail-lights, and a few screws. The fact that we had them prepared for a timely departure at all was a feat in and of itself. A miscommunication caused our bikes to be delivered a day late to Kunming, with the happy coincidence of the Kunming Shineray dealer being closed the day they were scheduled to arrive. Luckily, the day before we had met Zhao Feng, manager of the Kunming Shineray MotoX racing club (www.stmoto.com) who did us the favor of keeping his clubhouse open an extra day during the holidays and gave us access to his tools. With his and his friends' help, we were able to get the bikes assembled, refueled, and road-ready. The next conundrum we faced was where to park the bikes, as we were staying at The Hump smack in the middle of Kunming (no motorcycles allowed in Kunming). We solved the problem by picking a parking garage in the nearby Xin Yazhou Tiyu Cheng and hoping for the best. Not even 1 day on the road and we were already improvising. It just goes to show that no matter how much preparation you do, you must always expect the unexpected.

We have now travelled 700+kms over magnificent foggy hill-tops and through lush valleys. The adventure has always been present; be it motoring almost 100km on an unfinished highway between Honghe and Yuanjiang as the sun set, or skirting toll-gates and pleading with police between Pu'er and Jinghong. To be honest, it's quite hard to believe we have only ridden 3 days since meeting up and exchanging laughs with fellow mychinamoto forum members Naim (slabo) and Mike in the smoke-filled Hump bar in Kunming. Needless to say, after this past week, I am certain that we will be having an experience of a lifetime.

Please check out the website for more pictures. We have been recording almost everything on our Drift Innovation HD170 Helmet-cams and with a small Kodak Flipcam, but it will take some time to compile, organize, and edit everything. Please stay-tuned, we will be posting updates as we progress and we hope you enjoy! Also, if you happen to be in any of the areas that we will be riding through, it would be a joy to meet up.

Cheers,

Hans