Adventure Motorcycle Magazine Subscribe Now

Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 54
  1. #1 Some spring rides 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Guangdong, China
    Posts
    1,508
    We don't really do 4 seasons down here in Guangdong, what little winter we have seems to instantly turn to summer. So I decided a new thread was in order for the next couple months of weekend excursions. Some of you have been following the old winter thread, this will be more of the same.

    Besides the fact that I'm vain and crave your attention, I post this stuff to keep you folks entertained. It's quite obvious, with all the off topic b/s popping up all over the forum, most of you are suffering severe MWS (motorcycle withdrawal syndrome) and winter has kept you cooped up too long. Spring is here, let's get back to being a happy, (dysfunctional) family, and riding.

    And by the way... you... yes you... get off your ass and post something. I'm sick of hearing about some experience you had, yet you never seem to post any pics or commentary. Stop asking questions about how to get somewhere and then never posting about what happened when you went. Let's just say that I know a whole heap of you have done something interesting on a motorcycle this year, yet you kept it to yourself instead of sharing. Some of you are 10 ride reports behind, and you're at the doorstep of a whole new riding season. Many have spent the winter fixing up your bikes, so where are the tutorials and tales from the garage?

    If you ride and don't want to make big deal out of it, take a couple pics, write a few lines and throw it in this thread. I would enjoy seeing more of China and more Chinese moto's in other parts of the world.

    On with the show...and the first installment.

    What goes down won't necessarily go up

    It was about 17º inside my concrete cube as I sat drinking coffee and blabbing to Felix on Skype. Cold shitty and rainy in Shanghai, drizzly and grey down in Dongguan. My neighbor, andy74rc, called and asked if we were going to do our usual "On Any Sunday" routine, so I went out to the garage to assess the riding conditions and discuss tactics. Much to my surprise, it was 27º outside, summer had come overnight, complete with humidity and mosquitos. We figured things would dry out after lunch, so we decided on a 2:00 departure. Off we go!



    A few weeks prior, we came across a steep downhill trail and decided to come back when we had more energy and time. That would be today.



    It started out OK. Plenty of ruts and damp leaves to keep you on your toes. A few spots where you had to get off your bike and walk it down. We continued on, hoping the trail actually went somewhere, as backtracking up some of the hills was going to be rough.



    Came to a split in the path and followed a riverbed for a few meters, dead end, so we paused for a break.



    Arriving at this clearing, we realized two things. We were very tired, and our chances of getting to the end of this trail were slim. It was 4:30, so we had about 2 hours to get out of the jungle before nightfall. I walked the trail about half a kilometer and returned with some grim news. The trail had several huge drop offs, we could probably get the bikes down, but it would be impossible to get back up. If the trail didn't have an outlet, we would be screwed, with no hope of getting the bikes out, and a 4 kilometer, uphill hike to get out. We decided it was better to turn around and head back.



    Which started out OK, but eventually we hit the steep stuff and it became impossible to keep going. I reached the middle of a huge climb and was stuck. We tried pushing, pulling, fighting, swearing etc., but we were making very little progress. On one attempt, I got a little too aggressive, and the bike simply wheelie'd and endo'ed back on top of me…ouch. An hour passed, we had managed another 7 meters of progress. We still had 5 more major climbs to go. At 6:30, we finally called it quits. We were about 1.5 kilometers away from the trail head and darkness was coming fast. Completely exhausted, we decided to abandon the bikes and return the following morning.

    We hiked out of the jungle and walked another couple kilometers of road, trying to get phone coverage to call the wives. Finally our saviors arrived in the car and we went back home for a cold beer and some much needed rest. The following morning we were up early and bought a rope and a pulley so we could go back to fetch the bikes.

    Rescue mission…



    The girls came along to see what kind of trouble we had gotten in. It was a long hike back to the bikes with a whole bunch of "you guys are stupid" remarks.



    Setting up the pulley and rope for the first hill.



    I think this shot gives you a good idea of what we were fighting. Plenty of leaves and moss covering the trail kept us spinning.



    Heave… Hoe…



    More climbing and trail analysis.





    More fun.



    Mrs. ChinaV … Don't do that again!



    Finally making it out past one last obstacle.



    Be careful out there,



    We finally made it home after 2 hours of rescue efforts. Oh well, if you don't push it, you will never know your limits.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
    Last edited by ChinaV; 04-20-2013 at 02:12 AM.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  2. #2 Re: Some spring rides 
    Senior C-Moto Guru barnone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    SWFL WNC
    Posts
    2,154
    ChinaV,
    Great story and photos but the one of your wife says it all.

    Note to self: Stay off steep single track.
    Vince
    2021 Ural cT
    2022 Dong Fang DF250RTG
    2021 Ice Bear 150cc scooter
    2020 Ice Bear 150cc Scooter
    Reply With Quote  
     

  3. #3 Re: Some spring rides 
    C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Guang frigging Zhou
    Posts
    385
    Quick post as I go for lunch. Thanks for putting this up, makes me want to get a dirt bike badly.

    "It was a long hike back to the bikes with a whole bunch of "you guys are stupid" remarks." Ba ha ha. Live for that.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  4. #4 Re: Some spring rides 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Great post, as ever, ChinaV. Guilty as charged.

    Say, what was that thing hanging in the tree in the final frame? A snake trap?
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  5. #5 Re: Some spring rides 
    C-Moto Regular
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Shanghai, CN
    Posts
    81
    Awesome. Great photos as usual. Looks to be some great riding in your neck of the woods. Glad the bikes made it out safe and they weren't stripped bare in the middle of the night by some wandering forest-people.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  6. #6 Re: Some spring rides 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    ChinaV, a further comment: Your garage never ceases to amaze! You actually own a winch????
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  7. #7 Re: Some spring rides 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Guangdong, China
    Posts
    1,508
    Quote Originally Posted by euphonius View Post
    ChinaV, a further comment: Your garage never ceases to amaze! You actually own a winch????
    We do now

    I don't know what that trap hanging the tree was for, I've never seen a wild animal anywhere in China.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
    Reply With Quote  
     

  8. #8 Re: Some spring rides 
    Moto Scholar moilami's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Finland - Vanda
    Posts
    1,234
    Thanks of the great report. I see you were doing some HC enduro. Angle camera would again be great so everyone would get a better clue of what kind of slopes there were.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  9. #9 Re: Some spring rides 
    MCM Chinese fellow td_ref's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Shenzhen, Meizhou
    Posts
    387
    Quote Originally Posted by ChinaV View Post
    We do now

    I don't know what that trap hanging the tree was for, I've never seen a wild animal anywhere in China.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
    me neither.
    V, at remote places like that, don't you fear long and hostile venom snake? The weather is getting warmer.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  10. #10 Re: Some spring rides 
    Senior C-Moto Guru
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    was in China. will be back
    Posts
    654
    Quote Originally Posted by td_ref View Post
    me neither.
    V, at remote places like that, don't you fear long and hostile venom snake? The weather is getting warmer.
    That's the main reason why you should wear good quality enduro boots, snakes will loose some teeth if they try to bite on that.
    By the way, it's really difficult to find remote places in south China.
    Reply With Quote  
     

Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Both Thailand and India set to produce CBR250R by Spring 2011!
    By ZMC888 in forum Industry News and Moto Talk
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 09-18-2014, 08:44 AM
  2. Some winter rides
    By ChinaV in forum Ride Reports and Meetings
    Replies: 52
    Last Post: 03-11-2011, 09:27 AM
  3. australian rides
    By jape in forum Ride, Record, Create
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 11-26-2010, 06:47 AM
  4. Kunming to Angkor Wat in Spring 2011
    By andre555 in forum Ride Prep and Making Tracks
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-17-2010, 02:04 AM
  5. Im going to be working towards opening a dealership next spring!
    By kojack in forum Dealers and Distributors
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 07-24-2009, 10:05 PM
Bookmarks
Bookmarks
Posting Permissions
  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •