Prep Round-China Bike trip, 2-up, April-May 2012

[Fred]

Hey all,

While the bike is in repairs, I'm now fully focused on the route preparation for our big trip with my GF : approximately 2 months around China, around 10,000 km trip.
Fahni ride prep thread inspired me to start this one too.


Because we will ride 2-up, we'll take it easy and have distance constraints every day (cannot ride as much as solo), I'm considering 200km/day, with an average speed of 50km/h.
So this will prevent us from doing a full "round-china" trip, as maybe T**et, Qinghai & Xinjiang will be out of question. But still, the route would take us through major sceneries. Forgot how to imbed the map, will have to do this later.

The following map is a GROSS draft of what it will look like, and is not the final one, of course.
http://maps.google.com.hk/maps?saddr=Shanghai,+China&daddr=Moganshanzhen,+Hu zhou,+Zhejiang,+China+to:Nanping,+Fujian,+China+to :Ganzhou,+Jiangxi,+China+to:Guilin,+Guangxi,+China +to:Pu'er,+Yunnan,+China+to:Dali,+Yunnan,+China+to :Lijiang,+Yunnan,+China+to:Garze+to:Golog,+Qinghai ,+China+to:Haibei+to:Lanzhou,+Gansu,+China+to:Baot ou,+Inner+Mongolia,+China+to:Datong,+Shanxi,+China +to:Beijing,+China+to:Weihai,+Shandong,+China+to:Q ingdao,+Shandong,+China+to:Nanjing,+Jiangsu,+China +to:Shanghai,+China&hl=en&ll=30.902225,115.839844& spn=27.429351,53.569336&sll=27.654338,104.0625&ssp n=7.119978,13.392334&geocode=FbmJ3AEdqIo9BykzPPWxQ HCyNTGhZMMjlBKVAg%3BFcrp0gEdKnslBynbqwNNxEVLNDEv3Y XttNvc2Q%3BFWmFlgEdrD8LByk3P7Polc84NDGSNKs17qe-sQ%3BFVkfigEdMb_ZBikXHCQgj0cYNDHQSPwFYuBm5Q%3BFd6k gQEdE-WSBikzUSF1NvSkNjHhSnAdGcGG_w%3BFaWPWwEdqK4EBimzR3u tP6HVNjHEAAYgtk0Qdw%3BFVa5hgEddvb5BSm3V9pVo7gnNzFW uNfJ9qhO3A%3BFWYbmgEd6GT5BSnp0wtA5q8gNzGoXUc9g1jUu A%3BFfCEygEdR9ITBik1-eKuQCcdNzFgHMHUI8Wshg%3BFfv-DQIdI575BSmbj4EcsKgANzF-q0GWzwb0kA%3BFaHgMwIdQ6ADBin7zXDqXF1NNjH_Tjl9OvGvw w%3BFUdAJgIdCWMwBimDOQyZtZBaNjFcJA1dLgBMkQ%3BFSdib AIdAgiMBinbGTAXIlgENjF8Xdc_PBgRmg%3BFRCGYwIdntLABi n1EWAVh9PiNTFzAh8AIIgZlg%3BFdbjYAIddTzwBim5LBTnllL wNTGKqQ-vIFZiuQ%3BFWxnPAId5GhHBylF5IGiimiaNTGaFlPufqy3cQ%3 BFZRXJgIdKOQsBylr8PiC1Q-WNTHz8kxh-oJNYQ%3BFV8z6QEdTbIUBymDzY1mm4y1NTEGG995C7b7jw%3BF bmJ3AEdqIo9BykzPPWxQHCyNTGhZMMjlBKVAg&vpsrc=6&brcu rrent=3,0x3403e2eda332980f:0xf08ab3badbeac97c,0&di rflg=ht&mra=ls&t=p&z=5

When and how : The trip will be done in April and May 2012, on the YBR 250, with saddle bags, top case (trunk) and tank bag. Total capacity in terms of volume is 110 liters.
I already have the complete check-list, with things to buy in Europe during the Christmas holiday and in China.
The trip will start in Shanghai, go South to have the better weather at the beginning of spring (April), and then North later (May) when it should be warmer than if we would start with the North in April.

Fuel : In terms of fuel autonomy, the YBR is good to go with its 19 liters tank, good for 500 to 600km on 1 tank, depending on the load and riding style.

Clothing & Protection : Both riders will have full riding equipment of course, + rain riding equipment available for both + riding winter underwear for both (Alpinestars Winter Tech gear).
We'll pack 3 days worth of clothes, no more.

No camping gear, it'll be cheap hotel (hostel) all the way.



Would you guys be kind enough to list all the tips you can think of, mainly in terms of roads, for those of you who traveled extensively in China : where MUST we go ?
All comments are welcome of course !