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

**DipStick** · 06-07-2012, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by Fred

Haha, very nice comment Dipstick, thanks a lot !

One year ago, I was in your exact shoes with the first commuting in Shanghai with the 250, so I can understand ! I don't know where you live/work, but please be extra careful all the time, even more so when it rains. Some roads like the Hongqiao lu (which I call the U-turners road) are especially dangerous because fast and people are indeed making U-turns there every 50 meters or so...

I'll be in Shanghai from June 15th to 30th, so maybe we can meet !

Cheers,

Fred

I guess I am a disaster waiting to happen: I work downtown near Jing An temple and I live in Hongqiao. So I do have to take a large portion of the U-turners road twice a day. I am very careful though.

I am encouraged to learn that after only one year of driving in Shanghai, you felt like you could take on this big cross-China trek. Maybe it is true when they say one year of driving experience in Shanghai is worth 10 years experience in Europe or North America!

Would love to meet. Maybe there will be another no-bike night in Shanghai before you leave the country, but even if not, we could arrange something.

Stay safe!

**DipStick** · 06-07-2012, 03:24 PM

No idea what my post is showing up twice. Weird.

**soberpete** · 06-07-2012, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by DipStick

No idea what my post is showing up twice. Weird.

I finish work and officially begin my summer holiday on Friday the 15th, next week.
I've a crazy idea about riding down to Shanghai to see Fred off before he goes. The three of us could grab a beer together if everyone has the time.
I've several other friends dotted around Shanghai and I've promised them all I'd get down there one day: I could kill half a dozen birds with stone.

I'd like to ask Fred for info on the route he took down from Qingdao back to Shanghai but he's pretty busy right now.

**Fred** · 06-08-2012, 10:46 AM

Hey Pete, sorry for not having replied to your email yet, as you wrote, we've been busy... drinking Tsingtao in Qingdao !
I will send you all the pics, no worries.

From Yiyuan to Qingdao, we took first the S329, which in a few months or maybe 1 year will be perfect blacktop. Right now... let's say that if you want to practice your off-road skills, it's the best !

We have around 20km on dirt, but it was a "nice" dirt road, flat, without holes, so you could go around 50-60 km/h on it all the way.
Except for the bridges, when you have to go through very very small villages and mud roads to avoid the "future bridges" they are building as we speak. Then after Zhucheng we took the S217 to Jiaozhou, then all the way around the bay and into Qingdao, to the far south until the beaches where our hotel is.

In QD, some roads are clearly forbidden for bikes with signs, but otherwise we didn't have any trouble riding through it (except the traffic, as in every big chinese town...).

I'll update you later on the roads from QD to SH, we're leaving tomorrow morning !

Cheers,

Fred

**soberpete** · 06-08-2012, 01:34 PM

Fred,
Have you considered the S293 (sometimes it shares the name S329) from Huangdao?
It looks pretty big, clean and clear all the way through to at least Po li zhen and maybe a bit beyond that according to Google maps ancient satellite pics.
You mentioned avoiding the coastal roads due to obvious traffic reasons but this one might be worth a look.

How about the ferry from Qingdao to Huangdao? I hope they'll let your bike on. I don't see why they wouldn't.

**soberpete** · 06-08-2012, 01:43 PM

...from what I can see, those coastal roads look a damn sight better than the inland alternatives.

**DipStick** · 06-09-2012, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by soberpete

I finish work and officially begin my summer holiday on Friday the 15th, next week.
I've a crazy idea about riding down to Shanghai to see Fred off before he goes. The three of us could grab a beer together if everyone has the time.

I'm up for it. Depends on day and time ( I have a couple of out of town trips coming up) but I could go for drinks after work. It would just mean that I would have to take the subway that day! :-)

**Fred** · 06-10-2012, 12:33 PM

Hey all,

We're now in Suqian, Jiangsu province.

Pete, from Qingdao, we tried to go straight to Huangdao by the tunnel/ferry, which ever we could find. We followed the road in Qingdao right up to the point the ferry/tunnel should be : the road turned to dirt, then a big wall... I guess they are building something so I guess a tunnel, but there's no way available for now... So we took the long way up to Jiazhou and then down again to Rizhao.

From Qingdao to Rizhao, we took the G204 (which is currently under work close to Rizhao, still some dirt parts), but we also took very small farming roads, perfect blacktop in the countryside, it was perfect ! If you want Pete, I could try to show them to you on a map.

And why Suqian now ? In fact, because we are still ahead of our schedule, we will go to Nanjing after all, which we will try to reach tomorrow.

Dipstick (and Pete maybe !), we're all up for a drink/dinner in Shanghai after the 15th ! And while I'm at it : we didn't publish yet a ride report here, but we do have a blog running (you'll need a VPN to access it), which we update almost daily on the road. For now (and sorry to all the others...) it's only in French, so maybe only Dipstick can read it.

Cheers,

Fred

**Fred** · 06-11-2012, 01:24 PM

One update for those who might be interested : when coming from the North and heading to Nanjing, let's say for example from the city of Huaian, Jiangsu, the motorcycle friendly G205 suddenly becomes an expressway about 70-80km north of Nanjing, without toll gate !
So of course you do have the big "forbidden to motorcycles" signs, but as there're no toll gates, no one to stop you, it's fair game !
We took it today, a nice dash to Nanjing at approximately 100 km/h average speed, perfect road, nobody on it.

Might help some.

**soberpete** · 06-11-2012, 01:45 PM

Dear Fred and co,
I see the road (G205/ expressway) on Google maps and it looks pretty smooth; well spotted!
I plan on getting to Rizhao via Yiyuan and then through Yishui. I'll stay in Rizhao one night then make my way south to Shanghai.
How was Suqian? Is it laowai friendly? Still have the number of a hotel there? I don't think I'll stop in Suqian unless you think the roads along the way were really nice.
If and when you have the time, I'd love to know the black-top farm-road route that you guys took after Rizhao.
Was the construction on the G204 north or south of Rizhao? Or both?

Safe riding. Sounds like you're in Nanjing already. Enjoy it!