Black and Blue in Taihang Shan 太行山

[TexasAggie]

Now this is funny as hell and true!!!

Hey Milton,

There doesn't seem to be much interest in ride reports anymore on MCM, in particular Dual-Sport RRs.
Therefore can I suggest that you change the title of this RR Thread to the following:

Shanghai to Taihangshan on GSX-Rs

You'll need to re-work the preamble a bit to come up with some pretext about how our GSX-Rs were confiscated by the local police for having illegal plates or something. Then you can makeup something about how the Jialing Sales & Marketing Team in Chongqing, being savvy brand-focused company that they are, offered up 3 JH600s for the ride. We therefore made a last minute bike swap (reference the existing photo in your preamble), and then conclude with: so hope you all can [still] enjoy this RR!

[Maux]

I like how we're getting three ride reports in one thread!

The tunnels and grottos are amazing. It's a shame they didn't want you to enter each of the tunnels.

[milton]

I like how we're getting three ride reports in one thread!

I'm pleased that you noticed our coordinated efforts.
Although we were all on the same trip, each of us brings his own perspective and memories to the story, which hopefully have made the RR more enjoyable.

Cheers!

[felix]

You are more than welcome. I'm happy that my contributions to this trip are appreciated too, even if all i did was flood the inside of milton's helmet! Sorry again.

[milton]

Finally Motokai turned in his video for our Taihang Shan trip. I am quite impressed by how well it came out. At first I thought it was just a small footage of us going through the “hanging tunnels”. It turns out it has a lot more than that, including many trip highlights and even the breakfast stop in the morning on our last day of the trip, which I believe he was trying to take in the image of that big tea pot, but also captured the messiness around the breakfast table in a country market that only brave souls like us dare to visit. Our friend Eric would rather die than eat there.

It was wise of Masterkai not to attempt the video shot inside of the last tunnel (the last section, full of coal trucks).

Great job, Motokai!!

Enjoy!

[998S]

Nice scenery, even better on the video then some of the pictures.
Can imagine it to be very impressive while you are passing through it.

And on the breakfast, I might not win from you any more, but I can't count the times I had breakfast or lunch like that, during almost 20 years of purchasing goods in the Chinese countryside.
No reason to die

[felix]

Damn! That was a great watch Masterkai!

[MotoKai]

Thanks Felix. It's spectacular riding/roads out there.
For those curious, the start of some of the best of these tunnels is here - the Wangmangling Shan entrance (王莽灵山景区).
[Note: Google Maps doesn't show any roads that connect to the tunnels - but they're there!]

But be advised due to the danger of the roads, they are not motorcycle friendly. We did a Chinese-Standoff with the guards and gatekeepers for about 30mins before convincing them to allow us thru....and negotiating a discount on the entrance fee while we were at it (we only had to pay for one bike). We also needed to register before taking off, so if we rode off the mountain and disappeared, they knew who was missing!

And if you're wondering what's going at at the 4m47s mark of the video - that's 8 people collectively adding coolant and putting the reservoir cap back on!
Everyone had a strategy, comment, or attempt at it. (I was enjoying the entertainment and filming haha!)