Guangdong, the nooks and crannies

**kingmarty45** · 02-16-2009, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by ChinaV

Meet "The Dude". I don't know how much he gets paid to ride across that wire, but it's not enough. Respect.

This guy might be even crazier than Snortin...

**DanKearney** · 02-17-2009, 01:07 AM

ChinaV,

Great story and pics. Keep it coming. Your guangdonghua must be fluent.

Cheers,

Dan K.

**chinabiker** · 02-17-2009, 01:44 AM

Originally Posted by ChinaV

.. I wouldn't put Guangdong as a destination of choice for epic motorcycle rides in China ...

You report proved otherwise

There are good places to ride almost everywhere as it seems. Nice pictures, can't wait to come to GD.

Andy

**ChinaV** · 02-22-2009, 02:11 AM

After a good nights sleep I was up early and on the road by seven thirty. The morning was brisk as I headed north out of Ruyuan towards Nanling national park. Heavy morning fog was burning off and it looked like great weather would be in order for the day. I reached the entrance and paid the 60 Yuan (8.75 USD) fee, the attendant looked at the bike and couldn't believe I had come from Dongguan. "Go slow, bad road" he said, I just smiled and nodded. He gave me a couple extra maps, opened the gate and I motored along a few minutes before stopping to worship the fresh black asphalt they had laid down for me.

It's so rare to find mountain roads with this kind of surface here in Guangdong, and I enjoyed all ten kilometers of it.

Then it was back to a mix of packed dirt and gravel.

I passed a few small reservoirs with brilliantly clear water.

No idea what this contraption does, some kind of mining rig?

The road became a mix of sharp rocks and deep ruts. I saw this discarded top box which was little encouragement that conditions would improve.

But improve they did, along with the views.

I reached the peak of ShinKenKong at 1902 meters (6240 ft). This is the highest point in Guangdong province and the border of Hunan.

The road south was just completed a few months ago, it's a sweet 75 kilometer ride through the rest of the park.

I followed G323 and S260 through some beautiful valleys until Yangshan.

Then I headed for the QingLian Expressway which would take me back home. A couple more shots of the impressive road work.

The rest was just retracing my path from the previous day. I'm glad I found this route, it's a great way up to the north-west corner of the province. Made it home 45 minutes before beer o'clock

and celibrated with an extra beer, of course.

Thanks for coming along.....

Date: 8-February-2009
Start Time: 7:22 AM ~ End Time: 5:11 PM
Total: 9 Hours 48 Minutes ~ Moving: 7 Hours 14 Minutes ~ Stopped: 2 Hours 34 Minutes
Distance: 455 Kilometers / 283 Miles
Average Speed: 46 kph / 29 mph
Average Moving Speed: 63 kph / 39 mph
Maximum Elevation: 1894 Meters / 6215 Feet.

Cheers!
ChinaV

**Brice** · 02-22-2009, 05:05 AM

Nice RR

You are the king of the map and the mac.

Could be a good destination for a week end ride with the few other blokes from the area.

**chinabiker** · 02-22-2009, 05:20 AM

Thanks for the pics and the report

Impressive bridge construction there. Is it for road or rail ?

It seems you have good weather season in Guangdong.
From what I remember Jan and Feb are best.

Originally Posted by Brice

Nice RR

You are the king of the map and the mac.

Could be a good destination for a week end ride with the few other blokes from the area.

Would you accept blokes from other areas too ?

Andy

**Brice** · 02-22-2009, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by chinabiker

Would you accept blokes from other areas too ?

Andy

It's your call.

**ChinaV** · 02-22-2009, 11:38 AM

Thanks Brice and Andy..... I forgot to post the KMZ file the ride report, so here it is... open with Google Earth.

Originally Posted by chinabiker

Impressive bridge construction there. Is it for road or rail ?

That's all road... just for motorcycles

. These elevated sections separating north and southbound traffic are just mind boggling when you think about the resources involved in their construction.

Originally Posted by chinabiker

It seems you have good weather season in Guangdong.
From what I remember Jan and Feb are best.

November to mid December is my favorite, very comfortable. Last year we had snow in the north during December/January and it was unusually cold. This year has been great, only one week that I didn't ride in January. April to October is damn hot and the rains wipe out a lot of the mountain roads.

Originally Posted by chinabiker

Would you accept blokes from other areas too ?

Tokyokid gave it a try this week

. Nice to swap stories with a fellow China rider, here he is carving it up on the F650 in the mountains near my house.

Cheers!
ChinaV

**CrazyCarl** · 02-24-2009, 06:58 PM

I don't know anyone who does the GPS tracking thing as thoroughly as ChinaV! That's some sweet stuff... it would be great if we could compile a huge KMZ of all our tracks n' geotagged photos.

You guys in the GuangDong area got plans for an MCM meeting anytime soon?

CC