China, West to East (Urumqi,Xining,Xian,Yantai)

[cryptographicide]

Had to laugh at the "jialing shop with no parts"

As far as wheel bearings go , once I change them the first time I make a note of the size (usually 6303) then you can buy them at any hardware store. Because you know you will be changing them again ad infinitum...

You know you can get those panda mascots in keyring size right?

I'm in Canada right now, visiting for my brothers wedding. When I get back, I'm going to replace all the little things on the bike. plugs and bearings for starters. The valves need to be checked for sure. When I returned home, I replaced the busted mirror with an old mirror. Now they don't match but they both reflect. So that needs some work. And I want hard bags. I don't want to pay 2500 yuan for the one shop that sells hard bags and a kit to mount them on my bike... so I'm going to look around and find a welder who will be able to fashion a kit, then I'll buy the pelican cases for 300 yuan each. I'm selling the bike at the end of next year and I don't want to sink too much coin into it before then. On the other side of things, never again with soft bags.

The panda mascot was actually a gift for our niece. We took it with us to make the photos of the trip more relevant to a two year old. We gave it to her. I want to give her an album of all the pictures pannada is in with maps for each picture. I'll start working on that project once I finish doing all the ride reports.

[zhu]

Well considering the size of pandamonium that was a very nice thing to do for a kid.

Did you have troubles with water in your bags or just general sagginess and lack of security that puts you off soft luggage?

I favour the good old Chinese GDW green synthetic canvas jobs but they still have some drawbacks. It's a hard road to find the perfect luggage but I think we all learn that less luggage is better. I'm on a mission now to reduce the pack up to 20kg total and I can't bring myself to leave any tools at home so that leaves me 17kg.

[cryptographicide]

hehehe

These bags were pretty waterproof. But they were saggy, and easy to walk away with, tough to lock up. All of those things I could deal with but they just fell apart. Now, we put them through hell. But, we had to visit the roadside cobbler twice. One time, just about every major seam had to be resewn. The straps that held the bags on the bike kept falling off. I just want out of the whole situation. I know what soft green canvas bags you're talking about and I will consider them.

Next trip, we won't be camping. I think it's fun but Andrea gets tired out and can't relax while we are hiding in a tent. So, remove the tent and sleeping bags and the amount of luggage we need decreases a lot.

[zhu]

Yep , carried my tent and associated stuffs for 20,oo0 km around S.E.Asia and never used it once. On the other hand , 20 kuai five pin plug board... used every day, giant heavy padlock, used every night. Every tool in the tool bag used at least once. Tyre levers and compressor not used because the only puncture I had was outside a bike shop in Thailand and he had a fridge full of iced coffee a sofa and seven mechanics who dealt to the bike like a F1 pit crew.

Some days it all just goes well.

As for the green canvas bags they are simply indestructible , mine have 50,000km of use and one disgraceful slide down the road in Thailand and I wouldn't say they are "good as new" but they have never needed repair.

I know they are synthetic canvas because they melt rather than burn...

[cryptographicide]

Langmusi - July 22
Odometer: (+288 km)

Into the Mud

I got up and found some breakfast. I also wandered around till I found a nice hardware store that could sell me a bolt. My top box lost a bolt the day before and it needed to be replaced. It had rained and I forgot to cover up the bags. Pretty much everything was wet. For the most part, this wetness wouldn't leave until we arrived in Xian. We put on all our rain gear and started driving. We definitely didn't get on the road before 10 am. Labrang Monastery was only 60 km from Tongren. For a few km we had to backtrack, but it was only ten km before we were on new road. It was a great new road: wide and smooth with almost no traffic. Then the pavement ended. The road changed to a flat, packed path. It was hard dirt and freshly prepared but with the rain, there was a thin layer of red sludge. We were able to ride comfortably but considerably slower.

We stopped in a village and had some lunch. The parents cooked while a 6 year old ran around and made friends with everyone. We didn't know if the kid was a girl or a guy. I said "she". Andrea said "he" By the time we finished, "she" had learned the English words "Hello", "dance", and "good-bye". Then she went and taught all the other people in the restaurant how to say these words. All present agreed that this would be the cutest thing that would happen that day.

The half-finished road continued on the other side of the village. Every km or so, the road would go over a pre-finished bridge. The height of the bridge was about a foot taller than the road. It acted like a wide, exceptionally high speed bump. A bus had to go over it and was forced to slow down to a snails crawl and still looked like a bucking bull when it drove over-top. The road began climbing into a pass in it's tarmac-less condition. On one curve I felt the front tire slide out. I managed to react before we lost it, but over-compensated and it slipped the other direction. Again I kept us off the ground, but lost the bike when the tire couldn't grab the road. We hit the ground on the right side. There wasn't any traffic and we weren't going faster than about 50 km/h. This wasn't my first crash on a dirtbike, but it was Andrea's. We both had helmets and I had knee pads and body armour on. Like Prince666 has said more than once, it's not if you crash, it's when you crash. I was fine. The biggest damage I suffered was a few popped blood vessels in the tip of my finger. I had removed the tip of my gloves so I could play with my gps with my gloves on. Because I'm so much bigger than Andrea, she didn't contact the road at all. Her rain gear hardly even got muddy. If you notice in the picture it's only her shoulder that is muddy. Atgatt WTF. Because I had my rain gear on the outside of my armour, my gear needed to be replaced. A man on a cheap red Chinese bike stopped and made sure we were ok. He refused to believe that we were fine until I showed him that I had armour on. After he saw that, he smiled and said we were very smart to be so prepared. Then he left and continued driving along. We passed him shortly afterward, this time at a slower pace.

We made it Labrang Monastery shortly afterward. We couldn't park the bike in the parking lot because an old man was determined to stop all motorcycles from parking. Motorcycles had to park on the street. I said that wasn't acceptable and we managed to agree that I could park in the bicycle lot and I would have to pay 10 yuan parking fee, same as a car. I said, if it's the same price as a car I should be able to park near the cars. He said, I can park on the street. I gave him a twenty yuan note and asked for ten in change. He scowled and walked away. Some guys stop in the rain and refuse to believe you are ok, other guys go out of their way to make sure you're fucked over. TIC.

We go in and buy tickets, then try to find that place where we are suppose to wait for an English tour. We fail and just explore on our own. We start walking around the outside of the temple. I buy some yak yogurt from a young girl shouting cutely about her "suannai". She dumped a huge scoop of large crystal sugar into the little cup. The sugar never dissolved and totally ruined the silky smooth texture of the yogurt. Around the temple were thousands of prayer wheels that pilgrims and tourists alike span as they walked around. Andrea and I just watched. We both strongly believe that we shouldn't trivialize the actual beliefs of others by turning them into a tourist highlight.

We almost walked all the way around the monastery when we ran into the English tour group as they were entering the house of yak butter sculptures. We asked the guide if we could join and he replied with a firm, "NO".
"We bought tickets."
"When you buy?"
"We bought them twenty minutes ago."
"I look." He holds out his hand briskly. After looking for an exceedingly long time, he hands them back and gestures that we can follow.

Here are those yak butter sculptures.


A close up of the same sculpture focused on a statue of the story about the four animals that, through friendship and co-operation, ate a peach.

This monk was nick named "rudeboy". He took us around and unlocked the more impressive buildings for us. Often, he would take a fine minute break to rest and sit. This confused us because it was a pleasant temperature out and the distances were really short. His descriptions were always curt and simple. I or some of the other English tourees would ask a question and he would answer briefly or not at all. At one point, rudeboy explained that because we have not had training in Buddhism that a detailed explanation would only confuse us. He compared it to teaching Kindergarten kids about about spelling before teaching them the ABC's. I told him that my minor was Eastern Religions and he said that if it the instruction didn't come from a real temple, it was probably just wrong. I'll admit to forgetting a lot of what was learned in those Uni classes, but over the course of the month, a lot came back. Anyway, the tour group started addressing questions silently to me and Andrea.

At the end of the tour, I wanted to pose for a picture with Rudeboy but missed the secret couples communication that Andrea didn't want to have this silly lazy monk immortalized in a picture. Here is Rudeboy and me, we Andrea slightly off to the side.

After Labrang, we tried to find a place to stay for less than 200 yuan. We failed, so we made reservations in a hostel in Langmusi and rode as fast as we could to get there before sundown. We left at around 5:30 and rode the 180 km in two and a half hours, arriving just as twilight was becoming blackness.

The bike was parked in a courtyard across the street. I was fine with putting it on the street, but the hotel owner went out of her way to make sure it had a place. Then we had dinner with some travelers in the hostel who were great and friendly. This hostel was packed. We pretty much got the last rooms in the place. Also, Langmusi is at 3500m and there was no heat in this hostel at all. So, although it was against the rules, I totally slept in Andrea's bunk.

[prince666]

All good and well that is the main thing I am sure things would of worked out better had the bike been not so loaded up.

Many factors come into play when shit like this happens, the bike was the right choice for the ride and roads condition you have been hitting IMO just a bit over loaded , need to teach your lovely wife how to ride .

Let's hope it's the last time you have a drop, but something tells me it won't?.

Normally I drop my bike on rides like these a few times but just getting back from a 7000 km around the same area as your RR and not had one drop.

Very happy with the outcome , am I getting a better ride? I don't think so just getting more lucky LOL.

We both strongly believe that we shouldn't trivialize the actual beliefs of others by turning them into a tourist highlight.

Its all about $$$$$$ and that is the sad part

Great RR it's been a pleasure reading your RR

Ride Safe

[cryptographicide]

Bamacun - July 23
Odometer 5894 (+242 km)

Chain Swap Johnnie and the Mountain-top Snuffers

Through-out the night, I could hear the burbling of a little stream behind the hostel. It was pleasant. I woke far before Andrea and quietly left our bunk-mates sleeping to get the bike from the courtyard across the street. The other guests were starting to move around and most were queuing up for the only shower available. When I got back, Andrea was awake, and we left for a walk. We had breakfast at a cramped little restaurant that was pulling the trick where they only offer a 25 yuan bowl of noodles. For the 12 yuan bowl, you had to wait 30 minutes. We waited grumpily. What a disgusting business model. But, we ate freshly baked bread while we waited. We should have just gone to the bakery and bought some buns. Next week checked out the freshly made yak butter soap. But Andrea wasn't impressed and we left without buying. Exploring the other side of town, we found the temple and decided to walk around.

We asked the monks where the sky burial ground was. They responded saying that there were no burials taking place. I had to explain that we weren't interested in watching a burial. We just wanted to see the place. They pointed up the mountain. We walked to the top and saw it in the distance. There was no tower, just a place to put the body and the whole vicinity was covered in colourful T1b3tan prayer flags. This is one of the few places, where, although it's illegal, sky burials are still practiced. If you wanted to watch, the hostel owner explained, you could hike to the top at sunrise and watch the procession and funeral take place from a distance. Again, we thought this was too culturally intrusive and were totally satisfied with seeing the location and using our imaginations.

Returning to the bike, I began repairing the sidebags. The strap that held the bags on the bike had ripped and we had to use a bungee to keep it on the bike. Taking it apart meant unpacking everything, removing the top box and seat and then getting the strap sewn together quickly. Then everything had to go back on. It took about an hour and a half. Really tedious work. After the bags were fixed I checked the chain for the first time in a few days. All the rings in between every link had come off. That explains why it needed tightening. So, I asked the hostel owner to point me to a bike mechanic in town. He took me to the only one. I asked if he had a chain. If he had said, "no". I don't think I would have been so upset. But instead he said, "You don't need a new chain.". I blew my friggin top. "You don't have eyes? You can't see? This chain is garbage. It must be replaced TODAY." He froze up and didn't respond. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered around. Oh great, now I'm the insane foreigner who won't give this poor mechanic a break. Screw him. How can he run a business repairing bikes if his answer to fixing a bike is, "You don't need to fix it." That business model isn't even greedy, it isn't careless, it's just plain nonsense! TIC...LFZ. Don't worry, bikerdoc, I'm totally familiar with this adage. I irately explain to the mechanic that he is an idiot. I apologize to the hostel owner for being angry and ride out of town in a huff. Outside of town I get off the bike and scream at a cow for a while until I am calm enough to ride on Chinese roads. Andrea waits for me at the bike. She doesn't say anything but I know how she feels. I've embarrassed her. I feel embarrassed. I behaved like Ricky from 'trailer park boys' having a tantrum in the middle of the street because I didn't get my way. Whatever, Brent is not Zen today. It won't be the last time that China turned me into the Hulk on that trip.

The birds in this picture are vultures.

Langmusi itself is on the border between Gansu and Sichuan in a prefecture named Shambala. This is awesome because there is a local drug/hippy music festival in the woods of Western Canada named Shambala. However, I didn't see any rich kids on shrooms dressed in outrageous outfits listening to really loud electronic dance music while I was in Langmusi. Going east from the town brought us through a heavily-forested, steep-sided valley. After 50 km, we had descended out of the plateau. That road was quiet, perfect condition and really amazing. Lots of bends and twists, animals everywhere, no pollution at all. Such a rarity in China. At the bottom, we found a larger, well developed town to have lunch in. The restaurant was empty save for a beautiful Hui woman in a brightly decorated head scarf and her fice-year-old son. The waitress saw that the Chaomian was giving Andrea a runny nose and handed her a tissue. I made sure to take notice of her kindness and to appreciate that not everyone is a jerk and a moron. On the outside of town I found a shop that could fix my bike. The mechanic was in the process of rebuilding a scooter engine and took five minutes to replace my chain. He did everything that I would have done myself including using real grease as lubricant instead of just used motor oil. He charged me 90 yuan for a 60 yuan chain and I gladly gave it to him. To me, $5 CAD for real service is getting a good deal. When we left, the crowd that had gathered around gave us a cheery thumbs up.

We put on a good deal of km before we decided to stop. The road curved around a valley. I looked behind me and saw a spot in the hills that couldn't be seen from below. Then I saw a road that took me up there. After checking it out, we found it was just perfect. Someone had started building a house there but quit for some reason. We kept everything packed up cause it was still a few hours before dark.

We were sitting down snacking when we heard a cough. I poked my head up and saw an old man wandering around in a field foraging for something. He saw us and started walking over. He spoke mandarin but his accent was really really tough to untangle. However, he was a bright old guy and often inferred more than I would tell him. He was also able to simplify his sentences enough that I could understand. I explained we were taking a break for dinner and that we had a hotel reserved in the town ahead. I wasn't about to have him calling the police on us. He smiled knowingly and said his house didn't have a bedroom and we couldn't stay with him anyway. Then he took a small white bottle, like an eye dropper bottle, from his jacket pocket and offered me some snuff. It was green crushed tobacco leaves. I was intrigued but ultimately not interested. He took a small pinch and put it on his thumbnail. Having his nail flush against his nostril, he sniffed heavily and sucked the snuff right in. Never seen that before. It was quiet for a few minutes. I looked over my shoulder and saw a thunderhead clearing the next peak over. I told the man it's going to rain. We are going to put up our tent to stay dry. He said I was right and that he needed to get home. I wished him good health and he headed back down the hill to his house. Andrea and I set the tent up in record time and had the bike covered just as it really started pouring. It poured for about ten minutes and then cleared up for the rest of the night. We were at about 1800m, so the temperature was chilly, but totally within the ranges of comfort.

[cryptographicide]

Chengxian - July 24
Odometer: 6240 (+346 km)

Frank the Yodeler

We got up at sunrise and began the day. I found a little hut that was even more hidden than our campsite was. It had long ago been abandoned. As we were packing, a man on a motorbike drove by and returned a few minutes later holding a great bundle of juniper branches that he had just gathered. These were likely going to be burned as incense at a temple or a shrine nearby.

It was dry but a little chilly out. The road continued to twist and descend. We had breakfast and a break in a small town. I got a milk tea and spent a few minutes putting the brake levels back into their correct position. They had been bent in the crash a few days before. It was something I kept forgetting about and decided to stop putting it off. Eventually the geography and vegetation changed from being mostly temperate with grass and conifers to being more lush and moderate looking. Trees became leafier and the brush became thicker. Vines seemed to grow everywhere. Up the sides of buildings, around trees. Ditches were filled with all kinds of brush and plants with big flat leaves. Everything was green. The temperature was rising and we had to take off the water gear and extra layers that were keeping us warm.

The roads started to get really busy. I saw a sign for a Gaosu entrance and tried my luck. We left the road and started down the 3 km entrance ramp to the first toll station. A cop car pulled behind us and gauged our speed. We were comfortably doing 80 km/h but I sped up to 95 km/h just to show him I could. He seemed satisfied and let us go. We went through the tolls and then drove down the Gaosu for a km. We pulled off into an exit ramp and waited for any cars with lights to fly past. The cop car we had just seen drove past but he wasn't in a hurry. Looks like were in the clear. So, we jumped back on the highway and enjoyed the next 100 km of quiet straight roads. We made awesome time. Instead of twisting and winding through endless mountains, the Gaosu either bridges over the valleys or tunnels through the mountains. It is straight. And because this stretch of highway didn't go anywhere important, it was totally deserted. However, I could see the road we weren't on and it was packed with buses and semi-trucks. It looked nasty.

We were driving fast for about an hour and a half. It was at least 40'C outside. In the sun, we roasted. But the frequent tunnels made the heat really manageable. The Gaosu was still under construction and kicked us off. The road we had to take was brand new and quiet. All the roads had been quiet so far.

Next stop was a small city. We spent about an hour and a half there. We changed the oil, got gas, and filled the tank before heading out. This city was filled with mopeds that all had those crazy umbrellas hooked up to them. I felt inspired and spent the next hour of riding singing about "scooter-brellas" If I remember right, the song had a beach boys feel to it. It's too bad that those songs you sing on the bike are so easily forgotten.

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We started seeing people on the side of the road selling corn, so being hungry for supper, we bought some. This corn was so sweet and tender. It was probably the best corn I had ever eaten. Andrea bought 4 more cobs and said we would eat them for breakfast. Cool.

When the sun was started to hide behind the hills, we started looking for a campsite. When you're on the road, you don't look for spots to put your tent. You look for side-roads that seem to drive away deep into another valley. The more isolated the better. We tried two roads before finding one that took us past the farm houses and into the fields. We made sure to have our helmets down and visors closed. I wore sunglasses. The goal was to make it so no one could tell we were foreigners. One person saw us riding up into the fields. We found a fallowed field high up into the hills with excellent cover for the bike and tent. From ten feet away, you couldn't see the tent, so we set it up and called it an evening. I made some calls and, although it was very difficult, found us a reservation for a hotel in Xian the next day. Xian is another city that has the no foreigners in one or two star hotels. We called a hotel that was effectively a start up and didn't care about the star system yet. I guess the Bestay we stayed in before was a three star hotel. I called them first, but they were full.

When the sun was totally down, we heard Frank. Andrea named him. He kept shouting out. Hey! Hey! Hey! HA HA HA HA HHEEEEEEYYYYYYYYAA!. It was kinda like yodeling. He would walk around and shout. Then move to a new place and shout. It's possible he was looking for us. Then we heard a rock tumble about 5 feet from the tent. I thought, oh God, he is right here. Crap, he found us...this is gonna suck. There were footsteps right next to our tent and then they kept walking. They went straight over a cliff! Men don't walk down cliffs, DEER walk down cliffs. Then it occurred to me what Frank was up to. He was keeping the deer out of the corn fields. He moved around the fields making a lot of noise and drinking baijiu. He didn't stop yelling till at least midnight and started up yelling again as the first signs of twilight appeared near the horizon. This also explains the empty baijiu bottles we saw scattered around the edges of the fields.

[ChinaV]

More please sir...

[cryptographicide]

Don't worry. More is on the way. Life just became a bit hectic for a while.