Chengdu- yushu, Qinghai

**Metalmonkey** · 09-27-2018, 07:37 AM

Heh, haven't posted here in ages. Let's hope the pictures come out the right way up

So, since last year, I've been planning to follow this route kangding in Sichuan to yushu in Qinghai... But start in chengdu. In May, I rode the bike from Shanghai part way to human them sent it by rail to chengdu.

I had my first road crash on my first day out of chengdu. It was due to a blow out on the front tire.. The mechanic may have pinched the tube behind the rim lock when fixing a flat. Anyway, first night out, I slept in my tent by the edge of the Riyadh in a thunderstorm. Then spent a few days umming and ahhing about fixing the front tire definitively. I eventually went back to chengdu, bought an (overpriced) gravy dirty tube for the front, then fixed the Tue myself to be sure.

Hers my "camp" near qionglai.

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Things get better after this (nod to China v s story, except my bike want totally smashed up)

**bikerdoc** · 09-28-2018, 08:14 AM

Wow... this sounds interesting...

**Metalmonkey** · 11-14-2018, 08:35 PM

Some pictures from the trip. It ended up being about 3000 km and took around five weeks. I turned ack from Yushu just as the weather was turning. Got caught in snow quite a bit on the way back, especially on the passes.IMG_5568.jpg Me at the beginning of the trip in Chengdu. Top heavy. This is what comes of buying camping equipment at the last minute.

**Metalmonkey** · 11-14-2018, 08:48 PM

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Climbing the first mountains West of Chengdu
IMG_5698.jpg Pleasant stop in Shangli Gucheng
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Weird site on the road..TIC
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**Metalmonkey** · 11-14-2018, 09:10 PM

Let's try putting pictures in a dropbox folder...
These are on the way to tagong, so include Kangding, where the owner of the Zhilam hostel, Kris showed me some local trails on his dirt bike. The first time I've done off-road with the X2. Revealed the need to sink the rear shock. It was pretty high from Shuben's frame, when offroad, we were finding it hard to put a foot down. FGun times though.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...wW?usp=sharing

**Metalmonkey** · 11-14-2018, 09:31 PM

Ganzi was simple, bustling and VERY Tibetan. There is a hostel, only opened at the beginning of the 2017 season in Ganzi called Dzachusama. Good coffes and western food, plus the owner, Nate, advised me of a dirt road to the next town of Manigange. I took this, going through a closed off tunnel, past goffers and packs of ig Tibetan Mastifs, through deserted remote villages and finnaly stopped when the sun started to go down and set up my tent.

**Metalmonkey** · 11-14-2018, 09:51 PM

These pictures are of the dirt road from Ganzi to Manigange, then of Yushu itself.Yushu was my destination for this trip. I spent nearly a week there. Because I was travelling just before the golden week, I saw very few other travellers. I was glad when I met another foreign traveller-a Spanish guy in Yushu and we explored the city. One night, after succeeding in finding a bar, some tibetans filled our table with beers and we only paid for two, leaving shaky at the end of the night. I rode out to the grasslands near Yushu with Arnau on the back and we went along dirt roads, descending steeply into a valey (the road we took is marked on the picture by red arrows) and into a valley where there was a large temple damaged badly by earthquake.
Traveling by motorcycle really does afford you access to places others rarely go.

It was a good time in Yushu, but I'd been on. the road alone for abbout a month and I finally decided to turn back and go the way I'd come when the snows arrived to Yushu.

Pictures in the link below.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1C6...0b5jS6CSl1kmUG

I'll add one more picture dump later of the return journey. This was really scenic because of the fresh snow on the mountains, but difficult at times, because of the temperatures and the snow (roads were clear but this was my first time riding with the snow driving into my visor and the cold fingers. Made for great pictures though. I will add those later.

**Metalmonkey** · 11-14-2018, 10:01 PM

I'll upload this picture here because I think it shows the real beauty of the landscape in this part of China. It was a blast. to finally acheive this route. It was diffult to do it alone, always moving into the unknown each day. I hopw in future to ride with others. I have picked up some mentors and riding buddies on my trips and through this forum. I started riding 2 years agonow and this forum really helped for the first year. I even bopught the bike the Shineray X2 off fellow forum member Shuben. It's probably credit to his maintenance and farkles on the bike that this humble Chinese bike tractored up everything on this trip and was really resilient.

I rode the bike to 5050 metres altitude at the Chola mountain road pass. I was astounded by that.

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A few more pics to come...

**bikerdoc** · 11-17-2018, 01:28 AM

Fantastic RR and insightful info on an area less explored by fellow intrepid adventurers. . .
I look forward to seeing and reading more of the adventures to come

**ShuBen** · 11-17-2018, 02:49 PM

Wow, the X2 has seen with you much more than with me. I am happy it serves you well and my improvements make the difference.
Good to see you became a good experienced rider. When you took the bike over I was afraid you wouldn't make it alive back to Shanghai 😁
RESPECT!!!

Ride on! Wish you "All time rubber down"

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