Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, Qinhai, XinJiang (YSGQX) Ride

[MeowZeDong]

Hi All,

It's been a moment and I was waiting until things really started to cook to share a bit of my experiences - especially from a female rider's perspective in China (or does it really differ that much? :)

Through the wonderful help of Lorne forwarding me a contact, I was able to get a bike loan from Galaxy. After meeting with them in Shunde, it was understood that they would send the bike to XiShuangBanNa, where I initially wanted to start. They told me due to BanNa being a smaller city, it would take a long time. They wanted to deliver it to Kunming but there was no way I wanted to do that ride so we compromised on Dali. The bike was two weeks late. Luckily, I couldn't have been in any better place in China as I love Dali.

When the bike finally arrived the day before yesterday (Sunday) it was a righteous mess. Galaxy had stated that they would have it ride-ready and safe, especially for such a long journey. The front wheel was bent, there was no battery, there was an electrical problem after the battery installation, the chain was very loose, etc...and other small things. After two days and three different mechanics (two of them actual dealerships in XiaGuang), I took off today and just felt incredibly happy to be on the road. I rode a bit in Shunde at the Galaxy factory and additionally, I rode all day the prior week in Dali and XiaGuang on the same Galaxy XTR 250 bike with my friend Colin - who had his friend's bike and it was great fun....but I wanted to be underway.

I felt very comfortable (maybe a bit too comfortable) averaging 80kph on the road from Dali to Lijiang and would have made it under 4 hours, however had an incident when I stopped to take photos.

I pulled to the side hoping to shoot beautiful fields and mountains about 20km out of LiJiang. There happened to be a 6 foot (2 meter or so) drop to the right of me. As I lifted my left leg to dismount the high bike, my boot clipped the seat a little bit but it was enough to set it off-balance. As I stood, I felt the overwhelming force of the bike....tried desperately to keep it at bay but realized this was one battle I wasn't going to win. I pushed off hard as to avoid the bike from falling on top of me. I landed softly in an irrigation ditch completely unscathed. The bike, not so. It was upside-down....handlebars on a big boulder. I got up and first tried to de-bungee cord my bags, the weight of the bike was just too much. A woman stood there five feet from me sucking on a popsicle just watching me. It was hilarious. I then flagged down help and a wonderful Hui couple assisted me and soon after a couple of the field workers came over and assisted in flipping the bike over then getting it back to the road.

I checked over the bike and the brake fluid tubing was ripped. The front brake was useless. The Hui couple wanted to have my bike put on their truck as they were riding to LiJiang but I was unharmed and the bike was working otherwise so I proceeded the rest of the 20km to my A-yi's guesthouse here in SuHuo, LiJiang. It was pretty nuts having only my back break but it was fine.

I'm meeting with a mechanic in the morning to get patched up and then I'm off again. Shangri-La next.

As far as the ride from Dali to LiJiang, there were two areas of stopped traffic. The first one was in a small town whose name escapes me. I haven't been using a map or GPS. I've just been reading signs and asking for directions if needed. I've done this on other cross-country rides and it's amazing how you can still get by like this. During the ride, there was a half mile-long line of stopped traffic in this small town and the great part of having the bike is, I could just weave in and out to get through it quickly. The even greater part is, when I got to the heaviest concentration, I could not understand what was causing this ruckus. There was no accident. There was no construction. It was just a massive concentration of people that were blocking the intersection trying to get through every which way...but ended up jamming all the lanes up. I've never seen anything like it! And it just got worse because people tried to fit in where they could...carts, vehicles, massive busses, motorcycles. I wanted to take a photo of this but didn't want to stop either.

The other place where it was a bit hairy was where the construction was going on about 20km out of LiJiang, right after the area I had the incident. It becomes rough road, gravel, dirt and this area coincided where I lost my front brake. The riding isn't bad - just have to pay more attention to traffic, although it's not like people follow any lines anyway.

It was a beautiful ride. Looking forward to more. Here are some photos from the area between Dali and XiZhou, around ErHai Hu and then closer to LiJiang, I hope to share some video later too:




Playing twister with bungee during the prep




And off....


Blinded by the sun and by the countryside's beauty.


The bike is finally prepped.


Solid. After several years of bad, bad design and experiences on my long-distance rides...from burnt bags, dropped and dragged bags...bags on tires...it got me here.





Righting the bike. I hopped up real quick to get this shot.


The wonderful village folk. I paid them for their help even though they fought it. I fought back and won. My mother taught me well as I grew up watching her and my a-yi's fighting viciously over giving each other money or being the one to pay (especially at lunches or dinners). I'd finally see money left on the floor someone threw and would feel traumatized at this "fight".


The wonderful Hui couple that assisted me first; Mr. and Mrs. Ma from Dali


Around XiZhou, I saw this girl waiting for her dad in the rice paddy. She had a live butterfly on a stick and was wearing a white gown over her jeans. Just adorable....she's 7 years old, her name is Shou Hua.


Adorable Shou Hua and her dad, Mr. Ma (there are a ton of Ma's in this area!)


Mrs. Yang - a sweet woman I stopped and chatted with as I saw her working in the field.


Spreading the rice. Stopping the hunger.


Onion flowers I believe..






Nearing LiJIang


Safe at my A-yi's Naxi-styled guesthouse in Su Huo..




Super stoked to finally be riding. Leaving Dali...


In Shunde, riding at Galaxy's MX track with Mr. Juice.


At the Galaxy conference-showroom/MX track


With other riders, including Mr. Juice, Mr. Yang's assistant at Galaxy


With my friend March before taking off from Dali