Hohhot - Harbin

[futianshenzhen]

30

While loading up the bike I found that the exhaust bracket had snapped, probably due to me pushing too fast on the dirt yesterday, an easy fix with some wire.
Left at 6.25, decided the previous evening to go to Fuyuan, the easternmost point in China. I made such good ground that my original route would have meant reaching Harbin way too early, so to ride the Russian border by the Heilongjiang seemed the obvious choice.

Started with more great mystery road now called 501 country road, then intermittent road works on Jiamo highway AKA S207. Got low on fuel and missed the comfort blanket of the jerrycan I hadn’t filled up. Turned left at Jagdaqi, which looks like a province in itself but actually is just a prefecture. There then followed 100 kms of dirt, good enough to be in 5th gear but bad enough to be shaken to bits. Then on to Heihe, fast boring roads all the way. Nice enough scenery but nothing special, endless silver birch forest.

My phone died in Heihe, had to race through town to get on right road, just made it before power completely went. From there I just had to continue straight on the border road with the Heilongjiang on my left so it was pretty easy and I soon arrived in Xunke where some guys with some foregn bikes were parked. I did a stop and chat and they were heading up to Mohe, 3 bikes and one car in convoy. They were very surprised to hear I’d done over 800 kms that day!


Arrived Xunke 6.30, 820 kms 4000 total
100 quai hotel, very friendly boss who locked my bike up with his. Xunke itself was a nice little town with all the signs in Russian and Chinese.



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Bodged exhaust bracket


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You can see where it snapped


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The mighty Heilongjiang - I had to climb a tree for this one


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The excellent X501

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