The rewarding us with punishment tour

[chinabiker]

Awesome stuff CV! This is a hallmark report for MCM!


CC

I'd rather say a benchmark for many other sites

[ChinaV]

Day 14

There are mornings, and then there are mornings you will never forget. The temperature had dropped to -6º C (21º F) and I tried to keep warm as I crawled from my tent. Daniel and I were up at the same time and we both sat there, silent, in awe, as we sipped coffee and took in the amazing scenery. No picture will do it justice, no words can really describe it. Have a click on the photo for a larger view of what we woke up to.



The three of us struggled to get packed up and ready for the day. Every few moments we would stop for air as the 4400 meters (14,435 feet) of elevation quickly took our breath away. As soon as it was back, a glimpse of the magnificent scenery would just take it away again. We finally got our bikes packed up and headed off to find breakfast. We had two days left to make it to Chengdu, and it was decided that G318 was not the way to end such a fine trip. I plotted a route north to Danba and then east on S303 to avoid G317 and G318. 600 kilometers (373 miles) in two days should be a piece of cake, right?

A quick 1000 meter (3,280 ft) descent to Xinduqiao brought us to the junction of S215. It was nice to get off of G318 and the road started out in very good condition.



Tiny farms and villages dotted the landscape. The bikes were running much better at 3500 meters (11,482 ft) and the sunshine was warming us up.



Another 25 kilometers down the road and we hit construction, the rest of the morning we pretty much stayed on dirt. Fortunately, most of the commercial vehicles use other roads and we experienced very little traffic.



A brief stop in Tagong to regroup and have a look at some of the buildings.



You can see an interesting blend of Han and Tibetan influence in the architecture.



Heading out of town we passed the Muya golden pagoda. Over 100 kg (220 lbs) of pure gold covers the building to commemorate the 10th Panchen Lama. Since the 10th Panchen Lama received his title from the National People's Congress (Chinese government), you will usually see his picture being displayed at religious centers instead of "the other Lama".



Horses waiting for tourists.



Daniel in front of Mount Yala's 5,800 meter peak.



Somewhere along S215 I stopped to enjoy a powerbar and the quiet solitude of the grasslands.



Climbing into the mountains again and the bikes were losing power. We could almost guess the elevation just by listening to the engine struggle with the lean condition.



Another view of Mount Yala, this time from the western side.



Between Bamei and Danba, S303 was just magnificent. As we descended down the mountains, a whitewater river roared along side us and every corner just kept getting better and better.





The deeper we went into the canyons, the more lush the vegetation became.



And the faster the river would run.



We had been in Sichuan for the last six days, but mostly in the Tibetan part of the province. Now we were making our way back into Han areas and more and more villages were populating the hillsides.



We reached the small town of Xiaojin at 5:15 and had to stop for the day. We were 50 kilometers short of where we wanted to be, but we just weren't sure if we would find another place to sleep further up the road. A light rain started to fall and that pretty much sealed the deal. We found a dumpy little binguan with indoor parking and called it an early night so we could make up time the next morning.

We all slept soundly knowing the traffcpouce was across the street keeping us safe.



Cheers!
ChinaV

Distance = 232 Kilometers - Time = 7:38 - Average Moving Speed = 49 kph

[euphonius]

Dear ChinaV,

Goodness gracious. This just keeps getting better and better. I remember ringing your mobile just as the three of you were trying get on the road for this epic ride. I was thinking then this was just a shake-down ride to see how the Galaxy might do on an aggressive tour. I think none of us in this forum was thinking this ride would yield such an amazing body of reporting! Your pictures are taking my breath away even as I sit here at sea level in an office chair.

Keep it coming!!!

cheers

[ChinaV]

Thanks Euphonius, somehow I never imagined it would take longer to write the report than it did to make the trip

Cheers!
ChinaV

[CrazyCarl]

Well that just goes to show there's a lot to say!

I particularly enjoy this last entry because it was my old stomping grounds. Nice to see they haven't changed all that much! That was a real good call to take 317 back... what a 100% better experience. Less traffic and all farm valley up to this rediculous 4300+meter pass just before dropping into the Chengdu basin. People have gotten rocked by weather real hard at that pass... and what a crazy descent down through the WoLong forest before reaching the hills and flatland.

And can I get a hell yeah for the Gonga mountain range.. it's like "Where the hell did THAT come from!?" Just for some perspective... this is what it looks like from the east side. Some people have died climbing it and it was once the center for a small kingdom in the area. There's still a temple at the base of the glacier but it's only accessible by foot. Further north along the range, it gets a little less rocky and there's lots of pristine forest there. I think it's that area you can find the "Golden Monkeys". It would make for a sweet back yard!



Thanks for all the effort you've put into this. It's a lot of work!


CC

[ChinaV]

Well that just goes to show there's a lot to say!

I particularly enjoy this last entry because it was my old stomping grounds. Nice to see they haven't changed all that much! That was a real good call to take 317 back... what a 100% better experience.
CC

Hey CC, I think you meant to say S303, not 317 . I don't recommend 317/318 as they just plain suck. Especially 317 near Chengdu, the whole thing is torn to shreds as they are building an elevated train line above it. Funny thing, as we were going through here I mentioned to Felix and Daniel that I couldn't figure out why the heck you chose to take 318 back to Chengdu during our little 2008 trip. When we reached the earthquake damage, I then remembered all these roads were closed from 2008 until recently, and that was the only way you could get back home at the time.

We will get to Balang Shan in the upcoming post, and yes, it did kick our ass . You were indeed one lucky S.O.B. to live so close to all that beauty.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[kingdm54]

So when you going to do a ride around Yichang or Hubei so I can ninja my way in and join ya. lol

[CrazyCarl]

You're right it's S303. I spent so much time on 303 that I only went on the actual 317 only 3 or 4 times on bike. The actual 317 is still a better than 318 but theyve' started to dam up the once pristine river that ran along it. Should be some newly sealed pavement there now though since they had to build a higher road to get above the new water level. 303 is a much better way to get to the western half of 317 which, BTW is also friggin' beautiful. Plently o' passes there and much less traffic than 318 to the south.

You know.. one could always open a "sattellite" office in Chengdu!


CC

[euphonius]

OK, I'll bite: What would be the ideal location for a satellite office if you wanted to have easy access to these best roads in China? Has to be a major city with good connections. Chengdu? Kunming? Lhasa? Xining? Any secondary/tertiary cities?



cheers!

[bikerdoc]

OK, I'll bite: What would be the ideal location for a satellite office if you wanted to have easy access to these best roads in China? Has to be a major city with good connections. Chengdu? Kunming? Lhasa? Xining? Any secondary/tertiary cities?



cheers!

Ningbo... hehehe