Prep for Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and beyond

[fahni]

You are probably right. But what struck me most is the efficiency of the system and the politeness and friendliness of the staff involved. I was expecting major mafan but it was a straightforward procedure: dry the tank, weight the bike, roll it into their loading area and go to the counter to fork over the money.

And today I already received a very polite phone call from the Chengdu station informing me that the bike has arrived and will be stored until I pick it up. I mean, we probably all know situations where a simple problem turns out to involve a lot of red tape and paperwork, but this was as easy as it can get. Let's hope the bike is still in one peace when I pick it up...

[fahni]

OK, I am off for two weeks

[euphonius]

Dear Fahni,

Can you give us a quick post to say the bike arrived ok, that you extricated it from quarantine and that you now are blissfully blasting through Sichuan?

A picture or nine wouldn't hurt either!

Thanks, and cheers!

[fahni]

Hey Euphonious, thanks for asking.

I am having a ball!

Bike pick-up in Chengdu without any problems other than the bike would'nt start for half an hour. Wasn't the missing gas. 200 before I reached the gas station, it fired up. First three days great. Huanglong scenic area is a dream. Found camping spots, braved the rain. My electric starter is not working anymore, but hey, what are kickstarters for, right? Bike is having problems at altitudes higher than 3000m but is still holding up.

The only thing that is giving up on me is my Samsung Galaxy S II. It just keeps turning off without any reason. So my recorded tracks are a little bit of a patchwork at the moment...

No good internet access here in Songpan. So the pictutes have to wait.

Greetings and more news later...

[lobotomous]

Hi Fahni, Great to hear all is going well. We all wish we were there! Ride safe.

[Zap_motard]

Hi Fahni!
have a good ride!

[fahni]

Hey guys!

All is well with me. I am in Huixian (Gansu). Pretty roughed up after a lot of dirt roads (and dirt tracks) but in high spirits for tomorrow. Expect to hit Xi'an on Tuesday. So if any MCM member in Xi'an want to meet, let me know!

Cheers!