55 days later in the expedition, reaching Baima Snow Mountain - Northern Yunnan Province, western China. I recorded 4370 meters where I camped free for the night, entertained Chinese visitors in a truck loaded with tea (university students locked in the back, and a mad driver that danced Kung-Fu like Bruce Lee (Liu Shao Long), ate marshmallows cooked on an open campfire , another campfire in the morning to warm up, enjoyed everything!
Road to Tibet, Also the road linking Shin-do-Cheng, Jolong, Mianning, Xicheng, Yan Yuan, Lugu Hu, Lijiang, Shangri-La, Deqin - all within the borders of an amazingly challenging geographical landscape across 2 giant provinces of China!
Meeting a photographer and getting the how-to about SLR cameras (GoPro Hero on my helmet)
Cycling friends on their way to Lhasa, Tibet. We rode together from Chengdu to Shin-Do-Cheng in 5 days, 750km. And Shin-Do-Cheng to Lugu Hu (Lake) 761km in 9 days. Rough ride on the second leg of the adventure solo again!
More photos and less riding, easy conversation, steady climbing, easy to cover 100km in a day as a group
Welcome to China, the old and the new
Giant bicycle uniform, Merida bicycle, Rider - all three from China! ***No helmet all the way to Lhasa, Tibet!
Cyclist as a daily mode of transportation, notice helmet is sun protection only.
Bike-lite MTB touring, all riders doing endurance to Tibet have this setup
I like masks to protect from the sun and prevent my allergies from affecting the ride
The bright florescent rain covers are a nice touch to these Merida panniers
My bike, my HimalayasX2011 expedition of western China
Urban cycling and trike taxis in Sichuan Province
Second Part: [Sound advice on bicycle touring, adventure travel from my friend Lee in Korea]
Lee wrote:
Brian:
No worries. Just remember that durability is more important than sophistication especially if you are in the wilds. Any advice, apart from this, is useless as you will develop your own methods, equipage, and philosophy as you proceed. You will however find that eating, FOOD, will become an insistent preoccupation. Seat, tyres, food, in that order, are probably the pressing concerns of any long-distance cyclist and if you read accounts written by those who have done long trips these are abiding issues.
If you prepare some good documentation, I have a pal who still keeps his hand in the bicycle world, a former racer, shop owner, friends with most of the early bicycle pioneers, now living in Montreal who might be a good person to send footage. When the time comes, I will be glad to provide introductions.
You must remember that in this place, and in the sort of job we are doing, most people are really not 'here,' it is just an adventure, and the usual social mechanisms are not operating. People who race bicycles are a different breed from those who like to go long distances, much like comparing sprinters with marathoners: the subject is the same, the philosophies differ.
Good luck. Don't expect things to go as you plan. Enjoy the people as much as the act of riding. Be prepared for serendipity. There is something about long distance bicycle travel that brings out the best in most people.
Lee.
No worries. Just remember that durability is more important than sophistication especially if you are in the wilds. Any advice, apart from this, is useless as you will develop your own methods, equipage, and philosophy as you proceed. You will however find that eating, FOOD, will become an insistent preoccupation. Seat, tyres, food, in that order, are probably the pressing concerns of any long-distance cyclist and if you read accounts written by those who have done long trips these are abiding issues.
If you prepare some good documentation, I have a pal who still keeps his hand in the bicycle world, a former racer, shop owner, friends with most of the early bicycle pioneers, now living in Montreal who might be a good person to send footage. When the time comes, I will be glad to provide introductions.
You must remember that in this place, and in the sort of job we are doing, most people are really not 'here,' it is just an adventure, and the usual social mechanisms are not operating. People who race bicycles are a different breed from those who like to go long distances, much like comparing sprinters with marathoners: the subject is the same, the philosophies differ.
Good luck. Don't expect things to go as you plan. Enjoy the people as much as the act of riding. Be prepared for serendipity. There is something about long distance bicycle travel that brings out the best in most people.
Lee.
Brian wrote:
Thanks Lee.
I received no constructive support from the cycling community I belong in Seoul (facebook group, Han River Riders) regarding my expedition. While a friend posted to their wall, explaining my upcoming event and blog, their administration deleted this community message. The competitive in Cycling in Korea, somehow cuts like a knife if you don't follow suit like the rest of the flock here.
Your advice is sound, the new seat from Kevin Bike Shop owner, An Dae Gi was perfect (a little glue where it was breaking off underneath), a completely different and supportive saddle. The final and intermediately lost parcel containing a Sony Polycarbonate all-weather case for the Sony Handycam, 240GB of internal memory, 12MP still frame photos and HD video capture, Kevlar foam inserts for my previous expedition jacket (excellent all round protection designed for motorcycling, but suitable for cycling as a warm, protective layer. And a Toshiba Protege notebook computer, 13" compact and long-battery life, insured for the trip, as is the camera. Along with the Brunton 25w solar charging system, it's a unique equipment list. Everything packed in waterproofs. If the electronics survive the mission and can be secured, it will be a marvel in itself.
I am taking calculated risks, I hope that the right choices are chosen selectively to secure the safest routes for the adventure.
Kind Regards,
Brian
Lee wrote:
Brian:
Let me be perfectly candid about riding bicycles long distances, which I have for quite some time: it is not a question of technology. Fancy equipment, electronic gear, all of it is useless if you have a flat tyre or bust casing, no food, a bum seat, busted spokes, bent rims, no brake pads, and so on. It is doubtful that you will be able to find much in the way of spares in Tibet, or even in many places in rural China that will fit or may be adapted to your relatively modern equipment. If I had to take any electronic equipment on a long trip by bicycle it would be a smart phone and that helmet camera, and nothing else.
The practical concerns are tubes, tyres, spokes, reliable stove that burns anything (fuel oil, kerosene, yak piss, etc.), a supply of quick energy food (dried meat, etc.), good containers for water, clothing that is durable but warm, a proper sleeping bag, etc. You can pick up things as you will along the way. My guess is that you will find yourself figuring out what you need or don't need and jetissoning the dross, to mix a metaphor.
Don't worry about the 'cycling community'; that is a lot of bollocks. If you do decent touring you will find the 'real' riders. People who ride with sag-wagons and hotels are not in the same category. Living off the land, or riding rough, this is true bicycle touring if such a thing exists. The closer you are to being 'with' the bicycle rather than 'on' the bicycle, the nearer you draw towards what is important. Riding in this fashion is a bit like being the original wanderers we were before plants and animals were domesticated in Mesopotamia. The tendency you will have with trailer is to accumulate rather than discard, but weight will tell you the importance of what you carry.
Good luck, again, and take it easy.
Lee.
Let me be perfectly candid about riding bicycles long distances, which I have for quite some time: it is not a question of technology. Fancy equipment, electronic gear, all of it is useless if you have a flat tyre or bust casing, no food, a bum seat, busted spokes, bent rims, no brake pads, and so on. It is doubtful that you will be able to find much in the way of spares in Tibet, or even in many places in rural China that will fit or may be adapted to your relatively modern equipment. If I had to take any electronic equipment on a long trip by bicycle it would be a smart phone and that helmet camera, and nothing else.
The practical concerns are tubes, tyres, spokes, reliable stove that burns anything (fuel oil, kerosene, yak piss, etc.), a supply of quick energy food (dried meat, etc.), good containers for water, clothing that is durable but warm, a proper sleeping bag, etc. You can pick up things as you will along the way. My guess is that you will find yourself figuring out what you need or don't need and jetissoning the dross, to mix a metaphor.
Don't worry about the 'cycling community'; that is a lot of bollocks. If you do decent touring you will find the 'real' riders. People who ride with sag-wagons and hotels are not in the same category. Living off the land, or riding rough, this is true bicycle touring if such a thing exists. The closer you are to being 'with' the bicycle rather than 'on' the bicycle, the nearer you draw towards what is important. Riding in this fashion is a bit like being the original wanderers we were before plants and animals were domesticated in Mesopotamia. The tendency you will have with trailer is to accumulate rather than discard, but weight will tell you the importance of what you carry.
Good luck, again, and take it easy.
Lee.
