Two-up on a Jialing 150 looking for Gonga Mountain-China I
 

Putting up the review and short report of this recent trip got me thinking about the previous trip I took with the Mrs over the snowy mountain pass. That was actually a great experience. Although I don't think traveling exclusively two up for the rest of my life would be healthy or ideal, an advantage of having the opposite persuasion around is rewarding on many levels.

In China there are, or were, two major one week holidays being the first weeks of May and October. In May 2006 My wife, WenLing, and I went for a ride with my friend Zack and his SO. At that point we had been trying for abotu two years to find an unobstructed view of Gonga Shan (Mountain)...one of the many holy mountains in Tibetan lore. What makes Gonga so spectacular is not it's height, which ranks in the world's top 30 peaks depending on how you classify them, but it in it's chain also support dozens of microclimates, rare species of wildlife and a now receding glacier, at the botom of which is a monastary.

Day one, we follow Hwy 317 west until we reach Kangding, once capital of the Kham Kingdom of Tibet. Highways 317 and 318 are two E-W parallel roads leading into Eastern Tibet from Sichuan. Both are quite good close to the city but as you reach the border of Tibet, the road conditions become tolerable but tough.

Within a few hours of leaving the cloudy and polluted Sichuan basin you enter a land of roads that follow rivers and high mountain passes with scattered occasional grasslands. It's almost surprising how quickly the landscape become Alpine in nature sporting many dramatic vistas and some roadside cooling off entertainment.

- Waterfall on the way to Kangding -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-26.jpg


Unfortunately, the whole way to Kangding is full of heavy truck and bus traffic. These overloaded beasts of the road regularly end up in rivers, mechanically desintegrate on inclines and constantly belch thick black clouds of smoke. This was the first time our ladies had joined us both and travel like this understandably takes some getting used to so we thought to make the first day short and stop in town for some rest, eats and an after-dinner walk around town.

-The now tourism developed Kangding at night-
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-21.jpg

Burried in the mountain at the confluence of two rivers, Kangding itself was once the capitol city of the Tibetan Kham Kingdom until getting annexed into the Sichuan province not too long ago. It's history goes back several hundred years and traces of it's history can still be found.

-Our ladies inside the old Buddhist temple at Kangding-
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-27.jpg

Although I'm sure the temple was still used for ceremony, it was positioned so far in the centre of town, now preparing for the onslought of May holiday tourists, that it seemed a little more like a tourist hang out. I often think it would have been nice to come here even only 100years ago. Times are changing fast!

Eager to set off the next morning we twisted deeper into the mountains and I noticed a funny found coming from the engine. I'm pretty anal about sounds and stopped to see what was wrong.

-Hmmmm....-
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-01.jpg

Everything seemed okay. I'm always a little weary of most Chinese bikes because sometimes they develop what I call "Mystery Problems". I and a few others have experienced problems with our bikes that, for some reason, no matter how much money and time you throw at it, the problem could not be fixed or made to go away. Doesn't make any sense.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-28.jpg

Funny noises aside, we were blessed with beautiful weather. Deep blue skies spotted with puffy mountains clinging to snow capped mountains and an amazing road which led us up to this 4300m pass between Kangding and XinDuQiao.

Some of the photos in this post were taken by my wife and marked as (WLP)
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-02.jpg

- This is the view from the overlook. Roads like this fill my dreams-
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-13.jpg

All sorts of people and things gather at the top of passes and this pass was no different. In Tibet, as most of you already know, chortens (the huge white spires) and prayer flags are placed to bring your wishes and prayers closer to the heavens. Works for me! I got all kinds of wishes that could use a boost!

- The Pass Party- (WLP)
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-03.jpg

We chanced upon a group of Chinese touring riders - visible in the foreground - taking a moment to appreciate the sceenery at the top. What they call regular touring WE call "adventure" touring. Minimal clothes and camping gear as well as food and tools. No ultra-mega 4 litre opposed twins with indestructable unobtainium sidecases with GPS and lasers and missles and shit.

- Neighborhood of man! Yeah! - ;) (WLP)
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-05.jpg

Most of them bring thier wife or girlfriend and pack amazingly little. The roads are often nasty and the weather something to endure. Although now slowly seeing more 200+cc bikes on the road, a vast majority of them are still 125-150cc cruiser type motocycles or scooters. When surrounded by people like this it didn't take me too long to realize I don't need a litre class bike to travel. I just need something that goes!

- Cheese! - (WLP)
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-04.jpg

Always sad to part way with good people, since we were heading in opposite directions we exchanged road info and wished each other well.

Shortly after coming down the pass you reach XinduQiao - a small village near the crossroads of where 317 heads north towards tagong, west to Tibet and south towards a town called JiuLong. We'd never been on this road before it turned out to be absolutely perfect, less than a year old. All along the side were beautiful farm houses and some 300 year old star shaped watch towers.

Not so long ago, the Tibetans of this area used an elaborate network of watch towers to send fire-beacon warnings down the valley should invaders approach - Lord of the Rings style. These houses and towers not only exist down in the valley but also along the very spines of the mountains themselves for hundreds of kilometers.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-22.jpg


Plenty of river means plent of places to stop and stretch your legs...

[img[http://photos.imageevent.com/comradecarl/moto/mayholiday06/websize/MayHoli06-35.jpg[/img]

or visit with some local kids.
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-06.jpg
(WLP)

A finer point of being a female photographer when traveling like this is the ability to access a totally different side of the culture. Given the same pleasant disposition, small kids will be more likely to feel relaxed around women. I can't really blame them either. Here I am some big, hairy, ugly unusually reflective space suit wearin' space alien dude getting of a tiny bike with electronics bristling out of evey pocket.

Back on the road again, in order to get to this View-of Gonga-pass we were all so pumped to arrive at, we needed to first head back east about 70km of all dirt road. Woohoo!

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-07.jpg

Finally we reached relatively untouched lands. The water was clear and cool. The vegatation looked rich and green without a layer of grey dust on them and the air...fresh. Many of you live in places which have these things year-round and living in one of China's most polluted cities for the past 5 years makes you appreciate a clean environment. Don't take it for granted!

We were looking for a town named Liuba and figured out the there wasn't a praticualr town here but that it was just an area of small villages. We certianly weren't going to make the pass tonight and smelled around for acommodation. After pushing off a few people, we talked with a guy who seemed fairly earnest and stayed at his home for about 30yuan a person.

Dinner was NOT provided and we ended up heading down to the general store to pick up some military grade food like spam, some fish stuff and noodles. I ate too much crap that night and paid for it the following day.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-06.jpg

It got cold and we slept on a series of cusions and blankets laid out on the floor. You can tell we were viewed as tourists as they had already prepared to recieve several groups of Chinese tourists that same day. I almost couldn't beleive that so many people would come this far out. Although they weren't centralized and easy to spot, the next morning reveal hundreds of people on "backpacking" trips.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-11.jpg
(WLP)

The first 30kms the road to the pass was a blast. The trail was all dirt and a few slimey log bridges. EVentually the road turned into sharp broken rocks and narrow trails with various sorts of animal, people and tractor traffic. Thick mud joined the party towards the end of the trail. At over 4000m in altitude combined with a steep grade sapped the engine's power to nothing.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...06-12.jpg[

The extra hammering took it's toll on another part and a racka racka racka sound erupted from the motor. Getting off again to look I noticed the the two nuts holding the exhaust to the head came loose and one fell off. Seeing as how these nuts are usually torqued down quite well, I never expected them to fall off and didn't check. Um...my bad!

After tightening up the remaining screw as much as I could we muscled on maybe another 100 meters until the bikes literally couldn't make it anymore so parked them by the side of the trail as neatly as possible and knew we had to walk the rest of the way.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...ngaPass-3d.jpg

Now approaching 4300 meters, the air was as thin for our bikes as our lungs Strapped with camera gear in full armor, we walked the last 2kms uphill to the pass. We would take 10 steps and stop. My head was pounding. The trail was clear enuogh but it reached a point where we felt it was better to walk straight up rather then suffer the extra distance of the switchbacks.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...oi07-Tired.jpg

This suffering only goes to show how out of shape we were as we watched this lovely woman cruise on by carrying not one, but two, tourists back backs. Are you really a backpacker if you don't wear your backpack?

- All Smiles! -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-10.jpg
(WLP)

I was thinking to myself, "This better be some fan-fucking-tastic view up there." Meter by meter we made it towards the pass. Looking over the edge I could see the very tips of white mountains. I got excited and it gave me new energy. I hurried over the top to behold one of the most spectacular views of my life.

- Big Sky -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-20.jpg

At 7550m asl Gonga Shan ranks in the top 30 highest mountains in the world (depending on how you classify peaks of ranges), has claimed it's share of climbers and was once the center of a small kingdom here in ancient history. After hundreds of years, directly at the base of it's now receeding glacier is the still functioning Gonga Monastary now also known to shelter backpackers.

- The peak of Gonga Mountain and proximity -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...Stitch-web.jpg

- A glacier starts to form shortly below it's knife edge peak -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-07.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-04.jpg

The whole mountain range hosts dozens of micro-climates as well as rare species of flowers and animals such as the Golden-haired monkey. The actual expanse of the mountainrange itself is impressive, here only partially seen from the west side, over 50kms away.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...a-pano2-s3.jpg

The wind was biting cold and moved like it was in a hurry. I found a patch of snow and plopped my ass right down knowing the 'Stich's outter shell was so cold it probably wouldn't melt much snow and it turns out I was right.

- YES! -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade.../Gongapass.jpg

(WLP)

Leaning back, the dentation in the snow gave me a bit of back support and was quite comfortable. There I sat in the snow - played in the snow really - looking around, taking pictures. Wen-Ling's spirits picked up right quick when she got to the top too. Heaven....

- Snow-chair Motography -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-08.jpg
(WLP)

- It's amazing the little friends you'll find on your knee at 4500m! -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...ttleFriend.jpg

I enjoyed being surrounded by people in that "Wow" state of mind...that's how you know learning is going on. Everyone who's not worried about keeping people organized is smiling big time. Some people brought their photo gear and set up shop waiting for sunset. WOW! What a place this would be with a clear sunset red warming up the snow!

- Not a bad place for pictures! -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-25.jpg

- Hikers on their way to Gonga Monastary -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-23.jpg

Others enjoy the view but can't stop for long as they're en route to the monastary at the base of Gonga's glacier. That trail down below is no joke by the way. After a couple kilometers you get pressed against the cliff shimmeying your way down the trail. A writer for Lonely Planet turned up missing in Sichuan province last year on this trail. He was walking alone and disappeared - I believe there was a post in HUBB about it. Not too long ago they found his body. If I recall correctly, they figgured it looked like he was trying to climb to a vantage point and fell into the river below.

- The hikers' supplies and support go in and out by mule -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-19.jpg

While I wanted to stay for much longer, I was reminded that if we were to make it to the Tagong grasslands today we'd need to get moving. Damn schedules and plans! I hustled into a few more positions to get a few more captures and packed up to go.

- An awesome experience to share with someone -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-08.jpg

Now we had to make our way back down to the bikes and hope they start. Downhill, power wasn't a problem so we could ride two up again. I kept looking in the rear view mirrors to see if I could squeeze out a few more glances. As mountains go, after a few turns you're well out of sight and left only to concentrate on what's at hand. More riding to do!

Next: through the TaGong grasslands to Garther ancient monastary...

Looks like quite a trip :)

Indeed. More to come....

CC

So what sort of camera equipment do you use? I bet it is worth more then the bike eh?

Nothing too fancy but I do tote a Nikon D70 with a few lenses. My wife was just using her small Fuji digital camera for her pics and the short video which you'll see at the end of the report.

Small point and shoot cameras are wonderfully convenient but I have never seen one with the resolving power of a DSLR...if not for any other reason than the quality of glass. That said, I think it's important to have both a small and large camera if you're really into capturing your trips.

Is it worth more than the bike? Sure is. For a 1000USD bike that's not too hard either. Hell I have one lens that was more than that bike. Good glass...ya gotta have it!

You a photog yourself Jim?

CC

Well I like taking pictures, but I don't really know a lot about it. I'd like to get into it more though at some point :)

If you're looking for a simple jump start, may I suggest the "National Geo Photographers Field Guide." It's a simple portable book which give a very good and concise into to field photography and talks about things like capturing everything from portraits to landscape.

http://www.dcviews.com/tutors/images/tt30600.gif

It's a great little resource to carry around and when you're done with it, pass it on.

CC

Thanks, I'll check it out :)

Re: Two-up on a Jialing 150 looking for Gonga Mountain-China
 

Understatement of the year, Carl!!! :wink:

I really enjoyed this report. I wonder if Frostnbite can create a section for detailed rides like this, and your ride on your new Qingqi? Keep 'em coming--the pictures are really fantastic!! You must have followed the National Geographic book very closely.

Awesome report Carl!

Very nice ride report Carl, I am jealous and hope I will get a chance to ride anywhere half as magnificant as that... Looking forward to your next report...
One question though, how hard would it be for an American to fly to the East, buy a bike, and try to ride a quest like yours and how much of a language barrier would I encounter???

Re: Two-up on a Jialing 150 looking for Gonga Mountain-China
 

Well this is a ride report and this is the ride report forum so it should be okay.

From the administrative side, something could be done to speed the process for long and complicated posts. When I insert an image tag, or any tag for that matter, it automatically appears at the very end of the text. Not everyone composes these long posts on the submit page themselves and being able to easily insert images and links in their appropriate places would be very very nice. Does anyone else have this problem?

There's two more parts of this report to come and a video link but it takes a good amount of time to manually type in the image tags.

The National Geo book didn't say anything about this! :P

CC

This one's not done yet!

You live in a big country and there are plenty of amazing things to see within the US itself. I've been to Florida and while the weather can be nice it's not the most exciting riding state since it's so flat. Georgia has some great hills and the mountains of North Carolia are great. Have you done the Blue Ridge Parkway? That by itself is a great experience.

Heading west, past northern Texas is a great playground for amazing scenery and motorcycling. Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado. Ride to the top of Pikes Peak maybe? Lots to see and do there as well.

In theory you could get a return plane ticket for 1500USD. Then buying a new 200cc bike (with taxes, tags, etc.) would cost you another 1500USD. If you got a used 150 (which is not a bad option if you can travel light) then about 500USD. The travel itself is quite cheap...maybe about 20USD a day (food, lodging) and then of course fuel which is now about .80USD a liter.

Language wise it would be a good idea to learn some basic Chinese before coming. Besides that, smile a lot and you should be okay. :D

CC

About the image tags, I think that if the forum we're the most recent version it wouldn't work like that, I think it works on the A.L. forums properly.

Re: Two-up on a Jialing 150 looking for Gonga Mountain-China
 

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of a permanent "sticky" type of area, or turn all your posts into an article. The problem with forums for posts like yours is eventually these very memorable, photogenic threads go away. I had linked Daniel Montejo's story and video over a year ago, and now when new people join, they will not be able to find them. Your thread is just too good to allow to go away!

If you email Daniel Montejo through his website, he might be able to give you some idea, too. He had mentioned that he had arranged a trip last year some time for a few tourists, and seemed like he was willing to do this type of thing as a side business.

(Not trying to step on your toes, Carl, if you are doing the same, or planning to do the same--let me know and I will delete this post/link)

http://www.danielmontejo.com/

Re: Two-up on a Jialing 150 looking for Gonga Mountain-China
 

Nah, it just means people need to constantly be improving and posting their trip reports! That's the name of the game isn't it?

CC

While someone could make a few extra dimes doing that, it's not my business and I'll probably stay away from it because it's illegal....not that it can't work though. No worries, Daniel can run anything he wants.

As for me, I still got bills to pay. Right now the only business I got is my DVD...which ain't easy cuz' motorcyclists are some of the cheapest bastid's around.

Will continue the TR very soon. Just got up, it's 8am now. Where's my coffee?

CC

That's why we're into the Chinese bikes, here, LOL!!

Really, I should have the $$ to order your DVD by the 18th...

(...check's in the mail... :lol: )

Part II - Get thee to a Monastery...
 

We never made it to Tagong and instead stayed the first night in Xinduqiao as Zach's SO was apparently in dire need of a shower. About 40kms from the town, the ubiquitous engine noise once again erupted to new life. Getting off to inspect the problem, I noticed that this time the nut I had tightened was apparently too tight and snapped the threaded stud coming out of the head now completely disconnecting the pipe from the engine.

Blurting our way into town, Zach went to find some lodging and I went
immediately to a repair shop. All of them were closed. Whelp looks like an
early morning tomorrow, I'm sure these guys open up early right? It's tourist season.

Meeting up with Zach he informs us that all the guest houses with the showers were already booked and were asking ridiculous prices per night. I understand that dealing in tourism means dealing with highly season business traffic but wow! When they turn on the tourist pricing they really turn it on good! Places which would normally cost about 40 yuan or would go for over 300! With the five percent drop in the US dollar, I can say that you do feel more pinch than before.

The cold rain began. Xinduqiao, now mostly guesthouses, was swamped with travelers; some motorcycle groups but mostly cars, SUV's and busses. Guesthouses were taking their pick and those situated in the southern side of the town near the road junction must have made out like bandits. Together we asked and inspected 8 or 9 places and many of the few available accommodations lacked shower facilities, forget about having one attached to your room. We finally decided on a place with a hot water shower outside the building.

That chilly night as I was suited off and organizing things in our room, all the crappy food I overate the night before decided to lodge a complaint...and fast. Faster than any other bad guts I had had before. Spam, fish stuff and instant noodles from earthy bowls, run up to high altitude then shaken, not stirred, by about 90kms of dirt road, gave up the ghost and was wanted out, now.

It was sudden and determined at the same time. All at once the Jane's Addiction line "COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAAAINNNN!" shot into my head. Doing my best to hold my shit together - literally - I pinched my ass as hard as I could and ran out the door like Redd Fox going for Liz'beth. It's amazing how motivated I suddenly became. Another person was waiting outside the bathroom; which incidentally was the only shower stall. I really don't like to cut in front of people in line but I qualified this as an emergency.

Luckily WenLing was inside. I knocked on the door and said "Yeah it's me. I REALLY need to get in." "Okay hold on a minute." Shaking and twitching like a jumping bean I replied: "I mean like NOW." She opened the door, I went right in and the rest doesn't need to be described. Suffice it to say...I didn't make it. Good thing this place has a shower, I felt better afterwards anyway. On the bright side of things, that cleared plenty of room for dinner at a proper restaurant, a package of crackers and the liter of water I was sure to consume that evening.

Fresh, bright and early the next morning, I got up alone and at eight went to see about getting the exhaust fixed but the doors at the repair shop were still closed until after nine when some finally showed up. I showed them what was wrong and they said it shouldn't be a problem. Hopeful, I forgot the number one rule of experiencing China: don't believe anything is going to happen, until it does. Sometimes, unless you make it happen through dogged, even sometime loud persistence, it wont.

One thing turned into another. They tried to file the broken stud down and
reverse drill it. That didn't work. Then they tried to weld a bolt to it and
twist it off - and that only succeeded in destroying what was left of the stud. Two hours later the head was off the engine and two people were trying to extract the broken stud having zero success. Although more expensive, I realized it was better if I just paid for a new head, about 10 USD, and got back on the road. This decision led to another half-hour of trying different heads on the engine as they had apparently taken some out of their boxes and not replaced them correctly. I felt bad that I was holding everyone up with this nonsense but after noon we were ready to go again with an attached exhaust, new head and valves - total about 40USD.

Back on the road I forgot about the bike problems, extra money and unexpected repairs. Riding through these grasslands surrounded by high snow-capped mountains is enough to make you forget about lots of troublesome worries. Gentle essing roads wind through the green hills dotted with nomads, hitchhikers and happy people on holiday enjoying clean air and open horizons.

We arrived at a town called Tagong which was once a Tibetan trading village and is now known for its famous Tibetan horse races. Four years ago this place looked completely different. Now, brand new guest houses and shops line the newly paved main street which was once nothing but rutted dirt and rocks. With this naturally came gridlock on the main street. Cars, trucks and busses were locked up and out the northern side was a two kilometer traffic jam leading into town. I couldn't believe it. We were in the middle of nowhere and there's a traffic jam. Again, being on a small bike proved handy in weaving the obstacle of bumpers.

- Yala Snow Mountain -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...aLaPan-web.jpg

To get past one section of the jam, we rode onto the grass and up to a popular old monastery seen in the background of the picture below. I quite fancied a stop to appreciate the madness and snap a panoramic of Yala Snow Mountain. A curious Tibetan woman greeted us and wanted a try at the camera. It was nice to see she went for the optical viewfinder and didn't stare at the back of the lcd screen. I zoomed the 18-50 while she was looking though it and she said "Oooooo." I'm not really sure what that meant but it didn't sound bad so that's good.

- Camera fun -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-12.jpg
(WLP)

And it's not really a trip report unless someone takes a territorial pee break.

http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-13.jpg

It was time and a nice spot to take a short, relieving break. Nice beautiful view and a sold 15 meter drop right in front of me. Wind direction, check. Fly clearance - check. Good to go!

-T minus... -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-14.jpg
(WLP)

Oh yeah! That's a relief! While enjoying the moment I noticed a spot further down which looked like a couple walking around a bike. I'm not sure if they saw me or not but I didn't mean to pee in their general direction. Zipped up and ready for more water, we coasted down the switchback and check to make sure the couple down below was okay. No worries, they were just doing the same thing as us!

Garther monastary was less than 100kms away and my eyes started to tear...and not the emotional kind. Very shortly after, my nose began to run but I figured that was all effects of the cold air. Wrong. I wasn't cold air, but a cold. I was starting to get chills and riding became more uncomfortable with all the pressure in my helmet. We wanted to make it to Garther monastery that night. Monasteries often put up travelers and Garther was no exception.

- Garther Monastery and main courtyard -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-33.jpg

A few minutes after pulling into the gates a young monk greeted us and offered to show us around. We said we were also looking for a place to stay. He said that shouldn't be a problem and suggested we first store the bikes. He led us to a nice tractor adjacent spot, where we began unloading.

- Imagine the conversations they'd have -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...es-Tractor.jpg

Before too long another monk showed up who looked to be the man in charge of the lodging.

"How much for a person?" We asked the "monk" in the Terminator sunglasses.
"40 a person."
"Okay, how about food."
"No food."
"Well we have to eat right?"
"You can buy the materials from us but you have to make it yourself."
"What? Okay."

Since my head was ready to explode and I had been here before, I laid down to rest while others explored the beautiful grounds for a while.

- Dormatories and Lamas to be -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-15.jpg
(WLP)

Looking out the window I could see the sun was setting and knew some golden light was about to arrive and quickly disappear. Having only had a short rest I still felt much better and decided to tighten up my boot straps, blow my nose and prepare to head out for some pictures.

- Temple Deluxe -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-09.jpg

Walking around, I noticed a new five story temple being built behind the old
one. The old temple's interior was in quite good shape and made me wonder why they needed a new one. Over only the past few years this place has clearly become more tourist oriented. There was once a huge hand written scroll inside which told the story of the temple in both Chinese in English. It told a classic tale of an early Dalai Lama being carried here by his mother who told him to construct this temple and then it's successive destruction and rebuilding over the past 200 years.

- A picture of that hanging four years ago -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...ze/1img100.jpg

- The Reflective Zach -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-34.jpg

Downstairs I caught Zach on the front steps contemplating the day. He looked at peace with himself so I continued inside to visit their room of ashes.

All of the rooms, including our guest rooms, were elaborately decorated in carvings and paintings like the one shown below. Even in it's newness, endless trails of animals and stories hand painted on the walls still tease the senses with craftsmanship, color and detail. Behind the many small windows which line three sides of the wall, are small paper folders - each with the ashen remains of past monks.

- Dem' Crazy Bones -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-05.jpg

Moving on up to the roof, sunset lighting cast the temples shadow across the courtyard. The rich blue sky, puffy clouds, green grass and strong red walls of the dormitories screamed 10-20mm lens. Now, it's all waiting.

- Whhyyyyyde -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-32.jpg

- Last slivers of Sun -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-11.jpg

-Shooting the slivers -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-16.jpg
(WLP)

The sun set behind the temple and darkness would fall fast. Ready to lay down again, I returned to the guestrooms to find Zach and his girl friend already making dinner by flash light in the kitchen using a full size wok!

- Go team! HACHOOO! -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...ZachWJCook.jpg

I tell you there was some sizzle going off that thing and the food was good. A grounds keeper was keeping them company while helping them find the tools and food. The odd thing is that the grounds keeper looked like he was hungry so we shared our meal with him. I wondered when and where he was supposed to eat dinner.

That night was absolutely miserable. I worried about not being able to ride
tomorrow. Maybe Zach could just go on ahead? I wouldn't want them to wait for me. Am I ruining this experience for WenLing, on her first trip? Then my body spoke to me. My bones ached and despite having a clear fever, had severe chills. My nose ran into forests worth of tissues that ended up making their own Gonga-Shan of snot and paper next to my bed. We turned out head-lamps at ten but I didn't get more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep. My eyes watered so badly that when I squinted I got that earthquake rumbling sound in my head. You know...the sound you get when you make tight fists and stick your thumbs in your ears. Yeah, it was that kind of night. All night I sweat while my body fevered and burned the sickness away.

Away!

Final Part: The next morning and unspoken goals home

No worries man, take care of bills and stuff first. Then if you got a little extra to support the cause then that's super cool and much appreciated. Thanks already for your ideas and attentiveness to the China moto-market.

We all'z need to eat. Eat first!

CC

Part III - A long ride home
 

The next morning, to my surprise, I could breath and see again! In one night the fever had run its course and, despite lack of sleep, felt energized. You never appreciate the value of good health until you've just been horribly ill. I also appreciated this turn of luck because we were already a bit behind schedule and this day's ride would prove to be long and difficult.

- The ladies back out on the road -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...e%20Ladies.jpg

Leaving Garther Monastery we had decided to ride without a determined
destination that day and see how we felt. To be honest though, I think both Zach and I knew we had to make some distance back to Chengdu - from Garther to Chengdu, over 470Kms.

- Yala Snow mountain from the north side -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...yHoli06-15.jpg

That's 470kms of passes, mountains, valleys, rivers and roads that follow rivers to another and final 4550m pass, Balang pass, before descending the remaining 250km into the Chengdu basin of 400m/asl. Some may think that that's not a great distance to cover but at 60kph flat out it's like doing 470miles with a more powerful machine.

Stopping about half way through, I asked if everyone wanted to stay at ZhongLu a mountain top village I'm quite fond of. Only 2kms east of Danba is a small bridge which takes you straight up switchback to the top of the mountain. If you keep following the road you'll find a guesthouse where you can stay, eat good food, shower and explore an fantastic Tibetan village in the mountains. You've got watchtowers, fields of corn, barley and endless foot paths. If you go at the right season, around October, women who still wear traditional clothing will be out in the field bringing down the corn, chattering away while they work. Land of valuable photographic memories. Beautiful place. Great times.

- ZhongLu Village in October 2005 -
http://static2.bareka.com/photos/med...ba-village.jpg

- Looking west off the mountain 2005, Danba is in the valley below -
http://static1.bareka.com/photos/med...a-mountain.jpg

Nobody seemed interested in my idea and, at that time, it became clear people wanted to get closer to home. I guess I could have gone either way but a good part of me also wanted to get some rest and take account of only 4 days riding in the familiarity of my own bed. We fired off towards Chengdu to see how far we could make it. Our goal was to sleep at home that night.

Continuing east, we eventually reached the climb for Balang pass. In the high mountains you can get snow year round, especially at passes which range from ~4,200 to 5,000m/asl, average being around 4,500. Freak snow storms can cause wicked twisted traffic jams up these winding roads.

- Clouds at the peaks -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...i07-WLP-17.jpg
(WLP)

As we climbed Balang pass, only a few hours away from Chendu, the weather turned from sunny green valleys to clouds, to rain, sleet, snow, then ice at the top. We passed a local rider on a green Kawasaki Ninja 400 sport bike. As soon as he started moving the bike, the rear tire went sideways. Totally useless. He would have to go back down and wait for tomorrow. This simple 1500cc dual sport was equipped with the best tires I could find in Chengdu and made a great difference biting into the snow...we puttered on by.

At the pass, cars and trucks packed the snow into a solid layer of ice. Snow and fog blocked visibility. A local rider on a cruiser stopped to wait for his friends still coming up the west side and told us the road was very dangerous ahead. He suggested we wait for a while.

"Why?", I asked.
"The sun will come up and melt the snow."

My watch read after three. Looking at the thick growing clouds, humid air,
falling temperatures and loss of daylight I knew that waiting up here would be dangerous. Spending a night stuck on top of this mountain would have been an extremely unpleasant experience...and that's if you had the equipment to survive it.

- Balang Pass: It's twistier than it looks here -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...angShan-3d.jpg

I told him I didn't think the snow was going to melt and that the sun is going down soon. We said we'll continue on and crept our way down the pass with an over 1000m drop to the side. Before we set off, it was nice of him to say he would carefully watch after us on the way down. All down the switchbacks various vehicles had slid into each other and some trucks jack-knifed. Here, unless the vehicle is brand new, many of the trucks, busses and cars run on bald tires. Things were moving all-whicha-ways. Larger vehicles were stuck not even being able to turn around. Take everything you ever learned about Chinese drivers and then add snow!

Much of the time WenLing had to walk though quite long sections of cars and was faster than the bike which becomes some weight to keep upright on packed now. Eventually we slipped through the traffic and continued down to about 3500m where the snow became a misty rain. Cars were still on their way up. I can't imagine!

- East side of Balang pass on a clear day in October 2003 -
http://photos.imageevent.com/comrade...ize/img152.jpg

The cold bare exposed rock of the pass gradually turned Alpine green trough the WoLong nature center. This area, by the way, is also a natural habitat for wild Pandas as well as a breeding center and research base. The last 40kms of this road is pretty nasty roadworks which becomes quite muddy and tricky when dealing with larger vehicular traffic. Ultimately it opens up to smooth sealed road and the new 40km long Dujiangyan Skyway which winds us back to the basin of Chengdu.

Through darkness and pelting rain we arrived back in Chengdu around 9PM after 12 hours of riding over 470kms, from 4500 to 400m, averaging a blazing 40kph, 2 up on a 150cc. This kind of travel is such a stark contrast to the Bandit1200 I came off in the US and it really made me appreciate the benefits and deficiencies of both. One thing is for sure, don't under-estimate yourself or your machine.

WenLing enjoyed the experience and is trying to get her motorcycle license. As for me, well...I'm still hungry. There's a whole world of people out there trying to do more with less. For some people it's a lifestyle choice, for other's it's an affordable way to get through the days. Either way, if you love what you do, don't be afraid to create something from it...and post it!

CC
-------

To supplement the read, I threw together a quick 2 minute video of clips taken from WenLing so you can get a very digitized idea of what the roads are like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhIiXHkwkQI

You know, you could probably make a pretty cool book about riding in China by combining all your ride reports, tips on cool places to see, maps, and amazing photos :)

Then again, I can read the free version on China Riders :D

Your reports make me want to get out on my bike some more :)

Ya know I've thought about it but having just released the film my plate is rather full. Other projects in the works as well. Long road in fornt of me holmes....and a bumpy one at that! Time to get off my ass and on the pegs!

Well every day that goes by is one less day of riding. I suppose it just depends on the value that has at the moment. I've also been out of the touring saddle until recently and I still need to get out more. Spring will bring more opportunities!

CC

I hope the dvd sells a lot of copies for you, I'm waiting on mine :). If you do in the future do a book let us know :)

I think when spring comes around I will get more riding in, there's a whole lot of rain here now, but it is a good time to modify the bike :)

Hell yeah it is. Spinning wrenches is an important part of motorcycling and one of my favorite pass-times. You still riding the Lifan?

CC

Yeah, the only reason I have it listed for sale is there is a new model Lifan I want to get, but I can't justify having two of em ;)

Right now the Lifan is the only vehicle I have insured for the road.

I never thought about the insurance costs of these bikes in the US. It must be pretty low yeah? Nice not to have a lean from a bank.

CC

I'm actually in Canada, but I think it is around 350 for the entire year, but that is basic coverage only. Definetly a lot cheaper then my vulcan 800 though.

I've heard the cost of motorcycle insurance in some provincs of Canada is unreasonably high...some pumped up hype about how dangerous they are.

When I had the 98 Bandit 1200 I paid about 350USD a year for basic which I viewed as not bad. I got a real bad taste in my mouth for insurance compainies in my early twenties when I owned a then new Honda Prelude. After a while I got so many stupid tickets that I had to pay over 400bucks a MONTH for insurance. That was more than the car payment!

Sold the Prelude, bought a $1,100 89' Acura Integra and a Bandit1200 with the money. Lowered my costs to 800 a year for two vehicles...three really with the 82' Magna.

Insurance - where we pay for something we hope to never have to use.

CC

My Vulcan 800 I don't insure year round,but it would be around $1100 for a year. And I have a clean license and 25% discount.

Insurance- Basically, you are betting the Insurance Company that you are going to crash our car and they are betting that you won't!

Carl,
I am very interested in purchasing your DVD. I'll check the site and see what I need to do to order. What is the best way to pay for the DVD? PayPal? I'll be in China the last 2 weeks in August of this year. I'm hoping to learn a few things about the country during my visit and hopefully return someday to ride. Could you cross the country on your own bike or do they require you to buy a bike there? I'd love to do a RTW trip after I retire.

Thanks!

SamM

No Paypal...just a normal credit card transaction. No need to login or anything. They usually ship in 24hrs.

It's basically impossible to get your own bike in without insanely restrictive and expensive escorts - or being part of an organized group...which is still probably escorted. It's cheaper and more fun to wing it a little and come here, buy your own and put it to the limits for a month or two. Guaranteed wild experience if you do it right and put in a little elbow grease.

You know which parts you'd like to ride?

CC

Sam, that's true, except that price was just the mandatory coverage for the bike to get it on the road, it still doesn't have collision or comprehensive coverage.

About buying Carl's dvd, it's pretty simple process, no paypal though like Carl said.


Carl, when you buy a bike in China, what do you need to get it legal for using on the road there?

Dude, 1,100 sounds a little expensive. In the US we get a multiple bike discount. Any such programs there?

If the bike is new, you need to pay tax (naturally), get the inspection, insurance, then finally the registration documents which come in a little blue folder. After that you can roll. The chances of doing this successfully depend on where you are but it is definitely possible. In general, everything you do here is a toss of the dice.

If you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold...but if you loose... ;)

If the bike is used there's no need to do any of this. You just ride. The risk here is that the bike you buy may look good but is all fugged up internally. Oil never changed, rockers chewed up, all that. The cost should be at least half the cost of new and up-shot is repairs are cheap.

If you can go new that's great but definitely more complicated. If you don't mind running a second hand bike for a month or two then considering that option would be wise.

I really can't stress enough how uncertain the future is regarding being able to ride China. I hope it gets better, and most likely will, but you can't know anything for sure here. That said, the potential to have unbelievable riding experiences is extremely high.

CC

That's good to know, thanks Carl. About the multiple bike discount, haven't heard of anything like that in BC. We can get our optional coverage from a third party, the comprehensive and collision, but as I haven't had a license for 10 years (am not 26), I am automatically disqualified for that. Either way though, you have to get the basic insurance from our government owned insurance company.

Just heard from XF200 the insurance for Geico in West-by-God-Virginia is only 80USD a year for 200cc and under bikes. I'm sure it depends on your record too but that's a good start.

CC

I also live in West Virginia. When I insured my QLink X-Ranger 200 back in August. I paid around $45 for full-coverage for the full year. After buying my new 2008 Kawasaki KLR650 in late December I cancelled the full coverage on the X-Ranger and liability insurance on my Yamaha TT-R250. The difference for the KLR was $25 until July 2008. My insurance company is Progressive. Couldn't be happier with them.

Admittedly, I am an old guy with no tickets or points on my license. Never had a major wreck or anything.

Thanks for the information Carl. As soon as I sell more KTM 950 parts I'll buy the DVD.

Hey Carl, got the dvd today, nice packaging, it looks great. The dvd itself is pretty cool, put together well, it got a little weird in Hodan(? I think that was the city), but I think that was intended. It was pretty cool, the bits of trivia about the various places we're cool, and the parts about 2005 too. Not to mention the scenery. Good work :)

Oh and I was also wondering what kind of bike Cannon Ball was (is)?

Jim,

Thanks for the comment. The part in Hotan was supposed to get a little trippy...the whole experience itself was a VERY trippy! As a first film, the idea was to work out some creative muscles.

Cannonball was a ZhongXin ZX150-5. Basically it's a Honda Nighthawk 250 with a 150 engine in it. She was very comfortable to ride and had a good cruising speed. Actually, she would have been better suited to the trip I took in 2006 but that's what learning is about. You can do wild things with just about any bike, The saving grace of these simple machines is exaclty their simplicity. Since the tolerances of manufacturing are pretty poor on the first place, they're surprisingly good at running in adverse conditions. The biggest problem was I was making Cannonball do things she was not designed to do, especially in the power/weight area.

Nobody's fault but mine.

CC