Erenhot to Xian

Some nice cultural exchanges occurred while we were waiting. I was sitting in the shade of the parking lot at Police Headquarters listening to a book on Audible.com when I noticed an elderly Chinese gentleman ambling my way. He looked to be in his late 80s or early 90s. He was reasonably well dressed, with a jacket, hat and cane. We made eye contact and he sat down next to me on the concrete. He muttered some Chinese and I muttered some English. We smiled generously. Then he looked quizzically at my arm, reached over and vigorously pulled the hair to see if it would come off. He laughed, then took another pinch and pulled even harder. I got the impression that in all his years he had never seen a man with hair on his arms!

Then a younger man came over, squatted, and the same muttering occurred. I said the usual, like “American,” (getting a questioning look), then “Barack Obama” (same look), and then “Yao Ming” (getting a big smile, head nod and two thumbs up). Then I rambled a bit in pig-Chinese about “motos, Moscow, Beijing, Xian, Hong Kong, etc.” and got more smiles, nods and thumbs up. Then we bumped fists, smiled, and said our goodbyes. But to my surprise, he returned in five minutes with a bag of cold soft drinks for us all–his treat. More smiles, fist bumps and high fives. Then he was really gone. Not a word of meaningful dialog was had. But I felt great!

The problem with leaving at 5:00 was that we would have to ride about 100 miles in the dark. No problem in America, but this ain’t America.

After we got out of town we needed gas. I have tried to explain to people about Chinese rules for gassing motorcycles, but no one has ever believed me. Now I have proof. For reasons that are hard to fathom, motorcycles are required to go to an area away from the pumps, near the toilets, and carry the gas in open plant watering cans to the bikes. I kid you not. It increases the risk of fire, spills all over the ground and obviously harms the environment. But there you have it. A picture is worth a thousand words. (by Randy McClanahan)

Ever filled up an 8 gallon tank with a large tea pot? You will in China… A lot of the gas stations won’t allow motorcycles anywhere near the pumps… So your left doing it by hand. (by Mike Bozarth)

A funny thing happened on the way to the Wall. Some of us missed our turn into the parking lot, and erroneously passed through the toll gate OUT of the park. Imagine the scene. Pouring rain. Tour busses, cars, and all other forms of transport lined up for miles in every direction. John Jesson, our leader looking up at us from the road BELOW and saying, “guys, you have to turn around!” So we did. Note the photo of motorcycles pointing DOWN the narrow toll lane and all other vehicles pointing UP in the same narrow lane! So, the Chinese merely closed the whole thing down, which allowed us to manhandle our 600 pound bikes in the opposite direction and proceed along our merry way. It made the scene at the recent New York “Bridgegate” look timid by comparison. But all things are possible in Chinese traffic. (by Randy McClanahan)

Arrived in Beijing on September 4th. After a very long day yesterday and getting in late, our ride into Beijing required 11 hours to cover 250 miles in a non-stop downpour. While the roads were decent – some of them brand new – it rained hard enough and long enough to collect 12” of standing water in places. (by Mike Bozarth)

Great Wall, Badaling.

The 11 hour run included a 90 minute stopover at the Great Wall… which, of course, was experienced in the ceaseless downpour. While I knew we would see the Great Wall a few times on our route, this particular location is supposed to be the best. Apparently you can see miles of the wall wandering through the local mountain range and the view is nothing short of spectacular… on a sunny day. Even so, a few of us road the gondola to the top, where it was raining even harder, took a few “say-we-did-it” pictures in the clouds, and promptly returned to the rainy parking lot. Soaked through, we collected the group to complete the last 50 miles into Beijing. (by Mike Bozarth)

Great Wall in Badaling, which gets more than six million visitors each year. Most of them were here today! And, as a special treat, whereas it had only rained all day during our 245 mile episode of dodging Chinese traffic, it poured at the Great Wall. I could not see it from the parking lot. Of course, it has not changed since it was constructed in the 7th century B.C. to protect the Chinese Emperor. I’m pretty sure that he rode the same cable car to the top after buying his souvenir hat as he happily surveyed his empire! But the Great Wall is thousands of miles long, an we hope to see it at several other places where it has not been restored for tourism. (by Randy McClanahan)

Well, The first attempt at seeing the Great Wall today was a major fail. It was pouring down rain all day. Good thing we have a few more attempts at seeing it on this ride. This also marks the halfway point of the ride today at just shy of 7000 miles ridden. Adventure riding at its finest. (by Mike Meyer) Speaking of which, Beijing has 22 million people, and most of them were on the road as we inched our way into town. It took about 3 hours to travel the 38 miles from the Wall to the BMW dealer. Of course, since it is, after all, the “Epic Journey,” we had an epic rainfall as we tried to get into Beijing. Standing water up to one foot deep on the overwhelmed freeways, stalled vehicles everywhere, fogged-up glasses and visors so that we could not see, and panniers (saddlebags) filling with water from the bottom up! (by Randy McClanahan)

These precious final miles took nearly 3 hours. If I were in a car, it would have easily been six. The tactic here in China for scooters and motorcycles (mind you I have yet to see bikes half as big as ours in this country) is to run between and around cars to find a hole you can fit into in order to wait for a gap the width of your side mirrors to open up and pray there is another hole you can fit your bike into on the other side. The traffic isn’t quite stop and go, but even if it was, the drivers would have there cars so tightly packed you wouldn’t be able to move. Alternatively, if there is one, the emergency lane is fair game. My guess is that we road 40+ miles of emergency lane to get into Beijing proper and then fought our way, bike lengths at a time, the rest of the way.

After a dozen near misses, our first stop in town was the Beijing BMW dealer for service and a tire change. Soaked to the skin and worn out, the shop stayed open late and gave us a hero’s welcome. Bikes in good hands, we jumped into cabs that took us to the hotel where we will stay for 2 nights to enjoy a much needed day off.

Beijing. Hotel.
We arrived at our Vegas-like dazzling hotel at 9:00 p.m. and were whisked to the nearest cold beer.

Yes, China is an amazing place, but it is not for the faint of heart motorcycle adventurer. (by Randy McClanahan)

I love this kind of design. Clean, sleek, no door handles and curved walls. Absolutely stunning! (by John Jesson)

BMW Service

We are in Beijing having the bikes serviced. I’m looking forward to getting new tires, as my hard “dual sport” tires have been difficult to manage on the rain-slick highways in Asia.
But, we finally made it there, and they were waiting for us. I counted over a dozen technicians and supervisors eager to work all night to restore our travel-weary stallions to Asia-worthy condition. We’ll see! (by Randy McClanahan)

BMW Beijing came through! After working all night, our eleven motorcycles were refreshed and serviced, returned to us with new tires, clean and ready for the next half of the Epic Adventure. The techs were great, and came in on Sunday morning to see us off. Thanks guys! After two days of constant rain, it was great to head south in the warm sun toward the mountains and the famous Tunnel roads coming next. (by David Fick)

Free day in Beijing

Tian’anmen Square in Beijing

Forbidden town.

Going to Xingtai
Today’s biggest feat was getting out of Beijing. Think about it. Imagine downtown Houston, the Galleria area or your favorite big city. Now imagine that it is 110 miles long by 100 miles wide of solid skyscrapers. Isn’t that 11,000 square miles? That is Beijing.

So many cars that each one is barred from the roads one day a week, depending on the last digit of their license plate, except on Sunday, when they all can drive. Oh, guess what day we chose to leave Beijing! Right– Sunday!

Actually, it wasn’t so bad. Because we are foreigners, we couldn’t get closer to the center than the 4th ring road. (Think of Houston with six or seven loops and beltways.) Plus, the far outside lane is designated the “Emergency Lane,” and we thought that a bunch of Non-Chinese getting the hell out of Dodge was an “emergency” so we just shot it at about 70 mph! No one seemed to care. Once I started to see green space, and then farmland, I knew we had survived our ride through one of the world’s busiest cities!

Xingtai.

We are now in Xingtai. Ever heard of it? Neither had I. But it has a population of seven million people, just like several others we rode past today. Each one looked like Chicago or Dallas off in the distance. This country is very hard to grasp! (by Randy McClanahan)

Our hotel had the welcome mat out for us. Note the sign at the entrance. At night, it looks a bit Las Vegasie. There was even a mini concert going on outside. (by Randy McClanahan)

Xingtai – Guoliang tunnel
Our first few days and the battle with a heavy rain and traffic into Beijing was unforgettable, but it didn’t feel or look like the “authentic China experience” I was anticipating. That changed today. No rice farms or bamboo hats, but as we left the city of Xingtai and its neighboring industrial cities, things began to change. The countryside opened up to show farmland all managed by hand, corn on the cob drying in the streets of countless small villages, entire families in small 3 wheeled gas-powered utility vehicles, a sense of a slower lifestyle that hasn’t changed in centuries and plenty of smiling faces.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Leaving Xingtai and working our way through the city streets one thing became clear… metaphorically speaking… in reality it was anything but. As we continued southwest and inched our way through neighboring industrial cities we found ourselves in the “industrial region” of China. And believe me when I say, I use the following abbreviation sparingly… OMG! I have never seen worse air pollution in my life… and I’m from LA!! I will post a picture shortly, but like the grand vistas of Mongolia, it will not do it justice. All I could think of is, “I’ve got to get myself one of those hospital masks!” that I see more and more of the locals wearing.
The absolute worst smog ever… Note this picture was taken at noon. The buildings you can barely make out in the distance are less than half kilometer away! (by Mike Bozarth)

To make the point, when we stopped for lunch and took our helmets off, anyone that had opened their wind visor immediately went for their stash of wet-wipes to rub the black oval of soot off their face where the helmet wasn’t.

Now, I tend to ride with my visor open because one of the things I enjoy most about riding a motorcycle is to experience the wind in my face, the cool temperature change as you go from sun to shade or when you pass over a river, the amazing smell of fresh cut grass or a citrus grove in bloom, etc… Only today, an open visor meant not only was I painted with a fine layer of China’s finest industrial particulates, my beard became a filter of sorts as the air ran into my face and out the bottom of my helmet. Rinsing my face in the bathroom before sitting down to lunch yielded a grayish-brown rinse water that I can only presume defines the chemical makeup of “acid rain.”

Guoliang tunnel
In contrast, late that afternoon proved to be nothing short of amazing. Our little excursion at the end of the day was to ride the infamous “Tunnel Road.” Specifically, the Guoliang Tunnel. What’s the big deal about a tunnel, you say? This thing was dug out of solid rock in the Taihang Mountains by hand! Thirteen locals carved a tunnel nearly a mile long into the side of a cliff that provided a better route for the locals than having to traverse some very extreme exterior. If that wasn’t cool enough, every 50 to 100 feet or so, they opened up a large hole in the wall so that sun can light the way. Some of these holes are the size of door while others you can drive a truck through. This allows, those that dare, to look out to see that what you are actually traversing is a tunnel carved out of a sheer cliff a couple thousand feet off the valley floor. Stunning. Amazing. Unreal. (by Mike Bozarth)

At the risk of sounding like a braggart, I’ve ridden some pretty cool roads. The Eastern Sierra passes, the dry lake beds of the Battle Mountain Range, The Alaska’s Brooks Range, Ireland’s Atlantic Seaboard, the Alps, and the Fjords of Norway, to name a few. None compare to the experience of running a scant three quarters of mile through the Guoliang Tunnel in the magical Taihang Mountain Range. (by Mike Bozarth)

Today we did the real thing, as we traveled through more, longer and less touristy tunnel roads to get to tonight’s destination, Jiaozuo, another city of 3.5 million people about which I have never heard. We are so deep into the China that Americans never see that the ATM’s do not honor foreign credit cards! Going to Xian day after tomorrow will be like re-entering civilization, but then we will go deep again. (by Randy McClanahan)

The weather was perfect. We rode along sheer cliffs over a thousand feet high, over clouds, past waterfalls, and over canyons. And as always, we were rock stars wherever we were. There was even a Chinese film crew assigned to follow us all day for purposes of making some sort of documentary about the national park that contains all this wonderment!(by Randy McClanahan)

Kun Shan and Xiyagou Tunnels
There are couple more tunnels in store today as we make our way through the mountain range and onto Jiaozuo, a city renowned for having the worst air pollution in China. I figure the chances are good that I will come across a pharmacy at our next gas stop and I’ll pick up a couple hospital masks. Again, I release the clutch and I begin to work my way through the canyons in order to catch up with the group.

As it turns out, this unassuming mountain range, known for its Zen masters and spiritual energy, had much more in store for me. While the Guoliang Tunnel is some of the most sought after adventure road in the Eastern hemisphere, the little known Kun Shan and Xiyagou Tunnels were waiting for me just a few miles down a goat trail (now single lane mountain road) I was on. (by Mike Bozarth)

The next two tunnels were similar to the Guoliang Tunnel in two respects. They were all built by hand, and they were all built into the side of sheer cliffs in this beautiful mountain range.

The difference? These new tunnels run for miles and traverse some of the most mystical mountain scenery I have every witnessed. Solid stone cliffs with vertical drops of 2000 feet and more, distant waterfalls that seem to stand still due to their size and majestic surroundings, dramatic jagged peaks cloaked in mist across a 360 degree horizon, and little villages tucked into tiny little canyons that exude an unidentifiable spirituality and contentment. (by Mike Bozarth) Epic, once-in-a-lifetime day riding miles of tunnel roads (Guoliang, Kun Shan, and Xiyagou) and enchanting mountain switchbacks. Beyond anything we have ever experienced on a motorcycle, from the Alps to Africa. (by David Fick) The rest of the morning was spent cruising through this rider’s wonderland. Stopping for lunch at a small cafe, atop a waterfall… of course, we ate and drank slower than usual. Stunned with what can only be described as a Zen-like experience, it was hard to find the words to express what we just saw. (by Mike Bozarth) Jiaosuo
Random scenes from tonight in Jiaosuo. First for your consideration, pinyin salad. That would be pigs ears. Crunchy, not nearly as good as it looks. Exactly as you might picture eating cartilage. Tyson vs Holyfield. The second picture was captured walking around the busy streets (7 million people) near our hotel, through a huge market where entrepreneurs sell everything from puppies and goldfish, to food, toys, and clothes. This open air cafe, literally on the sidewalk, has dishes of food on rotating conveyors, and the patrons pick items out with chopsticks. No idea how they keep count or pay. Teeming humanity everywhere. I keep expecting Anthony Hopkins to stroll out of an alley. (by David Fick)

Going to Xian
Huashan Mountains
We are about 80 miles from Xian, at the Huashan Scenic Area, at the foot of Huashan, one of China’s five great mountains. Great, except we can see nothing! (by Randy McClanahan)

Today’s ride of 262 miles was one of those “rides from hell.” The smog was unbelievable all the way. As bad as anything I have experienced, anywhere. So, if you are blaming your bad air on the Chinese, you can take solace in the fact that they are living in it. I think I read that 16% of the deaths in China are due to air pollution. I now can believe it. We were in several large cities where I could not see anything more than one block on either side. Specifically, I could not decide if that “thing” was a skyscraper or a grove of trees! My eyes and chest burned all day.
On top,of that, it rained most of the day and we had several detours for road construction.

I cannot adequately describe what it is like to ride (or drive, for you cage dwellers) in the real China. “Free for All” is a literal description. Speed limits are not enforced. We ride as we wish, which mean faster than everyone else. Pass on the left or pass on the right, even if it is a shoulder or pedestrian lane. Drive on the right, or on the left, with traffic or against it. Stop in the left lane to take a leak or chat with a friend. Make a U turn with no signal. Turn right from the far left lane, with no signal. When you come to a traffic jam of trucks, go around it, through a parking lot, field, or through a building! No one will notice. The only rule is, “do no harm.”

To add to the misery, cars and trucks do not use headlights before dead dark. And some vehicles have no lights at all! Instead, they use their horns. Next time I come here I have to remember to add a nuclear air horn to my bike. It will make life so much easier.

Xian
We are in Xian, China, home of the Tera Cotta Warriors, the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” To get here, we rode in the rain again all day! It seems we cannot manage to enter one of China’s biggest cities without getting drenched and fighting traffic through flooded streets. It was fun, however, to ride through the busiest part of town in the bike lane!
On the way in, we stopped outside a cafe for a brief rest stop. A crowd immediately gathered. I went inside to buy some coffee. All they had was tea. So I procured a bag of instant coffee from an outside source, and imposed on the owner for a cup and some hot water. Then I asked to use the toilet. No problem as to anything. I felt that I should offer some sort of payment for their kindness, but they adamantly refused! It was their gift to me. I have experienced this at several other places in China. Their culture says it is an honor to help us. To accept money would be unthinkable. How different from the U.S.! Of course, lots of photographs were taken. (by Randy McClanahan)

We tend to draw a lot of attention when rolling into a small town in the middle of Nowhere, Southern China. Needless to say it gets a little nutty. Believe it or not, there are 10 BMW motorcycles in that mob. They just came out of nowhere to stare at us and the bikes… most with big smiles on there face. (by Mike Bozarth)

My new mentor. (by Mike Bozarth) Everywhere we go in China people come to talk with us. There’s something about big motorcycles. The people here have never seen big, powerful bikes, as they only have small 125cc or smaller scooters. (by David Fick)

There’s a tenet in science that the act of studying a thing changes that thing. The same is true when we ride eleven BMW adventure motorcycles into a town. It is like aliens have invaded. Instead of us touring and seeing something in its natural state, we become the center of attention, the monkeys in the zoo. (by David Fick)

Today, in the midst of amazing switchback riding through beautiful terraced mountainside, we stopped for lunch in a small mountain town. We were overwhelmed in the restaurant by kids who wanted to talk to us. One boy, the kid in the red glasses below, spoke remarkably good English. This is rare in our travels. We went to the curb outside the restaurant where the bikes were parked, and found at least a hundred people gathered around the bikes. We literally pushed our way through a growing crowd, and I let the young man get up on my bike. I showed him how to start it and rev the engine, which he then did on his own. The boy was nearly in tears as the crowd clapped and cheered. (by David Fick) Randy McClanahan, who was letting ladies sit on his bike next to ours, commented that that kid will be mayor by the time we leave town. There were several hundred people around by this time, mid-day on a Saturday, and the road was being blocked by the mass of people, so we had to move on. This was the most dramatic crowd we’ve attracted, but a version of this scene happens every day, at least a couple times. As we move west on the Silk Road toward Tibetan China, the people seem even more friendly, open, and curious. It is a joy to be here. (by David Fick)

Eighth Wonder of the World. Terracotta Warriors.
So what about those warriors? More than two thousand years ago, the new Emperor decided to unify China, and a Great War, like our Civil War, was waged to do so. Then he declared himself Emperor and started building what we now call the Great Wall. He also spent about forty years building his tomb. It included many thousands of ceramic life-sized army soldiers, horses and chariots, so that he could continue his rule in the afterlife. They were assembled underground. After his death, they were destroyed in subsequent civil wars.

Two thousand years later, some peasants digging a well discovered some ruins, and perhaps the greatest archeological dig is history ensued. So far they have uncovered and meticulously restored over six thousand soldiers and horses. They charge about twelve dollars to enter and look around, and get millions of folks like me wanting to do just that. Bear in mind that all you see in the photo is over two thousand years old! (by Randy McClanahan)

Free day in Xian
We have the day off in Xian for some R and R. I have been here once before, in 2011 when I rode my same motorcycle along the “Silk Road” from Istanbul, Turkey to here. The Silk Road was a trade route connecting the East to the West — China, to India, to Persia (the Middle East), to the Mediterranean (Europe). Marco Polo traveled it. So did merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers. It began in Xian. I learned in Mongolia that Genghis Kahn brilliantly left it alone as he conquered the world.
One of the oldest cities in China, Xian dates back to the 11th century BCE. It now has a population of 8.5 million. As I wandered a bit, I saw the old and the new. I photographed the ancient bell tower last night. I discovered today, however, that around the bell tower are malls, Burger Kings, KFC’s, DQ’s, you name it. I counted five Apple stores within one quadrant of one block. (by Randy McClanahan)

Because of the Silk Road, a number of businessmen and students from the Arab world began to settle in Xian about a thousand years ago. Now there are about 60,000 Muslims in Xian, and they congregate in the “Muslim Quarter,” which was as happening a place this Friday afternoon as the New Orleans French Quarter during Mardi Gras. Imagine the Great Bazaar in Istanbul. That’s it! (by Randy McClanahan)

Having grown tired of noodles and rice three times each of the past several days, I feasted at McDonalds. I have a cool little translation app on my iPhone that lets me turn English phrases into perfectly spoken Chinese wherever I have an internet connection. I think I am very sophisticated when I use it. So I pointed to the meal deal, and had my smart little translator say the words I desired in Chinese. The attendant said back to me “no onions, right.” Thinking she was just lucky I threw some more of my fancy perfectly pronounced Chinese words at her, to which she replied “Sorry, we don’t have mustard. We have bar-b-que sauce!” Feeling suddenly less smarty pants, I took my tray, enjoyed my greasy treat, and felt like I was home again. (by Randy McClanahan)

As an aside, I have noticed that there are few, if any, unleashed dogs running around anywhere in China. Sure, some people have their beloved pets on a leash, and they range from pups to mature. But off the leash, there are only young dogs, and NO mean dogs. What do you think happens to the others? (by Randy McClanahan)

Pingliang – Lanzhou – Youngchang
At the start of the Silk road in Xian. Next we shall ride the Road to the far west of China. (by David Fick)