Crazy drivers 19th June

It rained with a thunder storm all night but stopped an hour before we were leaving so no rain gear to wear as it is already warming up. Traffic was building up getting out of town to the usual high standard of driving “Ahem”
Another mountain to get over, but with the advantage of going through it rather than over it, in a 3 mile long tunnel. The benefits of going east!

When you came out the other side it was raining and this really brought the Chinese drivers to the highest standard of stupidity
Not many pictures today as too busy trying to stay alive with lorries over taking lorries on blind bends, cars over taking lorries on blind bends well in fact everything overtaking on blind bends in the rain on a greasy surface going downhill on Knobblies.
Finally ending at Yaan at 1000m altitude for a break and it is covered with smog which is part of the course for all Chinese cities

Everybody is in really good spirits and some people decide to play silly behind your back especially when Adam the cameraman is filming you. That is Kevin the leader of the trip

I took the opportunity to check out the local buses and this could be a new model for the uk. It is a double deck but hardly taller than a single deck


I can hear you all now saying that the Chinese are short, but an extra foot in height in the cabin would remedy that situation.
OK work bit done!
The last 25 miles we are all in convoy with the 4x4 leading the way to the hotel as the route is awkward through the city with more smog and even more crazy driving
We finally arrive and jubilation all round for finishing Tibet, so beers for everyone

It then turns out that th general manger wants a bike in the foyet for some pictures so Robert and Simon ride them in and then lots of photos. Everyone wants to then sit on them and have their photos taken. Of course, we were very selective on who could do this as standards need to be kept up for the group.


Two days rest and a bit of sightseeing before the final leg to Beijing

10372 miles – Mount Emie, China

All downhill – almost 18th June

Needles to say we cannot all leave the Wild West town (Phrase from the Lonely Planet book) quick enough and it is not long before we pass through another town which has mud for the road. Hope this is not signs of things to come for the Sichuan region


On our way and the roads are not brilliant but at least they are tarmac.
You do meet some very strange lorry loads

Several mountain passes over 4000m and the land is very green and full of grass, so very different to the previous day


However the road surface could have been a little bit better for the majority of the passes

Then remember me mentioning the Chinese army well we met them 3 times today which is starting to get a bit silly

One final pass of the “Snowy Mountains” and we are on a descent in perfect tarmac to drop is into China proper.


This road was “FAB” with perfect hairpins, one after the other and we finally get to the city centre. Had the bike leaned well over even with TK knobblies on to remove any chicken strips. Ah! the joys of motorcycling!
The hotel is excellent except for the name “Love Song Hotel” and this is due to a song in the area being written by the 6th Dalai Lama.
Hot shower has never felt so good and a little wander around town to get a feel of the place.
Everything is starting to look more modern and westernised

The Blog will be shorter than normal but it is raining at the moment, so interesting day tomorrow

10175 miles - Kangding, China

Goodbye Tibet 17th June

Not long out of the town and we are presented with more road works and unsurfaced roads. It seems that every major road in Tibet is under construction of some description. The first pass today will take us over 5000m again and I thought we were supposed to be getting lower when leaving the plateau.
Roads are rough and this is going to take a lot of hours




Honest these dirt roads are supposed to be the 318 to Beijing but it is really hard to believe
It keeps rising up through the mountains and then it drops down again

No edge protection and one very big drop and you still get all the trucks using this route and they do not give you any room.




So with all the traffic and construction it took nearly 7 hours to complete only 95 miles. Time for a regroup before we all move on

Also it was a time to plug my rear tyre when I picked up a nail which got spotted by a construction worker when I was trying to negotiate round the pile of stones he had just tipped.
I had this thing in for 25 miles on rough roads and when we parked up and I was plugging it, a local pointed out to Robert, he had picked up a nail as well. Good job the plugging only takes a maximum of 10 minutes and that includes filling it with air again.




Tyres back up to pressure it was time to move on as we still have a lot of miles to cover
After 120 miles the road suddenly changes to smooth tarmac and pace can be upped. However you do need to watch out for rock falls in the road. Sometimes they use concrete but all is welcome after the construction road for so many hours

This road also takes us over the Yanktse River which marks the end of Tibet. Of course, as per the usual Chinese rules, no photos are allowed of the bridge. “AHEM”

The road has to go over another pass before we get to our hotel for the evening.
One thing we have recently seen a lot of is convoys of the Chinese army of more than 40 trucks.
The pictures show the twisty road of concrete but with all the army trucks on


Oh you are not allowed to take pictures of the army either. Luckily this was at a distance
Once over this final pas the countryside looks very different to what we have been use to and there are a lot of Yaks on the land. Don’t you think it looks a little bit like Scotland?

So after 12 hours of constant riding in dust and the heat, you are always welcome to a hot shower and some nice food and maybe a beer or two.
So first job is to fill the bikes up with fuel and as I wait for the others to fill, we are surrounded by loads of guys on their single cylinder 150’s and they immediately look at our bikes. Mine is usual favourite and I think that is due to it being red. Yes that is a guy sat on my bike with a beige jacket and back pack. No I did not invite him; he just got on it which is usual as we are finding out.

So we get to the hotel and we then find out that there is no hot water and the cold is questionable. The rooms are pretty filthy but the bed linen is clean and there are no keys to the rooms, so you have to rely on a maid to let you in
No you might remember me saying that the route had been changed and therefore this hotel had not been checked out but was given to us b our guide. Needless to say he was embarrassed and stated that the hotel would be removed from their agency list
OK flannel wash and then get some food as we are all very hungry.
OK the food is from a restaurant (that word is used loosely (and we have to walk down the filthy street
This is not going to be a pleasant evening!

9995 miles –Litang, China

Down from the Plateau we go 16th June

The usual breakfast in China of boiled eggs, steamed buns, with an extra addition of a rice soup. Well i ought to check it out and it looks very watery and the taste confirms the same thing. Things are improved with a little bit of sugar but not much.

All we know is that the route will have some dirt for about 30 miles but this is starting to be the norm and we all take it in our stride. First few miles through very dramatic scenery with good roads



Then the dirt roads start even earlier than expected



Then you find out that all this construction is for the benefit of a Hydo-Electric power generation

Then there is a new hazard lurking around evry corner and in every village “Donkeys”, seriously, especially when all the males are trying to mount the females

Then the road twists and turns as it start to climb up to a final pass height of 4654m. These pictures will show you how mountainous the region is and how difficult it is to get through
The next few pictures are ofall he same road just further away as i climbed the pass



The other side of the pass shows a very different picture where the mountains are less and the valley has widened and is levelling out and very green with crops.


Only one more day before we leave Tibet and be in China proper. So, another hotel tonight, of basic facilities, where the Chinese have still not learnt the art of hoovering carpet.

9728 miles – Zougong, Tibet