Oct
15
2010
5

Photo: The End

Our arrival right back where we began, nearly 17,000km (10,000+ miles) and a week short of a year later -- what a trip!

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Written by Andy in: All,Andy | Tags: , , , ,
Oct
14
2010
0

Photo: Old Friends

Elderly men sit and chat near a market in a Hebei mountain village.

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Oct
13
2010
0

Photo: Beast of Burden

The donkey is the main beast of burden in northern Shanxi (山西) and Hebei (河北) provinces. Never have I seen so many donkeys!

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Written by Andy in: All,Andy | Tags: , , , , , ,
Oct
12
2010
0

Photo: Pleasant Surprise

Hebei served as the deserved butt of many a joke throughout the trip, but when we finally arrived in the mountainous northern part of the province three days before the end of our trip, we were pleasantly surprised. There we found blue skies, green hills and picturesque villages as unique and interesting as those in any of the remote areas we passed in the western part of the country.

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Oct
11
2010
0

Photo: Shanxi Great Wall

In Shanxi (山西) province, the Great Wall is now only a short mound of earth connected by the earthen remains of guard towers. The outer bricks and stones were long ago stripped away to build other structures.

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Oct
10
2010
0

Photo: Slow Day

Old men sit and talk outside of a home in rural Shanxi (山西) province.

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Oct
09
2010
0

Photo: Coal Addiction

One of our last sights in Inner Mongolia was yet another coal-fired power plant, of which we saw a few. Like the U.S., China has vast domestic coal resources, and dirty, coal-fired power plants generate most of the country's electricity. Inner Mongolia is China's coal capital, and a nearly-two-thirds increase in coal truck traffic from 2009 to 2010 was blamed for the 120km (75 mile) traffic jam on G110 that broke up just a few days before our ride into Beijing on the same road.

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Oct
08
2010
0

Photo: No Grazing

The central government is trying everything to wipe out "backward" practices such as nomadism. Previously, we showcased the odd nomad-relocation developments we found in Qinghai. In Inner Mongolia, animals are not allowed to be set out to graze outside of certain, fenced-in areas. Hence, most cows are on leashes.

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Oct
07
2010
0

Photo: Straw Haul

In the countryside everyone works, even if they need a crutch and a cane to do it.

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Oct
07
2010
2

Equipment Review: Surly Long Haul Trucker

By Andy

I had never been a big biker before Evan and I undertook this massive trip around China, so I don’t have a lifetime of bikes with which to compare the Surly Long Haul Trucker. Still, I did just ride nearly 17,000km on an LHT, so I thought it might be worth writing a review of the experience.

Evan and I both bought LHTs because they were the most well-reviewed bikes in our price range (around $1,100). I think that’s probably still true. Still, there were a couple things that needed to be switched out immediately, namely, the saddle, pedals and tires. At the suggestion of the guy who sold me the bike, I also switched out the crank and headset. My replacements and additions were:

  • Shimano Deore crank
  • Chris King NoThreadSet headset
  • Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires
  • Shimano PD-A530 pedals
  • Brooks B17 Imperial saddle
  • Fenders

What Worked

The frame: The Surly Long Haul Trucker itself (a.k.a. the frame) held up like a champ. Over nearly 17,000 km, we rode through some pretty rough terrain — dirt roads, rocky roads, washed-out dirt roads, seemingly endless stretches of cobblestones that felt like they would shake me apart at the joints, etc. I would never have felt comfortable or confident riding on this sort of stuff with an aluminum frame simply because a cracked frame would mean an immediate end to the trip. I still have my doubts as to whether taking a busted steel bike frame to the village welder would result in a rideable bike anyway, but the thought that it was possible in theory did wonders for my peace of mind.

(more…)

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