Riding into a construction site here isn’t uncommon. In fact, if you got any measurable explorer’s bone in your body and regularly scout out new roads, then riding here means consistent jaunts through something being built. It comes as no surprise, considering a huge portion of the economy is propped up by construction and government …
With the CDC骑 race/ride series out in the open air, I’ve felt the pressure to get all my ducks in a row, and begin the process of scouting and designing the race routes. Sunday proved sunny and warm(ish), so it seemed an opportune moment to ride the upper stretch of the intended CDCL route (part …
I recently decided to pay a visit to Taipei. To start with, I’d spoken with my friend Jeff (of Factory Five). He has a habit of asking me to join him in whatever travels he may be undertaking. There’s always a rationale along with it, in this case the visit coincided with the Taipei Cycle …
The town where we’d spent the night was remote. By vehicle is was only accessible from the steppe above. Otherwise you were looking at a long descent through an isolated valley, tracing a line along Gongga’s back, downward. In the village the trail was a double wide track, that cut a steep path along an …
The next day was a mad dash to reduce our load, yet again, to make sure we could get everyone’s things through the final pass for our next night’s stay. The pass was closed to everything but local vehicles. We had a check gate up ahead, but figured we’d take a whack at getting the …
The evening before the ride we shuttled into a valley sitting above Xinduqiao. It’s an area I’d never visited before. The homes featured the traditional Tibetan bearing, but had roofs with curved awnings. The undersides, an overlay of wooden slats, were dyed in shades of bright turquoise or green. The hilltops were forested, and slowly …
Having skipped out on part one of two, of the round-Yala-MTB adventure, the second day of riding could be modified to cover a portion of the originally-planned route. We’d decided to stay in Kangding that night, in lieu of camping, which meant we could do the drive to the “finish” of the day’s intended route, …
The day broke and everyone woke up, shattered from the previous days of wet riding. Sleeping at 3800m didn’t aid the situation any. Abu (the trip’s lead guide), having taken stock of the day’s route from the previous day’s viewpoint, decided it best to scrap an attempt to make the pass and camp beneath Yala …
Day two was a beastie. We needed to shuttle to the start, a drive roughly 2 hours long. This put us up over the pass at Zheduo Shan, down into the valley that houses Xinduqiao, before making a right turn to begin the slow climb back up to Tagong. It’s this stretch of road that …
We started at Muya Holy Park. The manager for the 景区(scenic area) seemed like a solid dude. His associate hopped on the bus to get some photogs of the gang before we set out. Beautiful scenery as the sun began to burst out of the clouds. Highly auspicious. Until we hit the boardwalk down to …
I’ve rarely ever ridden the areas of western Chengdu. There’s a few reasons. To get there, it’s a haul. It’s flatter than flat. There’s a lot of development and industry sprawl (. I know there’s good riding in the direction, but it makes for only the biggest type of day on the bike, and if …
Riding in China is an active choice to face change. The seemingly permanent things in life, roads, buildings, and our environment, are constantly being uprooted, bulldozed, and hillocked. Nothing stays the same. The rides I took five years ago have faced constant modification and adaptation, correcting themselves to readily guide me through the ever-changing landscape. …