World Bicycle-Tour Video; China

World bicycle-tour video, China, another Flickr/YouTube video, the final leg of Garry’s bicycle ride around the world in 2011/12.

After being stuck at the Kazak China border for two days, Garry can now start his ride across China. This is his second time in China, after deciding to turn his ride to Australia, into a World tour. And as before it was equally as confusing, with nobody understanding Garry and he definitely didn’t understand them! But that’s all part of the fun and adventure, and one reason for travelling!

Yurts in mountains
Yurts in the mountains of China

Back in China, Garry was immediately confronted with mountains and on his first day had a climb of over 2000 metres! And after a long day ended up camping at the top! Being as it was now October, temperatures at night were pretty cold. In fact, it was so cold Garry had to sleep in his thermals, and was only just about warm enough! Coming down the mountain in the morning, Garry had to keep stopping to warm up! He even put plastic bags over his gloves and shoes to try and stay warm!

Where To Finish

As Garry cycled along, he debated where he should finish his World ride. Should he cycle back to Kunming, where he started his first stint in China? But that would have meant having to fly to Beijing, then another flight home from there. Hong Kong and Shanghai were also on Garry’s radar, which would have kept Garry away from home for longer! But in the end, Garry decided that he had to go home at some point, and the easiest and nearest option was Beijing!

Garry was amazed at the amount of building going on! The skyline of every town and city would be filled with tower cranes building new high rise apartments!

Food
One of the many delicious meals Garry had in China

The food was just as amazing as before, and nothing gets wasted, or deboned for that matter! Chicken dishes involved everything claws, beak and all, and Garry found he had a real taste for chicken claws! Which were a delicacy in China!

Easy Cycling

Garry spent a lot of time cycling on motorways, mainly due to roads being closed or because there was no other route! There were plenty of toll booths that Garry would have to cycle past! Sometimes they would wave Garry through, or even take his photo! But generally, Garry would just put his head down and zip past on the hard shoulder! Eventually, his luck ran out, and the police stopped him! And took him away to the police station, where he was told to wait in a corridor! Garry sat there, wondering what his fate would be? Were the police going to give Garry a fine, lock him up, or something else! Maybe he should make a run for it. After all, he could see his bike just outside! It was a worrying wait, which seemed to last forever!

Eventually, the police came back and took Garry upstairs and into an office! They’re sitting behind a desk was a portly middle-aged man, who was obviously the boss. Garry was beckoned to sit down and offered a cup of tea! The man started talking to Garry in very broken English. He just seemed interested in what Garry was doing and why, and only briefly mentioned that he shouldn’t be cycling on the toll roads! After an hour or so, they let Garry go and pointed him to the road away from the toll road.

It’s A Bit Chilly

Temperatures were really starting to tumble now, and one day, Garry passed a thermometer saying it was -11! And that was during the day! It was so cold Garry’s front wheel started to freeze up and wouldn’t turn! Even a short stop at traffic lights would cause the wheel to freeze! Garry ended up carrying a flask of hot water, which he would pour over the hub to free it up! (it turned out there was a slight amount of water in his hub dynamo that was the cause!)

Trucks on icy road
A cold and slippery road

There was plenty of wild camping, which in these temperatures was extremely challenging, and Garry would have to put on every layer, to keep warm! Roads were also becoming slippery, with snow and ice, and Garry fell off a couple of times!

Garry reached Beijing in six weeks, after cycling 2800-miles from the Kazakhstan border. In Beijing, Garry had mixed feelings, yes it was great that he had cycled here, but this was the end of his world tour! All Garry had to do now was book his flight to England and ride the last few miles home.

Video

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2 Replies to “World Bicycle-Tour Video; China”

  1. Well that was a unique experience. Where were all the millions of Chinamen? You could restyle yourself as the modern day Marco Polo. Pity you couldn’t get a new hip in China.

    1. Don’t know about unique, but it was definitely an experience! My route took me across some pretty remote areas, and I don’t recall it ever being overcrowded. Probably because of my experiences earlier on in the year in India and Bangladesh!
      More like a modern-day recluse, bloody Coronavirus!

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