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HimalayasX2011 expedition -Campfire on Baima Snow Mountain, Yunnan, China 4340 meters (14,238 feet)

Posted by Brian on December 18, 2011
Posted in: adventure cycling, adventure cyclist, adventure travel, brian perich, cycling china, education through expeditions, expeditions, explorers, 自行车旅游，自行车在中国旅游，自行车旅游纪录片，冒险骑车，远征喜马拉雅山x2011年，布赖恩perich，鸡传染性法氏囊病，思想，ETE，探险家，科纳, himalayas, world bicycle touring. Leave a Comment

Meeting a Sino-Tibetan family with their yak herd and cabin, hammering down rough roads in Sichuan, climbing over the landslides in Jolong, climbing peaks, riding through valleys, and meeting smiling people throughout the journey are all highlights of expedition travel.

These are raw photos and a video of the expedition. Enjoy! [Music: Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson]

I supported IDEAS foundation
Intestinal Disease Education & Awareness Society
http://nogutsknowglory.com

And a second non-profit, ETE
Education Through Expeditions, UK
http://www.etelive.org

Find out more, check those links. Thank you & hope you enjoyed the video.

Stage 1 of 3: Tian Shan Mountains, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China.

HimalayasX2011

Taking the desert highway G217 south of Urumqi across the Borohoro ranges of the Tian Shan. I camped in the mountain deserts between Ürümqi and Turfan.

Ranges of the Tian Shan

The Tian Shan have a number of named ranges which are often mentioned separately.
The Bogda Shan (god mountains) run from 350 to 40 kilometers (220 to 25 mi) east of Ürümqi. Then there is a low area between Ürümqi and the Turfan Depression. The Borohoro mountains start just south of Ürümqi and run west northwest 450 kilometers (280 mi) separating Dzungaria from the Ili River basin.

Cycling a furious set of road conditions and high altitude passes switching back on the mountains. Settled at the top and gathered the wood together and marsh mellows for an incredible night on top! According to my Garmin GPS and 6 satellite fixes, it was 4340meters (14,238 feet) and the

Silk Roadweather was cool, clear and incredibly relaxing. I suffered from altitude sickness below 3000 meters, but will fight to the top to rest and relax by a stoked campfire -brilliant luck in northern Yunnan!

WT: Expeditions – a world first, crossing of the Penny Ice Cap, Auyuittuq National Park of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada.

Posted by Brian on December 16, 2011
Posted in: adventurers, antony jinman, etelive.org, expeditions, explorers, one - arctic to argentina 2012. Leave a Comment

Arctic exploration times ago

Expedition:
Penny Ice Cap Crossing

Mission:
Arctic team expedition to explore remote ice cap on Baffin Island

Explorers:
Antony Jinman
Vijay Shah
Duncan Eadie

Location:
Auyuittuq National Park of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada.

Geographical location:
Penny Ice Cap is a vast, 6000 km2 (2300 sq mi) ice cap

Expedition mode:
Journey on skis, (pulk) sled-hauling.

Self-supported method:
All provisions essential for duration of the arctic expedition

Website:

http://www.antonyjinman.com

http://www.etenews.org/wp/

WT: Expeditions – a world first, unsupported return from the South Pole expedition: Crossing the Ice

Posted by Brian on December 15, 2011
Posted in: adventurers, expeditions, explorers. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

a world first, unsupported polar expedition: Crossing the Ice

Expedition:

Crossing The Ice

Mission:

South Pole Expedition

Explorers:

Cas and Jonesy – Two Avid Australian Adventurers

Location:

Antarctica

Expedition land distance: Estimated 2200km (return from the magnetic SP)

Expedition mode:

Journey on skis, sled-hauling.

Self-supported method:

All provisions essential for three months survival in one of the harshest environments on the planet.

Website:

http://www.casandJonesy.com.au


HimalayasX2011 expedition notes, Letter to the Korean Herald

Posted by Brian on November 19, 2011
Posted in: Cycling. Leave a Comment

Dear Kirsty,

My friend forwarded the great story I read on the Korea-UK 13,620km cycle home. My story is different in several ways, but I would definitely like to share it with you and the Korea Herald.
I came back to South Korea on November 17, 2006, (fives years ago this day) and returned to teaching ESL. In 2007, I purchased a Korean-branded LESPO mountain bike and began to train on nights and weekends outside of work. In the fall of 2007, I took the LESPO from Sokcho to Busan in 5 days. From then on, I would begin blogging about the experiences on blogger, with my Korean-World adventure blog, sharing perspective about adventure bicycle touring and expeditions for free, through a long list of personal contacts I’ve met in social media (Facebook for one).
Through the social media and adventure connections (Facebook, Blogs, Twitter), I learned a great deal about long-distance touring and exploring, and made donations to several campaigns privately to help fund their project, or forwarding to several non-profit charities. In 2009, I announced being prepared to ride my bicycle 32,000km from Alaska to Argentina, I am still preparing now for that launch in 2012!
Over the summer of 2011, I completed a 3200km solo expedition (10% of the Arctic2Argentina) of western China’s Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces by bicycle. I supported several (amazing) non-profit and public interest foundations, IDEAS – Intestinal Disease Education & Awareness Society of Canada and ETE – Education Through Expeditions, UK as a Global Ambassador on expeditions.
This expedition over the summer was my first motorless expedition, in less than 60 days I returned home to Korea. Traveling by passenger ferry to Tianjin, train to Beijing (repairing and adding last minute components on the same Blackcat MTB, another Korean brand that I purchased on Gmarket.com in 2009, now with over 10,000km!), and another standing train ride (3240km, 36 hours!) in a cramped space occupied with many seatless passengers and my bicycle and equipment piled to the ceiling of the smoking car!
I survived the train marathon with blood clotting and swelling in my feet and ankles, only resting for a few days (taken in by a local Urumqi resident, and now friend Mark, a former professor in Urumqi’s university MBA program and Managing director of an oil company), after a short visit to the hospital, more bicycle brake repairs with Uyghur local bicycle pros.
I began the 3200km of cycling across the Tian Shan Mountains in the Borohoro ranges between Urumqi and the northern (G314) Karakoram highway. I visited families in Korla, Xinjiang/Urghur Autonomous Region on a weekend 360km detour, and continued to Luntai, where I crossed the Tarim Desert Highway across the center of the Taklamakan Desert solo, with 6 pieces of Nan bread, 6L water supply (refilled at Desert Well stations), Oatmeal for breakfast, and a sprinkle of dried raisins and apricots.
I was given a Chinese tonic, used as a remedy for explosive diarrhea, which made a food supply entirely useless for 552km/5 days across the barren desert expanse. After the Taklamakan crossing, I celebrated in Mingfeng with locals, ate a meal, and continued on the southern Silk Road (G315) across numerous villages and deserts until reaching Hotan, where I turned south and cycled the worst roads of my 20 year cycling career, with careening trucks, dirt and stone tracks, while the entire highway undergoes construction projects.
I pedaled towards the northern Himalayas. I hitch hiked with mining workers, then camped at a mining camp where I repaired my rear wheel (cracked inner rim, alignment done successfully). I met Uyghur motorcyclists on their way south, lending my bicycle pump for their flattening front tire, sharing Nan bread.  And finally riding over the Himalayan ranges of Cudi. I was diverted by military back to Kashgar, and I flew out to Sichuan to begin 1500km of further exploration of Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, riding entirely through them along the Tibetan borders.
The expedition was amazing, challenging and at times extremely dangerous (riding through blackened tunnels 2-3km in length while dodging transport trailer trucks narrowly, free riding along the Himalayas without guardrails, and covering 80-100km per day in all sorts of road conditions, or where there were no solid roads (just ponds or rivers flowing through them) and quite often, where the roads have no names, only numbers.
My cycling adventures have been shared on Facebook, and in my blog which now has over 2700 international visitors per month, reading various posts written myself, or completed by other adventurers. My blog features Google translate, allowing visitors to peruse articles and photo descriptions in their native languages. I also promote and encourage “Cycling in Korea”, which is why the Korean-World is in the top charts on Google.com  I have some brief videos prepared from the expedition this summer on Vimeo.com   My passion for adventure cycling has been fueled on Cycling in Korea over the past five years and it continues today.
If this story interests you, or seeing the updates from Facebook posted below, a sample of my photography on the expedition, please let me know. I can be reached at 010.8075.5121 or Skype: prof.brian.perich
***Previous solo expeditions by motorcycle, 1994-1998. I completed 24,000km (in 60 days) while criss-crossing of the United States and western Canada on a motorcycle. Story detail here: http://korean-world.blogspot.com/2010/09/perich-to-pedal-from-arctic-to.html
I would love/appreciate the media interest. For the upcoming planned 32,000km cycling expedition from Alaska to the Arctic Circle of Canada and down to Argentina, I am definitely in interest of finding Korean sponsors. The first stage begins next summer 2012.
Kind regards,
Brian Perich – Adventure cyclist, Father, Teacher living in South Korea

http://korean-world.blogspot.com

$49, 3240km train to Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (stand-room only)

Ticket of no-return. 1-way to Urumqi!

Ben Bndr – support for the expedition and tour around The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

Meeting internationals with France, Canada, Germany represented. The couple in middle are Canadian cyclists from Quebec riding 1/2 way around the world on Kona’s!

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

Cycling in China – Yes!

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China

The Forbidden City, Beijing, China

Oops, maybe this train idea was a big mistake?

Stacked to the walls

High Fives! Expedition begins to reach out!

Everyone chatting, keeping positive it will soon be over

This was the overnight section of the train journey

Fully loaded ‘train’ touring in China

Sweaty and tired but positive about moving forward on this train, get to me the start of the HimalayasX2011

New light, 29 hours away from Beijing, 7 more hours to go!

New light, day 2 of train ride

Music DJ – on the train caravan to Urumqi

HimalayasX2011 supporting nonprofits

Coming from…going to…

Expedition cycles

Open thoughts, open roads

High mountain desert is what you will find south of Urumqi. Further west along the Tian Shan ranges you will find glaciers and water

Camping is majestic

Bicycle build by An Dae Gi – KEVIN BICYCLES, GANGNEUNG, KOREA – Recycled parts, frame has 13,000km now

I captured this with a Sony Handycam

Sock change

Riding high top, rebar load being transported to Aksu on G314 which is China’s extension of the KKH Karakoram Highway

Won Jen Gwon, Picked me up without water or resupply available for 50km

Flat top southbound

Campsite in the Tian Shan

Tian Shan Mountains cut into the blue skies of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (with Beijing administration)

Rest on the road, daily nap sessions under the shade of highway signs, no other shade available, 100km a day on the bike

Lifted before getting hit in a sandstorm

Uyghur cultures and big smiles

PetroChina smiles

Tourist information center out in the middle of ???

PetroChina workers outside Luntai, last settlement before crossing Taklamakan Desert (455/522km)

HimalayasX2011 expedition supporting IDEAS http://nogutsknowglory.com and ETEhttp://www.etelive.org

Taklamakan Desert crossing north-south (note: sandstorms occur at night regularly)

Haligul at Toksun. She is a nurse at a local hospital and her town is divided by the mighty G314 highway intersecting with a river for irrigation of the local farms and households

Last stop for food! Nan bread for the entire Taklamakan Desert crossing, call me crazy, you’re right! Carried only 6 loaves across 5 days of desert until reaching Min Fung This is real, here’s the Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_Desert_Highway

Meeting more Uyghurs in Luntai, the friendly family invited me to free watermelon with their friends and children

Watermelon for free, grown locally on the edge ofthe desert using irrigation methods of old and the roadways are lined with Poplar trees for shade and to protect the areas from desertification

Last settlements

Entering the Tarim Desert Highway linking G314 and G315 (northern and southern Silk Roads) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_Desert_Highway

Cut by bicycle tools, ate by hand

Expedition is fully-loaded Taklamakan Desert, Cudi Himalayas, Chengdu to LuguHu Lake, Sichuan to Deqin/Baima Snow Mountain, Yunnan

Good morning Taklamakan, fully positive I can do this entire ride and live to tell friends about it!

Schwalbe Marathon Tour Plus tires, the only way to ride!

Getting across the line, the finish, the expedition is only started and the positive energy is running through me. Thanks to all my friends (James Penlington, Tim Copeland, Mi Sung, Mom and Dad, Chris, Rob Hill, Antony Jinman, An Dae Gi, Mechel Kai, Lee Engdahl and friends I met on the road that made this an incredible experience in survival, endurance, and personal achievement.

    • In the summer of 2011, I successfully launched my first independent expedition by bicycle.Starting from South Korea, I crossed the Sea on a passenger ferry to Tianjin (30 hours), cycled through Beijing,rode a train while standing for 36 hours (3240km), to the start of the expedition,Urumqi, Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China.

      From Urumqi, I immediately started out cycling in the deserts. From the city of Urumqi, you enter

      the Borohoro ranges of the Tian Shan Mountains, high deserts contain rivers winding through the giants,

      complete with camels walking these tracts, both roads and rivers to the locals.

      After crossing the Tian Shan ranges, it’s desert again in continuum. I managed to ride the G314

      Karakoram Highway which runs parallel to the original route still used by locals, a bumpy route,

      but not the worst in the area. Along the highway, there were long stretches without settlements or villages.

      If you needed water, it was best to ask passerby’s on the highway, which is why I stayed close

      to this route.

      I met two Chinese friends before crossing the Tian Shan, and I promised to visit their families in

      Korla, this happened to be a great diversion for the expedition.

      More deserts and finally the oasis that is Korla, a mixture of Uyghur and Chinese cultures,

      a mixture of foods, music, languages, and development projects, a new and old city, modernizing in China today.

      Once the weekend passed by in Korla, it was a long ride back to the Tian Shan, to reach Luntai.

      This is the last official Uyghur settlement entering the Taklamakan Desert (455km/552km).

      The exit to the Taklamakan Desert was reached in 5 days, 552km, 6 pieces of Nan bread, 1 bowl

      of noodles (cooked at a well station), oatmeal, raisins, apricots and water.

      It doesn’t take much to cross the desert with only a small food supply, it’s definitely enough.

      It’s hot and dry, it requires patience and planning to be out in the sun, or taking cover under a sign post

      in the middle of the day, under a survival blanket on the side of the road, sleeping in a pump station, or napping

      under the sunlight on the side of the road, which road? This is the Tarim Desert Highway built and maintained by Sinopec

      and China Petro, and the purpose to keep the oil coming out of the ground.

      There are 108 wells across 552km of the desert, although the water causes bowel irritation

      (nothing stays inside believe me, this would explain the small ration of Nan bread), H2O

      provides basic hydration.

      The Taklamakan Desert is a relatively flat landscape, but you will ride over

      rolling hills. I enjoyed my time in the desert, and went on to ride the G315 Southern Silk Road,

      through some amazing villages and towns along with the Uyghur cultures that have flourished

      there since centuries ago.

      After Yecheng, I leave the G315 and follow the S219? towards the Himalayas.

      These are today’s highlights as posted on Facebook. Thanks for visiting the Korean-World,

      and I hope you enjoy the education about exploring it provides too!

      The expedition was completed in less than 60 days, traveling 3200km by bicycle, 36 hours

      3240km by train (standing room only, I will be posting a video shortly to image this),

      500km or more by hitch-hiking, 30 hours by passenger ferry, independent expedition,

      self-supported and self-sponsored too. The expedition wasn’t about setting a world record

      for cycling, it was intended to become an educational journey supporting several non-profit

      foundations that are involved in community development, good will missions, and charity.

      (: Brian – Cycling in South Korea, English teacher, Father, Adventurer

      Recent Updates from Facebook:

      If I remember that thought correctly, I said… “Damn, I think this is it! The Himalayas!”

Himalayas X 2011 Expedition – Raising awareness of IBD

Posted by Brian on June 17, 2011
Posted in: Cycling. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

HIMALAYAS X 2011 - A non-profit expedition raising community awarenessAn awareness of our fragile natural environment and conditions that face life on our planet where a chronic, incurable illness prevents people in our communities from living free from the medical treatments or surgeries required to keep them alive, this is part of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and it affects millions of individuals around our planet. We have teamed up, IDEAS (Intestinal Disease Education & Awareness Society) and the Himalayas X 2011 Expedition to bring this message further into the view of adventurers, community, students, supporters and for the patients and their families affected by IBD.

Further on the expedition front expanding the horizons of education, HimalayasX 2011 Expedition partners with ETE Education Through Expedition, UK  while advancing the global exploration world into the classrooms. Where students can interact with explorers and learn about environmental and ecological changes at the front of an explorers viewpoint.

With great sense of adventure, curiosity and a chance for new discovery – this expedition is setting off this Summer 2011 from a remote area of northwestern China. Follow updates, enjoy the expedition, comment and send messages, they will be returned.

If you wish to make a donation to a great cause, contribute to the expedition in any special way – we are here, welcome to the Himalayas X 2011 Expedition.

 

 

 

 

 

Arctic 1 Expedition – Project on a bicycle!

Posted by Brian on May 7, 2011
Posted in: adventure cycling, bicycle expeditions, bicycle touring, Cycling, cycling international, inspiration. Leave a Comment

ONE – ARCTIC2ARGENTINA 2012

New Sponsorship Proposal Pack 2012 [download above]

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>Modes of transportation: ’90 Kawasaki vs. ’07 Trek vs. 94′ Kona vs. 09′ Koga

Posted by Brian on May 4, 2011
Posted in: adventure cycling, bicycle expeditions, bicycle fitness, bicycle touring, bike camping, Cycling, cycling in korea, cycling international, inspiration, koga-miyata world traveller, kona explosif, korean-world, ortlieb panniers, S240, shimano XT, trek 6500. Leave a Comment
 Long ago in a land far away (from Korea) I used to travel like this (1994-2001)
 Then I found this…1994 Kona Explosif (Shock) and began to build a touring bike
 Handlebar bag, Large by Ortlieb
 Schwalbe Marathon tires, standard Kevlar durability
 I built this Trek 6500 SLR series recently
 Hayes Hydraulic brakes, tested and satisfying stops on 1000m descents
 Shimano XT rim brakes and Tektro brake braces, a cable pulley
 Wheetsets, Mavic Crossland SUP tubeless converted to clinchers
 Mavic hubs require straight replacement spokes, note to self
 Columbus MAX OR frame tubing, steel is really strong & light
 Nice steel rack, not fancy, just functional
 Shimano Deore LX caliper brakes and 9-speed shifters
 Lizard brake braces and Shimano XT rim brakes, low maintenance
 Trek 6500 springs to new life!
 Groovy shapes and fast brakes
 94′ Kona Explosif setup for bicycle touring
 Packing for demonstration, require waterproofs & missing a trailer!
2009 Koga-Miyata World Traveller, have this in cold storage waiting to travel.

>Mike Beauchamp’s – The Cross Canada Project (1995)

Posted by Brian on April 24, 2011
Posted in: bicycle films, bicycle touring, bicycle travel, cross canada project, cycling canada, devinci bicycles, mike beauchamp, shimano XT, transcanada highway. 1 comment

>Mike Beauchamp of Windsor completed a cross-Canada bicycle tour in 1995. What is unique about this experience is the no-nonsense approach to creating a unique documentary perspective of his experience in the The Cross Canada Project. From the beginnings of creating his own D.I.Y. recording system and other modifications at his home in Windsor, Mike takes us on a journey across 8,000km of Canada’s landmass and delivers his audiences a compelling perspective about bicycle journies and the reasons for doing them. Mike has DVD editions for sale on his self-entitled website, order one as a gift for a friend -it’s a great film!
Here’s a look at the film, and I think the DVD is better quality. Mike also explains the technical aspects of creating the “bullet camera” which makes this documentary truly unique. Great job Mike, it’s awesome!

The Cross Canada Project: Documenting a Bicycle Tour Across Canada from Mike Beauchamp on Vimeo.


The Cross Canada Project: Documenting a Bicycle Tour Across Canada from mike beauchamp on Vimeo.

>Journey as Destination – HD Promo of Tibetan Expedition Crossing

Posted by Brian on April 23, 2011
Posted in: bicycle expeditions, bicycle touring, bicycle tours, bicycling asia, cycling in china, cycling in tibet, sony HDR-XR550V, tibet, tibetan cultures. Leave a Comment


Journey as Destination – HD from Dave A on Vimeo.

An exploration of some of the highest, most remote, and most challenging roads in the world, filmed while on a 4500km cross-Tibet cycling trip in 2007. A visual account of the local culture, the challenges faced there, and a sampling of the cycle touring lifestyle. (Re-Sharing Expeditions post)