$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, ChinaThe Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaMeeting 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, ChinaCycling in China – Yes!The Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaThe Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaThe Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaThe Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaThe Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaThe Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaThe Forbidden City, Beijing, ChinaOops, maybe this train idea was a big mistake?Stacked to the wallsHigh Fives! Expedition begins to reach out!Everyone chatting, keeping positive it will soon be overThis was the overnight section of the train journeyFully loaded ‘train’ touring in ChinaSweaty and tired but positive about moving forward on this train, get to me the start of the HimalayasX2011New light, 29 hours away from Beijing, 7 more hours to go!New light, day 2 of train rideMusic DJ – on the train caravan to UrumqiHimalayasX2011 supporting nonprofitsComing from…going to…Expedition cyclesOpen thoughts, open roadsHigh mountain desert is what you will find south of Urumqi. Further west along the Tian Shan ranges you will find glaciers and waterCamping is majesticBicycle build by An Dae Gi – KEVIN BICYCLES, GANGNEUNG, KOREA – Recycled parts, frame has 13,000km nowI captured this with a Sony HandycamSock changeRiding high top, rebar load being transported to Aksu on G314 which is China’s extension of the KKH Karakoram HighwayWon Jen Gwon, Picked me up without water or resupply available for 50kmFlat top southboundCampsite in the Tian ShanTian 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 bikeLifted before getting hit in a sandstormUyghur cultures and big smilesPetroChina smilesTourist 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.orgTaklamakan 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 householdsLast 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_HighwayMeeting more Uyghurs in Luntai, the friendly family invited me to free watermelon with their friends and childrenWatermelon 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 desertificationLast settlementsEntering the Tarim Desert Highway linking G314 and G315 (northern and southern Silk Roads) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_Desert_HighwayCut by bicycle tools, ate by handExpedition is fully-loaded Taklamakan Desert, Cudi Himalayas, Chengdu to LuguHu Lake, Sichuan to Deqin/Baima Snow Mountain, YunnanGood 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:

  Brian Perich

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

  

  Wall Photos

• Brian Perich

  Sponsorship meal, road camp in the northern Himalayas of Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region
  of western China (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 3 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  Found the road to the Himalayas, continuing day 2 from Yecheng to find them!

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 8 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Alphonso Eusantos likes this.
• Brian Perich

  Where food and water are available, these workers had all the information.
  Development projects like this one, are all over the western part of country,
  all will change in the near future, eventually, the borders to Tibet will open but will it cause more harm or good? I can only wonder…

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 11 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  These mining camp workers helped me decide which way to turn the spoke nipples (counter-clockwise to tighten!),
  together we aligned my rear wheel (which at this point started to develop an internal crack, not to cause any harm until 1500km later in the journey!).
  Welcomed at every place I went (except Yutian, Police harassment there,
  travel through during daylight hours on a bicycle!)
  and this was no exception, breakfast shared with the workers, repairs completed, off to find the Himalayas (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 5 minutes ago
• Brian Perich

  I met these Sinopec workers, convinced them of my journey ahead, they decided to give me a lift,
  we drove up to their mining camp,
  there I repaired my warping rear rim with a spoke tension tool, aligned,
  back on the road the next morning searching for the Himalayas! (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 12 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Jolandie Rust likes this.
• Brian Perich

  The sun is going down, on a single, epic, challenging, rewarding day on the road. (:

  HimalayasX2011 expedition supported IDEAS Intestinal Disease Education & Awareness
  Society http://nogutsknowglory.com/ and ETE Education Through Expeditions http://www.etelive.org/

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 18 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Eric Vithalani likes this.
• Brian Perich

  On an epic motorcycle journey through the Himalayas, I met four motorcyclists on two bikes, one motorcycle
  had a bald front tire leaking air, we pumped the tire with my bicycle pump,
  we met another 140km down the road, shared Nan bread and water,
  these guys were definitely epic material, on the road.

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 23 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  I posted this highway photo earlier, it’s definitely a taste of the dirt, I went through amazing places already to get
  here (Urumqi-Tian Shan Mountains/Borohoro ranges, Karakoram Highway G315, Taklamakan Desert Luntai-
  Mimfeng, Southern Silk Road G315, Yutien, Qira, Lop, Moyu, Pishan, Hotan, Yecheng).
  Himalayas are just ahead, I can feel it. (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 27 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  This man, a Uyghur road construction worker appeared from his tent. He pointed me in the direction around their
  project site, and looked bewildered when I pointed towards the Himalayas.
  Isn’t this the place everyone wants to go?
  Not without a bike, only cycle tourists would want to go here, it happens to be an amazing place.

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 36 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Mary Renshaw, Antun Čolig and 2 others like this.

  • • 

      Linda Baron So are you gonna have some vein popping issues again Brian?

      25 minutes ago .
• Brian Perich

  Every 2km or so, I ran into these on the highway construction project now connecting Yecheng to Cudi
  in the northern Himalayas, China

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 40 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Fuji Yang likes this.
• Brian Perich

  Thanks to the Uyghur farmer, who gave me a lift, I found my way back to the Himalayas, this dirt track will one
  day become a modern highway, will the adventure then be gone?

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 46 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Dennis Renaud likes this.
• Brian Perich

  What was interesting about meeting this man, happened earlier in the ride getting lost in this village.
  I was riding along when I was stopped by a woman with a young girl that appeared to be her daughter.
  The woman gestured that she needed water for her girl, I obliged, and gave them a bottle of water
  (one that I refilled in their community irrigation river).
  The woman was this man’s mother, we saw them again on the ride back to the highway to the Himalayas. (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 49 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin likes this.
• Brian Perich

  After cycling another 20km, I meet another Uyghur farmer. Seems I have been cycling away from the Himalayas?
  He provides a lift back to the highway (dirt tracks under construction project)
  and I thank him, he signs into my guestbook. (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 55 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  Not long after, I go cycling down the road through this Uyghur village looking for the Himalayas?
  I find these apricot farmers getting unloaded from their tractors and trailers,
  they provide more apricots for the road, many get squashed,
  later I drink the fruit nector along the side of the rocky, dirt roads. It’s Fantastic!!!

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . 58 minutes ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Fuji Yang likes this.
• Brian Perich

  Signing into my guestbook. Probably the single most important pieces of paper from the entire expedition kit list.
  The guestbook is a place to keep people close, even long after you have been there.
  I have email addresses, names and telephone #s of many of my new neighbors in China.
  Should I return, I will try to find these places again… (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  Fresh apricots, grown locally for their community. Shared with me, on a bicycle expedition north of the Himalayas,
  pretty special moments, I share it here.

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Christopher Kierkus and Ian J Phillips like this.
  • 1 share
• RECENT ACTIVITY
  • “Which hostel? I stayed there in…” on Ken Roberts‘s status.

• Brian Perich

  Signing into my guestbook. Probably the single most important pieces of paper from the entire expedition kit list.
  The guestbook is a place to keep people close, even long after you have been there.
  I have email addresses, names and telephone #s of many of my new neighbors in China.
  Should I return, I will try to find these places again… (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  Fresh apricots, grown locally for their community. Shared with me, on a bicycle expedition north of the Himalayas,
  pretty special moments, I share it here.

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Christopher Kierkus and Ian J Phillips like this.
  • 1 share
• Brian Perich

  These families were gathering together to build brick walls of a home on their property,
  they gave fresh fruits (apricots) directly from their trees to my hands (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin likes this.
• Brian Perich

  Found the source of water, north of the Himalayas, China

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Brian Perich

  I cycled into a Uyghur village to find the irrigation canal, characteristic of western China’s new province (Xinjiang)
  and long a home to Uyghur cultures, traditions, and ways of life.
  From Nan bread, Lamb kebabs, fresh fruits and melons,
  sustainable agriculture and forms of renewable transportation (donkeys, horses and carts)
  it’s an excellent place to return to, in the future expeditions, excellent all around here.

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin and Saroj Kumar Nayak like this.
• Brian Perich

  Met this awesome Uyghur gentleman on the road construction project.
  He suggested I refill all my bottles before heading further south, “nothing out there”

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin and Saroj Kumar Nayak like this.
• RECENT ACTIVITY
  • “Which hostel? I stayed there in…” on Ken Roberts‘s status.

• Brian Perich

  Riding parallel with motorcyclists in Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, China

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin and Saroj Kumar Nayak like this.
• Brian Perich

  Backhand shot, as in Cycling Tennis Photography. South towards Himalayas!

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin and Saroj Kumar Nayak like this.
• Brian Perich

  My transportation. Complete with water, a bed, sleeping covers, clothing, camping stove, pots for cooking, GPS,
  water filtration, few bags of oatmeal, raisins, apricots, Nan bread, Cygolite headlight (1),
  notebook computer, solar charger blanket, cameras, rain gear, warm gear,
  spare chain, chain breaker multitool, spare tubes/patches (never used them once!),
  Schwalbe Marathon spare tire (never used it), cycling clothes,
  dish soap for bathing, bar soap, baby wipes for dry showers in the wild,
  mp3 player, panniers to carry everything – Ortlieb rollerback classics.
  (: and 6 liters of water! HimalayasX2011.

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago

  • Eric Vithalani, Eddie Glayzer, Jody Walker and 4 others like this.

  • • 

      Linda Baron Whoa! Loaded down you are!..

      about an hour ago .

    • 

      Dave Gagnier That’s what I call “cargo class”!

      40 minutes ago .
• Brian Perich

  Excuse me Sir…Where is my highway to the Himalayas?

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Jody Walker, Christopher Kierkus, Auntie Leah and 2 others like this.
• Brian Perich

  Cycling in western China, definitely the place to see new things on a bicycle! (:

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Kerrie Henderson, Saroj Kumar Nayak, Isi Juve and 4 others like this.

  • • 

      Antun Čolig http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHPTMnqgynY :(

      

      Heroji Vukovara: 1 epizoda – GROBLJE TENKOVA (1. dio) ENGLISH SUBTITLES

      http://www.youtube.com/

      Documentary series of 10 parts “Heroes of Vukovar,” through the story of fighter…See More

      about an hour ago .  .

    • 

      Christopher Kierkus I venture to guess he has right of way over you.

      about an hour ago .  .  1
• Brian Perich

  The highway to the Himalayas of Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, China

  is officially under construction, ahead is nothing but rock, stone, dust and trucks…

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin, Saroj Kumar Nayak and Ogasawara Yasumasa like this.
• Brian Perich

  Okay. They had half the road completed 15km in. From Yecheng to the northern Himalayas, this is a great route,
  open checkpoints to Chinese cycle tourers
  (I would have problems with the military a few hundred kms ahead). Open Tibet!

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Ella Paterson Muzzin, Dog-Face GremLin, Saroj Kumar Nayak and 2 otherslike this.
• Brian Perich

  If I come back out here, I expect to find some smooth roads (this lasted about 15km towards the northern

  Himalayas). As of now, 3500km road construction project is underway,

  Yecheng, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China

  

  Wall Photos

   .  . Share . about an hour ago near Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea

  • Željko Ban, Ella Paterson Muzzin, Saroj Kumar Nayak and 2 others like this.

  • • 

      Antun Čolig Perić, dobra!

      about an hour ago .  .  1

    • 

      Brian Perich Woohoo! Thanks Antun Čolig

      about an hour ago .