CSC Blog

Last night we rode into Luo Yang after a 300-mile ride though some of the hottest and most humid weather I’ve ever experienced. No kidding, folks…the air here makes summertime Houston feel dry.    Stop and you are drenched in sweat in seconds; get moving on your motorcycle and it’s comfortable again.   It’s that hot and humid.

Luo Yang is not pronounced like it’s spelled; the way the Chinese say it, it’s more like “Ooooahhh Ahhhnn.”   We’re due east of Xi’an, and the land is relatively flat.   We didn’t ride through a single tunnel yesterday, and that’s okay by me.   The tunnels are unnerving.

The first half of our ride was along a portion of the Yellow River, and the road was wonderful. The Chinese built a road just for cars and motorcycles, and the occasional bicycle.  They keep the trucks out with 2-meter-high barriers.   Those barriers are strange to this boy….if you stand on the pegs (as so many wannabe ADV riders like to do), you’d get whacked in the head going under these things. When you ride under them, the barriers are only about 12 inches above your head.   Even when I’m seated, I still duck as we pass under the barriers.

Yesterday morning held a really nice surprise for us. Sean had arranged it.  First, I have to tell you that Gobi (Joe Gresh) and I get nervous when Sean tells us he has a surprise…we just never know whether it’s going to be a good surprise or a bad surprise.  As we were getting together before breakfast yesterday morning, Sean told he had a surprise and we needed to close our eyes.   My antenna immediately went up on that one, but I do what folks tell me to do, and this time I was glad I did.  When we opened our eyes, our good buddy Kong was standing in front of us.

You’ll remember Kong from the Western America Adventure Ride…he rode the entire 5,000 miles with us last year, and he is one the two guys on the cover of 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM (the other rider is Tso, another great guy).   When I met Kong last year, he told me his name and I immediately told him, “From now on, you’re King Kong.”  The guys all got a kick out of that one, and he still goes by King Kong.   He was explaining it to the rest of crew at dinner last night, in Chinese, but I knew what he was talking about when he started beating his chest and said “King Kong!” and everybody started laughing.

Kong and I have a lot in common.  Kong wrote a book.  He rode his RX3 around the periphery of China last year (it was a 15,000 mile ride).  Kong took 150 days to make that trek, and when he finished, he wrote a book about it.  He gave copies to Joe Gresh and me yesterday morning.   It was a great gift.

To link up with us, Kong rode 600 kilometers from Lanzhou to Xi’an on an RX1 provided by Zongshen the day before.  Speaking of the RX1, folks, they are really nice motorcycles.   They are only slightly slower than the RX3 and they don’t accelerate as aggressively (they don’t have the same midrange and top end rush of the RX3), but they are amazingly capable machines.   Joe Gresh and I have both commented that we are seeing an indicated 80 mph keeping up with Master Sergeant Zuo on his RX1.   There are some questions about the marketability of a 200cc motorcycle in the US, but if we could get over that hurdle, these bikes would do well in America.   I know they will do well in Asia.  This bike will be another home run for Zongshen.

Both the RX3s and the RX1s are bearing up very well on our ride.  In fact, just like on the Western America Adventure Ride, the only technical issues we’ve experienced on this trip have been with our cameras.   The bikes are running like Swiss watches (pretty soon, I imagine, people with good watches will say they run as well as Chinese motorcycles).  The cameras, well, not so much.   My photo gear is holding up okay, but Joe Gresh’s Canon is getting banged around and it’s showing it.  Some of the other guys are having camera challenges, too.

When we arrived in Luo Yang, it was the Arjiu and Dajiu show all over again.   The local motorcycle club was waiting for us at the city limits, and everybody wanted photos with Gobi and me.  Their bikes were cool and there was lots of custom work.   The Chinese enthusiasts are into customization as much as we are.  Check out a few of my photos from yesterday…

Another thing I’ve noticed about the Chinese…they love America.   Oh, I know there’s been a lot of bad things in the news lately, but we sure aren’t picking up on any of that in the reactions we are getting from our Chinese friends.   You can see it in the pop culture over here.  I’ve seen exactly one T-shirt with Chinese writing on it.  All of the others have stuff in English.  I asked about it and everyone tells me they feel it’s more stylish.  And check out this one Luo Yang motorcyclist’s paint job…

One of the guys in the Luo Yang moto club even had a US Marine Corps emblem on his hat, but I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo of it.

Let me back up a bit.   Earlier in the day on our ride in to Luo Yang, we stopped in a very small and very rural Chinese village.  A couple of the villagers were happy to let me take their picture…

We had another great dinner at a restaurant just around the corner from our hotel (we thought we’d try Chinese food).   Lu’s home is about 60 miles from Luo Yang, and his beautiful wife joined us for supper last night.  It was another grand evening.

We’re taking it easy today.   We’ve been on the road for about three weeks now, and we need a break.  We’re staying in a nice hotel and this is a good place to do it.

Later, my friends.

Folks, the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World…the Terra Cotta soldiers!

I wanted to post more but we got in too late last night for me to do anything.

The heat, the crowds, and the traffic were oppressive yesterday, but I wanted to see the Terra Cotta soldiers again and I did.  The big Nikon D810 and my 24-120 did exactly what they were supposed to, and visiting this place again (I was here 25 years ago) was what I had in mind when I bought this photo gear.

We’re bound for Luo Yang today.  Hopefully we’ll get in at a reasonable hour and I can post more.  Talk to you later, folks!

Just a few miscellaneous photos before we head off to breakfast and the Terra Cotta soldiers today, folks…

Our good buddy and RX3 owner Lin.  He’s riding an RX1 provided by Zongshen on this trip.

A young lady peeking at us from around the corner.

A turtle in front of our restaurant last night.  He’s not nervous.  He lives there for good luck, not dinner.

Getting a Chinese haircut.  It cost $2.

Making dumplings.

Mr. Chen, owner of the Xi’an Zongshen dealership.

Master Sergeant Zuo with the Chen family after yet another great dinner.

That’s it for now.   We’re off to see the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World!

Today was another fun day of great riding, posing for photos, and linking up with China’s  RX3 owners on our ride to and in Xi’an!   We are exactly halfway through our epic adventure, and tomorrow we’ll see the Terra Cotta soldiers.  They are the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World, and all by themselves, they are worth the trip to China.   I can’t wait.

After a rousing welcome last night and a great dinner with the Baoji RX3 owners club, we stopped in at Baoji’s Zonghen dealership this morning.  They sure had an interesting collection of motorcycles on display, including this cool little Zongshen Grom competitor.    Check out Lu and Zuo playing around with one…while Joe Gresh grabs a photo with his iPhone…

I like this bike…its engine is based on the old Honda Super 90 engine, and I can tell you from personal experience they were bulletproof even 50 years ago!

Dueling Nikons, with Furem…

The Baoji RX3 club met up with us again on our way out of town, and we had a signing ceremony before we left.   The Chinese have a custom of signing banners, jackets, and more.  We’ve probably signed 6 or 7 of these kinds of banners so far on our China trip.

Immediately after the early morning meet with the Baoji club, we rode 120 kilometers on a beautiful road to Xi’an.   Dong led the way, as he is from Baoji and he knows the area.

Dong and Lu at a traffic light…

We stopped for a break at a pond with lotus flowers…

This young fellow graciously consented to a photo…

…as did these folks.

Lu grabs a selfie…

As we approached Xi’an, the Xi’an RX3 owners club met us.   It was more of the celebrity treatment when we met them just outside Xi’an….photos, greetings, more photos, and then Mr. Chen led us into town.  That’s Xi’an you see in the background.  Imagine that…riding an RX3 to Xi’an!

My rearview mirror in downtown Xi’an…

You might have thought I was joking about being a celebrity over here.   Far from it, my friends.   Gresh and I are the real deal in China.  You want a photo, you stand in line…

When we arrived at the Xi’an Zongshen dealer, this young lady anointed Gobi and me with flower wreaths…this is how we roll, folks.

Another group photo…

I gave my wreath to the little girl who gave it to me.  It looks better on her, I think…

The Chinese like watermelon.  So do I.  It’s very hot and extremely humid in Xi’an, and that watermelon was greatly appreciated.

That’s the Xi’an Zongshen dealership owner piloting this RX3, and one of his friends on the back…

We had a great lunch, and we’re headed out to dinner in a bit.  It’s a place where we are going to learn how to make dumplings.   This should be fun.  I’m bringing my camera.  Stay tuned, Amigos.

No photos today, folks. Not a one.

Today was one of the most intense riding days I’ve ever experienced. We left Lanzhou in a downpour, and I put both of my cameras in the truck. It was raining so hard I didn’t want to take a chance on the cameras getting soaked.

The day started with our standard breakfast…fried bread, baozt (little buns with meat inside, and I know I’m probably spelling it wrong), and a hardboiled egg.  Then it was the mad dash through Lanzhou’s Monday morning rush hour traffic. Then two hours on China’s mighty G30 freeway in a torrential downpour.  I had on rain gear; I could have used a SCUBA outfit.

Then the sun broke through, but we didn’t see much of it. We must have bored our way through at least 40 tunnels today, and folks, let me tell you, nobody does tunnels like China.  I’m talking tunnels that are 3 to 5 miles long, with curves, going through China’s extreme mountain ranges. Green mountains with granite cliffs punctured with endless tunnels, with bridges connecting the tunnels over the deep valleys in between, with muddy rushing water below. Nobody does massive road projects the way China does, and the construction is ongoing. They have to have the most advanced tunnel and bridge network on the planet.

In one of the tunnels (I would guess it was one that was about 4 miles long) traffic stopped.   The tunnels are only two lanes wide, and there isn’t much room on either side.  I thought we might be stuck in there for the duration, but Sergeant Zuo was amazing. He bobbed and weaved between the trucks and buses and the tunnel walls. I wouldn’t have believed the RX3s would fit where he took us, but they did. If he went, I followed. There I was, with the tunnel wall on one side and a massive flatbed 22-wheeler on the other, with my mirrors dragging on both. Then Zuo would make a hard turn between the front of the 22-wheeler and the rear of a bus, and we’d split lanes between vehicles.  And on and on it went. The tunnels were so long that in some cases it was raining when we entered, and the sun was shining when we emerged. One of the guys told me China has a tunnel that is 32 kilometers long. We’ve gone through some that were nearly 8 miles long. Amazing stuff.

Then we left the tunnels and the superslab and took a two-lane road through the Chinese countryside. It was raining, but it was stunning scenery. I didn’t have my camera, but it didn’t bother me. Some things are better left unphotographed. They are better as a memory.  The sun set and visibility became a challenge. I rode with my visor up because I couldn’t see anything with it down because of the water droplets.   The rain stung my face like a thousand little needles, and then a truck going the other way hit a puddle and I got a mouthful of mud.  This was a ride I’ll remember the rest of my life.

Just when I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into, we pulled into the town square to applause that drowned out the rain.  Wow, was I surprised!  A large crowd was expecting us, standing in the rain awaiting our arrival. It was the Arjiu and Dajiu show all over again. A beautiful young lady handed me a bouquet flowers. More applause. More photos. There we were, Dajiu and Arjiu, standing in the rain beneath Chairman Mao’s outstretched arm under the incandescent street lamps. The crowd of Baoji Zongshen owners continued to applaud. Then they wanted more photos. A minute before I had been full of doubts about what I was doing riding in the freezing rain at night in the middle of China, and then I was on top of the world, being treated like a conquering emperor.  Our awaiting admirers fired up their Zongs and led us in a parade to our hotel, in a downpour, under the bright Baoji city lights.

Zongshen must have publicized the hell out of this adventure. We stopped for a break at a freeway rest area this afternoon, and two buses full of Chinese tourists followed us in. The Chinese passengers emerged and mobbed Gresh and me, all wanting photos. Selfies, iPads, iPhones, and more poses. It was amazing. It was like being Jay Leno at the Rock Store on a Sunday morning. Several folks showed us photos they had taken of us on the freeway. Arjiu! Dajiu! Folks, we are celebrities over here. I can’t make this stuff up.

So, like I said, no photos today.  I’ll try to grab some tomorrow.  We’re going to Xi’an (look it up; Xi’an holds the recently-discovered 8th Wonder of the Ancient World).   We’re riding to Xi’an.  In China.  As heroes.  On our Zongshen motorcycles.   Oh, life is good, folks!

It’s the Chinese equivalent of our Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks all rolled up into one, and we visited it with the Lanzhou RX3 owner’s group yesterday.   Just a few photos, folks, before we leave for Baoji later this morning…

At the Yellow River Stone Forest entrance with the Lanzhou RX3 club yesterday.

A Chinese RX1 rider.

Young Chinese RX3 owners having fun.

A Chinese equestrienne.

The view from the top.

Know what this is?

Yep, a hydraulic RX3 clutch!

The Lanzhou riders having fun with Joe Gresh.

Mr. Wong’s son and daughter, and mom and dad…Mr. Wong is the Lanzhou Zongshen dealer.

A donkey cart ride into the Yellow River canyon.

My obligatory selfie.

It’s raining again over here today, folks.   Hopefully we’ll ride out of it soon.   Stay dry and stay tuned!

Out of the Gobi, off the Tibetan plateau, and following the Yellow River, we arrived in Lanzhou today.   Our first stop was at the city’s motorcycle marketplace…

We saw more than a few interesting bikes…there’s only space to show a few of them here.

I had seen these motorcycle seat covers elsewhere in China, and I bought one for my bike today.

Here’s the young lady who installed it.

This was another option, but I opted for the one you see above.

We saw a lot of sunflowers yesterday and today on the G30 superslab.   The guys bought some today for a snack.

One of the moto-dudes in the Chinese mega mall…

The competition…a Lifan with a Chinese dragon motif…

This is the cargo bed on an electric trike…

Electric scooters are very big in China.  Here are a couple I spotted last night in Wuwei…

And that’s all for now….it’s late and I’m tired.   We’ll be in Lanzhou for one more day, and then we’re continuing our journey east toward Xi’an, Beijing, and more.  Later, my friends.