12 minutes ago
Brian Perich- Hey Lars,
I can probably afford the time off (60 days in summer) and complete segments of the expedition, like...Northwest2012, riding the Alaska Highway through Alaska, Yukon, NWT, Yukon and B.C. to Vancouver.
Then look at other sections, as you suggest. I can't afford an entire Panamerican ride, that is certain, and my wife wouldn't endure it well.
China was a great experiment into expeditions, I think I did my best to explore from a paper map, and although I was stopped from entering Tibet from Xinjiang/Uyghyur Autonomous Region, it was a surreal episode cycling in the northern Himalayas for a few days. I was forced to turn back to Yecheng and Kashgar, where I left my Chinese companion (Bruce Liu) and flew to Urumqi and Chengdu, Sichuan to begin the second leg, the toughest, through Sichuan and down to the borders at Lugu Hu, over to Lijiang, Yunnan and north to Deqin where I finished out.
It's tough without a social mechanism in place, like Jolandie Rust in South Africa, she has people buying countries she will ride through, a strong community backing. Here in Korea, to be honest, the Expat (Western cyclists) are mostly competitors, I am excluded from their clubs because of what I do, blog and ride hard. So, without community backing here in Korea, I can only cycle so far alone.
Your thoughts are always welcome, thanks for plugging for me, I seem to have a good international audience on my blog, share all information for free, but no donations come through that medium. I need to find another way.
My foundation supported, ETE http://www.etelive.org/ was started by Antony Jinman, now a Polar Explorer, he started with nothing but heart, arctic experiences and finally a strong media campaign in the UK, and his former university took interest too. He kept trekking Baffin Island in Canada for several years, build a reputation in Arctic exploring, and finally received considerable contributions for his expeditions and foundation start-up. I can't imagine that feeling right now. But I support him and his work, it's helped me launch, at least small expeditions and that's something for me, out of nothing to start with. I have loads of equipment all personally invested, enough to travel around the world, financing more travel is the difficult part.
Warm wishes,
Brian
Skype: prof.brian.perich
Haligul, a nurse in Toksun, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China
Camping in the Borohoro ranges of the Tian Shan Mountains, China
Supporting non-profit foundations while adventure bicycle touring
With the help of local sponsorship - An Dae Gi (Gangneung Bike Mart, Korea) helped to build a recycled expedition bike from 2008 components and frame with 10000km already on it
Smooth sailing across the Northern Silk Road, China's G315
Learning to read signs in Chinese simplified pinying
Sharing the roads with truckers, and a few passenger cars en route to Aksu or Kashgar
Riding about 50 kilograms of bicycle and touring equipment
Meeting friendly Uyghur truckers and sitting down on the edge of the desert for some melon
Riding solo in distant spaces
Discovering new places
Camping in desert plains south of the Tian Shan Mountains
Learning to conserve hydration with double masks
Riding a mountain bike instead of a traditional touring bike
Having a taste of luxury after squatting continuously on the road side
Signing in with my guestbook, recording email, sending out photos of the expedition
Riding into dust storms and having locals offer a ride through it
Being alone on the road, following the mission, the HiamalayasX
When I met people, we would all gather together because there's a bike traveler
Choosing the right tires, like the Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour tire, at 1.1kg a piece
Watching sandstorms brew out over the Taklamakan Desert in infrared
Experiencing the simple joys of surviving and exploring new places
Taking calls from my wife and children who were visiting my family in Canada
Waking up each new day, with another road ahead of me and the desire to travel on it
Reaching the highs in northern Yunnan Province, after 45 days on the road
Joining teams of Chinese cyclists on their mission to Lhasa, Tibet
The urban and the rural, the mountains and the valleys...I saw it all
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