Cycling Korea - Sea to Mountains, Sun to Blizzards

First series of photographs from training (Cycling in Korea) for the completed 3200km/1800mile cycling trek across western China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tian Shen Mountains, Taklamakan Desert, Sichuan and Yunnan's outback routes linked outlying Tibet Autonomous Region. The expedition was extra special, now supporting: 


IDEAS foundation of Canada
http://nogutsknowglory.com and http://weneedideas.com

ETE - Education Through Expeditions, UK
http://www.etelive.org 

"Warm wishes, to those who dare to live, facing old fears and living new dreams!"-me.

Cycling Korea - Sea to Mountain, Sun to Blizzards Slideshow: Brian’s trip from 서울특별시, 대한민국 to 4 cities 속초시, 강릉시, 동해시 and 포항시 

Bicycle Touring in western China: Taklamakan Desert, The Silk Road, Tarim Desert Highway

 Hotan, Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (in style for breakfast and tea)

Outside the international hotel a small gathering comes together  

 I use my diary to record QQ.com numbers, these are addresses for email and a version of Facebook used entirely across China. I want to get a QQ.com account - there's a new world to explore!

 Okay, tell me your digits or I'll give you mine. Sadly, Beijing's censorship is so tight...even this harmless blog isn't visible in the Asian Giant (apt name for a popular mountain bike Made in China.)

 Okay, I am getting to it!

 I don't want to meet strangers and remain strangers. I sent email out to 76 people in China. I used Google translate to send a personal message in Chinese language. I reply to friends on Facebook using their native language as well. It's a globalized world, but show some respect for native languages too! 

 This purple pen was falling apart for the entire 60 day expedition, sending the love...I kept a constant diary and recorded daily events, names, places, distances and elevations. 

 Thanks guys, made me feel important for a moment in my tiny life. 

 Back on the road. My choice ride is built with a 2008 frame (13400km) and 2008 components as well

 Tires of choice, Schwalbe Marathon Tour Plus (revision of Marathon XR)

 My front racks are $20 (USD) plus a 0.25 cent rebar piece from Urumqi metal street-recycler. + Zip PVC plastic ties to keep it all together. It looks rough, but there is science in there. Perfection for 3200km!

 Taklamakan Desert, July 2011. Note the irrigation lines and shrubs offer no relief from the sun.

 At night (infrared photo) Taklamakan Desert beats with dust storms, really nasty stuff!

 I'm camping 1/2 way in the entrance to a diesel engine room, an engine turns the pumps and brings water out of aqua ducts beneath the desert floor

 Feeling awesome -this is freedom to me, deserts, camping, bikes, touring, all in one!

 Good morning! - Stoked (excited) to be full of life (better half full than half empty)

 Talking to Mi Sung and the kids in Canada, wow -technology!

 My host watches in disbelief, a costume character with a bicycle in the Taklamakan - "What the hell???"

 I'm having a great chat with Mi Sung and the kids, the camera takes photos when someone is smiling like (:

 A few days of explosive diarrhea is great, I'm getting slimmer by the day!

 My ride. in park mode on concrete power poles in the Taklamakan Desert

 Hwy 315 (2375km from somewhere) Taklamakan Tarim Desert Highway (Great article to read, all true!)

 I lost Lysanne and Louis-Philippe's card after leaving the desert. Here is the photo to reconnect with them. We met in Beijing about 3625km away from this location in the Taklamakan. Checking up with them, they traveled 4500km in 88 days in China. Awesome! More updates at their link, I will follow them!

And this is only the beginning of my adventure... To be continued...

Expedition notes: HimalayasX2011 - A cross country travel experience in the People's Republic of China

Lo-Fi version 1.0 shot with a GoPro Helmet Hero camera

HimalayasX2011 - an expedition of western China

Trailer for a self-supported expedition by bicycle across western China, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Taklamakan Desert, the northern Himalayas, crossing both Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.

3200km/1800miles by bicycle, 500km by hitchhiking, 3240km by standing-room only train*, 1028km bus*
7968km of extreme travel with a bicycle, train and bus.

I encountered local cultures, languages, food, transportation and used old paper maps as navigation. This was not an expedition about crossing the longest distances (world circumnavigation riders have done all that).

Objectives of this expedition were about:

*learning to document expedition travel in a journal

*learning to record video and photos that can illustrate, as well as educate from life experiences on the road

*to experience places that I have seen through maps;

*to experience some of the world's best desert highways, mountain routes while challenging the terrain, climate, topography and elevations (above 4000 meters)

*learn to ride a bicycle self-sustained for an extended journey without ride support, backups, or sag wagons.

*to raise awareness of several, non-profit organizations

*to build networks with other explorers and share

*to prepare for future expeditions

*to live to face my fears, and live my dreams

Banner created in Adobe Illustrator to support several nonprofit foundations

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China (a friendly place, put your heart in the right place!)

I crossed the Taklamakan Desert from North-South on the Tarim Desert Highway

Sandstorms sweeping over the Taklamakan Desert (quite common overnight*)

I did it solo and unsupported. I did it as part of the HimalayasX2011 expedition. I did it to show others it's possible to live, to face your fears and begin living your dreams. I did it will a paper map and courage to try!

Thank you for visiting my little Korean-World. And remember to...

"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Mahatma Gandhi

Equipment used on this expedition (if you like to shop online, support my expeditions!)

    

  

Himalayas X Expedition 2011 - Pre-launch Information, June 2011

It's time. After 5 years of constant cycling and training (cross training in the gym these past 10 weeks, while giving the bike a rest losing 10kg in the process), I am prepared for the Himalayas X Expedition 2011. The route isn't etched in stone, but what I can tell you is the route will include transit from South Korea to Tianjin, China and cycling to Qingdao, China to meet my local host Li Wei, an amazing international student now studying at my university. I hope to share a visit with Li Wei and prepare for an overland train experience to the starting point of the expedition. Special interests, the Taklamakan Desert, Central and Western China, Tibet and the Himalayas.

Actually, it all begins when we leave our house in the morning and go out and explore our world...well, this expedition has a little more formalities including immunizations, visa preparations, familial responsibilities, and preparing to face the physical elements -both the natural world, and in utilizing the self-preparation that came in training, and finally sorting out the equipment lists along with the logistics and coordination/communication with partnering foundations). It all took several months to finalize, but we are finally here - 7 days from the moment I walk out my front door onto an expedition of epic proportions -at least in my book.

It's been 10 years since I had once, bright-eyed and bushy headed, set off as a thrill-seeker (1993-2001), my purposes and calculations are much different now - but I do hope to catch that endless 'spirit of adventure' while out riding, speaking in foreign languages (Mandarin, Tibetan, Uighur) as I roam the urban, rural, inhabited and uninhabited-open landscapes that envelope the people in tiny pockets of cultural perimeters. I hope to cross through geographical (following the topographical curvatures), cultural, linguistic, and national boundaries into open domains with a bicycle. Inside of me there is fear, apprehension, calculation, mental mind-mapping of the route, the experiences expected or unexpected - of course all of this is human nature to find out the -why? -where? -who? what's next? and deal with the uncertainties when they must be dealt with -all these questions will be answered in a rhythm that can follow a route and keep within the limits we set for ourselves, or those imposed upon us and make alternate arrangements to carry on. I look forward all of it. It's a moment of choice, a moment of chance, a moment of freedom, and movement across a great land.

It's an exciting time in my life, I will share the journey with you, and make it more than just my personal lived experience -reporting back and sharing the "now" with all of you -hopefully, to inspire others to live their personal dreams or support an organization you believe in. I've scheduled 60 days to cover the ground, to experience a region of the world I knew existed primarily in books, blogs, or pages on the internet, shared ideas and daydreams. This time around, the experience is real, the risks are calculated and distances are challenging, especially on a bicycle. What could be better than a bicycle expedition into the unknown (giggles)

I am supporting several amazing non-profit foundations led by explorers Robert Hill, Ostomate and Mountaineering expedition veteran of the Seven Summits Series supporting IBD research for a cure  (for more information: IDEAS - Intestinal Disease Education & Awareness Society, Canada); and Antony Jinman, veteran Arctic & Polar Explorer and founder of the innovative non-profit school outreach, ETE - Education Through Expeditions, UK) and I will share more information about the causes, the mission, and the experiences of bicycle touring along the roof of the world on this journey.

Thank you for taking interest in the Himalayas X Expedition 2011 and I hope you enjoy your visits to the Korean-World, an adventure blog running since 2007 (visit the links to friends and adventurers on this site).


An old quote, I will continue to follow in the coming weeks...


"Face your fears to live your dreams."


Brian Perich, Adventurer, Father, Teacher and supporter of non-profit organizations.

@ the office, teaching English as a Foreign language in South Korea