Between 2008-2012, I have accumulated thousands of kilometers and hours
exploring the South Korean peninsula. Although politically and geographically land-
locked between North Korea and the turquoise waters of the northeastern Pacific
Ocean, I've successfully completed numerous cycling adventures in South Korea,
as well as, independent expeditions across western China and Outer Mongolia.
Looking back to 2009
From Gangneung City, Gangwon-do where I live with my family, I have ridden to
Busan, Gyeongsannam-do Province (5 times in 2009 alone, 20 days, 2000km)
meeting other cyclists while out riding.
I have bicycled from Seoul to Gangneung through Seoraksan National Park. I have
cycled from Seoul to Andong to Daegu, I have cycled from Ansan to Daecheon Beach
Boryeong and Byeongsanbando National Park. I have cycled many places in between
on simple bicycles.
I have cycled on Deokjeokdo Island, I have competed in the Korea Randonneur SBS
(Seoul-Busan-Seoul) 1000km, 75 hour bicycle endurance race (finishing 478km in 26
hours*), I will return to the event in 2012 and make a second attempt.
Pursuing an interest in cycling and promoting the activity here in South Korea, I have
built a website dedicated to Cycling in Korea, it's called the Korean-World.
Every month, approximately 3000 international guests visit this adventure blog,
enjoy free updates about adventure cycling, expeditions, all packed with ideas to
launch other expeditions. I intend to share all this information and links to many of
my favorite blogs, linking other explorers and adventurers free of charge.
Details of the expedition, HimalayasX2011:
3200km/1800miles by bicycle, 500km by hitchhiking, 3240km by standing-room only train*, 1028km bus*
7968km of extreme travel with a bicycle, train, 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).
Body weight: before expedition= 95kg. completing expedition= 70kg.
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 inner fears, overcome physical and mental challenges and
to live my dreams while on an independent journey.
Travel Route:
Starting from South Korea, I crossed the Sea from the Incheon ferry terminal on a
passenger ferry to Tianjin (30 hours), after I cycled through Beijing, visited the
Summer Palace and Forbidden City, and Chairman Mao's mausoleum, and made new
friendships with many Chinese and found help from other international people while
visiting the capital of China.
I bought a train ticket for Urumqi, Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region and stood
with my bicycle for 36 hours (3240km), the overcrowded train ticket cost 50,000
Korean Won, an alternative to a 1,500,000won flight to Urumqi airport from Korea.
Finally, I arrived at the start of the cycling expedition, Urumqi, Xinjiang/Uyghur
Autonomous Region of western China. From Urumqi, I immediately started out cycling
in the open desert highways.
From the city of Urumqi, you enter the Borohoro ranges of the Tian Shan Mountains,
these high deserts contain rivers winding through the giant sand colored mountains,
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 after Luntai/552km from Luntai to Mimfeng).
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, H2O
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 was it?
The Tarim Desert Highway was 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 Taklamakan 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.
At night, the sandstorms would whisk across the desert floor and flat treacherously
against the thin walls of the tent.
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 civilization and the G315 and follow the S219 towards the
Himalayas.
This section of highway had all disappeared into a collosal road construction project
when I arrived here, I navigated on the stone and dirt tracks, dodging transport
trucks and heavy machinery run by sun-baked road construction workers.
Everywhere along this route was dusty, dry, but the people I encountered were
friendly. Further up in the mountains, I hitch hiked with mining workers and spent a
night sleeping at their camp. I repaired my rear wheel, already cracking from the
elevation changes, hard road conditions, and weight of the panniers.
As I reached the Himalayas of Xinjiang Province, China on my own, it was one of the
greatest moments in my life.
The expedition continued from Cudi Mountain of the Himalayas to Kashgar, where I
flew out to Chengdu, Sichuan Province to begin the second stage of the expedition.
Independent travel has been restricted in Tibet for many years, making the journey
either dangerous or illegal according to the Chinese officials that govern there.
The HimalayasX2011 expedition was completed in less than 60 days, an 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.
While living and teaching English in Korea, cycling has become more than a hobby, it
is a living adventure that is continually growing and challenging me.
Brian Perich - Explorer, Adventurer, Teacher, Father.
Recent Updates from Facebook:
If I remember that thought correctly, I said... "Damn, I think this is it! The Himalayas!"
Sponsorship meal, road camp in the northern Himalayas of Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region
of western China (:
Found the road to the Himalayas, continuing day 2 from Yecheng to find them!
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...
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 (:
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! (:
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/
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.
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. (:
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.
Every 2km or so, I ran into these on the highway construction project now connecting Yecheng to Cudi
in the northern Himalayas, China
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?
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. (:
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. (:
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!!!
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... (:
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.
-
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... (:
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.
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 (:
Found the source of water, north of the Himalayas, China
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.
Met this awesome Uyghur gentleman on the road construction project.
He suggested I refill all my bottles before heading further south, "nothing out there"
-
Riding parallel with motorcyclists in Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, China
Backhand shot, as in Cycling Tennis Photography. South towards Himalayas!
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.
Excuse me Sir...Where is my highway to the Himalayas?
Cycling in western China, definitely the place to see new things on a bicycle! (:
The highway to the Himalayas of Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, China
is officially under construction, ahead is nothing but rock, stone, dust and trucks...
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!
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
Pamila Jo Florea
Brian Perić
