The Video
Click on the image below to take the RIDE!
A Moto-musical video exploring some never before recorded sections of Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces of China (~10 minutes)
Be sure to check out Gaurav's "Riding Solo to the Top of the World" teaser video of his adventure to the ChangThang Plateau, India @
www.60kph.com
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The Story
With every ride - on
motorcycle or through life - we have the potential to learn truly great things
not only about the world but also about ourselves. No matter how hard we try or how good we
think we are, there is always so much more to go. Through good or bad times, it’s how we deal
with and overcome the challenges before us that define who we are: a reminder
of lessons too easily forgotten.
Living,
working and riding in
China
has given me many opportunities to explore and photograph a world of landscapes
and cultures I never imagined I would see. From the cold and wet Tibetan plateau to the arid and windy northwest
China
you’re
bound to find some trouble and adventure.
The
Lesson gives us a brief view of NW Sichuan, and then follows an unmapped road
through the headwaters region of the Yangtze and
Yellow
Rivers
(two of the four key rivers in
China
and
SE Asia
). The road from Qumalai to Budongquan changes every year as much of it
follows old river beds. Complete lack of
bridges and culverts makes this one mean road to ride when wet! Because of it’s
remoteness, the upshot is the abundant range of wildlife these grasslands host;
namely golden eagles, the very rare and
huge cinereous vultures, marmots, hares and of course Tibet’s famous Cujo-like mastiffs. An unusually rainy season for 05’
created treacherous river crossings on a grossly over laden and underpowered
Chinese made 150cc motorcycle and companion named “Cannonball.”
Extremes
fill many peoples’ lives: from the wet and high to the dry and low, we enter
the Qaidam salt
basin
of
Qinghai
province – one of the
largest salt-peter deposits in the world and host to some of
China
’s beautiful
wind-formed earth mounds called “yadans.” Lack of potable water makes this a difficult
place for wildlife and people alike. Although spectacularly beautiful, GPS navigation is highly recommended through this area
devoid of people, food, drinking water, and petrol. Chinese national highway 315 is plagued with high winds, shifting sands and
truly Martian terrain. Although less than 600km long and currently under construction, 315
is especially dangerous especially near Mangnai, a
region known for extremely violent sand storms. There is no record of any unescorted
foreigner successfully making it through 315 although an Englishman attempted
to cross it by bicycle a few years back and ended up dead. This truly is the wild-west!
Share a short story of one
man’s ride - what he saw, felt and learned along the way.
Ride, Inquire, Discover and
Endure (RIDE),
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