Well its been a rocky ride and we’ve only been on the bikes for a bit over a week. It started tough after 3 weeks of leisure off the bikes despite the almost flat terrain. It was certainly flat compared to what we got a few days later, and maybe the only excuse for falling off my bike is fatigue coupled with altitude. So the daily stats: Tuesday 17th June: First day back in the saddle: Dali to Eryuan , 60.9km and less than 100m climbed net Wednesday: Eryuan to Jianchuan, 59.2km and less than 200m climbed net Thursday: Jianchuan to [View Full Entry]

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Beijing is truly different to the area of Yunnan I have visited thus far. Normally size and order don't go together, and with Beijing having a population of 15 million, compared to the next biggest city we had visited - Kunming at 1 million, I was expecting chaos. I was amazed and impressed at what I found; an effective traffic system, policemen earning their keep and streets relatively free of noisy interjections - both human throat and motorcar horn varieties. It also further reinforced distrust in the lonely planet's population figures, or maybe it is a sign of China's growth inspite [View Full Entry]

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As I alluded to in my early posts, when Matt and I started the trip we had the intention of raising some money for good causes close to our hearts; RSI Action in the UK and Carry for Kids, an Australia based charity working in South East Asia. With the invaluable assistance and incredible man+woman power of his household we held a gala evening back in February and raised around around 1200 dollars, or 600 pounds in todays money. I have finally been able to set up a Just Giving website to raising money for RSI Action so for all those [View Full Entry]

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Well I think it's fair to say that just over a week with Greer when I haven't seen her for three months isn't enough, but what with work holiday allowances we couldn't have anymore but we made the most of what we had. We decided to stay in Yunnan province to avoid too much travel which would likely leave us too tired to enjoy the trip. And in any case, if you want to avoid big cities and pollution, Yunnan is the place to be. Greer's arrival was obviously a great pleasure for me solely for her company. However she also [View Full Entry]

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Since the last blog we haven't done so many k's on the bike, instead exploring the 'touristy' area of Tengchong, and in the last couple of days doing very little in Dali. I say 'touristy' as we didn't see the hordes of (western) tourists that we were expecting (Tengchong is in the Lonely Planet - a first since Jinghong more than 3 weeks ago), although there have been quite a few Chinese tourists at the sights. I should start the blog with a description of events following the earthquake in Sichuan. The news has been dominated by the earthquake rescue efforts, [View Full Entry]

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Well, after all the emails asking: "When is Matt going to publish his first blog?" - here it is. South Adelaide supporters have not had to wait as long for this blog as another premiership (1964), nor Saint Kilda supporters as long as their one and only in 1966. I cannot guarantee that readers will enjoy this as much as respective football supporters enjoyed these victories, but I will attempt at least to provide some light entertainment. Unfortunately, given Chris' love of blogging, not many photos can be accommodated in this edition without repeating previously published photos. Fortunately, [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick note following the earthquake in Sichuan province 2 days ago to say that Matt and I are both fine. We did not feel the earthquake although we are about 1000km from the epocenter - about 1/3 as far as beijing/bangkok where apparently the earhtquake could be felt. We did not pass through any towns of substance during the day and had decided to camp in the evening. The first we heard of the disaster was when I turned on my phone and recieved concerned text messages. We are now in Tengchong, and have been able to see news [View Full Entry]

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Due to a couple of comments from concerned mothers and ex-housemates I feel the need to start this post with an explanation and safety warning. It has been noticed that we have grabbed on to a passing truck to assist our progress when spirits were low,and fears raised that this is unduly risky. The trucks have been travelling at the speed approaching a fast walk (imagine if you will an experienced commuter negotiating London's Tube through crowds of wandering tourists) and we were able to hold on at the back therefore risk of being wrapped up under the wheel, as per [View Full Entry]

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So over a week has past with Matt and I riding together and we haven't bitten each others heads off yet which is good. And as you'll see from the summary below we have had some hard days, which have tested both out legs, or mental stamina and our bums. The latter has faired the worst. My route up until this point through Thailand, Laos and early China has, on reflection, been on particularly brilliant roads. Almost exclusively tarmaced and most in good condition. Short pieces of off dirt road have been for side trips only. The last few days have [View Full Entry]

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Hi all. It has been at times busy, at times relaxing but altogether a very varied 10 days since the last post. A quick tour: tuesday: 3rd day of Lao New Year. - more celebrations in Luang Prabang wednesday: Slow boat to Pak Beng along Mekong river thursday: continued on slow boat to Huay Xai fri: 77km to wild camping sat: 59km ride and 50km hitch to Luang Nam Tha sun and mon: 2 day trek in Nam Tha national park tuesday: 110km over the border to Mengla in CHINA wednesday: 85km to Menglun where meet up with Matt thursday; rest [View Full Entry]

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