Farewell  Beijing.. Hello mountains!

After spending two amazing nights in Beijing we have finally started the bicycle leg of our adventure.  Its been an absolute blast getting out on the road riding but… “did anyone know about these damn mountains!?” Our first two days have consisted of mountain passes that could only be compared to some mountain stages in the Tour de France. These are definitely the most burly mountains that I have ever ridden and the extra hundred pounds strapped to our bikes didn’t make it any easier. Fortunately the most difficult climbs of our trip, so far, have produced the greatest scenery. The mountains and valleys out side Beijing are absolutely incredible and I’m excited for more, more, more!

Scrambling to piece it all together so we can get out of Beijing

Our first taste of the Great Wall!

Whether we’re ready or not, we’re leaving Beijing on bicycles 5 hours from now to begin our journey. After a night of celebration for Mid-Autumn Festival, I’m about to catch a couple of hours of sleep before we leave for our first 100km tomorrow morning at 9am. Sean and Kevin arrived safely on Saturday and have been quickly acclimating themselves to China and all there is to learn about this incredible country.

Unfortunately, I have to keep this brief for now, but all I can say is Beijing has been nothing short of amazing and all of the people who have helped us along the way have already enriched our experience and have made the transition to China much easier than expected. We now have internet, a cellphone, and lots of information about what might encounter on the open roads between here and Shanghai….

But really, nothing can truly prepare us for what lies ahead…Finally it is time to begin our epic journey and to see what life in China is like outside of Beijing and the glow of the Olympics.

So with that said, I have just two things to say—Bon Voyage and Man Zou!

Late night at the Bamboo Gardens, Reidster and Kevin discuss how excited they are about leaving the next day at 9am. Check out the awesome Norco Bicycles behind us and our slick new Casual Industrees t-shirts.

Christine Boyle: Born and raised in Lake City, Seattle. Home girl to the bone.  She has been an invaluable friend here in Peking.  Christine has helped the ManZou team line up interviews, cell phones, Skype, good food, bike shops, tourist sites, drinking establishments, new friends, cultural rules…just about everything.  She has made the transition from Seattle to China very easy. Thank goodness we have Christine!!!

Christine is a STAR!!

Christine is here working on her fulbright fellowship, researching water resource policy in China. Also she is a Doctoral Student at the University of North Carolina. Our presence here in Beijing has distracted her from her hard work.

Tonight we are celebrating Mid Autumn Festival.  Having a great meal with new friends.

Red Jason..getting ready for a 1200 mile bike ride!

15 hours time difference from Seattle. That’s a long time! After a busy day “Man Zouing” around Beijing all day yesterday, Ian and I hit the wall and crashed way too early last night. Now I am writing this blog post, wide awake at 4am from my hotel in Beijing. Ian is still trying to get a little more rest, but I can’t get back to sleep.

The beginning of our bicycle adventure is rapidly approaching and Ian and I are starting to realize the magnitude of our undertaking. While Beijing has the largest bike lanes I’ve ever seen, people drive totally different here and we are quickly learning the ways of the road. The main thing to remember is that you CAN’T rely on them to yield to you, especially on right turns. Cars here have the right of way, which is definitely something we will have to get used to.

Our bicycles did manage to make it through the plane flight sustaining only minor damages and we got them reassembled and they’re ready to go. We may take a ride tomorrow to test them out if we don’t get to hung up shooting more footage of this massive city.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here…87 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We walked all over town including Beihai Lake, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, getting some great footage. The city is remarkabley clean and eerily quiet. After talking with our friend here Christine, she said that in the months leading up to the Olympics and during the games, the city has been very low key. Lots of bars and restaurants have been closed and many, many people have left the city. It seems to be returning to normal a little more each day. Right now the Paralympics are going on and we may even get a chance to go see Murderball (Wheelchair rugby) on Saturday.

Anyhow, I guess that’s it for now…I better go and try to get a little more shuteye before it gets light out. Looking forward to the arrival of Sean and Kevin on Saturday and getting out there on the bicycles. Thanks again to all our great sponsors. So far all our gear is working out phenomenally and we’re totally happy with everything. Here are a few pictures from our day yesterday…Check out our cool Ex Officio and Kavu gear.

Reidster (the Lion) stares down his crazy Chinese counterpart at Ben Hai Lake

Ian in the Forbidden City.

Thanks Kavu for the awesome shades...Check out the reflection of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City.

Just a few more days until we cycle out of Beijing on the floor-lined streets!

Reidster and Mao--Together at last!

Seven years ago I was in Rayong, Thailand teaching English.  I was talking to my Mom on the phone getting caught up with the happenings in Seattle as well as in Thailand….then my Mom casually tells me that a plane has just hit a building in New York.  Surprised to hear this news…I asked her to tell me more details?  My wonderful Mother wasn’t really paying attention to the news.  I shouted across the dining room that I was using the phone in and asked my British friend to turn on the news…sure enough…a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York City.  My mother had given the impression that it was small commuter that had flown off course and hit just some building?  My mother is not a woman of details…well during this conversation she wasn’t.  As I half listened to my mother on the phone and half listen to the news on the TV a second plane flew into the other tower of the World Trade Center.  The room went silent, and everyone in the room started to gather around the TV.  At this point I told my mom “I Love you…I gotta go”.  We gathered around the TV, people from all over the world, all of us could not believe what had just happened.  and it wasn’t over.  A few minutes later the first tower fell, then the second tower.  I remember the TV saying “America has been attacked” and “Major attack on the US”.  All the American travelers were advised not to travel to Southern Thailand,  the US embassy issued a warning that it was unsafe for Americans to travel, we were advised to stay where we were until “They” could figure out what to do?  The next couple of hours were very strange around the school..very quiet.  A few days later…I was teaching English in a 5th grade classroom at a public school in Rayong, Thailand.  It was a typical day, me in front of 45 thai students, me not really knowing how to speak Thai, and them not really know how to speak English.  Normal day…then from the back of the classroom the kids started chanting, yelling, cheering, laughing, “Bin Laden, Bin Laden, Bin Laden!”   I didn’t know what to do?  What was I supposed to do?  I don’t know how these Thai kids feel about the United States?  Are these Kids doing anything wrong?  I was nervous, nervous about all the other 5th graders in the world that were cheering and chanting, excited to see America attacked?  All I could do was give them a positive impression of an individual American?      Our world has not been the same since.  Seven years ago today…the World went to war.  Seven years the United States has been fighting the “War on Terror”…and why are we in Iraq?  Happy Patriot Day!

I gotta get back on my bike….keep on pedaling!

Our adventure has officially begun. Ian and I arrived in Beijing a few hours ago and are extremely jet-lagged after our long day of travel. We left Seattle at 9am on Tuesday and arrived in Beijing around 3:30pm on Wednesday. Our great hotel, the Bamboo Gardens, is in one of the most interesting areas of Beijing.

We met up with our main contact here in Beijing, Christine Boyle, who took us out to a cool restaurant with seating on the roof of the building. She invited some friends and we all had a good time eating the delicious food and getting to know each other.

Now, unfortunately, it’s time for me to get some long-awaited sleep. Tomorrow Ian and I will be hitting the town and doing a lot of shooting all over. Sean and Kevin will be leaving on Friday and arriving Saturday….Then we begin our bicycle adventure on next Monday!

Be sure to stay posted to the blog as we will be updating it as often as possible. Thanks again for everyone who donated to the project!

Ian & Reidster in Beijing-Ready for action!