Everyday we get closer to our destination…Shanghai.  The last couple of days of riding have been grueling.  The mileage isn’t bad, but the pollution is getting worse as we get closer to Shanghai, the congestion on the roads is intensifying, and the noise is getting unbearable.  The combination has made for some challenging riding.

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On the road we have averaged between 15 – 19 mph, which is really fast for us. Yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting our first Chinese cyclists on the road.

Fellow Chinese cyclists showing their support.

It was really cool to meet the local bike riders. One helped me pump up my flat tire on the side of the road…a very nice gesture of hospitality. We shared of travel plans and they all thought we were crazy? And didn’t understand why we would spend our holiday riding such a large distance? But, as they rode away…I think they thought we were pretty cool for doing such a long ride, and if they could they would do the same?

It is very common to see people wearing masks in this area of China.

I also noticed that most of the Chinese riders were wearing masks…and of course we are not.
Some of the highlights of the road in the China… Horns, Pollution, and “Hello!”

Kevin and Ian groove to the sounds of the horns.

The Horns…we have heard every different type of horn known to mankind. Really loud horns, meek horns, high-pitched horn, deep penetrating horns….you get the idea. There has to be some kind of horn honking system here on the roads in the China? Honk once.. to let you know that they coming closer, honk twice… to let you know that they are right behind, and a really long loud honk to let you know that they are passing? I don’t know..still trying to figure out what the need is for all this honking?

Sean trying to solve the horn honking system.

The Pollution….my favorite is when we ride past a tractor like vehicle and its is billowing out black exhaust, and as I pass..the driver shifts into another gear and a huge cloud of black soot blasts in my direction and I get a huge breath of black soot.

Skitching in China, Kevin gets a pull from one of the tractor-like vehicles?

I try not to breath when I am passing any vehicle on the road. Yesterday we saw a overturned truck on the side of the road and they were cleaning up the spill by pumping the mess into another truck. As we passed through the huge cloud of something? No one dared to breath.

"I wonder what the white stuff is?"

More and more factories as we get closer to Shanghai…we were joking about how we haven’t seen blue sky in a couple of days? And we made bets on whether or not we would see blue skies again before we leave China. When we were in Beijing at the beginning of the ride, the skies were clears and sun was shining…upon the closing of the ParaOlympics…it was like they turned the factories back on, and let the cars back on the roads…and the skies have stayed a brownish gray.
The Hello….a turn of endearment, and curiosity…I guess? While I understand that it is the only English the passers may know? Because the little Mandarin I have learned…I have learned Hello…Ni Hao. But it’s getting a little out of hand…these cars, trucks, motorcycles, and cyclists..all line up to slow down and say hello as they pass. I am just waiting to see an accident because of this welcoming novelty of saying hello to us? Don’t get me wrong…it’s very nice, and welcoming that the people even take the time to notice that we are there. The whole interaction is getting comical.

Reidster gets a taste of Chinese hospitality

720 miles behind us, Shanghai keeps getting closer….

Shanghai or bust!

We spent our past rest day in the bustling coastal city of Qingdao and, of course, it was also the host of a huge two week long International Beer Festival…How fitting!

Qingdao International Beer Festival

Not only that, it was also China’s national holiday week (Golden week) so every hotel was at capacity and the city was absolutely crawling with of people. The shopping centers were packed, all the street vendors had long lines at their booths, the buses were standing room only, every taxi that passed was occupied, you could hardly find an empty table in any of restaurants, and the beer festival saw 180,000 people (polishing off 66 tons of beer) on the first day. The Chinese people were out in force and you could feel the tremendous sense of nationalism in the air.   Interesting contrast to what it must be in the states.

The Three Amigos!

Anyways, we made it to the beer festival where we decided to let loose, see where the night would take us, and simply enjoy this beautiful city.

And where did the night take us? So funny! It led us to a VIP area of the Tsingtao sponsored tent where we shared beers and conversation with the Qingdao chief of police, his deputy, & 18 of his friendliest bodyguards… some of whom were passed out at one of the corner tables.

We celebrate National day VIP style!

The local newspaper takes our photo!

Next thing you know the entire press corps showed up asking questions, taking pics, and shooting footage of us drinking beer with all the people we had met.

Kevin explaining the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor to the police chief.

This was all followed up with individual interviews by both the local and national news stations that we were in prime form for.

It was a wild experience and we were able to walk away with over 250 combined pics and hours of video from the event!

Sean immersing himself in the beers and the culture!

Reidster in good form.

It just goes to show that anything can happen in China!

Back on the road the next day for another 110k?!

The welder cuts the base plate for the mount as Doven and Reidster watch.

It was a good day for the camera department. After a pretty major setback, compliments of China Post, I found myself looking at a broken camera mount on the bicycle. It must have taken a major hit in transit from Qinghuangdao to Yantai because the piece that broke was almost an inch thick. So since then I had been struggling with rigging the bike camera with the remaining pieces of the mount for a couple of days. Needless to say, I was pissed.

Then after another broken spoke stop on our way down to Jimon, we happened upon a little welding shop. The man agreed to try and weld the broken pieces back together.

The weathered face of a master craftsman.

His face had so much character and this gave me a great opportunity to get some shots of him welding. At first he tried to just fuse the broken piece together, but it caught fire and he said it wasn’t possible. He then started rummaging through his piles of stuff, pulling out random pieces like valves and tractor parts to try and fashion something that would work.

Ian documents the experience.

We were just about to give up when he found this rod of steel with a metal ball welded to the top. The ball was a perfect fit for the mount. What were the odds? He then went on to make a bottom bracket that would attach to the bike. This only took about 20 minutes and cost 20 yuan, which is approximately 3 dollars.

I thanked him repeatedly and his wife looked at it and commented that it was very strong, but not very beautiful. I told them that to me it was very beautiful…

So we’re back in business…What were the chances…About 1 in 1.3 billion!

Another satisfied customer!

Here are some fun pics from our rest day in Dalian to help get those delicious food images out of your head.

Enjoy!

Kevin gazes out onto the beautiful Bohai Sea!

Reidster gets some much needed exercise after two days off from cycling.

Itching to get back on the bikes...and WAY too much energy to burn!

Sean shows off his skateboarding skills.

Saddle Up!

Hangin out with the locals...Trying to stay warm and catch some fish!

Our new friend!

It's true...We really are in a band!

Production Stills:

Reidster finds a shot he likes.

"This is going to be an awesome movie," he thought to himself. Ian wonders what he got himself into.

Opposites attract...

"We got the shot!"

and last, but not least…

Time to go to bed...I'm up way too late right now.

Kevin and Doven: Quality control!

The food, the food, the food! How’s the food?

The Good: Hot Pot!

I have to say that the food in China has been both an amazing and extremely interesting experience.  We have had some absolutely fantastic and inspiring meals…but with the good there has also been the bad and the ugly… And I mean ugly! Over the past two weeks our taste buds (or stomachs) have been bombarded with extraordinary dishes such as pig’s ear, pig’s heart, donkey, pig’s face, cooked blood, dog, and the unforgettable chicken’s head (that I was lucky enough to enjoy). Or actually not enjoy at all. It’s unreal, I didn’t think half this stuff was eatable and for the most part my assumption was correct. I’m not quite sure how these people do it because those dishes were down right offensive. lol.  Anyways, I’ve since relinquished the nickname ‘take one for the team Kevin’ and I’ll be sticking to a much gentler diet over the next few days.

The Bad (Look for the Chicken's head...bottom right)!

The Ugly: Pig's Heart!

and...Blood!

Yikes...An other delicious breakfast in China!

and on a lighter note...The Great Wall!

Oh yeah, big ups (congratulations) to Shenzhou 7!

Shenzhou 7...Minutes before takeoff...Front row seats!

***Note to our readers: All of the dishes above were ordered (and tasted) without our knowledge of it’s ingrediants…We have since taken a more active role in the ordering process.

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This map shows our progress on this bike ride adventure through China.  We have covered 460 miles on our bikes..roughly 800 miles more to go.  The first couple of days we experienced some intense mountains, followed by some easier rolling hills.  Who knows what the road will bring us next? All I can say…is this bike ride has been amazing!  We have been staying off of the main roadways for the most part, taking the round about routes to our daily destinations.  We enjoyed a couple of days off..sending our bikes ahead to Yantai…allowing us to be able to experience a Chinese bus ride and a really cool ferry boat ride, crossing the Bohai Sea.  We have welcomed being back on the bikes!  No more doddling around on other modes of transportation….strictly bicycles all the way to Shanghai.

Let me know if you have any questions about the map.  I will put together a more detailed representation of our route when we get some better internet connection.  Click on the placemarks to see the names of the places where we have stayed. Chinese internet doesn’t seem to like Google maps?  And Jason can’t be away from his computer for that long…. 😉

After our relaxing day wandering around the amazing city of Dalian, we are finally heading South to Yantai to catch up with our bicycles and resume our epic ride. We’ve had a few days off after completing our first leg and we’re all  feeling a bit lazy (and are definitely ready to get back on the bikes). But these days off have given us a chance to “Man Zou” more than we were able to do while focusing our hitting our daily bicycle benchmarks. We’ve been able to explore some of the largest cities in Northeastern China, which has been a great experience and have had a chance to rest our weary bodies.

We have also finally achieved our goal of taking a ferry in China (which was no easy task) and are on the open sea right now as I am writing this latest blog post. Although getting to the ferry was a bit of a struggle, once we got onto the vessel…it’s really not much different than a ferry in the United States and has been a very smooth and relaxing ride. We decided to splurge a little and get private rooms (mostly to make sure our equipment, etc was protected) and it’s absolutely gorgeous today…sunny and 75 degrees.  The ferry ride will take about 7 hours to get to across the Bohai Sea.

Team Man Zou on the deck of the ferry as we sail away from Dalian.

Leaving Dalian really gave us a better perspective of this rapidly changing city. As we pulled away you could see not just one major development like the one we walked around yesterday (more to come about this soon), but many others that were just as big or larger located across the massive shoreline…We were also able to get a better look at the vast industrial center and ports as well. It’s clear that in the future this is not only going to be a major tourist/vacation destination, but also a large metropolis with unlimited growth potential. The fact that the city of Dalian was only built in the last hundred years (and most of the major development in the last 10) blows my mind and I’d love to be able to see what this place looks like in a few more.

As we head South on the ferry, Dalian disappears into the horizon.

Now onto to Yantai where our bicycles are hopefully awaiting in one piece. We will leave tomorrow and cycle 4 days along a pennisula to Qingdao, our next rest day destination and home of the International Beer Festival (which we’re all looking forward to attending). We also getting closer to National day (October 1st) and the beginning of vacation for a large majority of Chinese. Needless to say, we’re all interested to see what that experience is going to be like as well. That’s all I got for now…I’m going to head up to the deck to bag some rays now and make the most of this amazing ferry ride.

Kevin and Sean help me choose some pics for the blog post from our stateroom!

In order to achieve our goal of taking a ferry across the Bohai sea to Yantai, we had to ship our bikes ahead and take a 7 hour bus ride North around the coast to the city of Dalian. It is in a completely different province of China (near North Korea) and we are eager to see what the next turn holds (and excited to get a small break from riding). We had a great day off in Qinghuangdao yesterday where we were able to walk on the Great Wall for the first time.

Unfortunately, we decided to give our guide a rest for the night and hit up the KFC in the bottom of our hotel. Now first off, we haven’t ate anything other than authentic Chinese food this entire trip, but with the first leg under our belt, we were all craving a little American comfort food, particularly french fries. With as many potentially sketchy foods we’ve encountered and eaten over the last week, nothing had the negative impact that the KFC had. Let’s just say it didn’t exactly settle well with us and we’re definitely going to stick with Doven’s suggestions from now on (he tried to steer us away from the KFC).

But looking ahead, we’ re going to have a day to wander around city of Dalian before our ferry ride and meeting back up with our bicycles. Although the bus ride is a little rickety, it yet another new experience traveling in China and we are very much looking forward to getting back on the bicycles (once our bodies have had a chance to heal). We’ve heard the Dalian is less polluted and our lungs our looking forward to that as well. But overall spirits are high and we’re really starting to adjust to life on the road here in China.

That’s all I got for now as there’s no telling when the internet might give out on this crazy bus, but here are a few choice pictures from our adventure to keep you entertained. Hope all is well in your part of the world!

Treated like rock stars in a small town we visited, the owners of the restaurant hired a local photographer to document the experience. Needless to say they hadn't seen many foreigners in a LONG time!

We like to change our route a lot, which has caused a few headaches for Doven...But he enjoys the spontaneity of Team Man Zou!

Riding into the Qinghuangdao, Kevin and Sean take a break from the pollution to pose for a picture.

Another interesting roadside picture in China!

Sean meets a new friend in Qin Long, who shows us around her city and helps him find a new shirt to buy.

Doven and Reidster, out for a stroll along an empty riverbed....Check out the cool Man Zou t-shirt!

After riding into Qinghuangdao, let's just say we were a little dirty from the conditions here!

So we’ve officially finished the first leg of our journey….reaching the coast of China after bicycling nearly 400 miles from Beijing. 8 days in, despite many trials and tribulations, we’re all still alive and team Man Zou is stronger than ever. Over the last couple of days we’ve experienced a wide range of challenges that have tested us on new levels, but I am proud to say that up to now, we’ve passed with flying colors….but here’s a little breakdown of all of our breakdowns.

In China, when your bicycle breaks down, it's only a matter of time before the locals come to rescue!

In times of frustration, experience matters

One of the problems we’ve run into is broken spokes. This has caused us numerous delays and lots of fun! Within a few minutes of each breakdown, the locals will swarm around us, curious as to what we are doing in their small towns with our strange bicycles. Most of the time they stand around and gawk at us, but they always offer much needed moral support in our time of need. Occasionally, they even help out as they are very resourceful people. Sean has been particularly receptive to getting help from the locals. He enjoys the crowds watching him as he tries to repair his bicycle.

Back on the road, ready for more riding!

Since we’ve started working better as a team, we have been able to fix our bicycles much faster…which allows for more time to ride up mountains!

Apocalypto: China! Another Breakdown

But with every breakdown, it seems like Team Man Zou gets a little closer, even in the most dire of situations. Sure, we might taunt each other a little along the way, but it’s all in good fun!

Today we arrived in Qinhuangdao after an extremely challenging and dirty day of riding….But overall spirits were high, despite how crappy our lungs felt from all the pollution here.

After a long day of riding, nothing caps it off like a taste of the White Lighting!

We are looking forward to seeing the Great Wall tomorrow and having a few days off from cycling as we have to send out bicycles to Yantai in advance of our ferry ride.

More to come soon, but now it’s time for bed.

Team Man Zou arrives in Qinhuangdao...Is there an Ocean here?

We finally made it!!

Actually, it was two days ago that we made it to athis epic location below a section of the Great Wall. It was called Simatai and although the resort was very touristy we were able to enjoy some of the comforts we all left in the states. Jason was able to order up a dainty looking espresso, Sean was able to find some ice cream, Ian was able to take some long undisturbed shots, and I was able to have an ‘icy’ cool cerveza. It was an absolute pleasure sitting around with the team chatting about our experiences and reactions to the tour with the Great Wall in the distance at sunset. Surreal!

What were they thinking building a wall on top of that mountain!

Our fearless leader!

One of my favorite experiences over the past week has been learning about and getting to know our terrific tour guide Doven Lu. He is a young energetic fella who shares the same love for cycling as I do. Doven always says, ” I want you to enjoy the cycling,” and that’s what we are able with him guiding the way. Doven translates, schedules, makes reservations, finds us water, checks into hotels, teaches us Chinese, picks up girls (kidding), keeps us safe, and the list goes on. He told me he chose to join this tour because he wanted to “do the extreme” and added that this 28 day tour “is extreme!” He’s a great guide, a great person, and so far he is our savior.

Tonight we’re gearing up for our 100 mile day that leads us out to the coast where there should be flatter roads and we hope less pollution. Oh, forcast for tommorrow is rain, rain, rain! Sweet?!

Kevin takes in Qin Long!