2010新疆之行

作者：Simon Grimmer

周三, 2010年 07月 21日 00:00

2010新疆之旅
By Simon Grimmer

第一部分／我们准备好了！ 2010，6月10日
6月15日，闪电骑士会的三名会员：来自意大利的Enzo，来自英国的Ed和来自新西兰的Simon将前往新疆自治区，进行他们为期半个月（于6月30日返回）的单车之旅。
广袤的土地，神秘的西域风情，我们期待已久！

ready_to_go

乌鲁木齐－吐鲁番（单车骑行）／搭乘火车前往喀什

在乌鲁木齐停留 1日以重组自行车，逐渐适应干旱的40摄氏度高温。在吐鲁番，可以在一天之内体会到中国最低和最高的温度。我们计划花几天时间游览“火焰山”，“葡萄谷”，清真寺和被遗弃的古老城市。从吐鲁番，我们将搭乘列车穿越塔克拉玛干沙漠丝绸之路喀什，古丝绸之路的绿洲。这样Enzo就可以买西域风情的地毯了。他们计划在此处喀拉昆仑公路上骑行，并探索卡拉科尔高山湖泊周围的地区。

我们要特别感谢闪电浦东店和骑士会提供后勤支持，包括闪电自行车服，配件及设备。还有TOPEAK提供的单车包和帐篷。我们将在途中对这些设备做测试并拍摄图片。希望能每日更新博客。

未完待续!

1_the_lads_day_2

漫游
2_cruising

爬山
4_Climbing

羊肉面?
5_Noddle_lambs_or_lambs_noddle

Enzo 爬山 Ed 游水.... 真的太热了... 跳进水里（身材不错）!
3_Enzo 6_Ed_swimimng

炎炎夏日下的午休！
9.siesta

第III部分 / 勇闯天山 :: 2010年6月21日

一场史诗般的骑行, 征服天山－－－通往吐鲁番的最高峰...

"花了2天才抵达... 我们第一天就断粮了。而且，在46摄氏度的烈日下，在岩石上睡了3个小时，因为我们已经精疲力竭了。从周六午饭后，我们还什么都没有吃!"

从这个山谷开始骑行
11._the_valley_we_started_riding_up

低速骑行在这样的风景中，美哉!
12_MTB

终于到达顶峰！
10.tianshan_pass

Simon刚给我们传来短信：
“新疆之队差点在穿越天山的时候客死异乡。我们在沙漠里经历了脱水，极度疲惫，中暑，高原反应…非常艰难。还好，好运，好天气和意志力最终帮我们创过难关，现在，我们达到吐鲁番了。”

吐鲁番的苹果酒＋烤羊肉

凉爽—在一个临近吐鲁番的沙漠

第四部分／第二阶段＝喀什：2010年6月24日

“ 经历了23个小时的火车穿越塔克拉玛干沙漠后，我们会抵达喀什。Simon会打理他的新车，Ed会去修剪一下头发并买一些补及品，然后，我们打算一同拜访一下Manu/JC/Kevin的新疆朋友Abul Hamel，让他开车带我们去看看卡拉科尔湖的中国境内部分。”
“ 从那里开始，我们打算花4天时间，返回喀什… ”

温馨吧...

15_Cozy

现在... 第二阶段!
16_Stage_2_

17_around_karakul_lake

4000m_panorama

19._abandoned_tombs

21._free_ride_playground

22._freeride_kashgyr_2

23._freeride_kashgyr

24Kashgyr_cityscape

1._Karakul_Lake_and_Mustagata-_beautiful_before_you_put_3_smelly_cyclists_in_front_of_them

9._the_Topeak_bike_condom.__photo_from_another_part_of_the_trip_for_illustrative_purposes

14._arrival_in_Kashgar_and_discovery_of_the_beer_fridge-_happy_Enzo

2._Karakul_Lake_and_Mustagata_mountain-_the_setting_for_the_start_of_the_ride

3._big_mountains_big_smiles.__up_near_Karakul_at_the_start_of_the_first_day

4._goodbye_to_Mustagata

5._suprisingly_hard_work_for_a_downhill_section

6._lamb_soup._After_2_days_of_bread_and_yak_milk_tea_this_was_a_godsend

7._there_are_sheep_in_Xinjiang

10._the_area_south_of_Kashgar_is_like_stepping_back_in_time

15_the_hostel_in_Kashgar_is_super-chilled_and_a_great_place_to_start_end_or_base_your_travels

this_one_isnt_connected_to_the_story-_but_its_a_cheesy_shot_with_lots_of_S_in_it_that_you_might_like_for_other_stuff

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文字部分待续,敬请期待...

PART I / We are getting ready! :: June 10th 2010 From June 15 to June 30, Specialized Riders Club members Enzo (Italy), Ed (France/UK) and Simon (Kiwi) are heading to XinJiang autonomous region, China’s largest and most Western province for a much anticipated cycle tour and intrepid adventure they are predicting to be 'all-time'. XinJiangs vast arid deserts, peppered with ruins of half buried cities, stretch for 1000s of kilometers before abruptly ending at the foot of towering mountain ranges. <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/ready_to_go.jpg" alt="ready_to_go" height="450" /> Simon: "After much deliberation over maps devoid of any contour information and mostly written in Chinese (Ed was caught holding his upside-down...), the lads sketched out a rough plan that would take them on a tour of many of the provinces cultural highlights and picturesque wilderness, test their tolerance to desert heat, extreme altitude, prolonged pedaling and take them close to Chinas stunning Western border with Tajekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and India." <img width="700" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/xinjiang_Map_1.jpg" alt="xinjiang_Map_1" height="576" /> <img width="250" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/legend.jpg" alt="legend" height="121" /> Ulumuqi - Turpan by Bike / Then train to Kasgyr "Spending a day in Ulumqi to reassemble bikes, acclimatize to the arid 40+ degree Celsius heat and absorb the sights and sounds of a vibrant city, the lads plan to make their way to Turpan via a north-eastern lesser travelled route visiting alpine lake: Taihe and crossing a pass amongst 5000m peaks. In Turpan, the lowest and hottest location in all China, the lads plan to spend a few days visiting the flaming mountains, grape valleys, mosques and abandoned ancient cities. From Turpan, the lads will follow the silk road across the Taklamakan desert by train to Kasgyr, the fabeled oasis of the ancient silk road so that Enzo can buy a carpet. From here they plan on traveling the Karakoram highway and exploring the alpine regions surrounding Karakol lake buy bike. We would like to say a special thank you to the Specialized bike store in Pudong and especially to Specialized Riders Club for coming to the party with logistical support, Specialized bike clothing, parts and equipment including top of the line cycle touring panniers and bags from TOPEAK and even an ultralight cycle specific tent that substitutes bike frame for poles. We will be testing and reviewing these TOPEAK products throughout the trip and hopefully updating this blog site with awesome photos and daily blog-posts." <a href="http://www.topeak.com/"><img width="155" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/TOPEAK-logo.jpg" alt="TOPEAK-logo" height="27" /></a> PART II / They are there :: June 19th 2010 Simon just sent us some photos and few words from Xinjiang! Currently the boys are near Turpan cruising in the deser riding every day from 9.00 am to 10.30 pm! Form what they are saying, it's HOT HOT HOT and DRY DRY DRY... Simon: "We flew into Ulumuqi on Wednesday and stayed downtown in a nice 3 star hotel. Being that the museum ( a must attraction as not much remains of the ancient cities except ruins now) was closed both Wed & Thurs we set off for TianChiHe (heavenly lake) at about 1pm. About an hr later, thanks to Simons navagational blunders, we left the city proper and made our way through desert dunes, past camel herds ( which Ed harrassed) and finally started climbing the 2000m (5hr) ascent to the lake. The lake was truely picturesque ( though not untouched by Chinese touristic annoyances: loud speakers, fake bird songs in hidden speakers that looked like rocks...) we spent that night in a fantastically decorated yurt. Tough climb. Melting heat. Exilirated and exhausted." The lads Day 2 in Ulumuqi <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/1_the_lads_day_2.jpg" alt="1_the_lads_day_2" height="450" /> Cruising <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/2_cruising.jpg" alt="2_cruising" height="450" /> Climbing <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/4_Climbing.jpg" alt="4_Climbing" height="450" /> Noddles lamb or lamb noodles? <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/5_Noddle_lambs_or_lambs_noddle.jpg" alt="5_Noddle_lambs_or_lambs_noddle" height="450" /> Enzo Climbing Ed Swimming.... Just too hot...SPLAAASH! <img width="250" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/3_Enzo.jpg" alt="3_Enzo" height="333" /> <img width="250" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/6_Ed_swimimng.jpg" alt="6_Ed_swimimng" height="333" /> Siesta <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/9.siesta.jpg" alt="9.siesta" height="450" /> PART III / Climbing the hill up to TianShan pass :: June 21st 2010 An epic ride for our three riders, a long climb up to TianShan pass, the highest peak on their road toTurpan... "It took us 2 days to get here, 1 day pushing over 1200 v metres... We ran out of  food on the first day and ended up riding/ pushing through the night (18 hrs) to get down. Unfortunately we found a dusty desert instead of an oasis, slept 3 hrs on rocks & then were scorched out of our skins in 46 degree c relentless sun on a 57k ride to turpan. We haven't eaten since Saturday lunchtime!" The valley we start riding <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/11._the_valley_we_started_riding_up.jpg" alt="11._the_valley_we_started_riding_up" height="450" /> On mountainbikes, we a minimum of gear, this would be awesome! <img width="350" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/12_MTB.jpg" alt="12_MTB" height="467" /> Finally arrived to the top <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/10.tianshan_pass.jpg" alt="10.tianshan_pass" height="450" /> Simon just sent us a SMS: "Xinjiang crew nearly didn't survive their trans-Tianshan mission. We suffered from dehydration in the desert (no more water), starvation (48 hrs no food) exhaustion (18 hours mission), heat stroke (cycling 4 hrs in 47 degree haet), altitude including nausea ... Really hard time descending the high altitude pass... Luck, good weather and will power were on our side & we are now in Turpan!" Apple cider and Lamb Kebabs in Turpan <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/13_apple_cider_and_lamb_kebabs.jpg" alt="13_apple_cider_and_lamb_kebabs" height="450" /> Chiling in the desert near Turpan <img width="300" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/14_Chiling_in_the_desert.jpg" alt="14_Chiling_in_the_desert" height="400" /> PART IV / Second stage of the trip = KASHKAR :: June 24th 2010 "After a 23 hr train ride across stunning high alpine passes and the taklamakan  desert we will shortly be arriving in Kashgyr. After sorting Simon a new bike ( he smashed his derailier dropout off getting the bike onto the train) getting Ed a haircut and all some supplies, we plan to get Manu, JC and Kevins friend Abul Hamel to drive us to Karakol lake on the Chinese side of the Karakoram Highway.  From there we plan to spend 4 days making our way back to Kashgyr exploring the lake, valleys and taking in the 7000+ m peaks on the way ..." Cozy <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/15_Cozy.jpg" alt="15_Cozy" height="450" /> And now... STAGE 2! <img width="250" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/16_Stage_2_.jpg" alt="16_Stage_2_" height="333" /> <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/17_around_karakul_lake.jpg" alt="17_around_karakul_lake" height="450" /> PART V / Across Tianshan, the complete story :: June 27th 2010 By Ed AKA Doudou who tells us more about their incredible trip across Tianshan montains in the story... " The plan was simple... From the town of Jimsar we would ride south across the plains for about 60km, before crossing the Tianshan over a 3400m pass, and then dropping down the other side to find a town with a hotel to sleep the night. The next day, we would continue the descent all the way to Turpan, the second lowest spot on earth. That was the plan, anyway... The day started well enough as we slowly climbed up towards the foothills of the Tianshan. The landscape was vast, with wide, rolling plains dotted with tombs to either side of us and the snow-capped mountains we were to cross in front of us. After a few hours of slow but steady work, we stopped in a small town for lunch and to drink a couple of litres of liquid each. What I didn't know, as I left my plate of noodles half-eaten, was that this would be my last real meal for 48hours. After lunch we escaped the afternoon heat by napping in the shade by a small stream. Everything was perfect- relaxing in the warm shade, feeling full of food, bathing in the cold steam, eating watermelon that we cooled in the stream and looking forward to the challenge ahead. After our siesta, the road steepened and the terrain quickly became alpine, with green meadows and pine tree-lined slopes. We were making good time. There was a cooling wind. People smiled and shouted hello. It was great. Then the road turned into a dirt path, with 20km to the summit and over 2000m still to climb. Now, what we should have done is stopped right there and wondered why the road on our map was actually a rocky path being used by shepherds, horse riders and intrepid chinese guys on motorbikes. But instead we all thought 'REAL riding!', and charged on up the path. On and on we went, up the valley past stunning pine forests, remote yurts and shepherds hand-shearing their flocks, all the time with a rushing river beside us. We even found some abandoned beer by the path, and just as we were going to remove a bottle for later and leave cash, the owner came motorcycling down the path and gave us a bottle each to drink with him right then. After a few hours of this, it began to dawn on us that the pass was not just around the corner (the fact that Enzo's altimeter put up at only 2100m elevation was disconcerting). On top of this, we'd been going uphill over 10 hours (we were shattered), and it would soon get dark. No problem, we had some spare food- and we'd brought tents etc precisely for this. So, we picked a (nearly) flat spot between the river and a steep forest and set up camp. Enzo and Simon built a fire, and we sat down to a meal consisting primarily of a peanut butter sandwich, with stars and satellites overhead. The next morning, after a hearty breakfast of the last peanut butter sandwich, we set off again with the aim of quickly reaching the pass, finding some food in the nearest town on the way down, and then pushing on to Turpan. Unfortunately, we were soon pushing and heaving our 30kg bikes and luggage over a path too steep or rocky to ride. It was unrelenting- and as the hours went by and the sun grew hotter, we slowly ate all our remaining food (a couple of energy gels each, some raisins and nuts), just to keep going. Time after time we came to a point we were certain was the top, only to see an even bigger slope beyond it. We saw only one other person. We left the trees. We passed snow. Rock gave way to sand, making progress even harder. The air became thin, so that every minute or so we had to stop pushing to catch our breath. I was sunburned, my lips were cracked, there were sores inside my mouth, I had a headache, my vision was impaired, I felt dizzy and the only things keeping me going were the knowledge that we had gone too far to turn back and get to food that day, and the hope that food and a place to rest lay just beyond the summit. The others were suffering no less than me. We barely spoke- each man was lost in his own thoughts. 6 hours and 40 minutes after we set off, we reached the summit of the pass. A glacier-covered peak lay in front of us. We were surrounded by bare rock and black sand, and the silence was total. But time was getting on, and we still needed to find food and get off the mountain that had taken us 17 hours to climb, before attempting the 100km+ traverse of the desert to Turpan. Pressing on, we soon found that the southern side of the mountains was totally different: a seemingly endless expanse of sun-blasted rock. We were reduced to pushing once again, as the path followed the bottom of a river composed entirely of large rocks. Enzo's pannier kept falling off. Simon got the first of his punctures. Time wore on, and our altitude hardly decreased. By late evening, we had hardly seen a plant, let alone another person or a village. But eventually the track became rideable again, and we passed a yurt with 5 shepherds in it. Out spirits lifted, and off we rode down the now broadening and grassy valley, stopping only to push across rocky riverbeds or to reattach Enzo's magic self-ejecting pannier. However, the sun was now setting, and we were still clearly no where near any habitation. The landscape became huge, as more and more valleys converged with ours, and then in the distance we saw a most welcome sight- a parked truck. Trucks mean roads, or at least landrover tracks, and this means higher speed. Unfortunately, as we reached the gravel road, we were also confronted with the valley it was in: wide, flat-bottomed, rock-strewn, waterless, straight and very, very long. As we made our way down the road, Enzo's pannier self-destructed requiring a rebuild, and Simon ran out of inner tubesthat didn't leak. By now it was past 11, and we rode by the light of the moon, stopping every km or so to reinflate Simon's tire.  We did not want to stop in that valley as there was no water, we had no food, and there was nowhere to pitch a tent in between the rocks. So we pressed on, navigating by two head torches after the moon set. And then around 3am, the road turned the wrong way and started to climb. Demoralized and with no idea where we were, at 4am we pulled off the road and crawled into our sleeping bags without pitching tents. We fell straight asleep, despite Simon having found a fist-sized spider shortly before... Three hours later, the sun was up and it was time to press on. Luckily, things began to turn our way. Just around the next corner the gravel road became a tarmac road. Within an hour, we passed a stream and were able to refill our water bottles, which had been empty for 6 or 7 hours. Within two hours, we were down in the desert, and sat by the highway in a service station trying to get food into our empty stomachs. Curiously, none of us felt like eating much. More curiously, we had managed to come down the mountain by a route seemingly unmarked on the map- and we were now only 50km from Turpan. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Simon's tires to stay up- it was so hot the glue on the patches melted. After sitting on the forecourt for nearly an hour, we managed to get one inner tube to stay inflated- and with that we were off, cycling down a dead-straight road, downhill, in 47degree heat, at 55-60km an hour, racing the glue on Simon's inner tube. The glue won, and we stopped in a landscape composed of gravel pretty much as far as the eye could see, and hid from the overbearing heat in a storm drain under the road. But Simon was not beaten yet; he re-patched the tube, and then sellotaped the patches on to the tube. This bought us another few minutes, and off we went again, battling a headwind in the afternoon heat. We finally reached Turpan nearly 20 hours after leaving the summit. What we had planned to do on our first day took us 3 days, and what we wanted to do on our second day took a few hours. We were exhausted, we'd gone 24 hours without food and 48 hours without more than a snack whilst doing arduous physical exercise, and our bikes were all suffering. If anything had gone wrong, we would have been stuck with no supplies and no phone signal in an area with no other people and with no way of knowing where we were. We had pushed the limits of our physical and mental endurance more than ever before, but we made it. And most importantly, we'd had an adventure we'll never forget. " Part VI / The last part of the saga - Kashgyr :: July 5th By Simon Grimmer <img width="700" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/4000m_panorama.jpg" alt="4000m_panorama" height="192" /> The heat, lack of amenities, 12 days of nonstop travel, sleepless uncomfortable nights, living out of a pannier, inadequate food, altitude and being in the constant company of either a kiwi, an Italian or a Pom meant that we were all pretty tired and relieved on reaching Kashgyr for the second time. Somehow, none of us had looked at a calender or a watch closely for the past few days, and we actually arrived a full day ahead of schedule convinced to the amusement of hostel reception and girlfriends that “today is Monday”, when it was only Sunday. With 2 days up our sleeveless Specialized riders club edition jerseys, we decided to stay with in the city limits of Kashgyr and explore it;s sights, side alleys and byways without the added burden of panniers. A to B rides, as Enzo wisely pointed out, often miss out on experiences, sights and potential adventures because either the riders aren’t willing to deviate from their route (usually highways) or they don’t have the time to explore the surrounding countryside as they have more clicks to halk off tomorrow. For the last 2 days of our tour of XinJiang, we used the Kashgyr old town youth hostel as a base for numerous trips in and around Kashgyr and this couldn’t have been more rewarding. Kashgyr old town <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/19._abandoned_tombs.jpg" alt="19._abandoned_tombs" height="400" /> According to our untrustworthy map ( or perhaps it was our map- reading skills), the ‘three immortal caves’ lay 35 ks to the North East of the city. We decided to aim for this landmark more for the journey by bike, than the prospect of visiting bat infested, dank, dark holes in the dunes. We never actually found the caves and as we found out later, they were long since collapsed and abandoned.  However, we discovered for ourselves a fantastic rural Uiger orchard district full of ripening apricots and nectarines and with farmers sidetracked hand-threshing wheat, helped ourselves to their bounty. We also discovered a reservoir worthy of a swim and a moonlike landscape that was full of some of the most exciting and inspiring (think red bull rage) ridable terrain.   We played for half an hour or so, before realizing that we were lost, tired, thirsty and hungry and made our way, plundered apricots in hand, back through a cemetery and eventually to the road back to Kashgyr. Freeride! <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/21._free_ride_playground.jpg" alt="21._free_ride_playground" height="467" /> <img width="450" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/22._freeride_kashgyr_2.jpg" alt="22._freeride_kashgyr_2" height="600" />   <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/23._freeride_kashgyr.jpg" alt="23._freeride_kashgyr" height="291" /> On our last full day in Kashgyr, Simon developed the green apple splatters for his second time since leaving Shanghai. He attributed his infliction to a number of causes - general bad hygiene, the heat, uncooked liver, unprocessed yoghurt, weakness of character.... It bears mention that Enzo only told him of the presence of a Western toilet at the hostel after he was well on the road to recovery again. In between quick trips back to the hostel to ummm... recuperate, the lads spent the day exploring Kashgyrs awesome oldtown on bike, cementing deals with carpet merchants, outrunning peddlers and relining abused stomachs with more of Kashgyrs culinary delights (usually mutton based). On his third tour of the oldtown, Enzo suggested running from the tour operators who were wanting to collect a legitimate entrance fee ( a mere 8 rmb per person) and like children sneaking into a movie, we turned, feigning ignorance and legged it on bikes through the mud-brick back alleys and back onto the streets of Kashgyr. Kashgyr city <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/24Kashgyr_cityscape.jpg" alt="24Kashgyr_cityscape" height="398" />   All in all, an unforgettable and inspiring trip. It was just for 2 weeks, but after all their experiences Enzo, Ed and Simon felt they were coming back to Shanghai after an absence of months. They have cemented their friendship (although are keen to have a break from each other for a while) and would like to thank Specialized for hosting their stories and photos on the web and TOPEAK for the product support. They are more than happy to give logistics and equipment advise and travel info to anyone now who wants to travel to Xinjiang or do any distance cycle touring in China and have a few ideas already in the pipeline for future missions. They also have over a 1000 photos and some cool video to share at the next Specialized meeting." PART VII / The Last report :: July 8th By Ed aka Doudou   <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/1._Karakul_Lake_and_Mustagata-_beautiful_before_you_put_3_smelly_cyclists_in_front_of_them.jpg" alt="1._Karakul_Lake_and_Mustagata-_beautiful_before_you_put_3_smelly_cyclists_in_front_of_them" height="400" /> "After a shorter than anticipated break in Turpan, we boarded a 24-hour train to Kashgar.  As we were driven to the station, we passed a Norwegian guy that we’d met the day before.  He was taking two weeks to cycle the same route- straight across the desert.  As we passed him (he’s done about 10km in 3 hours), a gust of the same wind that had pushed us into Turpan at around 60kph suddenly blew him over a meter sideways, and to a dead stop.  The train was definitely the right choice. Unfortunately, Simon’s trusty city bike (the one that has survived being used for Cyclo-X racing, XC racing, the odd bit of DH, and of course That Tianshan Crossing) did not survive the train, so our first task was to replace it, after which we commandeered a truck and drove up to Karakul Lake, which is approximately 200km away from Kashgar and at 3400m elevation (somehow, after our previous days’ experience, nobody really wanted to ride up there…).   We found accommodation near the lake, and spent a day exploring, buying marmot/camel-based products, meeting friendly donkeys and of course riding. 160km of solid downhill followed by 40km of flat sounds like easy going, but things don’t work out like that when you’re touring.  A combination of heavy weight over the back wheel and a stiff headwind meant that we were often pedaling just to keep moving forwards- which didn’t seem very fair, really.  However, the physical effort was forgotten with the amazing scenery that you take in on this route; from an isolated lake on a high plateau, following a stream down through huge snow-capped peaks until it becomes a churning torrent capable of moving boulders the size of your house, and eventually out the bottom into the floodplain where it widens out and calms down, before being fed into a vast network of irrigation channels that waters a vast area of small farms and orchards around Kashgar. We decided to camp one last time before we hit the hostel in Kashgar, and stopped in a small wood attached to an (almost) abandoned hydro-electric plant.  It had once been a small village, but now only the plant manager and his family (and sheep) lived there.  We arrived early, so we set up camp and sat about enjoying the cool of the trees and the ability to breathe normally (we’d dropped a couple of thousand meters elevation).  The bike ‘condom’ that we were generously lent by Topeak (ok, it’s really a tent, not a condom- but look at the pics for an explanation) is ideal for this kind of fine-weather camping.  The condom is held up by your front wheel, which makes it very small & light (no poles to carry), but did mean that I had to dismantle my home in the evening when we cycled to a village to eat!   The Top Peak Tent <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/9._the_Topeak_bike_condom.__photo_from_another_part_of_the_trip_for_illustrative_purposes.jpg" alt="9._the_Topeak_bike_condom.__photo_from_another_part_of_the_trip_for_illustrative_purposes" height="450" /> The next day, we made excellent progress early on (the wind blowing up the mountain only gets going later in the day), and so decided to take a detour off the highway, making our way to Kashgar over smaller roads.  The area we found was like nothing else we’d seen in China; packed with mudbrick farms and walled compounds, small water channels, fields, orchards, and cooling trees everywhere… With hardly any traffic and the occasional village to top up with the local yoghurt/ice drink, this area really is ideal for a relaxed bike ride.  Ideal, that is, unless you accidentally ride into a ‘Restricted Area’ and then stop for something to eat, giving the local constabulary plenty of time to gather all their mates and come find you. But no matter; after a quick photocopying of passports, and the realization that both the cops and us had the same short-term goals (us leaving the Restricted Area- quickly), we were on our way again.  From there, it was a relatively short hop across the plains to Kashgar, where we chose our accommodation on the basis that it had a huge fridge full of a wide selection of COLD beer in the entrance.  Happiness. Cold beer <img width="350" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/14._arrival_in_Kashgar_and_discovery_of_the_beer_fridge-_happy_Enzo.jpg" alt="14._arrival_in_Kashgar_and_discovery_of_the_beer_fridge-_happy_Enzo" height="467" />   Karakul lake <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/2._Karakul_Lake_and_Mustagata_mountain-_the_setting_for_the_start_of_the_ride.jpg" alt="2._Karakul_Lake_and_Mustagata_mountain-_the_setting_for_the_start_of_the_ride" height="400" /> Big Montains and big smiles <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/3._big_mountains_big_smiles.__up_near_Karakul_at_the_start_of_the_first_day.jpg" alt="3._big_mountains_big_smiles.__up_near_Karakul_at_the_start_of_the_first_day" height="400" /> Good-bye Mustagata <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/4._goodbye_to_Mustagata.jpg" alt="4._goodbye_to_Mustagata" height="450" /> Surprisingly hard work for a Down Hill section <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/5._suprisingly_hard_work_for_a_downhill_section.jpg" alt="5._suprisingly_hard_work_for_a_downhill_section" height="450" /> Lamb soup <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/6._lamb_soup._After_2_days_of_bread_and_yak_milk_tea_this_was_a_godsend.jpg" alt="6._lamb_soup._After_2_days_of_bread_and_yak_milk_tea_this_was_a_godsend" height="400" /> There are sheep in Xinjiang <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/7._there_are_sheep_in_Xinjiang.jpg" alt="7._there_are_sheep_in_Xinjiang" height="450" /> The South area of Kashgar <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/10._the_area_south_of_Kashgar_is_like_stepping_back_in_time.jpg" alt="10._the_area_south_of_Kashgar_is_like_stepping_back_in_time" height="450" /> Hostel in Kashagar <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/15_the_hostel_in_Kashgar_is_super-chilled_and_a_great_place_to_start_end_or_base_your_travels.jpg" alt="15_the_hostel_in_Kashgar_is_super-chilled_and_a_great_place_to_start_end_or_base_your_travels" height="397" /> S-riders Club, WE RIDE.... <img width="600" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/doudou_pix/this_one_isnt_connected_to_the_story-_but_its_a_cheesy_shot_with_lots_of_S_in_it_that_you_might_like_for_other_stuff.jpg" alt="this_one_isnt_connected_to_the_story-_but_its_a_cheesy_shot_with_lots_of_S_in_it_that_you_might_like_for_other_stuff" height="450" />   RANDOM PICTURES: <img width="350" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34027_10150223566940113_680375112_13671178_4826847_n.jpg" alt="34027_10150223566940113_680375112_13671178_4826847_n" height="467" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34027_10150223566965113_680375112_13671183_5004108_n.jpg" alt="34027_10150223566965113_680375112_13671183_5004108_n" height="540" /> <img width="719" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34276_10150223566720113_680375112_13671164_1519013_n.jpg" alt="34276_10150223566720113_680375112_13671164_1519013_n" height="199" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34370_10150223566150113_680375112_13671124_4430764_n.jpg" alt="34370_10150223566150113_680375112_13671124_4430764_n" height="524" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34540_10150223566395113_680375112_13671141_2572542_n.jpg" alt="34540_10150223566395113_680375112_13671141_2572542_n" height="540" /> <img width="350" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34540_10150223566405113_680375112_13671143_968354_n.jpg" alt="34540_10150223566405113_680375112_13671143_968354_n" height="467" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34540_10150223566420113_680375112_13671146_7684499_n.jpg" alt="34540_10150223566420113_680375112_13671146_7684499_n" height="540" /> <img width="350" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/34949_10150223566820113_680375112_13671172_5467268_n.jpg" alt="34949_10150223566820113_680375112_13671172_5467268_n" height="467" /> <img width="719" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35046_10150223565850113_680375112_13671099_2316864_n.jpg" alt="35046_10150223565850113_680375112_13671099_2316864_n" height="389" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35046_10150223565895113_680375112_13671108_688927_n.jpg" alt="35046_10150223565895113_680375112_13671108_688927_n" height="405" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35290_10150223566565113_680375112_13671149_1449402_n.jpg" alt="35290_10150223566565113_680375112_13671149_1449402_n" height="540" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35290_10150223566570113_680375112_13671150_5389264_n.jpg" alt="35290_10150223566570113_680375112_13671150_5389264_n" height="540" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35290_10150223566575113_680375112_13671151_7105307_n.jpg" alt="35290_10150223566575113_680375112_13671151_7105307_n" height="540" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35290_10150223566580113_680375112_13671152_1880593_n.jpg" alt="35290_10150223566580113_680375112_13671152_1880593_n" height="171" /> <img width="719" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35290_10150223566590113_680375112_13671154_5984171_n.jpg" alt="35290_10150223566590113_680375112_13671154_5984171_n" height="470" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35296_10150223565995113_680375112_13671111_1527503_n.jpg" alt="35296_10150223565995113_680375112_13671111_1527503_n" height="480" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35860_10150223567055113_680375112_13671187_5140503_n.jpg" alt="35860_10150223567055113_680375112_13671187_5140503_n" height="540" /> <img width="540" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/35860_10150223567075113_680375112_13671190_6179789_n.jpg" alt="35860_10150223567075113_680375112_13671190_6179789_n" height="720" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/36752_10150223565705113_680375112_13671091_3509367_n.jpg" alt="36752_10150223565705113_680375112_13671091_3509367_n" height="540" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/36752_10150223565730113_680375112_13671096_5013294_n.jpg" alt="36752_10150223565730113_680375112_13671096_5013294_n" height="480" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/36752_10150223565740113_680375112_13671098_2800183_n.jpg" alt="36752_10150223565740113_680375112_13671098_2800183_n" height="372" /> <img width="720" src="http://www.s-riders.com/images/stories/xinjiang2010/facebook_doudou_pix/37429_10150223566275113_680375112_13671133_7214715_n.jpg" alt="37429_10150223566275113_680375112_13671133_7214715_n" height="480" />   ..."

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