Revelation in Yunnan, SE China
I was travelling around Xishuangbanna with a good friend, and we decided to hire bikes to do a short ride around minority villages in the lush hills close to the Burmese border. We stayed in local houses and enjoyed some seriously spicy food and crazy firewater, but little did I realise at the time that the experience would prove to be such a life-changing one.
Upon return to Jinghong, Jon and I were sat round in a local bar having a few ice-cold beers in the tropical sun and having a good laugh about all the incredible things we had seen en route. A few bikes were lined up on the pavement, and after a while we got chatting and discovered they were about to set off for Bangkok, over 2000km away. Our four-day jaunt suddenly paled into insignificance, and of course we began asking questions about their expedition.
Upon return to Jinghong, Jon and I were sat round in a local bar having a few ice-cold beers in the tropical sun and having a good laugh about all the incredible things we had seen en route. A few bikes were lined up on the pavement, and after a while we got chatting and discovered they were about to set off for Bangkok, over 2000km away. Our four-day jaunt suddenly paled into insignificance, and of course we began asking questions about their expedition.
Cycle Home 骑车回家 2005-06
Before long I was thinking about this vague dream I had had to return to the UK overland, rather than flying. I had had visions of the trains and buses across China, Pakistan and Iran, but it had never before occurred to me that it might also be possible on a bike.
And that was it. The minute it crossed my mind, it was far too irresistible an idea to ever dismiss without going through with it, and so Jon and I set off from Beijing a few months later and cycled 16,000km to London.
The funny thing is that neither of us had ever been into cycling before. The furthest I had ever ridden was probably 10 miles around the back lanes near my childhood home. But that didn't for one minute put either of us off, and nor should it have. So long as you keep a positive approach, with a bit of grit and determination anything is possible, and that journey changed the way I would travel from that point on.
And that was it. The minute it crossed my mind, it was far too irresistible an idea to ever dismiss without going through with it, and so Jon and I set off from Beijing a few months later and cycled 16,000km to London.
The funny thing is that neither of us had ever been into cycling before. The furthest I had ever ridden was probably 10 miles around the back lanes near my childhood home. But that didn't for one minute put either of us off, and nor should it have. So long as you keep a positive approach, with a bit of grit and determination anything is possible, and that journey changed the way I would travel from that point on.
The self-powered vehicle
The word for bicycle in Chinese - 自行车 - literally translates as a 'self-powered vehicle', and it is a term I like. The satisfaction you deride from travelling by bike is unlike any you gain from forms of transport where it is the vehicle that powers you. In all bike trips, including my daily commute to work, there is a real sense of gratification when you reach your destination, not to mention the benefits in terms of fitness.
But thing about bikepacking is that you don't just see the landscape, you actually feel it. And of course you can stop whenever you choose, and when you do you invariably find that the bike has a humbling effect - everyone is interested in what you are doing and eager to talk to you, which brings you much closer to the places you are travelling through.
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~ Ernest Hemingway
But thing about bikepacking is that you don't just see the landscape, you actually feel it. And of course you can stop whenever you choose, and when you do you invariably find that the bike has a humbling effect - everyone is interested in what you are doing and eager to talk to you, which brings you much closer to the places you are travelling through.
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~ Ernest Hemingway
