The Bikes

When Jon and I left Beijing I remember the shock at how much effort it required to peddle a fully laden bike for the first time. With 4 panniers, a bar bag and a tent hampering our progress, we spent the first evening in a guest house unpacking all our stuff and binning everything we could. But even then, we were still carrying a lot of weight, and as you will see from photos I've gone for a more lightweight setup with each trip I've done.

On these pages you will find pictures and some geeky spec info for the three bikes I have used: a fake (but hardy) Specialized Rockhopper frameset built up in Beijing; a Surly Cross-Check, and a brand spanking new Surly Krampus for more hardcore off-road adventures...

Remember though, it's not the bike that makes the rider!