| Random Factoids about the Trip |
| The quest for a back tire Graydon's bike came with terrible tires, since the people at Pedlar's Cycles in Toronto switched the good Michelin tires that the bike was supposed to come with for some generic Made in Thailand "Vee Rubber" tires that were just not strong enough. The back tire lasted 424 km, and set off a search for a tire that could stand up to the tremendous load being placed on it. Here's the story of Graydon's tires on the trip. Back Type of Tire Km of service Fate of tire Vee Rubber 424 km blew out the sidewall Continental Double Fighter 875 km blew out the sidewall Continental Double Fighter 1250 km blew out the sidewall Ritchey (a made in Thailand model) 640 km blew out the sidewall National Panaracer FireXC Pro 2.1" 3015 km blew out the sidewall Mitsubishi Hilltop Superheat 380 km blew out the sidewall Specialized DirtMaster Ironcurtain XC 345 km put it on the front wheel IRC Mythos XC 550 km blew out the sidewall National Panaracer FireXC Pro 2.1" 730 km ran over a sharp rock and shredded it National Panaracer FireXC Pro 2.1" 2080 km blew out the sidewall IRC Mythos XC 400 km replaced it because it was about to blow out National Panaracer FireXC Pro 1.8" 1000 km survived the trip to Darjeeling in good shape Front Type of Tire Km of service Fate of tire Vee Rubber 4860 km blew out the sidewall Dee Stone 1505 km blew out the sidewall Mitsubishi Hilltop Superheat 52 km put onto back wheel Made in Kunming 290 km blew out the sidewall Specialized DirtMaster 4400 km survived the trip Looking at the damage, I destroyed 14 tires, 11 of them on the back, in 11,586 km. The only tire I tried on the back wheel (the one that takes most of the weight) that was truly durable was the National Panaracer. Other bike tourists I met didn't have the trouble with tires that I did, and several of them recommended the IRC Mythos, which I found not to last very long. I think that I had more trouble with tires than others because I carry more luggage than almost any other cyclist I met, and my body is probably heavier than most other cyclist's. The moral of the story is to make sure that you're carrying a couple of very durable spare tires with you, since in most poor countries it's tough to find quality tires, and it's not really worth buying tires that last 300 km. Spokes Spokes were my bugaboo for the second consecutive bike trip. In Pakistan, China and Tibet in 1998 I broke about 25 spokes, all on the back wheel and all on the derailleur side. This trip started out more promisingly; I looked for stronger rims than I had had on my unlamented Trek. The Rocky Mountain Sherpa has double rims, which should in theory be less likely to go out of true and start breaking spokes. I only broke two spokes in the first 2000 km, but then I started to go through spokes at a furious rate. On my way from Laos to Dali, I averaged one broken spoke a day. In the end I think my final total was about 25 broken spokes, the same as in 1998, although over three times the distance that I covered in 1998. They were all on the non-derailleur side, the opposite side from on my previous trip. I've never met anyone who's had so many broken spokes, and once again I think it comes from being heavy and carrying a lot of luggage. Strangely, I only break spokes when I cycle on pavement. I think, though, that it becomes self-perpetuating, in that it's hard to true a wheel repeatedly and get it exactly right, and once the wheel is no longer perfectly true, spokes will break more frequently, making it harder to get the wheel true. I'm going to get an expensive custom-built wheel for 2002's bike trip, with 48 spokes instead of the usual 32. I met a couple of Dutch cyclists, Timo and Petra, who had 48 spoke wheels, who carried as much stuff as I did, and who hadn't broken a single spoke in well over 10,000 km. I hope that the new wheel will do the trick, because I find broken spokes to be particularly depressing. Other Cyclists Whom I Met on the Road I met a reasonable number of other bicycle tourists on my trip, particularly in Thailand and in Tibet. Strangely, though, all but two of the groups of cyclists I saw were going in the opposite direction to me; I seemed to be going in the opposite direction to the crowd for most of the trip. Here's a list of the other cycling nuts I met on my way. Marcel Gijssen: A Canadian we met in Singapore, who had ridden Beijing-Bombay and Bangkok-Singapore and was on his way to Australia. An American whose name I have forgotten, also met in Singapore. He was actually just scouting for an upcoming bike trip; he was a pilot on ships and carried a bike with him on board for getting around ports once he was ashore. 4 Aussies whom we met riding near Kota Tinggi, Malaysia. They were on a short trip up the east coast of Malaysia. Eric, a French cyclist whom we met in Mersing, Malaysia. He had ridden from Beijing all the way to Malaysia. 2 Dutch cyclists, an older couple, whom we met near Kuantan, Malaysia. They were riding the popular Bangkok-Singapore route. Hans and Marina, a young Dutch couple whom I met near Kuala Besut, Malaysia. They were on their way around the world. We exchanged e-mail addresses and they kept me posted on their trip. Their website of the trip is home.hetnet.nl/~flying.dutchman/index.html An older Dutchman whom I met in Pak Baru, Thailand. He too was doing the Bangkok-Singapore route. A young Dutch couple whom I met just outside Krabi, also riding Bangkok-Singapore. An older Dutch couple, doing (you guessed it) Bangkok-Singapore; I ran into them in Than Bokkharani, Thailand. A couple with a young child who we saw riding into Bangkok; they were from somewhere in Eastern Europe (the Czech Republic, perhaps) and had ridden from Singapore. An American whose name I have forgotten, although I had a couple of long conversations with him. He had ridden around Thailand and Laos; I met him in Vientiane, where he had just given away his bike and was returning to the States. Kiki and Dave, a British couple whom I met in Luang Prabang. They were on a tour of India and Southeast Asia on a cool bike, a tandem that comes apart and fits into a suitcase for easy transport. They were the only tandem riders I met on the trip. Raluca and Ed, a Canadian/American couple who were riding through Southeast Asia and southern China. I ran into them in Jinghong, China. It was their first big bike trip and they were already planning another one. They carried almost nothing: 18 kg between the two of them. They weren't camping, though, which makes it easier to travel light. I was envious of their ability to pack light, an ability I utterly lack. Emanuel, a Frenchman I met outside Lancang, China. He was on a 2-month tour of Yunnan province. An older German couple whom I met in Dali; they were also confining themselves to Yunnan. I saw a pair of touring bikes in a hotel in Beijing, but never met their owners. Timo and Petra, a Dutch couple on a long trip through Asia. They had started in Kazakhstan, ridden through Central Asia, Pakistan, India, Pakistan, Tibet and China. They had tried to ride the same route as me (except in the opposite direction), from Lhasa to Yunnan, but had been arrested in Nyingchi, Tibet, and sent back to Lhasa on a bus. They're in SE Asia now, sending me e-mail updates of their trip. A lone Chinese cyclist whom I met pushing his bike 30 km uphill through a huge construction zone near Juka, Tibet. He had ridden from Urumqi to Lhasa, and was on his way to Chengdu and Shanghai on a bike that I couldn't believe had stood up to Tibetan roads. A Chinese couple, also pushing their bikes 30 km uphill through a construction zone, whom I met near the Salween River bridge before Baxoi, Tibet. They were riding Lhasa-Chengdu. Toby and Greg, two wild and crazy anarchist bike tourists whom I met in Lhasa and again in Kathmandu. They had ridden in Mongolia, and did the Lhasa-Kathmandu ride before doing some riding in Nepal and heading for SE Asia. There were a number of cyclists whom I met in Lhasa, including: Park, an American who had ridden from Kashgar, China to Ali, Tibet, only to be arrested when the Chinese closed western Tibet to foreigners after Sept. 11. He then joined a bunch of other cyclists to form a "group tour" to ride Lhasa-Kathmandu. Trevor, an Australian guy arrested in Ali as well, who also rode in the pack to Kathmandu. Justin and Miyuki, an English-Japanese couple who had ridden in Mongolia and who were in the Lhasa-Kathmandu group. Their trip website is homepage.mac.com/justin4/index.html Patrik and Priska, a Swiss couple who had also been arrested trying to ride Yunnan-Tibet, and who then rode Lhasa-Kathmandu and on into Sikkim and Darjeeling, where we missed each other by minutes. He had hair extraordinarily like mine. They had previously ridden around the world. Yoshiyuki, a hard-core Japanese bike tourists who's been all over the world. He too was arrested in Ali, and rode in the group to Kathmandu. Markus, a Swiss rider whom I met in Lhasa. His biking companion's knee prevented him from riding, so Markus did the ride to Kathmandu on his own. I ran into him as well at the Tibet-Nepal border. I met another Japanese biker at the Tibet-Nepal border crossing, who (of course) had been arrested in Ali as well and whose bike had broken on the way to Shigatse, so he was on the bus. Owen (?), a British guy who had ridden to Kathmandu from Britain and who was flying off to Bangladest (?!) to continue his adventure. Patrick and Laure-Ann, a Swiss couple who had ridden all the way from Switzerland to western Tibet only to be arrested and deported from (you guessed it) Ali. They will try to ride the Yunnan-Tibet road in the spring. I cycled with them one day in eastern Nepal, my first day of riding with someone since Joanne stopped cycling in Thailand. A young Belgian whom I met in Tingri, Tibet. He had a recumbent bike and wanted to ride Kathmandu-Lhasa but wasn't allowed to by the Chinese, so he was in a jeep with his bike on the roof. He wanted to ride Lhasa-Chengdu, but I convinced him that it was too late in the year and that he would probably freeze to death. He said he would try again in the spring. He had already ridden the Leh-Manali road in India. I was impressed that anyone could ride a recumbent bike on awful dirt roads. Best Beaches of Trip 1. Similajau National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia 2. Ko Miang, Similan Islands, Thailand 3. Laem Phra Nang beach, Railay, Krabi , Thailand 4. Kapas Island, Malaysia. 5. Rantau Abang, Malaysia 6. Berang Kecil, Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia 7. Joanne's favourite beach, on Ko Tau, Thailand Back to our Home Page Back to our Current Photo Page |