Danube to Beijing

Grab your tweezers and your face mask and join us on a trip through the heart of a dragon.After horrendous road conditions in Kazakhstan where some of their secondary roads resembled bad forestry roads,we were salivating at the sight of smooth tarmac roads at the start of China.The roads did not disappoint with smooth tarmac highways  crossing most of China.But what I was not encountering on was the huge amount of truck traffic we would see.On some of the secondary roads we would encounter up  to 85-90 percent heavy trucks compared to light traffic making some of these highways the busiest in the world for heavy traffic.It shows what great road builders the Chinese people have become with very little potholes to be seen.What we were not expecting was the huge amount of punctures we would both get in China.Now what happens is that because of the huge amount of truck traffic on the roads we were getting a huge amount of punctures from blown out truck tyres.Quite often we would see tyres worn down to the extent that wire would be visible to the eye.Now when a truck tyre explodes it sends out hundreds if not thousands of tiny filament like wires which are barely visible to the eye but which a cycle tyre is very vulnerable to.In Western China we started to see the odd lorry truck passing us totally fill with tomatoes.One lorry truck turned into 3-4 which then turned into queues of trucks of 2-3km long all waiting to get into the processing plants.With China 2nd only to Italy as the worlds largest tomato paste exporter it begs the question why New Zealand is importing in there produce.With their trucks and factories belching out toxic fumes and no cover at all over the tomatoes I for one will keeping a lookout on where my tomato sauce comes from in future

How to describe a country where the summer temperatures reach over 50 degrees in summer and then plummet to under minus 25 in winter.Where the wind is so strong it regularly topples heavy trucks and where in the western parts dust storms occur once a fortnight.If you freeze water and put in your bottle holder in the middle of the day and 2 hours later it is to hot to drink so you throw it over your head and it almost burns your skin.

One day we got caught out and desperately needed accommodation stopped at a road workers compound and they took a wreckers bar to the locked door completely smashing the door in the process ,just so we could sleep there{yes true story}Most people have gone out of their way to be helpful and very hospitable offering us free accommodation and water when we sometimes run out during the day.

By 2013 a mega highway will be completed between China and Russia,tarmac and concrete which will really open up this country.

Yes Kazakhstan is a country of extremes but with China just on their doorstep and huge oil and gas reserves it will be a country to watch in the future.

And who can forget the huge smiles of these great people mostly showing a big amount of gold in their mouth in the process

What would you do if you were born with HIV or a family member was born with it????? Five years ago contaminated blood was given to about 200 individuals in the Shymkent region. Yesterday we met with families who were affected with this horrible disease. Now what would you do if your child classmates were told of your child’s plight in a very cruel and horrible way in which your child suffered great stress with them losing friends and being stigmatised by it.

This is where our Sponsor UNICEF is working wonders alongside some Regional Youth Centers run by the government. UNICEF has offered its support in setting up these great centres where young people can go and seek expert help on health matters and mental health services.

I came away from two meetings with our UNICEF adviser extremely impressed about a number of things.The two centers we visited are been run by some very passionate and caring people who are very good good at what they do.Both of the places were hygienic and safe with some modern decor.

As you already know this is our Sponsor I urge all of you with some extra money to donate to this very worthy cause. Remember what would you do if your child received some tainted blood?????

Camped the night at a local beach complete with driftwood and sea born litter. Made camp with with me putting up tent and Nick making pasta over the camp stove.Boat sheds some falling over and others in serious need of repair made the setting more interesting.A swim was had by all with a local dog looking out to sea and contemplating his life. For such a region of the world where the tide is not large the rip on the beach was as strong as any West Coast beach in NZ.Sunset fell with the sky turning a fierce red.Just on dusk a lone figure could be seen trotting down by the water.A magnificant picture was unfolding as a lone fox was seen warming himself up for his evening hunting.I could only admire his freedom that few of us ever achieve in our lives

Grab your handlebars tight for you are about to go for one of the most crazy rides of your life.Start pumping your legs and go as fast as you can go as you will be soon riding on a fast  double lane expressway where trucks pull out  of road works and buses stop on a regular basis. Now look right because there is a big blue bus coming on to the on ramp and about to  go right in to your lane. Oh man this is going to be close I think we will give way to him just in case he has not see us or he or she does not give a damn.Ok we are past that whew now lets pick a line and blast down the hill all the time looking in our handel bar mirror just in case.Hang on that bus looks to close for comfort lets jump off into the rough over all the glass and blown out truck tyre remains into safety. Look at the speedo we are doing about 60 k now better not crash into anything as there wont be much left of us. Can not see Nic better take this exit as it looks like the one we should be taking. Guess what it is not now the traffic has intensified and still no sign of Nic. Hmmmmm better stop and give Nic a rude text and ask him where he is. Ok we have gone the wrong way and now we have to back track on a motorway we better get off or bike and hug the barrier for it is not a cool way to go being quished under tyres for a stupid mistake. Ok back on the expressway lets be more carefull now. Sweet we are in the city now what can go wrong lets follow Nic more closely now even if. Bang what. Ok a car has cut off Nic after a brief dicussion we are back on the road again. Lets go and have our first McDonalds of the trip and discuss our individual adventures of the day.

Brrrgh bang.What the.Quick look at air steward confirms my fears she is fidgeting and talking very excitetable to the captain of the airctaft.Hmmmm this does not look good I thought to myself.Ladies and gentleman we have a slight problem with the aircraft and will be returning to Seoul.Cool i thought what a great start to a adventure of a lifetime with fire engines screaming down the runway to meet us.A new aircraft and two hour wait and we were off again.So what was the problem with the aircraft i gingerly asked the attractive air hostess.Oh one of the turbines failed so we had to land on one turbine she said in a rather shaky voice.
I will fill you in with the actual biking adventure next time.But untill then i have got some serious eating to do.

We are now in the initial stages of planning stage 2 cycling from Bucharest to Beijing. We will post updates from now on so stay tuned… We are both looking forward to this adventure and sharing our experiences.