Keeping things going, Wang Feng and Josh teamed on a trip to Shanghai to share handcycling with friends at the Sunshine Rehab Center (China's second largest) and attend the Without Barriers Expo 2015 along with the members of the Beijing Halfway House rehab center.

Meeting up in Zaozhuang, we took the high-speed train to Shanghai's Hongqiao station. The carrying case that Wang Feng had made for the bike worked well and we were able to take it easily onto the train. We also were joined by two other friends from Beijing who were coming to Shanghai for the expo. 

Arriving in Shanghai, we made our way to the Sunshine Rehab Center, which arranged our accommodation and began preparing for the next day's clinic. 

Following a talk attended by residents, rehab professionals and the Center's director, Dr. Xie, we went outside so that everyone could get in the bike and try out the bike. 

Nearly all of the over 20 people attending the event tried out the bike, ranging from individuals with cervical-level spinal cord injuries to staff and physicians. We actually had to take the bike away in order to make the end of the lunch service. 

The following day, Wang Feng and Josh brought the bike to the Shanghai Without Barriers Expo. We started at the Halfway House booth and quickly attracted a crowd, but soon were moving through the aisles to reach out to more people. After several requests, we moved to an open space at the end of the hall where about five or six people waited to try out the bike.


We were impressed with the interest at the expo and added about 50 new followers of our WeChat social media platform on that day alone. The only drawback was that we only had one bike..


The rest of our visit to Shanghai was a lesson in accessible travel that took us through downtown Shanghai's business and historical districts, including the Bund, all by handcycle. Wang Feng and Josh traded off riding with one or the other being pulled behind the bike in Wang Feng's wheelchair. Guaranteed 100% head-turns!


With this experience behind us, we're excited for our next trip, which will take us along a route from Wang Feng's hometown of Zaozhuang to the cities of Jining, Zoucheng and Tengzhou where we will identify individuals and organizations along the way to spread our message and the sport of handcycling. 

Our goal today was Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the highlights of the trip and it didn't disappoint. 

The morning was kind to us with a moderate downhill and some pretty scenery as we rode away from White Water Terrace. 

Later in the morning, we started the climb to the foothills of Haba Mountain, one of the major peaks in this area and we were rewarded for our effort with a massive downhill that took us up over 60kph. The views of the mountain in the distance were also amazing. 

After lunch, we continued along along a relatively level part of the route near, still near 3,000 meters, but about 30km into the ride we started to descent for a full 15km maintaining speeds of over 40kph taking us down into Tiger Leaping Gorge at an elevation of only 1,800 meters. 

The view of the gorge in the distance was something I will never forget and a view that everyone should see once in their life. Truly amazing.

Our jaws stayed dropped as we rode toward the gorge with the sheer cliffs growing higher and higher, towering nearly 1,000 meters above us with the river nearly the same distance below. 

Another 12km of comfortable riding allowed us to enjoy the views before we arrived at our first (and very recommended) hotel of the trip - Bridge Cafe (橋咖啡), which provides an incredible view of Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge with a full view of the river and cliffs. 

Riding Stats:
Leg 1: (30.21km, 2h32m, 11.9km/h)
Leg 2: (42.64km, 2h46m, 15.4km/h)

After our first day of riding, we were actually not as tired as we'd expected and got to bed at a good time. 

The only drawback was that none of us had camped for a long time and the uneven ground and freezing temperatures made for little sleep. 

But we were up the next day ready to tackle the mountains once again! After a breakfast of hard boiled eggs and biscuits, we climbed out of our campsite and started the day with a massive set of uphill switchbacks. Luckily this was followed by really fun downhills - pretty much setting the theme for this ride!! 


We arrived at Baishuitai (White Water Terrace) at around 2pm, debating whether to mount horses and go to the top or not. In the end, we decided to go ahead and do it!!


The locals that rented out the horses were very reluctant to let Dom and Wang Feng ride the horses, but after about an hour of reassurances, the brought the first horse down to try. 


Wang Feng was the first to try it out and having never been on a horse (before or after being in a chair), he was very nervous. He had a hard time keeping his balance and in the end decided not to go up. 


Dom, how had ridden a horse once since his accident, was more daring and after feeling out the horse decided to go all the way to the top. 


The guides (about 10 of them - all women) were with us the entire time and insisted that Josh stay right by the horse just in case Dom should lose his balance. 


The views at the top were amazing and well worth the ride up. Going back down was smooth and Dom became more confident and the horse more comfortable. By the end, they were best buds!


By the time we got down, it was around 5pm and we debated trying to get a little more riding in, but ultimately decided to camp in the parking lot of a hotel (inaccessible) for the night and have a decent meal instead. 


The concrete made for a much better surface than the ground the previous night and we all slept much more comfortably. This was good too, because we were now behind in the distance that we needed to cover and would have to work hard to make that up. 


Riding Stats:
Leg 1: (47.81km, 3h09m, 15.1km/h)

Our second day of the trek was our first day of real riding, heading out of Shangri-la and into the mountains. 

Very much Tibetan country - we passed by a white stupa decorated with traditional colorful prayer flags as we reached the top of our first hill. 

The countryside was filled with the thick-walled, incredibly solid Tibetan homes and farms, surrounded by a mix of pine forests and arid highlands. 

Our first stop was Potatso National Park (普達措國家公園) where we had some lunch and recharged. 

The axle we made held up well and there were some adjustments we had to make to the bikes, but generally riding was smooth with only a few bigger hills.

We passed through villages that haven't changed for generations - people in traditional clothing, fences and buildings made from local materials, yaks and mountain goats in the road and amazing vistas. 

Camp was at an amazing spot on the land of a herder. We tucked our tents under the eave of his barn and Haige started a fire. By the time we caught up, it was time to eat and we had a meal of dried beef, instant noodles, eggs and sausages. 

The only downside of the night was that temperatures dropped down below freezing and some snoring that kept Haige and some of the team awake...but all par for the course! 

Riding Stats:
Leg 1: (23.11km, 1h33m, 14.8km/h)
Leg 2: (30.1km, 2h16m, 13.2km/h)

Arrival in Shangri-la was generally smooth with great support from China Eastern. We found our host, Haige, and photographer Sheng Yi waiting for us at the airport. 

Luggage was all accounted for and we moved into the 7 Days Inn. We started putting assembling the handcycles, which had been broken down for the flight, only to find that one of Dom's rear axles had been lost in transit. Crisis? I think not!!

The next day, we set out in search of a replacement - ultimately finding a machinist that could take a 15mm bolt and mill a 1/2 inch thread on the end - nothing short of a miracle!! And it only took him an hour!!

We took a short training run in the afternoon onto the highland plains with the sun setting dramatically over the distant mountains. 

Yang Lin, a friend who was on a road trip with his father, came along and tried out handcycling for the first time. 

After finishing up some yak-milk tea and barley cakes with some local Tibetan friends, we turned back in time for a dinner of yak hot pot. Yumm!!

Riding Stats:
Training Run 1
Training Run 2

Our partner The Hutong recently (www.thehutong.com) introduced us to a group based in Beijing called Beijing FOoDiEs, which holds monthly dinners for charitable causes and was kind enough to host Krankin' thru China for their August dinner at a new restaurant called One Pot by Ssam serving up a set of Korean fusion dishes. 

We were able to present our project, raise some money for transportation and trip expenses during our Yunnan Trek and even make a couple of really good contacts! 

A special thanks to Kristen Lum and The Hutong for making this possible!!

Today was an especially awesome ride because our friend Chiu from our last trip in Taiwan came up from Miaoli to ride with us - and brought some of his friends! 

Originally just a training ride for Josh and Douglas, we planned to ride from the Guanshan bike depot to Danshui where the Danshui River enters the ocean, north of Taipei. 

Josh contacted Chiu to see if he could come up and the answer an immediate YES!  Chiu's friend who built his bike, also a foot-powered recumbent rider, said he would come along as well, joined by a few of his recumbent friends in Taipei. This doubled our numbers from just a handful to a group of ten!! We also has a member of Health, Bike, Life (生命勵) join us for the ride. 

It only took about an hour to ride to Guandu (關渡) via Shezi Bridge (社子大橋) where we had Japanese food at a place called Donburi (丼布狸) before moving on to Danshui, which had some of the first (moderately) challenging uphills, but nothing like what Yunnan is going to bring though!! 

We followed the same route back to Guanshan where Douglas tried out Chiu's recumbent handcycle and we had some great Kuei-shan (桂山牌) pineapple popsicles - a great end to the day!

Stats: 
Distance - 48km
Riding time - ~4hrs

During our trip to Taiwan in May of this year, we got to know a very active handcyling group here in Taipei - Health, Bike, Life (生命勵 in Chinese), which organized events for us while in Taipei. 

Josh is currently in Taipei on another project, but has been in touch with this group, borrowing one of their handcycles in preparation for the Yunnan Trek. Josh will be posting photos and maps of his training routes in our blog, so keep an eye out for our updates and if you're in Taipei, give him a shout!! We'll go out for a ride!

Below are some photos from a recent 70+km ride with Health, Bike, Life in Taipei along the city's beautiful riverside bike paths - some of the best in the WORLD!!!

(Photos Courtesy of 黃朝松 via Facebook)

A couple of weeks ago, Wang Feng and Josh made an initial trip down to Yunnan to do a route check. In addition to some amazing views and fresh air, we were able to get some great stats on the route, road conditions and places to stop along the way. Here are some photos of the trip to give you and idea of what's coming up.