MerDragon China Rally 2010

[NaPTuNe]

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This granny's underwear is so eye-catching I couldn't resist taking a snap at it...

 

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But still, the winner of the day is still this T-shirt on sale at one of the souvenir shops...

 

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[NaPTuNe]

It was a quick tour of the Hutong and we had Peking Duck for dinner.

 

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The restaurant is called Quan Ju De. However, it sounds more like "Quan Ji De", which means "All Remember" in mandarin.

 

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Before we enter the restaurant, we saw a lady pushing a cart of roasted ducks packed in plastic bags. I think those are for delivery.

 

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Great tasting Peking duck, cripsy skin and juicy meat...

[NaPTuNe]

The guys at my table can drink beer like water. Someone ordered 5 bottles of beer for everyone and then someone else repaid the kindness by ordering another 5 bottles and this sort of habit somehow started on the first day of the trip and went on for the rest of the trip... :thirsty:

 

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Did i mention i don't drink beer? The above has nothing to do with me.

[NaPTuNe]

Night time back at the hotel, I went to check my bike again. I notice a bike at the far end that looks like a Ducati. Went near it and it was a Ducati 1198s!

 

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I was excited to see a fellow Duke in Beijing.

[NaPTuNe]

I got to know a few Ducati riders in Beijing. Ducati bikes are very expensive & rare in China. In fact, Ducati only started a shop in Beijing a couple of years ago. Getting a Duke in China would be more expensive than getting one in Singapore. I am very honored to have met the riders. They came down to my hotel to support me.

 

You will notice that all the big bikes have no number plate. There's a no logic rule in China, all privately owned motorcycles above 400cc will not be given a number plate. It will not be registered. Because the traffic police's motorcycle is at most 400cc. The common citizen cannot be more "powerful" than the authorities. So, all these big bikes are actually "illegal". However, I was told the local police don't give a **** when they see these bikes on the road. They cannot catch up the speed anyway.

 

And Gerard the 1198s owner tells me he doesn't even have a riding license...

 

Here is how the traffic police bike looks like in China. This is a 200cc one. There's a bigger (biggest) one with 400cc.

 

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From left to right: Jack Tan, Gerard (Black 1198s), Me, Shang Dong (999) & Leslie (Paul Smart 1000).

 

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Leslie's Paul Smart 1000 & Shang Dong's 999.

 

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Shang Dong on his 999.

Edited August 30, 2010 by NaP^TuNe

[NaPTuNe]

10th of Aug

 

The main group went to the Forbidden City & Great Wall. I have been to those places so I didn't join the group. I went to the Olympic Stadium aka "Bird Nest" instead. It has been 2 years since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, yet, the spirit is still strong lingering in the Olympic Park. Alot of visitors, like me, just go there to see the stadium, although there is nothing going on at that area.

 

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[NaPTuNe]

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A map of the Olympic Park.

 

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This is the Ling Long Pagoda.

 

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The National Aquatics Center where swimming competitions were held.

 

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The Olympic Indoor Stadium.

 

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The lights around the Olympic Park are also shaped like the "Bird Nest".

Edited August 28, 2010 by NaP^TuNe

[NaPTuNe]

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The wide and busy highways of Beijing.

 

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[papabread79]

i am inclined to think that the "torn" area of the kid's shorts was meant for him to sh1t easily.

 

Am i right to assume that?

[NaPTuNe]

i am inclined to think that the "torn" area of the kid's shorts was meant for him to sh1t easily.

 

Am i right to assume that?

 

Yes, the "torn' area stretches from the back to the front. Its for peeing & sh1tting. Its very common for kids in China to wear this.

[NaPTuNe]

It was a very hot & sunny day at the Olympic Park. I saw the stadium, I am contented. So much about the legacy of it. I left the park and went to...

 

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Wang Fu Jing is the Orchard Road of Beijing. Malls & malls of endless shops and great buys.

 

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[NaPTuNe]

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At night around 8pm plus, I received a call from the group leader that there will be a pump petrol session around 10pm. The next morning will be the offical flag-off ride. And we will be heading straight up the highways without stopping for petrol. So i took a taxi back to the hotel.

 

Below are pictures of our bikes drinking China petrol - Sinopec for the first time..

 

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This is Li from Canada. She rides a Kawasaki Er-6n, 650cc.

 

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Li & her husband Richard each rode their own bike on this trip. Richard rides a BMW (what model I am not sure). They've rode together on many trips in different parts of the world. Such a loving couple.

[NaPTuNe]

11th Aug 7.30am

 

Getting ready for the flag-off ride. We have a coach bus carrying non-riding passengers, so all our luggage are on the bus. We only take what we need on the road with us.

 

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We were each given a Provisional Driving/Riding Permit by the China authorities. Due to case-sensitivity, we are not allowed to post photos with contents about the permit/license. This 2-piece card size license was so important to the China authorities that they demanded the return of it before we left the country. Alot of us wanted to keep it as a souvenir, we tried persuading the authories but we got a firm "NO".

 

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Everyone took turns to receive the license given by the authority representative.

 

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Mark seemed so happy when he got his.

 

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The whole family.

 

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One of our rider by the name Chandler Thomas Willian is a priest. He said prayers for us after the group photo taking. Our roadtrip is non-religion based but we all gladly asked for God's protection & received the lord's blessings.

 

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Team 27 president-Peter Poh gave us a briefing on what to look out for on China roads.

 

And... Off we went!

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[NaPTuNe]

11th Aug - Beijing --> Changzhou (lunch) --> Dezhou

Total 390km. We spent 8 & a half hour. Our maximum speed allowed on all roads are 80~ 90km/h. It was raining and now that I recall, it was the coldest ride of the whole trip.

 

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There is a total of 3 female riders. I made friends with the other 2.

 

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Left to right: Sannnaess Siri, Me and Li.

 

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Sannaess Siri with her Harley. She joined the trip with her husband. They both rode the same bike model and even with matching colour.

[NaPTuNe]

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Nelson and his FJR.

 

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We left Beijing Shi and headed into Hebei Province. We stopped for a break after the first tow station named Da Yang Fang Station.

 

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We stopped at the pitstop.

 

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Edited August 30, 2010 by NaP^TuNe

[NaPTuNe]

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The above picture of Jack on his Harley is so rock & roll~~

 

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How do I look then?

 

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[NaPTuNe]

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Above is Kelvin, our lead bike in the convoy. He had a video camera on his helmet.

 

Here's a video of our very first ride in Beijing.

Edited September 4, 2010 by NaP^TuNe

[terri_one]

lifes too short and can be ended any time. my wife and i changed our budget formula and increase $$ for play. in our 40s, we lost a few friends thru illness and accidents. this phase changed our thinking. My wife could not come due to young kids, but next time, she would.

 

i will be selling off the fazer in a few months time and am looking at a BMW tourer. Anyone selling?

[NaPTuNe]

i will be selling off the fazer in a few months time and am looking at a BMW tourer. Anyone selling?

 

Eh bro, want to buy or sell bike go to "Garage Sale" section lah... This thread is for me to BLAST my photos..

[NaPTuNe]

It was a very cold ride. I am all wet because my riding gears are all non-waterproof. Finally, after 5 hours at 1pm, we stopped at Cangzhou for lunch.

 

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Our bikes rocked the neighbourhood...

 

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The police is suppose to look after our bikes, end up he was taking pictures of our bikes... Might as well get him to take a picture with me..

[NaPTuNe]

After lunch, we're back on the road!

 

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We entered ShanDong Province. Our toll fees are firstly paid by the leading van infront of the convoy, then collected from us during the end of each day.

 

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Yaya, the above looks like an advertisment for riding jackets...

[NaPTuNe]

4.40pm, we arrived at a small town named Dezhou, our 2nd hotel - FengDu International Hotel. It's just a one night stop-over as the next morning we will be riding again.

 

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Dinner at the hotel. Every meal we had in China was BIG fish, BIG meat, BIG BIG serving. We had sumptuous feast for lunch & dinner throughout. Towards the end of the trip, I got sooooo sick of chinese cuisine. I went to eat McDonald's & KFC.

 

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Above is Albert- the debt collector "Ah Long San" who comes chasing us for toll & petrol payment.

 

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[NaPTuNe]

12th Aug, 7.45am.

Dezhou ----> Jinan (Main city of ShanDong Province)

117km, 4 hours.

 

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Ironed-on patch on one of the rider's jacket. The countries that we've ridden in.

 

A Harley Davidson ridden by a participant name Richard Alan started giving problems. His alternator is not charging the battery. The bike cannot start so the guys tried to charge it using cables connecting to another bike.

 

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And when it still fails, they tried charging with a car.

 

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This is only the 2nd day of riding. His bike continued to give him problem every riding day. He was very unhappy. His bike managed to start and we moved off for Jinan!

 

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Edited August 30, 2010 by NaP^TuNe

[NaPTuNe]

Below are my favourite set of pictures in the whole trip. Taken at a petrol station in Dezhou on our way to Jinan. Pictures taken by H.M our trip photographer. It was one of the best ride during the trip. The weather was cooling & the skies were clear.

 

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These pictures are worth me paying almost $8000 to join the trip. It is an almost impossible trip and these pictures are priceless...

[NaPTuNe]

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The locals were very curious about us & our bikes. They stood around looking/staring at us from the beginning to the end. Some will come forward to ask questions.

 

Where are you from? What are you doing here? Where are you going? What bike is this? How much it costs? Can it go 180km/h? Is anyone riding a Ferrari? Oh, Ferrari got no bike?

 

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See, the people are just standing around looking at us.