Bike Aways

More famous then Burma’s last royal capital is the way there: the Road to Mandalay.

We go the opposite direction — from Mandalay travelling progressively back in time to the ancient Buddhist Kingdoms on the plains of Bagan, and to the (succeeding) Shan Kingdom up in the hills with its stunning Inle Lake
A more favourable direction for a bike ride, the road to Inle follows the Irrawaddy River along a historic route so decorated with pagoda’s, sacred mountains, spirit homes, and ancient kingdoms, that bike is the only way to take in the landscape without becoming overwhelmed.

Spire-fringed skylines, golden sikaras, crumbling ruins, toddy palms, sunsets on the river, monks on teak bridges, buddhas and bougainvilleas, cotton trees, temple macaques, bullock carts and horse drawn carriages – Upper Myanmar is old Asia, romantic and exotic and a feast for the senses served up with the serenity of travel by bike and boat.

And if you’re in the know, the food is great! Local authentic, home-cooked meals are a highlight, Check out the descriptions of some highlight meals in the section titled A saar a saa. This means food style in Myanmarese, and there are some really special meals and food experiences built into this unique itinerary.

...multi-storied, fengshui-alligned, rammed earth fortresses built from the 13th Century onward to protect the “newly” arrived Hakka Clan’s and their rich culture. 46 Tulou scattered across Southern Fujian are now UNESCO listed World Cultural Heritage gems, best appreciated on a bike, with plenty of tea. This is a real eco-tour; if coming from Hong Kong, you may opt for the new 3.5 hour new bullet train from Shenzhen, or meet at Xiamen Airport on the Friday night. Then push bike the rest. There are hills, hedged with seasonal crops, most famously Fujians Iron Goddess tea bushes that provide us our happy excuse to stop and taste both the landscape and Tulou-hospitality, in a teacup! Brewed with ceremony (kung-fu styled), Oolong teas are the Pocari Sweat of this eco-ride – served up with Fujian folklore, tea-processing know-how and the basics of tea-palate education.

You will support heritage conservation by staying in two lesser known Tulou. Tea lovers and non-hardcore cyclists are encouraged to join. There are some challenging hills but the cycling is not rushed. In total you will cycle approximately 75 km kilometers of both beautifully paved country back roads, and tiny village pathways (some less than beautifully paved, but providing intimate access to the tulou villages and fields).

Tiny churches sit atop dramatic snowy mountains, at home in any fairytale book. Imposing watch towers line up under the mountains separating Russia and Chechnya from a culture that has its own alphabet and completely unique culture unrelated to its neighbours.

Cave cities offered refuge from the Mongols, who still dream about Georgia as a land of milk and honey.

Mosques and palaces remain from the Ottomans, the Azerbaijanies and Armenians along the southern borders.

Stalin was born in Gori, Prometheus was chained to his rock Kazbegi, and the Golden Fleece of Jason and his argonaughts originated in the traditions of Georgians using sheep skins to pan the gold carrying snowmelt of Svanetti – one of the most beautiful Alpine regions in the world.

The oldest recorded wine vessels are from Georgia – and the wine is everywhere and delicious.

Trust us, this route is the bomb and a great combination of the best you can get on a bike – with transfers across the anything remotely mundane so you see more of the Georgiousness.

Tbilisi - Gori - Vardzia -Godedzi Pass - Batumi - Svanetti - Ushguli (highest village in Europe) - Ushba Glacier - Mestia - Mount Shkhara - Prometheus Cave - Tbilisi

Fuel up on the famous Guilin rice noodles; explore rustic peasant-traditions including cormorant fishing as you navigate the dragon-tooth limestone karst mountains.

This classic “mountain-water” landscape is immortalised in the ink brush and water colour paintings of Chinese artists.

Escape the tourists and see it as they did in the remote countryside at your own pace.

Ride the Mongolian Steppe from Terelj National Park following the Nomads as they saddle up and set course for Ulaan Batur and the annual Naadam – the Nomad Olympics of Mongolia.

Last year’s ride birthed a new tribe made up of 8 international cyclists, 3 Shaman’s plus their 3 translators of ancient ancestor Mongolian, one multi talented musician,and a support crew of camp kitchen staff, drivers, mechanics and cultural interpreters.

The Shamans enacted traditional rituals channeling the voices of ancestors at one of our evening camps. Dawa, our throat singing, mouth harp and horse head fiddle playing flautist entertained us whilst we ate our traditionally barbequed lamb chops (and our seven cheeses vegetarian salad).

Naadam with its (eye) opening ceremony, wrestling knockout, Narnia-esque archery competitions, and horse-races is a bucket-list world event which this year we are programming mid ride as a rest day, a chance to see other people being athletic.

Following straight on from the horse-racing on Day 2 of Naadam, we travel on to Hustai national park,  a refuge for Mongolia’s wild creatures, and home of the rehabituated Przewalski horse.
A real conservation win –  the Przewalski horse is a truly wild horse and the only surving wild-horse ancestor, snatched from the cusp of extinction by genetics genii.

Red deer, steppe eagles and marmots frolic in numbers rarely seen elsewhere. A new addition to our itinerary, we are looking forward to using bikes for wildlife spotting on this stop and smell the wildlife add-on to this year’s trip.

Join us on a Tibetan adventure through the grasslands and nomadic culture of Amdo – Eastern Tibet. This trip skirts the Upper Yellow River starting in Lanzhou where it is broad (and actually yellow in colour with  suspended loess) to its more pristine form higher up on the Tibetan plateau at Maqu and Tangkor. We acclimate in the famous monastery towns of Labrang (Xiahe) and Langmusi before we bike up and cycle down through the temperate forested farming lands toward Tiwu, before ascending through rocky mountains back up into the grasslands, and the bird and wildflower-rich Zoige wetlands.

Camp out with nomads as they graze their yaks on the summer pastures, cycle alongside the yellow River at its most pristine, breathe in the fresh air , and drink in the wide blue sky of the Tibetan plateau.