Day 4 – Xuanbi Great Wall, Jiayu Pass Castle, No. 1 Pier

Day 4 included another optional challenge for those who wanted to take it on. The route was revised to 30km from 50km, but those who wanted to ride the 50km did. Team A had decreased to 7 due to a number of people having to leave for conference calls.

We started the morning still in the city of Guazhou, but soon after taking in breakfast, we packed up and boarded the team buses, heading for our last stop on our tour, the city of Jiayuguan. It was a 3 hour ride through the desert. I tried to catch some sleep, but I noticed how tall the mountains in the distance were. I first thought they were clouds, these shadows cast from hundreds of miles away, but instead, I took a closer look. These weren’t the Himalayas, as those would be too far away to see them. But I thought, the Asian continent certainly has some very amazing landscape. Also, I was pre-occupied, looking out the windows to see the type of terrain that people farmed. Life does not look easy here, when I compare it to where I’m from: suburbs, cars, shopping centers.

Reaching Jiayuguan was another surprise. It turns out, that Jiayuguan is a very well-developed city. There was a mix of old buildings and brand new condo developments. I noticed that the highways were very modern looking, smooth to drive on, unlike the roads we took on Day 2 of our journey, which caused us to fly out of our seats whenever the front tires of the bus rolled back up out of a dip. Driving through Jiayuguan, I try to look at the conditions in which people live and it looks like a mix of different classes. Like the other cities in China, scooters are everywhere. Here, in Northwest China, drivers drive with one hand on the steering wheel and the other hovering over the horn. Being honked at does not mean the other driver is annoyed with you, it’s to let you know that somebody is there.

Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Ride distance: roughly 53 km

Immediately after brunch, all riders were bussed to their starting points. Team A would be taken just a few blocks away to start, whereas the remaining 20+ riders were taken to a headstart location approximately 23km. Team A and I set up a very quick pace for approximately 10km before making a left turn out of the city and into a strong headwind. Riding slowed drastically at this point. In this direction, it became apparent what some of the main sources of income for the city are. Jiayuguan is a very industrial town, there were a number of factories with tall smoke stacks adding to the atmosphere. We ride through smoke from intentional fires. Eventually, we turn out of the headwind and pass by a steel factory and reach the headstart dropoff point for the other riders, all of whom have already started their ride. We meet at the Xuanbi Great Wall, the westernmost point of the Great Wall of China.


Western-most point of the Great Wall of China
After a 25k sprint, walking up the steps of the Xuanbi Great Wall was no easy task. Each section of the Great Wall is built differently. From pictures, I imagined all of the Great Wall of China to be wide walkway, made of large bricks. The Xuanbi portion is narrow, and not as tall as I imagined.

Jiayu Pass Fort
We continued on our bikes to the next stop. The Jiayuguan Fort served as the first pass at the west end of the Great Wall. It was one of the key points of the Silk Road. Another significance of this location is that Chinese who were banished were forced to leave through this pass into the west and promise never to return.

No 1. Pier
Another few kilometers by bike, and we arrived at the No. 1 Pier, that overlooks the Beida River. There is a wobbly pedestrian bridge one could take to get to the other side of the river. I'd love to say more about the No. 1 Pier but I really don't know the historical significance of it. Nevertheless, this site is beautiful in its artistry, and fits in with the landscape. Walking the bridge in itself is an incredible experience.

One thing that I’ve noticed in China is how magnificent structures have been built. The Beida River is deep within a canyon that looks to have been carved by the water from the overlooking snowy mountains for centuries.

That concludes the bicycle portion of day 4, and is the start of the last evening together as a group. After dinner, a few of us took a taxi to a bar in the city and tried some of China’s specials.

First, a taxi dropped us off at some KTV (Karaoke) restaurant. This wasn't the place to be, so we flagged down another taxi who took us to a place better suited for our tastes. The beer is light, the spirits to me taste like other liquor I've tried, like cough syrup. Some white wine, and some delectables: fried tofu on a stick was awesome. In China, smoking inside bars is legal, so I did some second-hand, so my lungs were hurting a bit, especially after 4 days of riding.

Day 3 - Formation of Team A

I sat down to breakfast with Gloria Ge, our event coordinator, and Sharon Dowdell at the hotel this Monday morning. We started talking about Accenture Hope Schools, and it turned out that there are very touching stories as a result of this charity in past years. Gloria is very active in supporting the students enrolled in the program; she mentioned how one student in particular, who reached a point where he was able to simultaneously attend school and work a part-time job asked that the charity sponsor another a new student instead of himself. Another student had attended a top University and will soon graduate. Accenture is taking a long look at him and nearly ready to offer a position with the company.

Date: Monday, September 13, 2010
Ride distance: morning – 25km, afternoon – 58km

In summary, day 3 was a killer. The original plan consisted of a morning ride of 25km from a dropoff point on the highway to the city of Guazhou, then lunch, followed by a 63km to the historic Suyang bluffs. Since many riders noted that they were beginners, the afternoon ride was cut nearly in half due to a very difficult section of hill-climb just outside the city. But just wait, it wasn’t cut in half for everybody.

The kids were excited to see us
The short morning ride was a difficult one as riders faced a strong headwind with small rolling hills. There was a curve approximately 12km in that turned us out of the headwind, then our ride became more comfortable, but one had to complete the initial stretch with the strong resistance. The 25km ride ended in the city of Guazhou, famous for growing sweet melons. The kids came out in strong numbers, probably as school was letting out for lunch time, and we were an instant main attraction. Most of them waved to us, this group of riders passing through their city. I came with the first main group, supported each other in the wind and made our way to our hotel where we stayed for lunch, a meal consisting of shlag as well as other fine foods, especially their sweet melon. The other riders were trickling in as they completed their morning leg.

Optional Challenge? Never back down!
Towards the end of lunch, the logistics people announced that those of us who wanted to ride the original long route would be able to. I’m not sure of the exact distance. We, the 9 riders who took on the challenge of the original route would need to ride from the lunch location, 22km which includes a few kilometers of uphill difficulty. Those who wanted to ride the revised route, would be bussed up the hill and dropped off with around 36km to go.

As the formation of team A (or Team 1, we called ourselves a few different things), set upon the post-lunch ride, we discovered the true difficulty of the original route. We biked 10km back in the direction that we had come from, then turned uphill and against a strong headwind. For me, the wind factor caused more difficulty than the hill. Both required us to lower our gears and power against both factors. The other riders passed us in the bus as they were heading to their forward start position. Eventually, we reached the top of the hill and felt a sense of relief. However, easy wasn't meant to be, as the headwind caused us to continue the pedaling effort downhill.

The road was a beautiful one. We passed by a camel farm. Stopped in a small village and entered the house/restaurant of a couple to have some melon and drinks before continuing on. Our ride ended in Suyang. My quadriceps were starting to cramp up and there was a stretch towards the end of the ride where I had to fall back from team A.

**”Gua” is the Chinese term meaning melon. Guazhou translates to melon city.

Day 2 - Yanguan, Han Dynasty Great Wall

Date: Sunday, September 12, 2010
Ride distance: morning - 21km, afternoon - 50km

The day started with a very bumpy ride in the tour bus from Dunhuang to the Yanguan castle. The oddity of the morning was that while on paved roads, my GPS showed that we were in the middle of nowhere, while on dirt and rock paths, the unit showed that we were on a major Chinese highway. The Yanguan castle has the historic significance of being an outermost defensive fort of the Western Han Dyansty one had to pass through on the Silk Road (don’t quote me on this, as I’m trying to find out about the places that I’d been to this past week). The castle houses of museum of relics from the older Chinese cultures, as well as detailed the significance of the Silk Road’s path as a way for the meeting of many world cultures.

Lunch in some family's backyard
From Yanguan, we biked 25km along a pleasant paved path to a small village and had lunch in the backyard of a small family house. Everybody welcomed us, even the children who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old. They worked also, which raised my alarm, where in my country, children that age should not be performing this type of labor; but it’s acceptable in their situation. The backyard is also the family’s grape orchard and they welcome people as their dining customers. Based on what we heard during the lunch, they typically don’t receive many visitors and therefore do not begin cooking until the guests arrive. Our tour group notified the family of our impending arrival but because the time varied depending on the speed of the ride, the family waited to start cooking. Another meal consisting of shlag, fresh vegetables, melon, beer and second-hand smoking, and we were once again on our bikes.

The afternoon ride was not smooth, literally we descended on 12km of dirt and rocks, with a strong headwind, while we headed in an easterly direction. I was pacing with Joey (girl in orange), staying near the back of the riding pack. We grew physically tired as we spent too much time in the dirt/rocks, but supported each other to keep going. Turning north onto a nicely paved highway was a great feeling, no longer facing the wind and rolling resistance. There was 30km remaining and we were moving at a fairly fast pace, my GPS showed a range of speed between 24-27km/hr.

Our group arrived at the ruins of the Han Dynasty Great Wall and the Yumenguan pass, which was an alternate passage to the Silk Road. The ride back to Dunhuang hotel by bus was just as bumpy as it was in the morning. No fewer than one of my Chinese based friends, said “yee ha!” as he was propelled from his seat by a bump in the highway.

Day 1 - Riding Out to the Mogao Caves

Date: Saturday, September 11, 2010
Ride distance: morning - 28km, afternoon - 28km

The plan was a 56km ride (multiply by 0.6 to calculate mileage), a round trip from the hotel to the Mogao Caves. I hadn’t been on a bike in over a week as I was walking around crowded, humid Hong Kong. I wanted to start out slowly just to see how I’d adjust to the desert air, the altitude of over 3700 feet, and the lack of riding in the lead-up days. I found that Sharon Dowdell was also testing her abilities so I paced with her. A few minutes into the ride, we began casually passing many of the riders that had begun their tour differently, by racing out to a lead.

The ride consisted of an initial stretch of around 13km along the Gansu Highway, then a turn into a minor headwind towards the Mogao Caves. The bicycle that I was assigned was a pretty major downgrade from my own, from the seat, to the handlebar position, down to the drivetrain and brakes. I knew that this would not be a very easy 5 days, and easily decided that the next time I do this, I’m bringing all of my own equipment.

The Mogao caves are an interesting look at the history of the Silk Road. Many cultures of the pre-modern world met here to conduct trade, to learn about each other, and admire the beauty of the Chinese culture. Cameras were not allowed in the exhibits and therefore I can only describe. The Mogao grottoes are a series of thousands of caves where intricate forms of art are embedded into the walls and ceilings. Walking through a small hole in the side of the hill reveals a much larger volume of space where huge statues of the Bodhisatva have been erected.

We of course had another meal that consisted of shlag, and soups, and other forms of delicious offerings. I’m not a fan of shlag, as it tastes ‘gamey’, but I found out quickly that when you’re spending so much time turning a crank, everything that is edible is delicious.

During the return trip to the hotel, Sharon and I were hanging around at the front of the ride pack, and we take breaks in the middle of each leg to allow the rest of the pack to catch up. When you’re in the front, you get a longer break. If you’re hanging around in the back, you might get no break at all as the rest of the crew has given up waiting. Some of the local kids came out to see what was going on as we took a break in their neighborhood, sat on the chairs on their porches. The kids laughed when our Beijing based Senior Executive, Cameron, who’s Caucasian, greeted them in their native tongue.

Add another dinner consisting of shlag, and another trip to the night market. This time, it was with my new friend, Zhu Huiqian, “Joey”.

Day 0 - Getting to Dunhuang

The anticipation had been building up for quite a duration. After exiting Hong Kong and into the mainland, my flight from Shanghai was delayed for over two hours, and I knew something was wrong when the passengers were served lunch before the plane had even departed from the gates.

I looked at the rider list and their flight itineraries and knew there were three other riders on the same plane, but I had never met them before. At our second stopover in Xian, I was happy to see a bicycle helmet attached to a suitcase and introduced myself to Wendy, one of our Shanghai based riders.

One of the things that made me an anomaly in mainland China is that I am Chinese, but I don’t speak Mandarin very well, and one can argue that I don’t understand it at all, as I’m the product of a Cantonese couple that immigrated to the United States before they started the family. Everybody I encountered either started speaking to me in Mandarin, and I had to interrupt with “ni keyi shuo man yi dian?” (‘would you speak slowly a bit?’). An English woman that sat next to me on the plane asked “Do you speak English?”, and I thought for a moment to play along an inability to speak it, however, the fact that I was reading The Economist at the time gave me away, and made her question unnecessary.

Dunhuang Airport is a small plot of land in a valley in the Gobi Desert. We walked down a mobile staircase directly onto the tarmac, met with my newest friends: Wendy, Chen Peng, Zhuan Ye, and Ye’s friend Ha Ta who came along for a vacation. Our tour guide, David, took us to hotel where we met up with the remaining group of riders that had arrived earlier in the day. These includes Sharon Dowdell, who formerly worked with me at eBay, and my roommate during this event, Eric Kawasaki. The three of us make up the North America Team; specifically, we’re Team USA. The Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel is a castle on the outskirts of the city, away from the few blocks that make up the main part of town.
After our first meal of *shlag, the term I came up with because I always get these three animals mixed up: sheep, lamb, goat; some of my new friends and I got into a taxi, passed by a camel on the street, and went to the Dunhuang night market. It turns out, the much larger team of Greater China riders was already at the night market or would end up coming right behind. After walking through a few street shops, we sat down under the beautiful desert sky, and had some shlag on a stick. The night was busy in the market, as it probably is every night as the locals are well aware of Dunhuang’s status as a tourists draw. I was hoping to see many of the local kids, there were a few working in the markets, but it was close to 23 o’clock.

In the town of Dunhuang, there’s a fried chicken place that looks a lot like KFC, but instead of Colonel Sanders, it was the picture of somebody’s grandma. Ha Ta told me that it was the Colonel’s wife, Mrs. Sanders. I wish I had my camera ready for this.

*I know how to distinguish between a sheep, lamb or goat when the animal is in its live state. But once it becomes food, I get confused.

1 More Day Until China

The past few days, I've been enjoying the sights and sounds of Hong Kong. From my mother's side, I have many cousins that I seldom see, and really didn't know very well until just the past few years after I started travelling more often. Three weeks ago, when I was already set for my trip, my parents decided to travel to HK also; they met me here two days after I already arrived. With them also here, I was more inclined to stay with relatives instead of at a hotel.

Free wifi hotspots are not as readily available in HK as it is in the SF Bay area. Hong Kong in September is also very humid, therefore, my clothes are always soaked. But it's still fun, nonetheless.

At 5:30am tomorrow morning (2:30pm PDT), I have to catch a taxi to the airport. From there, I make my way through Shanghai, Xian, then finally to Dunhuang to meet my Accenture Greater China Charity Cycling Team. I'm very excited, a little bit nervous (mostly nervous about safely making my way to the destination, not about the bike ride). I'll post photos as soon as I can find a way to upload them from my camera.

'Til I find a hotspot again. It's time to head out into the heat.

Two more days before I take-off

The bike tour starts next friday, on September 10. At that point, my crew who's also participating in this charity will be conquering the Silk Road. I can't help but feel that I didn't do enough training. I believe that my fitness levels are more than enough, but it may not necessarily translate to strength during the ride, especially since I'll be sitting on that saddle for hours at a time. Dunhuang, China has an average elevation of 3774 feet, which may cause altitude sickness.

Prior to reaching Dunhuang, I will be visiting family in Hong Kong. I won't be able to train on a bike while I'm there, but I can probably find some time to run, and work on my endurance.

As for donations, I'm still behind on my minimum goals. The accrued donations from all riders is also behind the overall minimum goal of $175K. Please contribute if you can. We're trying to do a great deed for kids, just to get an education; something that some of us used to take for granted.

As you can see, the overall contributions are under 50%. I'm just slightly above 50% of my minimum goals. Name me as your favorite rider and make a donation. Even small ones help, and you will be helping needy children get a basic education.

My next post will most likely be written from Hong Kong. I'm not taking my bike with me as I will be provided with one when I get to China. So I will tell you how I'm able to prepare for the ride while I'm in Hong Kong without my ride. Wish me luck.

How many times did you fall off your bike today?

The weekend was full of fun, people, barbecue, swimming pool, and bicycling around town. I solicited for some donations at the barbecue/pool party on Saturday. Curtis and Kelly Flaig of Los Altos gave a very generous cash donation. I received another donation in my name from Jessica Gowdy, also of Los Altos.

My friend, Trang, went on a ride with me today. I was partly in training mode, but mostly just enjoying the day with a friend. I also chose today to be the first ride with my new Shimano clip pedals.
Fall #1: It wasn't long before I had to stop at a red light, then forgetting that my feet were clipped to the pedals. I fell to my left, where the knee took the brunt of the impact from the pavement.
Fall #2: Not long after that, I made a sudden stop and unclipped my left foot since that's the foot I prefer to put down first, however, I inexplicably leaned toward the right and that's how I scraped up my right hand.
Fall #3: I fell again on my left knee at another sudden stop. This was the most painful fall of them all.
Fall #4: Once again, I forgot that I was clipped in. I landed on both palms, scraping up both even more than before.

I had fallen off a total of two times in my college years at bicycle heavy UC Davis, and those incidents were due to reckless riding habits which I no longer possess. Since then, I hadn't fallen in almost a decade, until today. Today was not a good day for me at least in terms of my bike training. however, I'm not surprised since I had done my research, reading about bikers who transition away from platform pedals for the first time.

As of today, I have gathered approximately $1,400 out of the minimum goal of $4,000. Please help me reach out to others about this event. I will be leaving to the bike ride in 3 short weeks and I need to gather as much support as I can for the kids in China.

Mudslides in Gansu Province

The kids in rural China have been through a lot of turmoil in their young lives. In 2008, an earthquake rocked Sichuan province killed 70,000 people. Although China is a world power, many of its residents still live in poverty, especially those who don't live on China's coast.

Droughts in the Summer, floods in the Winter. In Gansu province, where my bike tour will take place, mudslides have caused devestation just this past weekend. As I'm writing this sentence, there are reports of 300+ to as many as 2100 confirmed deaths depending on which source of news I read.

Stories like this make me realize how trivial my own complaints have been. It's true that outside of my bubble, there are many parts of this world where people live with worries, such as, "will I be able to feed my family?", "Can my kids go to school?". We take things for granted. We can't help everybody, but this year, I'm gonna try to help a few.

Training, and need more donations

I finally got a chance to do longer rides over the weekend. It wasn't as much as I had originally set a goal for, but it was a nice set of days to accumulate some miles. Throughout the Iron Horse trail, I was only passed once by a road biker. I don't mind getting passed by those guys, since they have larger diameter wheels and gears built for speed; and I was passing a bunch of other bikers, both roadies and mountain bikes. In San Ramon, I hit some hills on my way to play with my nephew as I do most Saturdays. Going up that hill also meant that I had an easy time coming down at the end of the day.

I still need lots of help with donations. So please if you can help out, even the smallest amount will count towards the overall goal.

Thank you to:

• Sharon Dowdell (my fellow rider from team North America)
• Clayton Bolz
• Vincent Ng
• Reena Sud
• Nhu-y Le
• Sudhakar Potineni
• Kathy Ando

... for their generous contributions towards the Accenture Greater China Charity - Accenture Hope Schools, and for supporting me in the Silk Road bicycle challenge.

The children that we're trying to help, and I, still need lots of help, both in cash contributions and in getting the word out. Instructions can be found at: http://accenturecycling-ramiechanny.blogspot.com/2010/07/donations-please.html. 100% of your donation goes towards funding the Accenture Hope Schools.

My Training Equipment

I read up on the logistics of the China bike tour. The riders are going to be riding on mountain bikes as the routes are not all on paved roads. It makes sense, since the location is rural China, sparsely populated. This is perfect for my training since the only bike I own is a mountain bike.

My machine is a 2005 Giant Yukon with only about 600 miles on it. Components include Deore rear/Alivio front derailleurs (24 speed), disc brakes... not too fancy, but definitely not cheap.

Since most of my training will be on paved roads, I swapped out the fat knobby tires. The front tire is a semi-slick for side-side traction, and the rear is a full slick. These Continental tires roll quickly on pavement. Even against the wind this afternoon, my speedometer read that I was doing 15mph and I thought I was relaxing. Going in the other direction, I was easily clocking in at 20mph. Not bad for a mountain bike, and its rider who is just getting back on after doing things other than biking. But I need to push it harder, and I will also need to include some training days on looser terrain, so the knobbies will be back on.

I've ordered a pair of clipless pedals, Crank Brothers Candy C's. I'll need to pair them up with a set of cleated shoes and practice being clipped in and out. I've never been equipped with cleated cycling shoes before and I've heard that some go through a learning curve... falling over at a stop because they've forgotten to clip out.

The idea now is to ride as much as I can for the next few weeks since I signed on to this event fairly late. It'd be nice if I can get in at least 150 miles per week, with the bulk of that achieved on the weekends, but that might be taking it too easy. I'm thinking that I need to take my bike to work and ride around San Jose, otherwise it will be really late when I get back to Dublin.

Donations please...

As some of you may know, this September, I will be riding in the Accenture Greater China Charity Bicycling event to raise funds for underprivileged children in rural China. This is the 4^th annual charity bike event, and this year, the theme is "Extending Accenture's Journey of Hope". We're reaching out to more riders and requesting contributions from across the globe.

The bicycle adventure will take place in Gansu Province in Central China along a stretch of the Silk Road over a 5 day period. I will ride over 200 miles and travel an additional 400-500 miles by bus. These are some of the most culturally rich, beautiful places in the world: relics from earlier Buddhist culture, remains from the Han Dynasty Great Wall, forts originating from the Tang Dynasty. Amidst this beauty, the residents there are among China’s poorest, and they could use your help. Funds raised will be used for Accenture Hope Schools in Shanghai, Beijing, Shanxi and Sichuan; to purchase teaching aids, subsidize needy students, and build libraries and sports facilities.

I am requesting that you contribute to the fund, and you will also be supporting me in this physical challenge. My minimum goal is to reach $4000, but keep in mind, 100% of your donations will go towards Accenture Hope Schools.

Take on this corporate citizenship challenge and contribute to this cause. Donate to the fund, in support of me, Raymond Chan, as your favorite cyclist.

Friends who work at Accenture:

1. Visit https://ts1apa.accenture.com/sites/GreaterChinaBiking2010/Forms/New%20Donation.aspx?ProfileID=81
2. Change the currency dropdown to USD (or to an available currency of your choice) and enter the amount you would like to contribute.
3. You may choose to use a pre-tax payroll-reduction, or credit card.

Non Accenture Friends and Family:

1. Visit https://vad.aidmatrix.org/Checkout/Checkout.aspx?DriveID=3482&Total=10.00&SponsorID&CyclistID=raymond.s.chan
2. Enter Cyclist First and Last Name: Raymond Chan
3. Enter your personal information
4. Select “Dalian Charity Federation (DCF)” as the recipient (this is the only option available)

Thank you so much for your generosity.

Raymond