Motorcycle TransportationGlobeBusters enter China
Epic GlobeBusters Motorcycle Adventure Crosses Into China
GlobeBusters, the motorcycle adventure travel company, are today celebrating a new landmark, as their London to China research expedition finally enters China itself. The expedition team successfully crossed the Torugart Pass and entered China on Thursday. British couple, Kevin and Julia Sanders, Founders of GlobeBusters Motorcycle Expeditions and fellow team mate, Mark Hamilton, celebrated as they rolled across the Chinese border. The GlobeBusters Team have already covered over 8,000 miles since leaving from the UK on March 28 and it has been one of their most challenging rides to date. “Tajikistan was the most wild and remote place we have ridden”. said Julia Sanders, “ We arrived too early in the season and some passes were covered in deep snow. It was a matter of paddling the bikes through deep ruts of packed snow and walking the bikes across frozen sections of dirt road. Then in the lower sections of the mountains we hit the rainy season and had three deep river crossing to get through, as well as two landslides.” In Tajikistan, the route took them along the Pamir Highway and with special permissions from the Tajik Embassy in London, they headed into the Wakhan Valley, the southern most point of Tajikistan, where only a narrow river represented the border with Afghanistan. “Not unexpectedly, the military presence was high and there were regular checkpoints. Apparently drug smuggling is rife and local Afghans will stuff goat skins full of drugs and float them across the river each night. The GlobeBusters team is relieved to have entered China. Kevin Sanders commented; “Until you are actually in, you never quite sure whether all the planning and preparation for getting into China will actually come through. There is always that possibility that the Chinese could close their borders at any time. It was a great feeling once we rode away from the border, with all the formalities completed”. Riding foreign plated vehicles in China was virtually impossible until the Chinese changed the rules in 2007 and even now, routes have to be pre-approved by Beijing and a Chinese guide is assigned to you. The GlobeBusters team have another five weeks of riding ahead, heading south to Tibet and then down to Yunnan province which is on the border with Laos, before heading back north through Chengdu, Xi’an and Beijing. Entering Tibet will be another landmark for the team, very few motorcyclists have visited the region in recent times due to political difficulties. Kevin added; “We’re now at the start of the second stage of this trip and we have just had a tiny insight of riding in China. It is utter madness in the towns! You cannot ride how you would back in Europe or the USA. There are absolutely no rules and everything and anything can happen or appear on the road at any time from any direction. You need the reactions of a fighter pilot!”. The team are riding bikes equipped to deal with all that the long and sometimes arduous route can throw at them. All three team members are riding BMW GS motorcycles, which have been equipped by Touratech. Navigation is assisted by Garmin GPS’s and essential survival kit includes clothing and equipment from Cotswold Outdoor and Kriega. To follow how the GlobeBusters Team get on in China you can logon onto www.globebusters.com and click on Tales from the Road and see the pictures from the London to China 2009 in their photo gallery. Any rider wanting to join the trip for real will now have to wait until 2011. GlobeBusters inaugural London to Beijing – Silk Road East 2010 is now full, with a waiting list. You can book now for 2011. Call +44 8452 304015 or info@globebusters.com or alternatively book online at www.globebusters.com. ENDS For further information about the GlobeBusters “London to Beijing” Expedition and for high quality pictures as they become available, contact: * Craig Carey-Clinch (GlobeBusters PR) on 0208 4022862 / 07979 757484 (craig@rowanpublicaffairs.com) Notes to Editors 1. GlobeBusters Motorcycle Expeditions (“GlobeBusters”) is run by Double Guinness World Record Holders for global endurance motorcycle riding, Kevin & Julia Sanders, who hold the Guinness World Records for Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Motorcycle and the Trans Americas by Motorcycle. 2. GlobeBusters is the UK’s premier overland motorcycle expedition company and specialises in long distance adventure expeditions of five weeks or more duration that combine the challenges in riding in far away destinations with exciting off –bike activities and cultural encounters, providing the rider with a truly memorable and life changing experience. GlobeBusters is a travel partner with World of BMW. 3. GlobeBusters portfolio of adventures includes the longest supported motorcycle journey in the world; 19 weeks on the road along the Pan American Highway from the top of Alaska to the tip of Argentina – The Trans-Americas. GlobeBusters Limited27 Wind Road, Ystradgynlais, Swansea, SA9 1AH, Wales, UKTelephone / fax + 44 (0)8452 304015www.globebusters.com
