Interview: Cycling Silk Expedition (Part 1)

In 2006, childhood friends Kate Harris and Mel Yule joined two companions (Ben Rawluk and Alisha Blechman) to make their dream of following Marco Polo’s trail (by bicycle) on the Silk Road come true. The Cycling Silk team bicycled 5000 km, raising funds for the Kham Aid Foundation, devoted to “helping the people of the eastern Tibetan plateau” through education, medical care, and environmental work.

They recorded their journey in the Cycling Silk Blog, through expedition photography, and documentary footage, including the trailer for their documentary-film-in-progress

Vagablogging recently interviewed expedition members Kate Harris and Mel Yule about Cycling Silk. The interview will run in two parts; the second part will appear on Vagablogging tomorrow.

How long did you spend planning for the trip? What kinds of preparations did you make?

Kate Harris: The trip took two years to plan – twice as long as expected because of Mel’s freak accident (Mel Yule was injured in a boating accident two days before the 2005 departure date). That forced us to postpone the adventure for a year! But in the end we really benefited from the extra time, which gave us the chance to transform the expedition into a charity fundraiser for Kham Aid, and to become a Flag Expedition for Wings WorldQuest.

The first year, we recruited sponsors, acquired gear, researched the route, and learned elementary bike maintenance – really basic stuff like how to change a flat tire! We started out knowing absolutely nothing about bikes, absolutely nothing about bike touring, and basically nothing about China…we were simply enchanted with the idea of a bike trip through China’s Silk Road regions. Once we had committed ourselves to the idea of the expedition, the details were just details. As Robyn Davidson wrote in her book Tracks, “the most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision…”

Mel Yule: In order to mentally prepare for the adventure, we relentlessly read all the information we could get our hands on, from books to blogs, both fiction and fact. Slowly we were able to piece together a more concrete idea of what China and cycle touring would entail. Physical preparations were far less elaborate since we knew that nothing besides cycling for six hours a day could prepare you for cycling six hours a day. Perhaps too conveniently, we believed our muscles had some sort of memory that would make the break-in period somewhat less painful then during those first weeks of our U.S. bike trip. We also took full advantage of the fact we were young and healthy and prayed our bodies were up for the challenge. Because no matter how exhausted and lame you find yourself at the beginning of a trip, with the passing of time you settle into the routine and greatly improve your recovery time. Eventually all you need is a good night’s sleep to be ready to conquer to next day’s mileage.

How much mileage a day did you average?

KH: Mileage varied drastically depending on the terrain, weather, and road conditions. Crossing the Taklamakan with tailwinds on a beautifully paved, gently rolling road, we were pulling 120 km days. Climbing the Tibetan plateau on atrocious roads at high altitude, we only averaged about 50 km a day.

How did people react to your group along the way?

MY: There were several reasons we obviously drew attention while cycling in China. Firstly our bicycles, although a commonly used mode of transportation in that country, had considerably different set-ups due to their multiple gearing, disc brakes and trailers. People would unabashedly poke and prod all the moving parts in an effort to better understand their functions.

Secondly, our pale skin, light hair and eyes immediately gave us away and, instead of being the typical tourists snapping pictures of the locals, we became the attraction. Babies were thrust into our arms for pictures and passing cars cruised alongside us with passengers hanging out the window in a desperate attempt to catch this bizarre event on camera. During our four months we were a constant source of entertainment. When we would stop to take a break, crowds would materialize out of nowhere and curious eyes would watch our every, and usually boring, move. Other cultural exchanges were much more relaxed and vocal as we were taken into homes, spoiled with decadent food and soft beds. Overall the people were incredibly interested in our adventure and wonderfully kind.

What advice do you have for someone considering a similar long-distance cycling expedition?

MY: Give´r!!! It truly is an amazing way to see the world. There are a million of resources out there to help you prep, and most people are so generous with their advice and their time. There is no set amount of effort you need to put in. Kate and I know now that there were a million further steps we could have taken to be better prepared. Better gear, better fitness, greater sponsorship, but that all takes some of the fun out of it. No matter what, once you hit the road, you forget the past, focus on the present and you work with what you have to fulfill your future goals. Carry the least gear possible; often you will be loaded up with a week’s worth of food and 10 liters of water. Try your hardest to find detailed topographical maps in English as they are hard to find in China.

KH: Take a bike perfectly tailored to the terrain and road conditions, learn relevant languages before you leave, study your route but be equally ready to surrender your maps and your plans to explore the unknown, crooked, winding back roads.

How many flat tires did you have? Were there a lot of other bike maintenance issues?

KH: Amazingly, we each had maybe five flat tires over four months of cycling, which is really quite incredible and attributable only to luck. As far as other bike maintenance issues, we experienced broken spokes, broken racks, broken gear shifters, braze-ons that snapped off, shredded tires – the sad list goes on. Fortunately, none of these were showstoppers, and our traveling companion Ben Rawluk was a bike mechanic – a very handy guy to have along on such an adventure!

Why the Silk Route? Why Marco Polo?

KH: I’ve always been intrigued by the romance of the fabled Silk Road, and I grew up on a literary diet of travel books about or by explorers like Marco Polo (of course!), Sven Hedin, Alexandra David-Neels, Heinrich Harrer, Freya Stark. And the Silk Road regions of China (Xinjiang and Tibet) in particular appealed to me on so many levels, from historical to cultural to geological.

(Part 2 of the interviews will appear on Vagablogging tomorrow)