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March 5th, 2012 | categorizilation: all categories,China,Post-2008

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At some point towards the beginning of my skate across China in 2008, I wrote the following piece for the www.skatefurther.com forum. I happened to come across it again after all these years, so I thought I would share it here. Somehow I managed to capture well the trials and tribulations of those first few weeks there in China – a distance skater’s paradise.

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Greetings from the Gobi desert in northwestern China,

I arrived in China on the 14th of April 2008 in the sprawling city of Shanghai. I flew in from Los Angeles, where I had just completed an unassisted solo distance skate across the US. The plan upon arrival in Shanghai was to complete a distance longboarding journey across the breadth of China, from the Kazakhstan border in the northwestern most corner of China back to Shanghai. Like the trans-US trip, this would be unassisted and solo. The difference between the trans-US trip and this one would be that I would be pulling all my travel gear (tent, clothes, food, water etc) on a trailer attached to my longboard, rather than carrying it all on my back.

From the orderly streets of Los Angeles and the land of regulations that is the US, I arrived to complete chaos in Shanghai. I unpacked my boxed up Longboard Larry longboard and trailer (made from an old Rollsrolls deck) in the People’s Park Subway station in central Shanghai. Super efficient subway cleaners swarmed around me to remove the packing material and boxes for me.

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Unpacking in the subway in Shanghai, China

Soon enough, I had my rig ready to roll. I dragged it up the steps and into the chaos that is Shanghai. I was in my element, the longboard and trailer rig slithering past slow-moving cyclists, dodging pedestrians, eating up the buttery smooth pavement as I cruised with the mass of electric mopeds. Cyclists, car drivers, people on the street, they all pointed and smiled at this tall white guy on a longboard. Stopping at traffic lights, people would give me the thumbs up.

In Shanghai I took part in a podcast with another humanpowered traveler. In the podcast I am asked why I chose to come to China to continue my longboard journey. The answer was easy. Smooth roads!

Fast forward to northwestern China. I took the 36 hour train ride from Shanghai to Urumqi, the biggest city in Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the northwest. From there, I took an overnight bus to Khorgos, the border town situated at the border with Kazakhstan. What took me three days by public transport would now take me three months to retrace by longboard – a total of 4,500km following China National Highway 312.

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At the China leg beginning at the China/Kazakhstan border at Korgos, Xinjiang Province, China

The first day of skating was more walking than skating. Around 75km of highway was ripped up in a massive reconstruction effort that made skating impossible in parts.

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National Highway 312 under construction near Korgos, Xinjiang Province, China

In these cases I would detatch the trailer and pull it and the longboard behind me.

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National Highway 312 under construction near Korgos, Xinjiang Province, China

It was hard work, but eventually the road construction gave way to smoother pavement. It was a hardcore start to a journey – road construction, and a 2300m high pass (starting at 600m) all in the first two days.

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Grunty climb to the top of the 2200m pass near Santai, Xinjiang Province, China

I am now in week three of the journey, and it has been difficult so far to find a rythym. Local interest in the mode of transport never ceases…

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Interested highway construction workers on National Highway 312 near Liangtai, Xinjiang Province, China

There have been amazing downhill stretches on silky smooth, brand new expressways with the occassional slow-moving truck ever 10 minutes…

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35km downhill from Santai, Xinjiang Province, China

I have been invited in by locals to stay and share culture with…

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Enthusiastic Kazakh family in Gotsugu, Xinjiang Province, China

The adjustment to the new country, new language, new food, and new topography has been slow and tough. I am much more tired here in China than I was in the US. The Chinese people are an interesting bunch. At times I have been frustrated with their intrusively curious behaviour, their staring at me, and just the overbearing presence they convey. At other times I will meet others who will invite me in for a meal, or be genuinely caring. This is a land of contrasts, of no regularity.

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The haze of the Gobi desert near Turpan, Xinjiang Province, China

The northwest region of Xinjiang in China is also a challenging place. It is a desert region, and the wind always blows, hard. From all directions. The roads are long, straight, and flat.

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Pushing through endless desert near Turpan, Xinjiang Province, China

In one moment, you feel overwhelmed with awe at the incomprehensibility of the the hugeness of your surroundings. In the next moment, you must try to switch off your mind and find a zone where you ignore the miles and miles of featureless terrain ahead of you. Ignore the incessant headwind. Ignore the insidiously shallow grade uphill that cheats you into thinking that the road is flat, and you are going slow just because you are weak…

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A gorge of contrasts on highway G312 on my way to Shanshan, Xinjiang Province, China

And then the open land gives way to a narrow gorge. Highway G312 snakes up through a valley of contrasts. Your mind is awake and refreshed again. Your legs strain at the effort of the uphill, but your mind is awake to the physical challenge. Give me a stiff uphill anyday over a mindless flat stretch of road. With an uphill, there is promise of reward.

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A gorge of contrasts on highway G312 on my way to Shanshan, Xinjiang Province, China

Skating in China reminds me anew that solo distance longboarding is not a holiday. It is a physical and mental challenge that takes everything out of you. I skate for up to five days and then rest for two. For the first two days of the five, I am feeling good. The following three days are a matter of perserverance. I skate for five to six hours a day. The first three hours of the day are great. The following two or three hours are tough. I love it and I hate it.

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Beginnings of a fierce (way fun) sandstorm on my way to Shanshan, Xinjiang Province, China

At present I am still making my way across the Gobi desert. I have at least another 1,000km of desert to cross before hitting more arable, populated areas in Gansu Province. The daily temperatures continue to rise, and even now I am having to start skating before day break. I skate from when the horizon just starts to glow, for about 6 hours (that’s about 4 hours actual on-the-board time). Around midday, when the temperature hits 40 degrees celgius, I shelter under the road in culverts, or under trees for up to 6 hours, until the day cools off enough to begin skating again.

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Sleeping spot 45km from Jinghe, Xinjiang, China

Access to skating equipment is very limited here in Xinjiang Province at least. In bigger cities, you can find shops selling scooter and cheap skateboards for kids, so if worst comes to worst, you can always find at least crappy bearings to keep you rolling if you run out of your spare quality bearings. I now use industrial grease in my bearings, which makes them run a little slower, but saves the hassle of having to clean them out every time they get just a little wet. On one occassion I realised that my bearings were runnind dry, so I stopped in a one of the many road-side truck maintenance shops, and to the workers’ great interest and joy, began dismantling my bearings. I washed them out in petrol, used their compressed air to blow them out, and used some grease they gave me to get them running smoothly again. Great fun for all involved.

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Relubing Rig’s bearings in Kuitun, Xinjiang, China

In Shanghai, there is an extreme sports goods distributor that also sells high end skate hardware, including wide longboard trucks (Independent). Funboxx (http://www.funboxx.com) is their name, and they have helped me out a lot with logistical assistance and some gear that I needed.

As to whether or not the trailer is an asset or a liability, the jury is still out on this. Certainly I enjoy the freedom of being able to move about on the board more, without the weight of a pack on my back. I do notice however that it is more strain on my calves. I am essentially pushing a 20kg skateboard. It is a very simple setup however, and so far I think it is worth it – especially in the desert where I am carrying up to 6 litres of water. To have to carry that on my back would be a mission. Furthermore, coming up in about 600km time is a 150km stretch of desert without services. I will need to carry all my water and food, enough for two days. To have to do this with a pack would be tough going.

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The rig on a plateau near Santai, Xinjiang Province, China

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    Permanent Link     Comments (5)

Comment by Marija — March 6, 2012 @ 6:26 am | post a comment

Gush… This feels like ages ago, but at same time as it just happened yesterday. All the best with “adventures” you are on now. Smiles, sunshine & happy people. Best. MK

Comment by Rob Thomson — March 6, 2012 @ 7:18 am | post a comment

Precisely what I thought. A long time ago but feels like yesterday.

[...] Distance Skateboarding in China – Rob Thomson, 14 Degrees Tweet ‹ Previous [...]

Comment by Bex — March 12, 2012 @ 6:07 am | post a comment

OH MY GOD! I can’t believe you skated that route in China!!

I recently cycled it, and that was tough enough. I recognise lots of your shots:-D I’ve read a few adventure blogs, but this has blown me away. You must have an abundance of patience and grit. I love your uniqueness.

Bex

Comment by Rob Thomson — March 12, 2012 @ 7:50 am | post a comment

Thanks Bex! Congratulations on your recent arrival in NZ! I see from Ryan’s Twitter feed that you were in Christchurch (one of my ‘home’ towns in NZ). I hope you enjoyed it despite the crumbly city-scape :-)

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