Kate Harris, Cycling the Silk Road 2006 On the Trail of Marco Polo Explorers: Harris, Yule Exploration Zone: Land: Silk Road, trade routes, biking, cycling; Location of Activity Asia: China, Tibet; Period of Activity: 2001- current Tracing Marco Polo’s route, Kate Harris and Melissa Yule carried Wings WorldQuest Flag #1 and their video camera through deserts, remote villages, high mountain passes, and rapidly growing cities across western China. For four months, Kate, Mel, and their companions bicycled nearly 4,000 kilometers through the grueling Silk Road regions of Xinjiang Province and across Tibet. Planning a Ride to the Extremes Kate was inspired by a book written by martial artist Pamela Logan, who cycled across the Kham region of western China and later founded Kham Aid, an organization devoted to educational and medical assistance for Tibetans. Kate and Mel planned to use their trip to raise funds for Kham Aid and also to make a video about the region and its cultural and physical extremes. They trained by pedaling gear-laden bikes up and down mountain roads, unaware of how the extremes of their journey would push them to their limits. The Expedition Route Kate, Mel, and their colleague Ben Rawluk began their journey in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province, and planned to explore Xinjiang’s Silk Road routes over the Tian Shan mountain range and near the Taklamakan Desert. In Kashgar, they would meet up with Alisha Blechman and then improvise their route. A 14,000-Foot Pass and the Blistering Desert For three days the team struggled at below-zero temperatures to reach the summit of the 14,000-foot Tian Shan pass. They pitched their tents in ancient mud-walled ruins, on a grassy ledge in a ravine, and beneath a concrete bridge. They anticipated an easy descent from the summit. Instead they encountered icy winds, stones like daggers, and massive ruts, all of which slowed their progress. Sustained with water and protected with sunscreen, the group rode 600 kilometers through the Taklamakan Desert toward the town of Minfeng. They had not foreseen the blasting heat, stinging120-kilometer winds, and sandstorms which buffeted them each afternoon. After days in the desert, they reached Minfeng. With tree-lined streets, motorbikes, donkey carts, diesel-engined semis, herds of sheep, and the scent of roasting kebabs and baking bread, Minfeng felt surreal. The Pamir Mountains: From Kargilik to Kashgar The group followed a road from Kargilik along a river running deep into the Pamir Mountains. The road was unpaved and filled with sand traps, landslides, and cobblestones. Although travel was slow, the group treasured their encounters with the local Tajik people who passed by on mules and motorbikes. Many invited the travelers home for chai (tea), food, and a snug place to overnight. The group rejoiced at the spectacular summit scenery and welcomed the downhill pavement that would speed them toward Kashgar, where they would meet Alisha. Across the Tibetan Plateau From Kashgar, the group decided to tackle the Xinjiang-Tibet highway. As a novice bicyclist, Alisha chose instead to join a Kham Aid fund-raising ride and bicycle through easier Silk Road routes. Kate, Mel, and Ben set out on a 20-day pilgrimage that covered over 1,000 kilometers, nine high mountain passes, and a week of riding at elevations over 16,400 feet. For days, they were surrounded by indigo skies, castling clouds, rumpled mountains, and turquoise lakes. Boarding a plane in Lhasa bound for Zhongdian in Yunnan Province, they said good-bye to the challenging roads, stirring wilderness, isolation, religious passion, and the many paradoxes of Tibet, the roof of the world. Yunnan: The Journey’s End Kate and Mel traveled to several villages in the Kham region of Yunnan Province, where Kham Aid is located. On foot, they circumnavigated the sacred Kara Karpo mountain range. With spectacular peaks above and populated green fields below, the area might have been the fabled Shangri-La. Although the landscape was stunning, Kate and Mel enjoyed, even more, meeting and talking with the people of the Kham region over bowls of tsampa (roasted barley flour porridge) and yak butter tea. Kate and Mel are assembling a documentary to share the wonders of China’s rural Tibetan world with the West. http://www.cyclingsilk.com/