A few days into this Tour de Fun, my dad came up with a brilliant idea: to send me one quotation for every day I’m away. I initially thought, perhaps, his words of wisdom would be sources of divine inspiration for a struggling cyclist in the throes of China. Typical to my father’s style, however, [...]

I said before the trip that it would make us appreciate the simpler things in life. One of those things would definitely be the use of a proper porcelain throne. Squatting is the norm for pretty much all of Asia. The people here have been doing it all their lives and have developed the necessary [...]

I introduced Jiao in my last post as our much needed morale booster after a a rough week slogging it out in the Gobi desert. Now let me tell you a story about our new friend. Jiao models his bike and makeshift stand It was the 2nd day after meeting Jiao in the town of [...]

Since our last day off (now about a week ago) we have had a grueling push to make it to Hami in time to get our visa’s extended one last time. It turns out that 4 days of battling non-stop headwinds, 130km days, 35-40 degree desert heat and dry bread and crackers for breakfast and [...]

I made this video one night after a long days ride. Thought you might like some insight into the kinds of places we stay in at night. [mediaplayer src="http://www.brakingboundaries.org/wp-content/upload/video/room-tour.wmv"] To watch movies on the Braking Boundaries site you need to install Microsoft Silverlight. This only takes a couple of minutes. Windows Media Video (WMV) format [...]

Well it’s no Lord of the Dance, but I definitely think it could be called an Irish jig. This cracked me up. [mediaplayer src="http://www.brakingboundaries.org/wp-content/uploads/video/tom-dance.wmv"] To watch movies on the Braking Boundaries site you need to install Microsoft Silverlight. This only takes a couple of minutes. Windows Media Video (WMV) format available here. Tom’s Dance

We’re going to be camping a lot more this week as our passports are awaiting processing in the visa office in Urumchi. All hostels, guesthouses and hotels are supposed to ask for our visas and register all guests, foreign or local, into the PSB (Public Security Bureau) system. Since we don’t have the passports, and [...]

Desert camping seems like a fun and carefree idea, until you consider the local wildlife. On Tuesday afternoon, after one of our rest stops, I spotted a massive spider nestling on the back of Jared’s rear pannier. It was about the size of an open fist, legs included, and a bright mix of white and [...]

The 10 days from Xi’an have been pretty much an uphill slog, but wevery so often we have been graced with a little downhill and some beautiful scenery. Here is a taste of it [mediaplayer src="http://www.brakingboundaries.org/wp-content/uploads/video/valley.wmv"] [mediaplayer src="http://www.brakingboundaries.org/wp-content/uploads/video/valley-2.wmv"] To watch movies on the Braking Boundaries site you need to install Microsoft Silverlight. This only takes [...]

Stopping in tiny little villages has its moments especially when there is Chinese music blaring from the hills. This video was taken a couple of days from Xian. [mediaplayer src="http://www.brakingboundaries.org/wp-content/uploads/video/music-in-hills.wmv"] To watch movies on the Braking Boundaries site you need to install Microsoft Silverlight. This only takes a couple of minutes. Windows Media Video (WMV) [...]

By the time this post shows up on the website we should be well across the Northwestern China thanks in part to what I will call “Storming Toll Gates.” For the the past 5 days and most likely for the week ahead at the time I wrote this (written 27th of May) we have chosen [...]

A few days back as we cycled into a small town in the Gansu province looking for the usual $8 a night room with a communal squatter and a sink that may or may not have hot water when we came across a fast food joint that was simply appealing as it had pictures of [...]

While surfing the internet I came across some little seen footage of David and his ride in Canada. Enjoy.

For the last 11 days or so you have no doubt seen on our Facebook status’s and also some of the previous posts that we have been doing a lot of uphill. I have finally had a chance to sit down and take a look at the GPS data that I have been collecting and [...]

Bee trucks are one of my least favorite sights on the roads here in Gansu. I thought the itinerant bee farmers in Shanxi were bad enough, but at least they and their hives were stationary. The trucks are a mobile menace to navigation, leaving a steady stream of disorientated and disgruntled bees in their wake. [...]