Have you ever dreamed of touring China by bicycle?

What if you could fly to Beijing where an English speaking guide would meet you, fit you with a brand new folding bike and lead you on an amazing cycling journey? What if the trip included bicycling amongst a sea of cyclists on great bike lanes to places such as the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall? What if the trip included an overnight rail journey via sleeper train to Xi'an where you would unfold your bicycle and pedal to see the Terracotta Warriors in all their glory? What if you could then fly to Shanghai or Hong Kong to see and cycle through these amazing mega cities and their rural surroundings? What if you had the option to take the folding bike home with you at the end of the journey?

Based on an exchange of emails with Jason Williams at Grasshopper Adventures, all the above and more can be arranged through his company without breaking the bank.

I first heard of Jason and Grasshopper Adventures through the blog of a Bike Friday owner that toured southeast Asia recently by bicycle. The blogger (Yvonne Armstrong of Australia) bragged about how helpful Jason was so I emailed him about bicycle touring in Thailand and touring via folding bikes. Jason's replies have been prompt and encouraging so I'm going to see what he can come up with on a bike tour of China (I've wanted to visit there since I was a child).

Once I have more info such as the cost, duration, etc. of a bike tour of China, I'll post these here.

Larry

Labels: bike tour, China, China bicycle tour, Grasshopper Adventures

Yvonne Armstrong is a 48 year old Australian cyclist that recently toured southeast Asia solo via a Bike Friday. In Vonny's blog about her bike tour, she mentioned taking a Bangkok bike tour with Jason Williams, a bicycle tour operator in Thailand. (Photo right: Vonny & Jason after their tour.)

Curious as to how a tour company in Asia (where most folding bikes are actually built) could afford to rent pricey, custom crafted Bike Friday folding bikes made in the USA, I wrote Jason to learn whether Grasshopper Adventures led any tours renting Bike Fridays or other folding bikes. Following is his reply.

"I am the founder of Grasshopper Adventures and am the proud owner of a Bike Friday 'New World Tourist' which I use whenever I lead tours.

We don't use Fridays as rental bikes, they are just too expensive to use for tours in our price bracket (a Friday would actually cost more than the tour!). I would love to be able to do this though and perhaps when I by myself a new Friday I will make my old one available to people to try out. It is so hard convincing people that they are fantastic to ride and no you don't have to pedal harder :)

I used to use cheap Dahon folding bikes for a tour in Bangkok but they proved too cheap for the regular tours. I would love to by some of the better Dahon's that are now available here in Bangkok but I need all purpose bikes and these city commuter style ones cannot be used on long multiday tours so for now it's regular old mountain bikes...

As I lead many tours on my Friday I have managed to influence a few people into buying their own. The Friday in the blog you read is a "son" of mine plus there are a few others now be ridden in Australia that I inspired.

Here in Bangkok I am a member of the Thailand Cycling Club. A few years ago a turned up to a 6 day, 780km ride on my Friday - there were many funny faces being pulled but after the first day of me being near the front they started to come around. On the final 2 days which were all in the mountains I was easily out in front of everyone. Now there are many people riding folding bikes in the club. I (not too modestly) take part of the credit for convincing them :)

Regards
Jason Williams
Grasshopper Master"

Thanks Jason for writing back. I look forward to cycling around Bangkok with you one day.

For more info about Grasshopper's bike tours, visit GrasshopperAdventures.com. And if you've recently returned from an exceptional bike tour, email me at the link displayed below. Perhaps I'll feature your story.

Cheers,
Larry

Labels: bicycle tours thailand, Bike Friday, bike tours, folding bikes, Grasshopper Adventures, Thailand