Cycle Touring the Tibetan Plateau on Vimeo

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4. Journey as Destination - HD

by Dave A

2 years ago

3. Tsampa!

by Dave A

3 years ago

2. Cycle Touring the Tibetan Plateau

by Dave A

3 years ago

1. Tibetan Timescapes - HD

by Dave A

3 years ago

Many people don't understand why some choose to travel on a bicycle. I was one of them... then I tried it. Now I don't want to do it any other way.

This video is an attempt at providing a glimpse into the challenging, exciting, and incredibly rewarding world of cycle touring.

The clips are from a Summer 2007 trip, about 4500kms from Kashgar, Xinjiang, to Dali, Yunnan (in China) crossing Tibet along the way.

Credits

247 Likes

Laszlo Florin
4 days ago
Dan Zacks
2 weeks ago
Ira Cooper
1 month ago
Tor Ivan Boine
2 months ago
Percy Zahl
2 months ago
federico bueno
4 months ago
damian dodd
7 months ago
Anastaas Dooper
7 months ago
TheMoutainJunkie
7 months ago
Cem Gurbuz
8 months ago

See all 247 likes

Tags

Gregg Havens 3 years ago

Dave, Quite an exciting ride. Loved the music... what do you use?
Бlanche 3 years ago

Haha!

What you use, is the same I use....

'Bicycles are like drugs
and we're peddeling them ' :>
Perez 3 years ago

Great!
Quaint Living 3 years ago

What a great ride.
Adam Gerritsma 3 years ago

Thank you for taking us on your amazing journey!
Ben Crossman 3 years ago

This is awesome.. music is great! I recognise the Refused track at the beginning, what else did you use for the soundtrack?
Dave A 3 years ago

Thanks! Yep, good ear. Songs are:
1) Refused - Tannhäuser / Derivè
2) The Music - Walls Get Smaller (Fierce Panda Version)
Paul Klinger 3 years ago

Man, that was incredible....Thank you for posting the great footage. The cows in the road reminded me of driving in mexico back in the late 70's. Great choice of music :)
Blueman 3 years ago

Incredible!
jtk 3 years ago

I'm blown away. Where's next?
Dave A 3 years ago

Haha, I like how you think!
Not sure yet.. Argentina, Iceland, something like that!
jtk 3 years ago

haha, I like how you think even more. Both high on my list! Gotta work on makin some paper first though. Random question: is it easy to outfit a typical mountain bike with those touring bags or is some special frame or extra work needed?
Dave A 3 years ago

It's not too tricky-- what I used were some racks from a company in the states called Old Man Mountain. I recommend them highly-- they mount on the axle (no frame modifications necessary) and are very strong and durable. The front rack also attaches to the front fork stanchions, and the rear rack attaches to either the V-Brake bosses (if you have them) or to the seatstays. They're not the cheapest option, but at least they won't break.
jtk 3 years ago

really appreciate the advice. thanks.
Dave A 3 years ago

Good advice, diwao. Tubus are well-liked because they're steel so can be welded if they break on the road. The downside is it seems all their racks require the special rack eyelets on the rear dropouts. It is almost impossible to find a MTB frame that has those.

Riding a touring bike (with the larger wheels) outside of Europe is not a good idea. Spare parts will have to be shipped from home to wherever you are. My friend wrecked his 26" rear wheel in the middle of Tibet and was able to get a replacement within a day (not a good one, but it worked).

On the other hand, we met someone who was on a touring bike and two times in two years had to wait WEEKS to get a replacement 700c wheel sorted and mailed to him from home.

If you're heading out in the middle of nowhere, especially on rough roads, my suggestion is a Reynolds 851 steel MTB frame. Can be emergency welded, nice and flexy, and is sure to be able to take the extra weight and constant torture of the bumpy roads.
Dave A 3 years ago

nevermind, I see Tubus makes a QR-adapter!

I still don't think it would have worked for me though because I was running (cable) disc brakes.
Larry McKurtis 3 years ago

I also really like Xtra Cycles.
That's the route I'm taking on my next trip.

And always go with steel.
Steel is Real.
I broke my frame on my last trip and thanked god it was steel, as it was welded that day.
michael baca 3 years ago

wow cool. refused huh. they will never die
Peter Quiambao Jr. 3 years ago

Man, the only thing I could think during this whole video is, "Damn, if he's doing this trip by himself, he has to walk back and get his camera after every shot. Damn."

Great video.
rick fiduccia 3 years ago

I have a Sony HDR-HC7, maybe I need a bike now? On second thought you keep posting and I'll keep watching. Great video!
Albornoz 3 years ago

I can describe this video with just two words: REALLY EXCITING.
Excelent job!
express49 3 years ago

Awesome ! My heart is still beating fast!
Dennis Koomen 3 years ago

Great video! Beautiful shots at the beginning and a nice downhill at the end. When you go to Argentina cycle the Aqua Negra pass between Chile and Argentina.
Juan Polo 3 years ago

Great video Dave! The first images are amazing, but if you let me, in my opinion the final sequence it's a little bit long, but in general, the video is ok. Beautiful travel.
Dave A 3 years ago

Hi Juan, thanks for your feedback! I agree with what you say. That is the problem with editing a video to the music, I suppose. That's why I'm jealous of people who are good at making or editing their own music to fit a segment!
Juan Polo 3 years ago

Really! I agree with you. The music is quite important part of the final video. Everytime I edit, I think that music can do aproximately a 50 percent -and maybe 60 % in some cases- on the final video. But it's necessary ;)

Greetings ;)
Dave A 3 years ago

Yep-- 50% at the very least!

This epiphany first came to me when watching "The Follow" episode of BMW Films from a few years back. There is an action driving segment where rather than the stereotypical screeching tires and high-paced music, all is silent except for a nice classical music piece. It turned the chase into something subdued and beautiful, which I never thought possible.
Juan Polo 3 years ago

Sounds great! I'm going to look for these episode and I will watch it. I hope we can see another of your videos like this.
Mark Kammel 3 years ago

wow, and yes, the heard was definatly my fav part
Michael P. Steeves 3 years ago

Oh my legs hurt for you.
Great video.
I might opt out for a scooter for this trip.
Do you think it could make it?
Dave A 3 years ago

a scooter would die a quick death on some of these roads! You'd need a proper off-road touring motorbike to make it, something with a big gas tank too...
Krzysztof Jeziorny 3 years ago

Bravo! Exciting travel, and a fine video edit.
Kyo Suayan 3 years ago

Nice one! Did your tire blow up on that last evening shot with sparks on it?
There are some shots where you appear pretty distant from the camera.
How long does it normally take to shoot those type of clips?
Your tips are much appreciated. Thank you!

-kyo-
Dave A 3 years ago

Hi Kyo,

I rode part of this trip with a friend, and the rest solo. Most of the static riding shots are from a tripod, so I would ride off for a few minutes at most (not too far that I couldn't quickly ride back if a car came by, to make sure the camera wasn't stolen!). Any shots that are handheld or have zooms or pans is one of us filming the other.

The sparks are actually just me fooling around-- I was rubbing the metal pedal cleat on the ground while cornering :-)
Kyo Suayan 3 years ago

Dave,

Thank you for sharing these tips.
The footage is inspiring and the landscape amazing.
Well done!

-kyo-
Santi Trujillo 3 years ago

wow, great. Be careful with the cows! hehe
roka 3 years ago

Did you go on this trip all alone? The landscape is great! Thanks for sharing.
Robert Lyon 3 years ago

REFUSED! Love using that in my stuff too.
chris leppla 3 years ago

pretty incredible man, looks like it was a great trip!
monso 3 years ago

awesome video.wonderfullllllllllll.
Todd Burleson 3 years ago

Wow; I can barely breath still; my heart was beating so fast. This was tremendous! So much involved in making this move. I would love to hang out with you!

TB
milko romero 3 years ago

great video!!!
Beligun 3 years ago

Awesome t Video Dave! especially like the way you build up to the downhill sequence.

I went to Tibet in 2007 as well but for hiking. Your video reminded me of the places I had seen, really inspiring.

Tell me, in the last scene what's causing the sparks on you bike?
Dave A 3 years ago

Heh, that's just messing about-- it's the SPD cleat (if you're a non-biker, it's a way to clip into the pedals so you can also pull up on the pedals) on the bottom of the shoe -- I was leaning on it hard as I went around the corner. Was lots of fun and looked cool in the dim light of dusk. I put it in because sparks seemed like a rockstar way to end a rockstar song :-)
Sansom Media 3 years ago

Great story. question, did anyone else lean on all the turns at the end? ;-)
jebbz 3 years ago

great video and nice downhill. 3:45 is scary :O
Dan Valentine 3 years ago

Wonderful.
Oliver 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing the film, Dave.

How do you beat that though?

You've made me want to scrub up my bike and get cycling again, although I think I'll stick to the Ramblas until I get a bit more confident!
fronque 3 years ago

Wonderful video. I highly recommend iceland for your next trip.
Ris Lynsey 3 years ago

Incredible title, incredible video; incredible sport!
Larry McKurtis 3 years ago

Word dude.
Bike touring is definitely captured well here!
It's always nice to meet a fellow cyclotrekker.
kkfung 3 years ago

Steady camera works. Wonderful synchronization between music and video. If Vimeo has more videos like this, no one would visit any other video hosting sites any more.
Бlanche 3 years ago

Wow Dave!

You describe exactly (worths and movie) the place where my hart is : cycling the world on a bicyle!

Thanks!

Want to see some off the stuff I made (not as good) or the rides I rode?

my weblog with movies on Youtube is Cycling the world on a bicycle >>

sammoresam.spaces.live.com/
Walter Weingaertner 3 years ago

Very nice. I loved the bikemotionj view
jeremie brissette 3 years ago

definitely one of my favorite videos
Paul Hamilton 3 years ago

awesome awesome awesome - dodging the cows is the best part (well.. the blurring and the sparks at the end)

we never get to reach those speeds in Chicago - flat as a pancake.

well done
Бlanche 3 years ago

I keep on watching this once a week :>
I'm about to buy a real film camera too. Any suggestions?
Dave A 3 years ago

hehe thanks Blanche,

I unfortunately lost my film camera during this trip... I'm just about to replace it with a Nikon F100. I'm very excited about it!!! Look into it, it is a fantastic camera, and of course there is a HUGE selection of used gear and lenses for it
Grande 2 years ago

awesome
ezfotografie 2 years ago

Great Landscape, superb footage and good music!
Jeff Hyland 2 years ago

Check out the cross country bicycle ride / environmental documentary series, Project: Southern Tier
vimeo.com/channels/36364
In a world of environmental change where are we at?
ilamparithi raju 1 year ago

I adore your work !
Fundación ECA Bureau Veritas 1 year ago

hey cool video!
we're organizing a cycle touring film festival and maybe you're interested in submitting a video. further info here: cycleandwalking.org/en/cycle-touring-film-festival
Бlanche 1 year ago

What a nice video!
Want to see more videos of world cyclists who world conquer the world with their bikes? Take a look at "the World Cyclist 'on Vimeo and get inspired!
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser

¡Qué buen video!
¿Quieres ver más videos de los ciclistas de conquistar el mundo con sus bicicletas? Echa un vistazo a "el ciclista del mundo 'on Vimeo e inspírate.
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser

Was für ein schönes Video!
Wollen Sie mehr Videos von Radfahrer sehen die die Welt verobern mit ihren Bikes ? Schau mal auf "die Welt Radfahrer 'on Vimeo und lassen sie sich inspiriren.
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser

ما شريط فيديو لطيف!
نريد ان نرى المزيد من أشرطة الفيديو من راكبي الدراجات العالم الذين العالم قهر العالم مع دراجاتهم؟ نلقي نظرة على "الدراج العالم على Vimeo ومعرفة أفكار جديدة!
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser

Che bel video!
Vuoi vedere altri video di ciclisti mondo che mondo conquistare il mondo con le loro biciclette? Date un'occhiata a "Il Ciclista World 'su Vimeo e lasciatevi ispirare!
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser

真是一个好影片！
希望看到更多的视频谁骑自行车的世界世界征服他们的自行车世界？看看“世界自行车的Vimeo'得到启发看看！
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser

Что хорошее видео!
Хотите увидеть больше видео мировой велосипедистов, которые мир покорить мир своими велосипедами? Взгляните на "Всемирной Велосипедист" на Vimeo и получить вдохновение!
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser

Nə gözəl video!
dünya onların Motosiklet dünyanın qalib dünya Velosiped daha çox video görmək istəyirsiniz? "Vimeo üzrə Dünya velosipedçi" və ilhamlanmaq bax!
vimeo.com/groups/wereldfietser
Peter Schagen 2 months ago

wow what an adventure! Great job.