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Man. It feels great to be back in Melbourne. After a hellish flight out of China, I got picked up by Andy from FYXO. Less than an hour later, we were out on a ride up frontage roads less than 3 miles from his home. Talk about detox! Steep dirt climbs, fast gravel descents and even a dead snake.
Melb’in is heaven. See a few more random shots below and don’t worry there will tons of radness on the way.
Photo by Hou Jue
Photos by Jeff Liu
In recent months, I’ve started to find myself in front of a lens almost as much as behind it, especially on this recent tour. Riding through China was overwhelming from a photography standpoint. Everything was rich in texture and as a foreigner, the everyday was visually engaging. When I could, I’d stop and shoot, or ask one of the riders to pause for a portrait.
Just about everything was natural and that’s something James from Adventure Refugee tried to capture in his video pieces for Mission Workshop. We’d leave with no plans, or script and would point out shots, or spaces when we came across them. In a land like China, nothing is predictable, you’ve just got to go with your instincts. That applies to the subject and the subjected.
I think I speak for the whole gang when I say that we’re all very happy to be done with the bike tour of China. It wasn’t so much the distance, because on paper, it’s not that much, totaling around 300 miles. But when you consider everything we encountered, it was one of the most sobering experiences of my life.
One of the things I did look forward to each night were the group rides. For me, it’s rad to see what and how people are riding in each city. Hangzhou was no different from the other cities. Most of the riders were young, most had cheap “rainbow fixies” but some had insane track bikes, ready for the boards…
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
We all woke up this morning knowing that we only had 70k to go on our trip and most of it was downhill from the bamboo forest. I really wanted to mob some trails on the Geekhouse Mudville, so James and I headed into the bamboo forest to shoot some video. When we got back to the lodge, we ate lunch, packed and headed out.
The ride today was hellish. Even though it was downhill for the first 15 miles, the wind was blowing hard. Then, when we got on the main road, it was filled with potholes and giant trucks spitting exhaust into our faces. Hangzhou was our final destination so we just put our heads down and pushed forward.
Finally, we were in the outskirts, but had to go through four tunnels to make it to the hostel where we were staying. Four tunnels that were so disgusting that the sissy Americans nearly puked after passing through them (myself included). To give you an estimate, the AQI in the tunnels were over 1000 and I forgot my mask.
Tomorrow, we have a day off before heading back to Shanghai, via a bullet train. We’re all nice and tipsy from post-ride beer and are about to head out into town… May the Necronomicog have mercy on our souls.
Keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
There are some mornings when you just vibe with your bike. It’s like you’re one unit, working together. Your legs are loose and you can just go. We all had that moment this morning. After a late start, we all hit our course and just cranked away. Our destination was the bamboo forests, in Moganshan. You can check out more below…
Late last night, James Adamson, the videographer on the trip realized that he needed a solid day of shooting for Mission Workshop. So rather than wake up early and dashing to the next city, we revisited an area we came across yesterday for a video and photo session. Shooting video in China is a lot easier than you’d expect, except when you run into local politics. James really wanted to shoot up on the hill range that we rode late yesterday afternoon, but they never allowed bikes up before. We just so happened to miss the security guards yesterday. Today, not so much.
Security, the park officials, the local police and town official weren’t having it. After some bribing and a few phone calls, we made it into the park, bikes and all. But not before shooting some around town. When we finally finished up, it was time to head to Jiaxing, a Tier 3 city in China. Instead of 200+ riders, we were greeted with about 10 and to be honest, that was about all we could manage tonight, for it’s been a long trip thus far…
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
Rolling out of Suzhou was a lot easier than rolling out of Shanhai. Still, the AQI was much higher than the day before but even then, within 10 miles, we were in relatively rural areas. Surprisingly, industry still had a grip on the outer-lying cities. Before too long, we hit lake Taihu. The locals will tell you that it’s one of the more beautiful areas but visibility was very poor when we arrived. With not much to actually see, we had lunch and came out to find the sun shining and a wind had blown the smog out from the hills.
Wanting to mix it up a bit, we headed to the highest point on the “big island”, Piaosha Road. At a whopping 300m, it’s not much of a climb, but when you’ve been hammering on perfectly flat roads for a week, any elevation is welcome. This road is very scenic and parts spiked up over 20%, so I knew the guys on track bikes would have a problem. After making it past the pitches on 48×15 gearing, they were fine and I got some great photos of the dudes, smiling ear to ear down the switchbacks. It was also surprising to be told that no one rides bikes up into the hills here.
That one climb provided most of our elevation for the day, save for a few of the bridges and after regrouping at the base of the hill range, we rode inland into a horrendous headwind. I’m not used to riding flat terrain, so after blasting 25 mph all day, hitting a wind like this really tore my legs apart. Everyone was beat and it’s almost laughable to be tired after a 60 mile, 1400′ ride, but we’re all cooked. We made it to the base of the Qizi Mountain, where we treated ourselves to some hot tub time and herbal recovery potion.
Like the last riding day, I shot all film, but I managed to get this shot with my iPhone. For more frequent updates, keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day.
Suzhou is a gorgeous city, once you look past the air quality. Today we woke up to a “sunny” sky and an AQI of only around 250. Riding around really takes it out of you, but a quick trip to the old town made us forget about our lungs. The architecture and infrastructure is very old. Many of the buildings have been here since the town’s founding, almost 2000 years ago. It’s like the Venice of China with canals snaking their way past temples.
Once we finished walking around the old town, we came back to the hotel to prepare for the group ride. About 200 kids showed up and we took a hot lap around the city. That’s when I began to feel like I huffed the exhaust from a school bus. Tired, coughing and with red eyes, we all returned to pack our bags and get ready for our ride tomorrow morning.
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
There was nothing pleasant about today, aside for the company. The things I saw on the road will forever change the way I view the world and globalization. Without going too much into the politics of it all, I’ll just say that I’m glad to have gotten the first leg of our ride out of the way. On paper, the route looks easy. 100k door to door, and about 90 meters of climbing.
These numbers are almost laughable, compared to other rides we’ve all completed, but those weren’t in an AQI of 350+ and through a toxic wasteland. To give you some perspective, Los Angeles has the highest AQI in the United States and today, it’s at 70. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.
The morning began early, as we checked out of our hotel and headed to Factory 5 to ready our bikes. At 10:30am, we put on masks (literally) and rode alongside a highway out of town. You’d think the air would be worse in the center city, but it was the opposite. Soon, it was like we were riding into a fog, rolling into San Francisco but there were no mountains, no iconic bridges or architecture, just smoke stacks and automotive factories.
Your face began to burn, eyes water and all you wanted to do was take off your mask to get some “fresh air”. Upon doing so, the smell of burnt plastic almost made you gag. It was literally hell and I can’t fathom the reality that people live in it everyday. The striking dichotomies were everywhere: a brand new VW dealership, next to a vacant lot with a pond, that was completely red with bacteria, or the canals and waterways turned black from factory waste next to a parking lot filled with brand new Buicks.
60 miles felt like 120. My lungs burn and my face is windburnt. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so hungover from a ride. There’s no gallery, since I shot all film today, but will leave you with the photo above to just say that I’m glad to be indoors for once. For more frequent updates, keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day.
Taipei was not at all what I expected but in a good way. From walking the market streets, to climbing and descending the surrounding mountain ranges, we had a rad time in Taiwan. Check out this video Adventure Refugee made for Mission Workshop during our stay. Vimeo is blocked here in China so I haven’t seen the final edit but the rough cut looked pretty damn good.
There’s nothing like a recovery day. Not physically, but mentally. We have all been running at 100% since arriving in Shanghai and the guys from Factory 5 needed to catch up on things around the office. While they worked, I headed out around town with Lyle and James from Mission Workshop and took some photos with the Mamiya. When we got back, it was time to rock and roll.
Tuesday nights are the weekly group rides in Shanghai. They meet up at Factory 5 and roll through town at a moderate pace. Once the group leaves the center city, out towards the more industrial areas, the ride turns into a sprint as everyone puts out 100% for a few miles. It was a lot of fun chasing people down and shooting photos. Even in the complete darkness, I managed to get some rad shots! It was a great way to spend the last night before we leave for our 7 day tour around Shanghai…
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
Killing two birds with one stone, we got in a little bit of riding today as, we knocked out some filming for the forthcoming Mission Workshop Acre line. We already had video and photos from urban riding and I had a hankering for some elevation. The hardest part about traveling is falling out of your riding routine. It had been a few days since I had even ridden my bike and I wanted to keep my legs loose and my fitness up, so we found a short and sweet climb to ride.
I threw my Mamiya 7ii in my musette and shot some, then at the halfway point, I switched to the 5D and the 40mm pancake, which these photos were taken with. Climbing in the horrible air quality and intense humidity was no easy feat. My lungs feel sore and my sinuses are in pain but it felt great to get the blood moving…
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
Once you’ve settled into a new town, it’s always nice to go for a quick spin to loosen the legs up. Sometimes a short ride along the river, turns into exploring roads that shoot off into the mountain’s foothills. Taipei has some incredible riding in these neighboring mountains, just 8 miles from the central banking district.
My hope is that we get to spend an afternoon scaling some switchbacks but even tonight’s little jaunt was exactly what we needed. Well, minus the Chinese Tree Viper that I almost ran over. Yikes!
Photo by Kyle Kelley
I hope to go “disappear” in the woods myself in an hour. GREAT photo Kyle! Miss you dudes.
When this project was first proposed to me, all I thought was “this is too good to be true” and after what seems to be a maddening process of pulling everything together, we’re good to go! Here’s the official blurb from Mission Workshop:
“Follow John Watson of Prollyisnotprobably.com and the Mission Workshop crew as they ride through China’s Yangtze river delta on a photo exploration of bike culture with the help of the guys at Factory Five. Visit the Mission Workshop Blog as they travel through the world’s largest urban population in Shanghai and also explore the ancient architecture of the Chinese countryside.”
To start off the trip, I’ll be in Taiwan in time for the Taipei International Cycle Show before we fly out to Shanghai. This is one part of the world I’ve always wanted to see and I cannot wait to share my photos with you all.
Expect daily updates both here and on the Mission Workshop blog, as well as on Instagram @JohnProlly @MissionWorkshop.
Last week, before the SxSW shit storm settled in on Austin, I had some friends in town from New York. Wilis and Josh from King Kog wanted to get out on some trails, see the sites and eat some BBQ, so I arranged just that. For what felt like every single day, Wilis and I were out hitting my normal trail loops I’ve worked out, while still finding time to stop for some rope swing action.
We ended the week with some Austin BBQ and as the guys packed their bikes up in my living room, I could tell they were a little bummed to be leaving… Can you blame ’em?
Since this Recent Roll is almost 36 exposures, I narrated the photos.
Yashica t4
Pro 400H
Photo by Kim Heikkinen
I’m sure most of you are over winter, waiting for the snow to melt, the trails to dry and the temperatures to break the winter layers. At least some people are having fun in the snow. Check out more of Kim’s photos here.
Sorry for the lack of posts over the past few days, I’ve been in bed with a stomach bug. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll be craving BBQ for a while.
ANYWAY, check out this video from Pelago!
“In the end of February 2013, we took our bikes, rode them into a boat and headed from Helsinki to Berlin to set up our temporary shop in Brunnenstrasse 156 and to participate in the Berliner Fahrrad Schau. The boat took us to Rostock and from there we cycled through Sietow and Neuruppin to reach Berlin.”
See more here.
