26,25,37, maybe I'm wrong about the ages.

We have a great team. One day Tristan will be our leader, the next day it will be Patrick, and the next me. "Only the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon can tell us who has it in them to lead ." We shall all be generals and will stand up according to the day we face. We have not put our horses on the trail, but when we do, I will tell you more. One thing the three of us have in common is that we want to get on our horses and just ride. We don't ride to say "I'm better than you," but to say it's as simple as getting on your horse and riding. Today is today, as common as tea and coffee and an U. July 11th is a new day.

Over

D (edited by T)

Mark it down

The date of departure has been determined: July 11, 2007

Independence

Here on our Independence Day, we would like to pay tribute to our two homes and their respective freedoms: the freedom of speech and...the freedom to ride motorcycles thousands of miles without licenses, insurance, nor the ability to read the language.

P

All the Pretty Horses

In Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, two young men from Texas wander on horseback into Mexico where they search for work and a meaning for their lives. After buying sleeping bags and pads and tents, I can't stop imagining myself as McCarthy's hero, John Grady Cole: strappin' on my bedroll and saddlin' up and ridin' all night and sleepin' under the stars. Granted, my horse is mechanical and my "bedroll" is camping equipment and I won't be "ridin' all night" or "sleepin' under the stars" nor have I ever worked on a ranch or been put into prison or used a gun to threaten or kill someone. And I don't plan to. But maybe wandering is just about finding yourself or finding that elusive meaning, wherever you come from and however it happens.

T

Martino, the Hero, the Inspiration

Patrick Martino. You have probably never heard this name before, but neither had we before deciding to venture across China on motorcycles. Patrick traveled from Lanzhou to Urumqion a motorbike, taking a similar route to the one we are taking on the second leg of our trip. However, he didn't stop there. He also traveled even farther West and also south to Tibet. Even after having an accident on his Feiying bike he continued to travel. He didn't travel with two other Americans like we will. He traveled alone.

After many Google searches using phrases like "motorcycle china" and "across china" we found Patrick's blog (click here to view), full of information about traveling China on a motorcycle, specifically the Northwest. Perhaps the most helpful information on the blog, was his recounting of how he stumbled into a sponsorship with Feiying Motorcycles. One day after finding his blog site, we went to the Feiying dealership in Harbin and our trip became much easier. Feiying was willing to 'sponsor' us just as they had sponsored Martino: giving us good prices on the bikes, finding us places to stay and food along the way, supplying helmets, gloves, license plates, and, maybe most importantly, free repair and maintenance for our bikes during the trip.

P (edited by T)