Today gave all the mountainous roads that I had been missing over the last few days. From Shangri-La, we set off early for Daocheng Yading, along the longer route (which is theoretically safer as it has less rockfalls).

Today’s route in blue

The route traced through mountains and canyons, following the Jinsha and Dingqu rivers, before cutting through the mountains.

Jinsha River Canyon

The scenery was no less than epic - huge mountains with a palette of black, dark red and dark green, chiseled by cloudy white rivers.

Dingqu River Canyon, and monument to the Long March

Quick break along the Dingqu River

It was very fun riding for most of the day - and there were a few incidences. Kiat’s bike found a nail and we tried to patch it, only to discover that my aliexpress tyre plugs were no good. Help was not far away, and a local tyre repair guy came within 15 mins with a fresh set of plugs. I purchased his remaining plugs and threw out the aliexpress ones.

Repair guy saves the day with proper tyre plugs

Aliexpress vs proper plugs

Another time, close to Xiangchen, there was a fork in the road - and as I was leading with the GPS, I continued up the correct path thinking Kiat was close behind me. Not so! And it was only one or two kilometres up the road when i realised that he was no where to be seen. I parked my bike and crossed the road to take a look…only for my bike to fall over! The Ducati Desert X side stand is far too tall for the bike, especially when it is loaded with luggage.

Kiat at the crossroad (dot in red in the middle of the photo)

When we reached Xiangchen with ~120KMs to go to our original destination of Daocheng Yading, it was raining with increased intensity (and had been raining for an hour or two already). We stopped for soup and decided to call it a day, and to book a nearby hotel.

Tibetan buildings in a village nearby Xiangchen

Xiangchen is an interesting city. There is a significant Tibetan population, and architectural influence. Buildings resemble North African castles, with white walls and maroon accents.

Tomorrow; Daocheng Yading!

Some stats:

• 259 KMs traveled
• 2 unique interactions
• 11.4L fuel added
• 36g coffee consumed

Route to date