Challenges and chains in China
N.B. I Have covered the excitement in the lead up here so if you are just after the race report go down the page The Lead up
In early May, we found out about the X-trail race, the first ARWS (adventure racing world series) race to be held in Asia, and that they were offering to pay for flights and race fees for 3 youth teams, ideally those with good social media profiles and experience. We thought we would give it a go, and 4 days later we got the call to say we got it, and we're off to China in just under 3 weeks with not just 3 but 9 youth teams as well as many of the best teams in the world!
Flights were booked, insurance sorted, immunisations received, and a few last minute items were bought (we were mostly kitted out from God zone but a few specific things like water filters would be essential in the uncertain Asian environment to prevent sickness.)
The day before we left, I came down with a cold, which was worrying, but I managed to throw that off before the race started.
We flew to Guangzhou, and then onwards to Urumqi, the biggest city in the Xinjiang province in the middle of the desert, with a great mountain range alongside that was relatively green, attracting a bit of range with peaks of 5000m and over.
It is one of the most polluted cities in the world and it's easy to see why, the surrounding area is subject to heavy industrialisation and mining, reminiscent of Victorian industry or the desolation of Saruman in the Lord of the rings, leaving Urumqi unable to see direct sunlight, and the rain making cars dirtier.
Unfortunately the Xinjiang province has been subject to a few murderous riots in the last few years, as the Uyghurs CHECK THIS have felt oppressed by the Han Chinese rule and so are trying to fight back. This has caused as massive Increase in security, where police are on every street corner and most big buildings has a guard and a bag scanner, though the guards seem not to care, and just go through the motions with little conviction.
We boarded our next flight with the team "The sneaky weasel gang", the other NZ youth team would take us to a place which could not be more different. We flew to Kanas airport, a small airstrip in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but rolling pastures, lofty peaks, and livestock that roamed free without fences. The native people, Kazakh nomads, lived in yurts, a strange blend of tradition and modernisation, they move as round with their stock in this lush paradise as they have for hundreds of years, but while some ride on horseback, as they move their strange breeds of sheep, cows with large horns, and majestic horses, others prefer to use motorbikes, and most yurts have solar power. At a later point, during the race, we came across one such nomad who was following his herd on horseback, dressed as you would expect of a nomad, in old worn clothes, but he proceeded to take a photo of us with his IPhone 6!
A bus took us from the airport through the gorgeous rolling hills and groves of conifers, halted only by a security check for passports. This truly seemed to be paradise.
After a few hours we arrived at the resort, which looked amazing from the outside; a quaint, almost Swiss-alps-like resort in the snow-capped mountains. However if one looked closer they would find cracks in the walls, piles of rubbish and unfinished construction. It was really nice, but a little strange.
They had postponed the race start so we spent a few days organising, walking, riding our bikes in this paradise, and getting some priceless networking with some of the top teams, picking up on some good tips and relishing the chance to talk to the stars we had read and seen so much about!
Race day came about and we bussed to Lake Kanas, which was just the icing on the cake; A gorgeous blue lake, surrounded by towering peaks, green forest, and a sentinel tower peacefully watching over the lake. On that note however, even the race start was surrounded by guards with guns, riot shields and bulletproof vests.
The cultural performance was amazing, Mongolia dancers and KEVU throat singing which I would recommend youtubing.
Finally we were off!
In early May, we found out about the X-trail race, the first ARWS (adventure racing world series) race to be held in Asia, and that they were offering to pay for flights and race fees for 3 youth teams, ideally those with good social media profiles and experience. We thought we would give it a go, and 4 days later we got the call to say we got it, and we're off to China in just under 3 weeks with not just 3 but 9 youth teams as well as many of the best teams in the world!
Flights were booked, insurance sorted, immunisations received, and a few last minute items were bought (we were mostly kitted out from God zone but a few specific things like water filters would be essential in the uncertain Asian environment to prevent sickness.)
The day before we left, I came down with a cold, which was worrying, but I managed to throw that off before the race started.
We flew to Guangzhou, and then onwards to Urumqi, the biggest city in the Xinjiang province in the middle of the desert, with a great mountain range alongside that was relatively green, attracting a bit of range with peaks of 5000m and over.
It is one of the most polluted cities in the world and it's easy to see why, the surrounding area is subject to heavy industrialisation and mining, reminiscent of Victorian industry or the desolation of Saruman in the Lord of the rings, leaving Urumqi unable to see direct sunlight, and the rain making cars dirtier.
Unfortunately the Xinjiang province has been subject to a few murderous riots in the last few years, as the Uyghurs CHECK THIS have felt oppressed by the Han Chinese rule and so are trying to fight back. This has caused as massive Increase in security, where police are on every street corner and most big buildings has a guard and a bag scanner, though the guards seem not to care, and just go through the motions with little conviction.
We boarded our next flight with the team "The sneaky weasel gang", the other NZ youth team would take us to a place which could not be more different. We flew to Kanas airport, a small airstrip in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but rolling pastures, lofty peaks, and livestock that roamed free without fences. The native people, Kazakh nomads, lived in yurts, a strange blend of tradition and modernisation, they move as round with their stock in this lush paradise as they have for hundreds of years, but while some ride on horseback, as they move their strange breeds of sheep, cows with large horns, and majestic horses, others prefer to use motorbikes, and most yurts have solar power. At a later point, during the race, we came across one such nomad who was following his herd on horseback, dressed as you would expect of a nomad, in old worn clothes, but he proceeded to take a photo of us with his IPhone 6!
A bus took us from the airport through the gorgeous rolling hills and groves of conifers, halted only by a security check for passports. This truly seemed to be paradise.
After a few hours we arrived at the resort, which looked amazing from the outside; a quaint, almost Swiss-alps-like resort in the snow-capped mountains. However if one looked closer they would find cracks in the walls, piles of rubbish and unfinished construction. It was really nice, but a little strange.
They had postponed the race start so we spent a few days organising, walking, riding our bikes in this paradise, and getting some priceless networking with some of the top teams, picking up on some good tips and relishing the chance to talk to the stars we had read and seen so much about!
Race day came about and we bussed to Lake Kanas, which was just the icing on the cake; A gorgeous blue lake, surrounded by towering peaks, green forest, and a sentinel tower peacefully watching over the lake. On that note however, even the race start was surrounded by guards with guns, riot shields and bulletproof vests.
The cultural performance was amazing, Mongolia dancers and KEVU throat singing which I would recommend youtubing.
Finally we were off!
The Race
Stage 1: 3km road run to the lakefront.
We started conservatively, running mid pack, the sun beamed down and everything looked great!
For a good minute there we were ahead of Chris Forne, possibly the greatest achievement of my life, perhaps.
Stage 1: 3km road run to the lakefront.
We started conservatively, running mid pack, the sun beamed down and everything looked great!
For a good minute there we were ahead of Chris Forne, possibly the greatest achievement of my life, perhaps.
Stage 2: 25km kayak
We hit the docks and transitioned fast into the boats, passing a few teas and seamlessly gliding into the water, putting on spray skirts one at a time while the other person paddled for maximum efficiency. The lake was glassy, the water a cool refreshment to the hot sun, and views better than postcards. We ground out the next 3 hours, holding our own with a bit of team work. Our lack of paddling in the last few weeks (as we hadn't known about the race until 3 weeks earlier) meant that while we did well, we were pretty cooked by the end of it; however we figured we had at least 36 hours until the next kayak.
We hit the docks and transitioned fast into the boats, passing a few teas and seamlessly gliding into the water, putting on spray skirts one at a time while the other person paddled for maximum efficiency. The lake was glassy, the water a cool refreshment to the hot sun, and views better than postcards. We ground out the next 3 hours, holding our own with a bit of team work. Our lack of paddling in the last few weeks (as we hadn't known about the race until 3 weeks earlier) meant that while we did well, we were pretty cooked by the end of it; however we figured we had at least 36 hours until the next kayak.
Stage 3: 15km raft
We jumped from kayaks into the raft, and onto what had looked from the road like a scenic but boring river; we were so wrong! The water instantly turned to wave trains and white-water, and we had an absolute ball for a good minute until the raft, which wasn't self-bailing, began to fill up. Counting our lucky stars that Struan from the sneaky weasels had clued us in and given us two giant bottles, we began to bail furiously. The river moved us along swiftly, and with a bit more hard work we managed to stay in position, with only one bail by Nath when the weight in the boat cause the boat to tip on the roiling water. We hit the CP and dragged our boat up the hillside to TA3, just as the sneaky weasels and Columbia Vida Raid were exiting. Another fast transition, complicated only by a few exploded pots of various creams due to the intense heat and we were off down the wooden walkway.
We jumped from kayaks into the raft, and onto what had looked from the road like a scenic but boring river; we were so wrong! The water instantly turned to wave trains and white-water, and we had an absolute ball for a good minute until the raft, which wasn't self-bailing, began to fill up. Counting our lucky stars that Struan from the sneaky weasels had clued us in and given us two giant bottles, we began to bail furiously. The river moved us along swiftly, and with a bit more hard work we managed to stay in position, with only one bail by Nath when the weight in the boat cause the boat to tip on the roiling water. We hit the CP and dragged our boat up the hillside to TA3, just as the sneaky weasels and Columbia Vida Raid were exiting. Another fast transition, complicated only by a few exploded pots of various creams due to the intense heat and we were off down the wooden walkway.
Stage 4: 40km trek
In the heat of the start line, and coming out of midwinter some of us had forgotten about sunscreen, so some hurried application went on once we finally had hands free from paddles, but sadly a good bit of damage had already occurred.
We raced through the trees out if transition as team Finalin (from Ecuador) and the Swedes came in, but we soon got away and up into the mountain. Like something out a story book, the grassy hillside covered in woods made a great place to grind up the hill in. We spent the next couple of hours moving upwards, stopping only for blister prevention; however this allowed team Finalin, to get in sight of us. They were, however, very strong, and sped past us despite our grind. We hung on to them for a while, and as the storm which now brewed in front of us worsened, we walked together towards the fork lightening.
The next hour or two was incredible, an amazing mix of driving rain, rolling hills, snow, triple rainbows, mountain tarns and a sunset to die for made me remember why I love doing this.
The sunset was late, as the night was only between about 1130-6am which was a refreshing change from Dunedin which has about that much daylight!
We played cat and mouse with Finalin until we took a sleep and they beat us to transition. We arrived to the Hemu historic village at dawn, and completed the orienteering around the traditional Kevu dwellings, stopping only to take an interest in some local flora which is a bit rarer and infinitely more valuable back home.
In the heat of the start line, and coming out of midwinter some of us had forgotten about sunscreen, so some hurried application went on once we finally had hands free from paddles, but sadly a good bit of damage had already occurred.
We raced through the trees out if transition as team Finalin (from Ecuador) and the Swedes came in, but we soon got away and up into the mountain. Like something out a story book, the grassy hillside covered in woods made a great place to grind up the hill in. We spent the next couple of hours moving upwards, stopping only for blister prevention; however this allowed team Finalin, to get in sight of us. They were, however, very strong, and sped past us despite our grind. We hung on to them for a while, and as the storm which now brewed in front of us worsened, we walked together towards the fork lightening.
The next hour or two was incredible, an amazing mix of driving rain, rolling hills, snow, triple rainbows, mountain tarns and a sunset to die for made me remember why I love doing this.
The sunset was late, as the night was only between about 1130-6am which was a refreshing change from Dunedin which has about that much daylight!
We played cat and mouse with Finalin until we took a sleep and they beat us to transition. We arrived to the Hemu historic village at dawn, and completed the orienteering around the traditional Kevu dwellings, stopping only to take an interest in some local flora which is a bit rarer and infinitely more valuable back home.
Stage 5: 260km bike, only 70km completed
We caught up to Finalin and another few teams at transition, getting on the bikes fast and taking off along the road. We ducked onto a farm track and pedalled up the valley, it was beautiful and picturesque until we reached the massive hill which was too steep to ride up. In our sweat and fatigue as we hauled our bikes up we were attacked by swarms of mosquitos, which were even biting through our clothing!
Upon reaching the top we flowed down a single-track into a grassy valley, which we worked through in the intensifying heat, stopping to refill water in the rivers we rode through. Because if the questionable water quality in China, you are recommended to treat all water, even from a tap, so filters were essential during the race! We climbed up a little more of a hill, through a cluster of gangly camels before we got to the big downhill. This was one of the highlights of the race for me. We raced a motorbike and let loose down the technical but fast track down the valley, sheer walls of rock above and below us. Near the bottom, we were halted by multiple herds of sheep, cows and horses, some of which chased Nathan off the bridge! We let them and the farmers pass, before going onwards, across a great river to the start of the next big climb. We moved steadily upwards on the baking sandy road, when tragedy struck. Nathan couldn't get his pedals to go around without his chain sticking. With the combinations of mud, river crossings and sand, his chain had just been worn to the point where it couldn't continue going around. We stopped and tried to see if Rachel’s chain would work with his also worn cassette but to no solution. Things began to get desperate, we considered walking and towing each other, but it would be 40km to the next checkpoint and a further 160 (though at the time we thought only 100) from that till the end of the leg. We concluded that we needed to ask for help. We pulled out our yellow brick tracker and sent a message asking what we should do. Perhaps in the confusion of language which had surrounded all our communication with the Chinese, they misinterpreted, but they said they were sending people to help us and get us out of there. ? Morosely we free wheeled down the hill to the village at the bottom, where we waited, and paid 80 yuan (16NZD) for a hearty meal of noodles, egg, bread and chillies for the 4 of us! The people were friendly, they were just more people working at another seemingly meaningless military checkpoint.
We caught up to Finalin and another few teams at transition, getting on the bikes fast and taking off along the road. We ducked onto a farm track and pedalled up the valley, it was beautiful and picturesque until we reached the massive hill which was too steep to ride up. In our sweat and fatigue as we hauled our bikes up we were attacked by swarms of mosquitos, which were even biting through our clothing!
Upon reaching the top we flowed down a single-track into a grassy valley, which we worked through in the intensifying heat, stopping to refill water in the rivers we rode through. Because if the questionable water quality in China, you are recommended to treat all water, even from a tap, so filters were essential during the race! We climbed up a little more of a hill, through a cluster of gangly camels before we got to the big downhill. This was one of the highlights of the race for me. We raced a motorbike and let loose down the technical but fast track down the valley, sheer walls of rock above and below us. Near the bottom, we were halted by multiple herds of sheep, cows and horses, some of which chased Nathan off the bridge! We let them and the farmers pass, before going onwards, across a great river to the start of the next big climb. We moved steadily upwards on the baking sandy road, when tragedy struck. Nathan couldn't get his pedals to go around without his chain sticking. With the combinations of mud, river crossings and sand, his chain had just been worn to the point where it couldn't continue going around. We stopped and tried to see if Rachel’s chain would work with his also worn cassette but to no solution. Things began to get desperate, we considered walking and towing each other, but it would be 40km to the next checkpoint and a further 160 (though at the time we thought only 100) from that till the end of the leg. We concluded that we needed to ask for help. We pulled out our yellow brick tracker and sent a message asking what we should do. Perhaps in the confusion of language which had surrounded all our communication with the Chinese, they misinterpreted, but they said they were sending people to help us and get us out of there. ? Morosely we free wheeled down the hill to the village at the bottom, where we waited, and paid 80 yuan (16NZD) for a hearty meal of noodles, egg, bread and chillies for the 4 of us! The people were friendly, they were just more people working at another seemingly meaningless military checkpoint.
A car came to get us. Despite saying we had 4 bikes, they hadn't catered for this, so we had to leave 2 in the middle of nowhere at the village. Thankfully they made it back fine. The ride was definitely one of the most sketchy I have been in, with the driver honing around corners on a very bumpy, rocky 4wd track with huge drops on the side, we got to the point where in the absence of seat belts we elected to wear helmets.
We got to the noodle house checkpoint where we were fed and carried onwards to the hotel in Altay. We discovered to our sorrow that the Weasels had also been unable to finish, as one of them had become severely unwell.
After the race we chilled out in the hotel, watched the teams come in and cheered them on, did some reflecting with some of the top teams on things we could have done better, namely applying ridiculous amounts of lube to our bikes.
It was good to be able to take to the local food with vigour and not fear for food poisoning ruining the race. Levi and I went for a ride through the desert with the Weasels, getting chased by dogs, seeing a herd of camels, and experiencing some awesome country!
Prize giving night was a great vibe, with the recognition of the top teams, great food, and plenty of drink. Unknown to us, the organisers had prepared a cake for my birthday (the next day) and Victoria from team Finalin, so we were invited to stand on the stage while the whole crowd sang happy birthday, what a way to enter my 21st! Following from that we partied the night away with a bunch of the other youths, which was awesome!
We then began the long journey home looming forward to laid back new Zealand "security", green land, and drinkable water, though I will miss the long days and warm weather!
While disappointed that we couldn't continue, we were really pleased with how we had been going up to that point. We had been making good pace, and having slept and maintained good nutrition we were feeling fresh. We have learned a huge amount from this trip and really enjoyed the opportunity to see some absolutely jaw dropping landscapes and hang out with some of the best youth, and open teams in the world.
-Tom
We got to the noodle house checkpoint where we were fed and carried onwards to the hotel in Altay. We discovered to our sorrow that the Weasels had also been unable to finish, as one of them had become severely unwell.
After the race we chilled out in the hotel, watched the teams come in and cheered them on, did some reflecting with some of the top teams on things we could have done better, namely applying ridiculous amounts of lube to our bikes.
It was good to be able to take to the local food with vigour and not fear for food poisoning ruining the race. Levi and I went for a ride through the desert with the Weasels, getting chased by dogs, seeing a herd of camels, and experiencing some awesome country!
Prize giving night was a great vibe, with the recognition of the top teams, great food, and plenty of drink. Unknown to us, the organisers had prepared a cake for my birthday (the next day) and Victoria from team Finalin, so we were invited to stand on the stage while the whole crowd sang happy birthday, what a way to enter my 21st! Following from that we partied the night away with a bunch of the other youths, which was awesome!
We then began the long journey home looming forward to laid back new Zealand "security", green land, and drinkable water, though I will miss the long days and warm weather!
While disappointed that we couldn't continue, we were really pleased with how we had been going up to that point. We had been making good pace, and having slept and maintained good nutrition we were feeling fresh. We have learned a huge amount from this trip and really enjoyed the opportunity to see some absolutely jaw dropping landscapes and hang out with some of the best youth, and open teams in the world.
-Tom