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Johnny Isaak | Adventure Cyclist

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Shanghai

A Brief Canticle to Travel in 2018

A Brief Canticle to Travel in 2018

by Johnny Isaak ·

Before I knew it, we’ve done another lap around the sun. It’s the last day of December, and a new year is just hours away. Sipping a Turkish coffee and peering out of the window of our high rise over the snow-covered roofs of Shanghai, I’m quietly watching the final moments of 2018 draw to a close.

Pudong from the Bund, Shanghai, China.

Before this year becomes a memory, it’s time to take one last glance over my shoulder and savor the journeys, the challenges, and the adventure of such an awesome year before jumping headlong into 2019.

The past twelve months have been four action-packed seasons of continual travel, questing, and adventure, both on and off the bike. It’s been a series of nonstop journeys all about getting out there. It was a year of spending time in incredible places, meeting new people, and by chance, a day catching up with one good friend.

Sunrise over Cook’s Cove, the East Cape, North Island, New Zealand.

Land of the Long White Cloud

Journey to the Southern Hemisphere. Cycling across New Zealand from Bluff in the south to Cape Rienga at the northern tip, a most incredible Kiwi adventure. The family riding for the first part, and solo on the second. Meeting the Maori of the Eastern Cape. Many nights spent camping under the Southern Cross and the Milky Way. Riding to beat the tide along Ninety-Mile Beach.

The Eastern Steppe, Inner Mongolia.

Wandering on the Eastern Steppe

Inner Mongolia, a land of endless grasslands under everlasing azure skies. Days spent chasing the light along meandering rivers. Tramping through the former lands of the mighty Mongols and Genghis Khan. Pausing on windblown hilltops to capture glimpses of herds of galloping ponies. Capturing faint shadows of the Golden Horde in the corner of my eye. Exploring the sidestreets of Russian border towns. Standing on the edge of the river peering into Siberia. Thinking about adventures for another day.

Uyghur Mosque, Kashir (Kashgar), Xinjiang, China.

The Old Silk Road

Xinjiang, a new frontier, and a land of many things. A Silk Road odyssey pedaling into the heart of Asia, a place I’m forever drawn to. Endless days in the saddle making passage in this mysterious land. The Pamir Mountains lie to the west, with the Kunlun forming a border to the south. The Tian Shan runs roughly through the center east to west, and the Altai Mountains are in the north. The Gobi guards the east and the Taklamakan lies in the south between the Kunlun and the Tian Shan — such a rugged land.

Kanas River, Altai Mountains, Xinjiang, China.

Cycling through the ancient oasis cities of Turfan, Kucha, Niya, Khotan, and finally to old Kashgar located on the eastern front ranges of the snow-capped Pamirs provided me with a fleeting glimpse into ancient trade route. Mud-walled homes and dusty palm trees among grape fields and nut tree orchards harkened back to a wilder time, one that still maintains its mystic aura today.

Turning north across the eastern reaches of the Tian Shan. Heading north into the Altai Mountains. Reaching the fringes of the boundless Kazak Steppes whetted my appetite for deeper forays to the stans of Central Western Asia. It’s a land of dense forests and grass-covered hills bisected by turquoise rivers. Lazy woodsmoke emanating from clusters of white yurts wanders up cold valley floors.

Little Dragon Lake on the Duku Highway in the Tian Shan Mountains, Xinjiang, China.

Duku Highway

Traversing the heart of the Tian Shan brought me in contact with welcoming Kazaks and Mongols still living in clutches of yurts scattered across the land. Many offering spicy lamb kababs and fresh naan to us as we passed by. Uyghur people inhabited the land to the south of the towering mountain range. Our time on the road was filled with seemingly unending days climbing and descending among massive snow-capped granite giants.

Taklamakan Desert, Xinjiang, China.

Sands of the Taklamakan

The Taklamakan, whose name means “Those who go in don’t come out.” Also referred to as “The Desert of Death,” the barren land is a sea of endless dunes circumscribed by the northern and southern routes of the Silk Road. Some of the dunes reach a height of a thousand feet. Few have dared to enter. Fewer still returned once they did. The wise and less foolhardy chose to go around, and still do today. Traveling in the shadows of Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin set me to wondering what they would think of Chinese Turkistan today with the endless stream of lorries transporting Chinese goods to the west, and the vast oil and gas fields tapping the rich underground resources.

Chaing Mai, Thailand.

Time in the Tropics

A couple of short trips to Chang Mai and Phuket in Thailand provided a much-needed respite from the cold winter weather. Thailand is filled with plenty of old temples to explore, cheap beer, savory fare, and friendly Thai people.

Friends remembered.

Friends Remembered

Time with a loyal friend, a trusty comrade of distant adventures, is among the most savored of moments. Time catching up on old times. Journeys remembered. However, time moves on, but old friends are not forgotten. Bonds remain across the span of time.

Into the Tian Shan.

The Dream is Alive

A new year is upon us. 2019 is here — the open road beckons. Many dreams still remain unrealized. Time is short, and I’m running behind. I long to feel the free wind blowing in my hair, to spend more time in incredible places. There are still place left to see through the lens of my camera. Lonely highways still yearn to be pedaled. See you out there. Cheers.

Filed Under: Adventure, Adventure Cycling, Inspiration Tagged With: adventure cycling, bicycle travel, bike travel, Eastern Steppe, Inner Mongolia, Kashgar, New Zealand, Shanghai, Silk Road, Taklamakan, Thailand, Tian Shan, travel photography, Xinjiang

2017: Adventures Remembered

2017: Adventures Remembered

by Johnny Isaak ·

The steady patter of raindrops form into small rivulets and run down the window of our Shanghai apartment. Vacantly staring into the featureless mist and clouds wandering through the skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, my mind drifts to places far away. It’s an excellent moment to reflect on journey’s past. Just a few days on the backside of this year’s winter solstice, our adventures in Hokkaido, Kyoto, and Hong Kong seem so far away. A new year is only a couple of days away while 2017 draws to a close, and what an incredible year it was. Twelve months filled with continual cycling and travel adventures seemed to pass so quickly. Such is the nature of time when you’re having fun. Before we plunge headlong into another year, here are a few images to recount some of our travels and places we experienced during this great year.

[Read more…] about 2017: Adventures Remembered

Filed Under: Adventure Cycling Tagged With: adventure cycling, Anhui, bicycle travel, China, Hokkaido, Huangshan, Hunan, Japan, Johnny Isaak, Kyoto, Pudong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Zhangjiajie

Exploring Shanghai’s Vanishing Longtangs

Exploring Shanghai’s Vanishing Longtangs

by Johnny Isaak ·

Not only are bicycles great for long-distance travel, but they are also excellent vehicles for getting under local cultural strata as well.

Clear days and mild fall temperatures bring pleasant riding weather. Itching to get out a bit, I was up in the morning and out into Shanghai my bike seeing what there is to see.

This morning’s destination: one or more of Shanghai’s longtangs or “lane houses” in the hopes of getting a peek into the city’s quintessential yesteryears that are all too rapidly fading away.

In a city like Shanghai, adventure is only a short ride away. 

[Read more…] about Exploring Shanghai’s Vanishing Longtangs

Filed Under: Adventure Cycling Tagged With: adventure, adventure cycling, bicycle travel, China, longtang, Shanghai, touring, travel

Going Local: Exploring the Watertown of Qibao

Going Local: Exploring the Watertown of Qibao

by Johnny Isaak ·

Adventure Close to Home

With commitments and obligations keeping me in the city for a few months before the next long adventure, I’d been yearning to get out on the bike again.

The milder and warmer spring weather around Shanghai was beginning to provide excellent opportunities to get out on the bike for local adventures. 

It was time to get out the bike and explore some of the sights in around the city to “see what could be seen.” After all, in China, a country with over five thousand years of written history, surely there was something to be discovered and explored.

Practically anywhere you go in China, the Chinese people have a rich, robust culture foreign to Westerners, which makes for interesting places to see and experience.  [Read more…] about Going Local: Exploring the Watertown of Qibao

Filed Under: Adventure Cycling Tagged With: bicycling, biking, China, Co-Motion, Divide, Johnny Isaak, Qibao, Shanghai, touring, travel, water town

Mia’s Cycling Adventure

Mia’s Cycling Adventure

by Johnny Isaak ·

IMG_7749 2

The Girl Wants to Ride

“Dad, I want to ride with you tomorrow,” Mia declared to me as I pumped up the tires on my Divide and readied it for the following day’s cruise out to Chongming Island. Now at the last minute, Mia suddenly expressed an interest in going.

[Read more…] about Mia’s Cycling Adventure

Filed Under: Adventure Cycling Tagged With: adventure, adventure cycling, bicycle travel, bicycling with kids, China, Chongming, Co-Motion, Divide, Shanghai

A Window with a View

A Window with a View

by Johnny Isaak ·

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One of the simple pleasures of living in Shanghai is taking a shower in the pre-dawn hours and gazing through the wide open bathroom window from our 22nd-floor apartment to the city streets below. Standing under the stream of hot water with the cool breeze blowing in from a tall narrow window, it’s almost like showering outdoors in the warm rain under an urban banyan tree situated deep in the vast expanse of an enormous concrete jungle.

Awake before in the fading darkness while the megalopolis still sleeps, I am able to peer through my little portal to the world and catch a clear view of deserted city streets trailing off into the myriad of high-rise buildings and skyscrapers that is Shanghai. A gentle wind whispers through the window. The misty scent of fresh rain touches my nose.

[Read more…] about A Window with a View

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: adventure, adventure cycling, coffee, espresso, Shanghai, travel

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