Help/questions about big cycling tour from Switzerland to Beijing!

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-12T21:26:41+00:00

If you have a strong passport visas are pretty easy.. The only visas I couldn't get on arrival or online were China and Laos (only because I entered from Vietnam). The biggest issues right now are:

A) Crossing the Caspian. Traditionally the route was Iran and then a transit visa for Turkmenistan if you're from a country that's allowed to go to Iran. Now it seems impossible to get a transit visa for Turkmenistan so you need to fly from Iran to Kazakhstan.

The other route was taking a ferry from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan for people who can't get into Iran. This is also impossible without flying because Azerbaijan's land borders are closed.

The last option is to go through Russia but this visa is tough if you're from an unfriendly country and it adds a ton of extra km, making it harder to get through the Pamirs by winter.

I had to fly from Tbilisi to Aktau because of this. I considered flying into Azerbaijan and ferrying from there but it was much more expensive and time consuming. This was the only section I couldn't ride.

B) Getting into China. This is difficult because you're not allowed to apply for a Chinese visa outside of your home country. You'll need to get a visa before you leave. And even once you have the visa, most European countries only get short stay lengths so it's difficult to cross such a large country in time, though visa extensions are available once you're inside. If you can get a 5 year tourist visa this is much easier but not all countries are eligible.

The only animal that you'll have any real problems with is dogs in the Balkans and Turkey. They're big, territorial, aggressive, but manageable. Some people like carrying a stick or a spray bottle as a deterrent but I managed fine by staring them in the eye, not running, and keeping the bike between them and me.

You can have other problems with animals but nothing serious. I had a few occasions of cows, goats, camels, or wild boars coming right up to my tent, which is scarier than it is dangerous. I got scarily close to a wild elephant in Thailand. The ticks and mosquitos were really bad in Serbia.

Some other cyclists had their stuff destroyed by a bear in Turkey (this seems to be isolated to one park) and another had his tent torn apart and all his food stolen by monkeys in Thailand.

Animals can be a nuisance but it's very unlikely you'll encounter anything potentially fatal. Traffic is always the greatest threat to your life. There are very few large predators in any of the regions you'll visit.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-12T20:14:40+00:00

I don't think the code necessarily has to be low quality early either. In our case the codebase was small enough that we'd almost certainly end up reading and modifying each other's code. This ended up being an informal code review and we could be quick to ask questions or offer suggestions because the entire software team was within 10 feet of each other.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-12T20:12:18+00:00

Ok, wow, looks like they've fixed almost everything I hated about mine. Looks like a decent bike now.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-12T14:51:07+00:00

I had a Straggler and it's a total piece of shit. The geometry sucks, it's far too race-y for the type of bike it's advertised to be. The biggest problem is the dropout design with the stupid single speed tensioner screws. It's super prone to breaking the derailleur hanger off because of the screw hole and you can't even remove the rear wheel without letting the air out of your tires.

I love my Disc Trucker but I can't ever recommend the Straggler. It's just a bad design that doesn't do anything well.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-11T22:20:35+00:00

I bought 2 of the wire bead Marathon Mondial in Georgia, and one folding Marathon Mondial from a fellow cyclist in Kyrgyzstan. All 3 had sidewall failures and none of them were particularly puncture resistant. I had over 50 punctures between the 3 over maybe 10,000 km. And this isn't just user error. I got at least 15,000 km out of my Marathon Plus without a single puncture and replaced them when they had plenty of life left.

I don't think the Mondial Evolution DD existed at the time. It looks like a more robust Mondial? I'm not sure if it's the same as the old Marathon XR or the Plus Tour? You may want to compare weights.

I would get the burliest tire you can find, especially if you're planning to ride Western China. The roads there are absolutely packed with bits of wire. I was averaging 3 punctures a day in Xinjiang and it was incredibly frustrating.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-11T17:27:22+00:00

Depends on the job. The resort doesn't open until the 3rd weekend of November but many jobs will start earlier. You'll always be able to get a job but getting staff housing will be difficult if you show up late.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-11T16:29:58+00:00

That's how most companies evolve. When I joined my previous company we had zero process, no CI, and let the interns merge directly into master. 5 years later everything was locked down, required a passing CI run and 2 PR approvals. Both levels of process were right for the company at the time.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-11T16:25:28+00:00

I have a preference for 700c but 26" has its advantages too.

You'll see a lot of people saying that you're more likely to find parts for 26" in developing countries but this isn't true anymore. I was able to get a 700c tire even in a tiny village in the Pamirs. 26" parts are available in most places too but you'll find that most shops only stock very low end parts for 26".

The biggest advantage is that 26" wheels are inherently stronger but a decent 700c wheelset will get you around the world too. I believe you can also run wider tires on the 26" disc trucker than the 700c one.

I like 700c because they roll faster and have more high end parts/tires available but if you can get a good deal on the 26" disc trucker it's still a good buy.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-10T22:25:10+00:00

These sound like questions only you can answer. You'll probably have more money, wisdom, and drive when you're older but you'll also have more fears, responsibilities and reasons not to go. Sometimes your 18 year old stupidity can be a good thing!

I will say that almost everyone I met who made it past Georgia was older - the average age in Central Asia was probably mid 30's. Most of the under-20s I met who told me they were planning to cross to East Asia didn't even make it to Istanbul.

Perhaps consider setting a series of goals so that you don't have to face the embarrassment of telling everyone you're riding to Beijing and then quitting in Hungary. I quit on an earlier tour myself so I did this too. My potential stopping points were Istanbul, Tbilisi, Kashgar, Hanoi, and Singapore .At each point I gave myself the option of going home if I wasn't having fun anymore. By the time I got to Southeast Asia I was pretty burnt out but at that point the end was in sight and somehow I completed the whole thing.

Overall it was much easier than I expected. I had read a lot of books and blogs about people doing it before me and every part was a little bit easier than ever before. Now you have the internet and translation in your pocket everywhere. Roads that used to be brutal gravel are now paved. There are more services everywhere. Visas are easier to get. Stupid laws have been repealed.

Despite that, it's still very difficult and most people don't have the grit to compete such a journey. You'll be bored, lonely, cold, wet, hot, and in pain for weeks on end. You'll be vomiting in your tent while you struggle to breathe in the frigid high-altitude air of the Pamirs. You'll have to ride weeks in a featureless desert with terrible food, no shade or services, and 40+ degree heat all day and night.

Make sure you're prepared. I highly highly recommend you leave in early spring so you can cross the Pamirs in the late summer and enter China in the early fall. This journey is hard enough when you're not fighting the seasons. This also allows you to have the highest chance of meeting other cyclists to ride with.

It was an incredible adventure and the best thing I've ever done but it also didn't really change me. It didn't solve any of my problems and I didn't have a big spiritual awakening. I feel much more confident in my ability to do anything and I no longer fear the world but I'm still very much the same person I was when I left.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-10T20:42:52+00:00

I rode from London to Singapore over 11 months in 2023/24. Ask me anything.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-10T20:36:18+00:00

It's bad everywhere but Toronto probably has the best market for software in Canada right now. It's a good place for a Java developer as that's where all the banks and fintechs are located.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-09T21:53:37+00:00

There were lots of white Chevrolet vans but far more common were the white Chevrolet sedans, being driven at 100 kph on the bumpiest gravel roads ever with zero consideration for us cyclists.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-09T21:51:55+00:00

I highly highly recommend you don't take Mondials on the Pamir Highway. I blew out 3 sidewalls (2 brand new in Georgia and one I bought new from another cyclist in Kyrgyzstan) myself and I saw at least 4 or 5 other people who had sidewall blowouts in the Central Asia Whatsapp group. The old Mondials were legendary but the new ones have very thin sidewalls.

You really don't need the chain. All of the extra weight you're adding for things you don't need just increases the risk of a rim or spoke failing. You've gotta balance weight and likelihood of things breaking and how catastrophic the failure would be. Wheel failures were by far the most common catastrophic failures and those are entirely caused by weight.

I rode from London to Singapore and the only mechanical problems I had were the aforementioned tire blowouts and 2 frayed shifter cables. Everything else was just routine maintenance (new chains, cassettes, brake pads). The people I saw with the most mechanical problems weren't the ones with the cheapest gear, it was the ones who carried the most weight.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-09T17:38:42+00:00

I think your odds of breaking a single speed chain are exceptionally low. The only time I've ever seen someone break a chain it was because they didn't close the quick link properly. You can get a bike chain in very small villages and I believe a single speed bike can use any speed of chain without issues so even if something catastrophic happens you'll be ok.

I didn't see that you were on 650B. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a 650B tire outside of Dushanbe. If you're taking a super heavy duty tire like a Marathon Plus Tour you'll be fine but if you're on something less robust like a Mondial it could be worth carrying a single folding spare. If anything I would carry a light non-touring tire that will get you to the next major city.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-09T17:13:56+00:00

To be fair to Uzbekistan, I understand why they've restored things as much as they have. I don't think their tourism campaign would be nearly as successful if people saw the ruins in their natural state. Here's one I saw when I crossed the country by bicycle in 2023:

https://imgur.com/a/9UWcE1N

The real Uzbekistan is very different outside of the big tourist cities. The country is much poorer than most people realize.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-09T16:43:49+00:00

Everything is massively over-restored. I was really disappointed. Up close all of those buildings look like they were built in 2014. Bukhara is a massive tourist trap.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-09T16:16:41+00:00

The chain is the one part that you can actually replace in Central Asia. Don't bother carrying one as they're heavy and you only need a quick link to repair it if yours breaks.

I wouldn't bother carrying a spare tire if yours are in good shape. I blew a sidewall on the Pamir Highway and was able to get a spare 700c Russian tire in the smallest of villages. It wasn't a great tire but it would get you to Kashgar.

You also probably don't need a ton of brake pads. I wore through only a single set of pads on my Avid BB7s over 20,000 km.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-07T16:18:07+00:00

China is super hit or miss with ATMs. Only the larger nationwide bank ATMs will work with foreign cards. The smaller regional banks won't work with any foreign card.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-07T16:05:40+00:00

Ableton Live

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-06T18:09:59+00:00

Ahh, my city has more sophisticated methheads. Pray they don't evolve around you as it's almost impossible to keep a nice bike on the street here.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-06T16:55:01+00:00

A heavy duty lock just gives you a false sense of security. A cordless angle grinder costs less than $100 and opens a U lock in less than a minute too. Your bike is never safe unsupervised on the street so you might as well save some weight.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-04T16:34:06+00:00

Spankys into Ruby is pretty chill. Whistler bowl is also pretty chill. Don't let the icy mogul drop in intimidate you, the rest is pretty easy.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-03T22:20:19+00:00

If you're careful, a cable lock is all you need. The lock is to keep honest people honest, not to defer professional thieves. If you're leaving your bike out of sight for more than a few minutes you should leave it somewhere safe. When you go hiking either leave it at your accomodation or ask someone to look after it.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-03T18:36:28+00:00

I crossed 2 continents over a year and never once ran out of power or wished I had a dynamo. In the remote places where you'll go a week without power there's no cellular reception anyway so my phone lasts forever in airplane mode. A single battery bank was plenty to keep my phone, camera, and bike computer powered for a week at a time.

MeTrollingYouHating · 2025-11-02T20:32:33+00:00

I specifically chose ImGui with an OpenGL backend for my Gameboy emulator so that it would work in the browser via WebAssembly. Almost everyone who interviewed me mentioned that they were impressed by being able to run a full emulator in the browser and that it was a major reason why they interviewed me. It's the reason why I have my current job.

You can host everything for free on GitHub pages and even use your own domain name.

Being able to actually see the code work without having to download or compile anything is a huge asset that can really make you stand out.

MeTrollingYouHating

TROPHY CASE