Surly World Troller - touring thread

UPDATE 02/09/17

I'm currently on the way! You can follow this thread for short updates, Http://cycletello.wordpress.com for bigger stories. https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=14e105946b8cc8b03d&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes for dotwatching

Introduction

It's been a while since the idea slowly nestled inside my brain to go on what is going to be the hardest and most demanding shit I've ever done in my life: a cycle tour from my beloved hometown through Europe, Central Asia and China all the way to Beijing. It's a very daunting task which to me at the moment seems almost impossible, especially since I've never done comparable distances before. However, I've almost got my bachelor's degree, and I'm still young, strong and without a lot of obligations which I'll undoubtedly get in the future so why not try and see how far I'll get? If I end up not liking it I'll just turn around (praise the beauty and freedom of bicycle touring!).

I intend to leave in the beginning of the 2017 summer, more or less as soon as possible after turning in my bachelor's thesis. You can't really plan when you're going to leave anyway, the only thing that's standing in the way right now is to build enough funds (trying to work my ass of right now and the savings are steadily growing, but the more money seems to be coming in the more I seem end up spending), to plan the route (as far as that's possible from behind my laptop), getting the appropriate visa's, and getting a suitable bike and gear. This thread is here to document mainly the last three challenges, and possibly the tour itself when I'm finally off.

Planning the route

The route I'm going to take is still uncertain. I have roughly planned two routes. The first is the route I ideally would want to take, which is also inspired by the route Marica van der Meer took on her way from Holland to a birthday party in Adelaide, as documented in her journeys. I'll call it the Southern route. It goes from Holland > Germany > Austria > Hungary > Serbia > Bulgaria > Turkey > Iran > Turkmenistan > Uzbekistan > Kyrgyzstan to China. I like this route because I love the Balkan and would love to visit Iran and the Central Asian States. However, this route requires me to get more visas, which equals more money and some problems, namely entering Turkmenistan, but more on that later. Unfortunately cycling from Iran through Pakistan to India may be an option but I'm not really open to getting lynched by a mob of anti western militia...

The Southern Route (very roughly)

The other route goes from Holland > Germany > Poland > Ukraine > Russia > Kazakhstan to China. This route is more northern which means colder, and also requires me to circle around the east of Ukraine because of the war. However, this route would require me not to get that many visas, and would allow me to see some Russia and southern Kazakhstan, which sounds awesome to me as well. This route is more straightforward and has less visa issues, but more on that later.

The Northern Route (very roughly)

All in all both routes are nice but I definitely would prefer to have it warmer rather than colder, because this will (probably) equate to having to pack less weight and because continental winters can be really cold. The Southern route is also more diverse in countries and cultures which is also a big plus. China can already be a seemingly endless country and adding Kazakhstan to this could be killing.

F-ing Visa Problems and Costs: the Northern route

1. EU zone & Ukraine: free! yay!
   
2. Russia: a cost €65-€85 depending on the service you use, very manageable
   
3. Kazakhstan: same as Russia, again managble
   
4. CHINA! BIG uncertainty. If you want a visa to enter China you need some things which make it very hard for a bicycle tourer to manage. First, you need proof of arrival and departure, which normally would be a flight ticket. Second, you need to enter the country within three months after the visa has been issued. This cancels out getting a visa in The Netherlands and thus would mean staying in Almaty, Kazakhstan for a week trying to get a Chinese visa. Also, because you need proof of arrival and departure I at least need a plane ticket out of Beijing and possibly a plane ticket from Almaty into China OR I'll be allowed to cross the border near Dastyq, Kazakhstan. You also need proofs of stay which is a PITA because I'll be camping out most of the time. These problems also apply to the Southern Route, just switch Kazakhstan for Kyrgyzstan. I'll also expect to have to pay a few hundred euros to a travel agency for a Letter Of Invitation (LOI)