The Engleson Files

The Race

The Tour de Dandong in its original conception is a team orientated motorized bicycle journey to the far reaches of eastern China and the North Korean border. The idea is to put ourselves on the line against the elements that China - and these bikes! - has to offer in order to reach the infamous Yalu River. While the race aspect is a focal point of what we are doing, it is not (and never was) the key point of our going; the journey itself is the focus and I want everyone to enjoy the process of getting to Dandong the most. Yes, there will be a winner recorded but the real race is getting your full team to the finish line and having a few laughs along the way.

Weather Conditions

Through rain, sleet or snow we will all charge forth to Dandong!

Lei Feng

Lei Feng points are awarded to individuals, and/or teams, that best exemplify the positive efforts of helping their fellow competitors during this race. It is the hope that everyone who has signed up for the race can help out whoever and wherever they can; while it is not mandatory that you do help, extra points will be given to those people/teams who show the Lei Feng spirit and lend a helping hand to their comrades. Each night after all the stories have been heard a selected committee will determine who receives these coveted, and highly regarded, points.

Photo Album

During the Tour it is very important that we get as much film footage and still photography as possible. Some of the most interesting photo ops, no doubt, will come when no one but you and your teammates are around. So, every team should have as many cameras as they can bear to bring.

To encourage each team to take pictures along the way, there’s nothing like a little competition. Each team will be responsible for submitting five photographs from any of the six themes outlined below to the official photographer of the Tour de Dandong, Hubert Wong. They should be the “best” photographs each team has to offer.

1) “Yard Sale”
2) “Spare Parts”
3) “Pengyou”
4) “On Purpose”
5) “By Accident”
6) “Never Better”

Check Points

For Days 2 and 3 of the race there will be a halfway check point (cha bu duo) that all teams must adhere to. The location will be designated by the Marshall each day; once the location is established he will then contact each team captain by text message and give the name of the location, it will then be each team’s responsibility to figure out how to get there - no other clues will be given. This will prove to be a logistical challenge for each team to solve, and once the location/restaurant is found all teams will then have to stay a minimum of one hour before setting out again.

Traffic

One thing Chinese traffic is not noted for is its courteous and logical nature, and it is absolutely imperative that all members of this race take care of themselves while out on the road. The country roads should prove to be somewhat desolate, but the 201 will have traffic to deal with – even though there is plenty of shoulder space. Please gents, take care while out there riding!

Massoud

Massoud was a key force in organizing this race and I want to ensure his presence is honored with us as we ride. Anne has graciously allowed us to borrow a very important banner of Massoud’s and I would like to see us all share in taking it up to Dandong. My idea is to have each rider share in this duty and help give Massoud one last ride – you know that he will love it!

The Dragons Speech

I was given this speech the first time I went on an Ice Dragons hockey trip and I am going to reiterate it to all of those who have never heard it – because its message is vital on this journey and it is very important that we follow its principles on this trip:

We are to go on this journey and have a lot of fun and do our very best to engage with the Chinese people to the best of our ability. Any and all contact done with the Chinese should be done in a respectful and courteous manner, and it is the expectation that all members of this race represent themselves with a certain element of class.

This point became abundantly clear when negotiating with the families for our second night’s festivities. There was serious concern and trepidation in allowing 25 foreigners into their homes – and seriously, how can you blame them. But through the wonderful tactics of Jinzhou Leon he was able to convince this small community that what we are doing is a great idea and that we are all good people who simply want to share an evening with them; which they have now fully embraced this idea and are eagerly carrying out the duties for what should be a memorable night. I feel it is very important to understand this point and show our respect and appreciation to them by trying your best to talk with them, share a drink or two and be as courteous and respectful as we can be.

Bike Repairs

During the Tour de Dandong there will be 2 traveling mechanics available to all riders involved; however, this system is flawed somewhat and may require alternative solutions depending on the severity of your problem – in short, don’t expect them to be at your beckoning call while on the road. Both mechanics will be situated in one vehicle and will both help when needed, but if they are busy with another team they will not be able to get to the next situation until the one they are working on is resolved – and then they will have to find you. This could mean you may have to wait an hour or so to get your bike looked at by one of our mechanics; so while the option is there, it could take awhile.

There are countless number of villages that we will pass through on our way up and all of them had places right along the highway that looked like they could help fix a bike and/or motor – so this could be your better option while the race is in progress.

The mechanics main duties will be to tune up the bikes each and every night to ensure that they are in top form for each new day.

Camera Crew

As stated before, we will be having a two-unit camera crew follow our entire destination up to Dandong. I and Jinzhou Leon have met with these guys several times and have come up with several ideas/angles that will be worked into the finished product. While it will take many months to complete this product after we are done, here are some of the key themes we will be working on during our ride:

- The race itself and the stories from the road.
- Massoud’s story.
- The essence of bikes and there importance to the everyday Chinese person.
- Historical context of the five bicycle companies.

I want everyone to do their part in helping create this documentary and please do everything you can to participate. You are all the stars of the show and will be the main focus of what drives this film forward. I ask all of us to try and be on our best behavior and do your best to watch the language as much as possible while being filmed; be yourself but just remember that people will be watching this. Again, I do not want to sound restricting but it would be nice to have footage that can be viewed by a wide range of viewers.

One aspect that I think will be most interesting, and entertaining, will be our dialogues with the Chinese people. For the most part, all of us struggle with the Chinese language but I want to urge us to not allow that to restrict you if/when the camera is filming you – because this (in my opinion) is the charm of our story. We all need to put our vanity aside and show a little humility amongst ourselves for the good of the film. It is not our intention to make asses out of people, but there is no question our conversations on the road will be the hidden gems.