Twisting Spokes

About Twisting Spokes

Martin and Susanne are the crazy cyclists behind TwistingSpokes. We enjoy taking you along on our adventure while we are traveling by bicycle from the Netherlands to Nepal. What occupies us while cycling are the interactions with people on the road, culture, scenery and meaningful encounters. You can read more about us on our About page or on G+

Yunnan a tropical endeavour

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 14th October, 2015|Categories: China, Jungle & bugs, South West China|Tags: , , |

The final chapter of China had begun. We were cycling from Lijiang through Yunnan province to the border with Laos. We were at lower altitude and it was getting more warm and humid. We were looking forward to different food, different scenery and meeting more travellers on the road. Yunnan a tropical endeavour and a finale of [...]

The Tibetan Plateau comes to an end in Yunnan

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 25th September, 2015|Categories: China, High mountains, West China|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

A well known section of bicycle touring in China. This is what we were preparing ourselves for. Mountain passes up to 4720 meter and no idea about the quality of the roads. We were heading out on an endeavour which would become one of our highlights of our journey. From the wild west of Litang, past mystical [...]

Tibetan hospitality, a high road, Seda to Litang

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 11th September, 2015|Categories: China, High mountains, Hospitality, Off the beaten path, West China|Tags: , , , |

Seda and Larung Gar had left a strong impression on us but visa time and wanting to get on the road we left Seda (Sertar). We had almost run out of oats and Martin had used a few hours searching and asking in all Chinese shops nowhere to be found. By chance as we where heading to [...]

Cycling up and over 4000m+ passes in Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 3rd September, 2015|Categories: China, High mountains, Off the beaten path, West China|Tags: , , , |

Finally we were heading south again. We knew the next stretch was going to be challenging. Cycling through Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan on our way to Yunnan would bring us over many many passes and the first were coming up. We were cycling up and over 4000m+ passes in Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan to reach the World largest [...]

Xian to Labrang en-route to the Amdo Tibetans

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 22nd August, 2015|Categories: Ancient civilizations, China, High mountains, West China|Tags: , , , , , |

Contemplating on our route through west China we noticed that we had a chance to experience the life of the Amdo Tibetans. So we quickly decided on going west from Xian instead of south to Chengdu. We were cycling from Xian to Labrang en-route to the Amdo Tibetans. This trip has been very interesting so we have [...]

Qingdao to Xi’an: peaches for everyone

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 1st August, 2015|Categories: Central China, China, Modern cities|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

What would China have in store for us this time? After cycling the Northwest and Northeast we are now on our way from Qingdao to Xi'an to shortly get back on the Silk Road. In China a route of 4500 km and more than 80000 meters elevation gain is waiting. Excited is maybe not the right word, [...]

Holidaying, WWOOFing, cycling

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 14th July, 2015|Categories: Eastern South Korea, Jungle & bugs, South Korea, Volunteering|Tags: , , |

It was time for a holiday! Susanne’s family were visiting. Afterwards we would be cycling back to the farm where Susanne volunteered before, while Martin was in Denmark, and then we would cycle back to Seoul to arrange our visa for the next leg of our trip. Long story short: we did some holidaying, WWOOFing and cycling. [...]

This is how we maintain our bicycles

By |2019-08-15T10:03:59+02:00 4th July, 2015|Categories: This is how by TwistingSpokes.com|Tags: , , , , , |

'This is how we maintain our bicycles' is part of the series “This is how… by TwistingSpokes.com”. Cycling on a well maintained bicycle is a great feeling. We give quite some attention to Mojo and Isaba as they are the main source of transportation. We really enjoy spending the time maintaining our bicycles, this does create a sense of [...]

This is how we interact with locals

By |2021-08-20T13:32:08+02:00 23rd June, 2015|Categories: This is how by TwistingSpokes.com|Tags: , , , , , |

'This is how we interact with locals' is part of the series “This is how… by TwistingSpokes.com”. During our journey we very much enjoy the interaction with local people on the road, in small villages and in cities. But communication and interaction is not always easy. In this post we will explain how we approach these [...]

Rivers of the DMZ leading to the east coast

By |2019-08-15T10:04:00+02:00 13th June, 2015|Categories: Northern South Korea, Off the beaten path, South Korea|Tags: , , , , |

After days of entertainment in Seoul it was time to get back on the road. Seoul had been a blast. Martin was back from Denmark and Susanne was back from the WWOOFing farm. We prepared Mojo and Isaba who we dearly missed and cycled out of the city to discover the countryside of South Korea. We were [...]

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