# London to Beijing by Bicycle = feasible? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485 "2011-08-29T11:35:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Themenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Themenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themenin)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/41 "2017-03-11T09:29:15Z")
Regarding the repairs issue - I have about 40 000 km on my current bicycle, and with only minimal maintenance things only really started wearing out around 30K. Before 30K all I had changed was one back tire, handlebar tape, and maybe 10 innertubes or so. Since then I’ve had to change the transmission, bottom bracket and a couple of cables. These are all lightweight parts, racing wheels and Shimano 105, but I should add that I don’t carry much weight. Conclusion, you should of course be prepared for disaster, and accidents can easily wreck your wheels, but you’re just as likely to complete the whole journey with only a few flat tires to fix. Sounds like a great ride ! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/42 "2017-03-11T14:48:30Z")
I also would like to know if the OP made the trip. How are visas/country-entrance handled on a trip like this? I know many countries allow you to show up and work out details, but many countries require “in advance” visa applications. I lived in China two years and I did not think you could ride up and gain entrance. I thought all visa entries had to be done well in advance. I do know someone who rode their bike from Beijing-Tianjin area down to Southwest Tibet. They rode north to Urumqi, and back east to Beijing. Nothing compared to your London-Beijing trek, but impressive to me. This was over 10 years ago. I don’t know the road situation back then. It’s paved now, though. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/43 "2017-03-11T15:22:36Z")
The only countries where a visa is an issue are Russia, Kazakhstan and China. All are fairly straightforward, but will need to be arranged in advance. The China visa can be obtained in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, but it usually takes about a week. You’ll need the Russia visa before you leave London. Kazakhatan has a liberal visas waiver, but not for all nationalities, and may be only for 15 days for some. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/44 "2017-03-11T21:49:50Z")
> [@paulmarkj](#): > > I know someone who did London to Bejing and back by car. He needed money for bribes along the way! Recently, cigarettes were more acceptable in China. And most of the world is not like London. Where did he need cash bribes? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/45 "2017-03-11T22:24:01Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > How does one bike from Scotland to anywhere beyond the UK? [This way](http://img.webme.com/pic/m/motocyclettesaustral/Roger%20Vincent%20Recordman%20de%20la%20traversee%20de%20la%20Manche%20sur%20hydrocycle%201929%20(3).JPG), of course. (The guy on the picture _did_ cross the channel with this apparatus) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/46 "2017-03-12T08:57:31Z")
A quick google turns up several people who’ve done it, as well as the bloke who cycled from Beijing to London to mark the 2012 Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/47 "2017-03-12T16:46:28Z")
A bicycle does not present the border customs problems that would apply to a private automobile. Many countries in the third world required a customs deposit of as much as double the value of the car, as a guarantee it will be re-exported. I believe you can get from London all the way through Kazakhstan without any serious carnet problems, but I don’t know about China. Nigeria, for example, forget it, you won’t get a car in unless re-export is guaranteed by a Swiss bank. Latin America, even Mexico, is very strict about that, and cars are rarely driven across borders, except Brazil which has reciprocity with adjacent countries. But a bicycle is just accompanied baggage, so no customs issues at borders. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/48 "2017-03-12T17:59:51Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I don’t think its a problem. I have a friend who rode a bicycle from Barrow, Alaska, to Ushhaia, in Tierra del Fuego. It was pretty straightforward, except the Darien Gap. Also, in Kyrgyzstan, I met a 75-year old Italian who had just ridden in on a bicycle that he bought in Urumqi, China, 1,000 km away, and that would be one of the most difficult sections between London and Beijing. It couldn’t have literally been Barrow, because there are no roads out of Barrow. It was probably Deadhorse, which is connected via the Dalton Highway. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Dalton_Highway_Map.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Dalton_Highway_Map.png) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/49 "2017-03-12T19:31:50Z")
I have pm’ed the OP to ask and inform him this thread is back. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/50 "2017-03-12T20:09:35Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I have pm’ed the OP to ask and inform him this thread is back. He last signed on just a couple of weeks ago, so he is still around. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/51 "2017-03-12T21:05:19Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > It couldn’t have literally been Barrow, because there are no roads out of Barrow. It was probably Deadhorse, which is connected via the Dalton Highway. > > [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Dalton\_Highway\_Map.png](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Dalton_Highway_Map.png) It was from the furthest points that could be reached by bicycle on recognized roads in 1992, wherever that was at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/52 "2017-03-12T22:20:02Z")
Although the site looks like a relic of 1997, [Crazy Guy on a Bike](https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/) is still updated with riders’ journals, and there are a lot that have made that crossing, or reverse, or similar. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485/53 "2017-03-17T19:42:41Z")
Hi guys, I’d completely forgotten about this topic until SteveG commented on it. Unfortunately, I didn’t cycle all the way from London to Beijing, happily enough I have the money, but neither the friends nor bike to go there. However I have visited China since then. This thread is making me miss China. Thanks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-to-beijing-by-bicycle-feasible/594485.md?page=2)