Peking to Paris - R1100GS
| Who | Gearjammer ~ email |
| Profession | Whatever makes a buck |
| Born 1959 | Nationality British / Australian |
| Previous travel experience | Europe / Asia/ Africa / N.America |
| Previous bike travels | As above |
| This trip | Peking (Beijing) to Paris via Moscow |
| Departure date | May 2002 |
| Number in group | Varied but mostly solo |
| Trip duration | 50 days |
| Distance covered | 15,500 Km |
| Cost of trip (not incl. bike) | Astronomical |
| Best day | Racing borrowed Chinese sidecar outfit round Tian'anmen Square |
| Worst/ hardest day | Eduring prolonged but unsuccessful attemt at extortion by Ukraine immigration officials. |
| Favourite place | Ulan Ude, Siberia |
| Biggest headache | Constant hassle by Russian / Ukraine traffic police trying to supplement their wages |
| Biggest mistake | Lots of small ones - no big ones |
| Most pleasant surprise | Stunningly beautiful blondes throughout Siberia |
| Any illness | None |
| Other trips planned | Central / South America |
| One travel tip | Learn to read the Cyrillic alphabet if travelling through Russia / Siberia. |
| Bike Model | BMW R1100GS |
| Age/ mileage on departure | 7 years / 48,800 Km |
| Modifications | Corbin seat (wonderful!) |
| Mods you wish you'd done | Recommend that keep any bike as close to stock as possible |
| Type of baggage | Metzeler Tourance |
| Tyres used | None |
| Number of punctures | Touratech aluminium boxes |
| Bike's weak point | Pathetic main beam |
| Bike's strong point | Runs OK on low octane fuel |
| Bike problems | None |
| Number of accidents | None |
| Same bike again? | Any GS model |
| One biking tip | Check tyres for embedded glass fragments before setting off each day |