20 days since we first entered Sichuan, a province which has proved both rewarding and extremely challenging. Our last two days in the province proved not to break this pattern as we get hit with everything the province had left to throw at us, both good and bad!

Busy days out of Chongqing- Expressways, farmland, planned and unplanned Giant Buddha visits, all topped up with some spectacular remote canyon driving through southern Sichuan.

Riding from Chengdu to Chongqing, getting kicked off the highway twice in the name of safety... Rain, mud, and construction on the National Roads sure sound safer to me! (end sarcasm)

Couple days off in Chengdu visiting the pandas and eating local Sichuanese Hotpot. You'll have to click the link to see where the zombie food comes in to the story!

Not quite done with the dirt roads and construction but a definite improvement over the past few days! Only two more days before getting to Chengdu but before that we stay overnight with a Tibetan family.

Head crouched down, visor so covered in dust that it was impossible to see through anymore, shoulders sore from days of keeping the bike upright through potholes, over cliff side landslides, and around trucks determined not to deviate from their path. This was more or less the scene a couple of days into our western Sichuan excursion.

With a specific date by which we need to arrive at Chongqing, we have some decisions to make about whether to get there early or take a nearly week-long detour west towards Tibet on some roads that may or may not turn out to provide some challenges.

We start entering some exceptionally scenic areas of China including one of China's most popular tourist destinations, Jiuzhaigou National Park. Not an easy road to get there though passing over a mountain pass and navigating around endless landslides.