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Uncategorized / January 1, 1970

Operator profile: Bike Asia takes you to "pinch-yourself places"

Whit Altizer, a staffer in BTD's Asia satellite office, spent a week cycling in Korea with Bike Asia owner Scott Spencer. Following is an interview Whit conducted with Scott this week, chatting about why he picked China as the base for Bike Asia, Scott's favorite Asia bike tour destination, and how he runs this family business to host travelers from all over the world.

BikeToursDirect now offers three guided bike tours in China with operator partner Bike Asia (running May through November).

China's Tiger Leaping Gorge
Southwestern China: The Trail of the Dragon
The Magic of Shangri-la

 

Tell us a little bit about your location. Why are you located there? 

We're located in South West China. Yangshuo, Guangxi Province to be exact. If you can imagine a classic Chinese watercolor painting with towering limestone spires poking through swirling mist, water buffaloes working rice paddies with broad bamboo woven hatted farmers following them with wooden ploughs, emerald clear rivers snaking through bamboo groves and towering cliffs -- then you have the picture. It looks like the "Peaceful Valley" in Kung Fu Panda basically.


[caption id="attachment_1617" align="aligncenter" width="455"] Scott and Bono riding along the trails around Yongshuo.[/caption]


Yangshuo is one of China's adventure hotspots too. Sublime biking in the aforementioned countryside is the main reason we are here, but world class rock climbing, great hiking and river rafting make for a great outdoors scene that complements what we do perfectly. All the press is about how China is rapidly developing but Yangshuo is a place where you can escape the bustling cities and relax in a rural retreat and absorb some classic Chinese culture.

 

You are a true family business. How is it working with your wife and with a young son? 

It's pretty exciting but demanding at the same time. And that's just the kid! The business is great for us. It's a nice organic way for my wife and me to raise a kid and remain stimulated with our work as well. We both like the outdoor lifestyle and we work well together. The job means that often we are apart if one of us (me at the moment) is on tour, but that's balanced out by lots of quality time together when there's no tour-leading commitments.

I guess we might have to wait to see how young Mason goes leading bike tours before we can officially regard ourselves as a true family business - he still needs to learn to ride a bike first...he's only 11 months old! There is a real sense of "family" though among our leaders, guides, office staff, accommodation owners, drivers, cooks, mechanics in all the locations we go which is really valuable to us. They are basically all our friends now. 

 

How did you choose the tours that you offer? What do you look for when creating your tours?

Above all the usual must-haves such as great accommodation, interesting culture and food, beautiful scenery and, of course, amazing biking, we look for regions that are unique, and we design tours that we would love to do ourselves. Little travelled places we like a lot and famous places we look to showcase the little known aspects of.

 

What tour would you choose to do over and over again?

Mongolia hands down. The place itself and the style of the tour just suit me down to the ground. It's all off-road riding and camping outdoors. The people and the landscape are some of the most wonderful I've experienced. Far away from the trappings of civilization you can really see nature work its magic on our clients. I'll stop now because I can talk about Mongolia all day! 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="440"] Mongolia! "Far away from the trappings of civilization you can really see nature work its magic on our clients."[/caption]

Describe some of the accommodations you stay in. What are the most interesting places to stay?

Definitely the smaller family run places. It's hard to pick among them, but two favorites are a small guesthouse in Pingan village in the Longji Rice Terraces not far from where we are based in Southern China. We wind up a snaking 6km switchback climb up to a Zhuang minority village to end in Pingan to be greeted by a view of cascading rice terracing, big mountains on the opposite side of the valley and a cold beer. The owners are old friends and really make an effort to welcome us.

Another guesthouse I really like is also in China in Yunnan province. Again it comes after a superb ride into a huge gorge, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and arriving at a quaint, friendly place where you can reflect on a great day of cycling whilst looking at two kilometers of vertical wall on the opposite side of where the Yangtze River flows at it's narrowest point. These are "pinch-yourself places."


[caption id="attachment_1619" align="aligncenter" width="440"] "Cycling back roads you will experience the extraordinary natural wonder of Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the most spectacular gorges in the world, with its towering walls and dramatic beauty."[/caption]


What is the food like? What are some of your favorite dishes you have had on your tours? 

Mostly nothing like people expect, and always surprisingly good. In any region. Food really is part of the adventure and we really encourage people to try all they can. Well, not quite everything that's on the menu! I'm going to vote for my local comfort food option, a humble noodle and broth dish, Guilin Mie Fen. Found on every street in the region I live, it's the dish I miss most when I'm away. Rice noodles in a pork broth with pickled veges and chili to taste...mmmmm!

 

Who is an ideal client for your trips?

Oh we don't discriminate! People have come from all walks of life on our tours and all ages too. We encourage people to put their reservations aside and take a leap of faith and go for the adventure anyway. You don't have to be super fit but an open mind and a sense of humour certainly doesn't hurt!

 

What did you do before Bike Asia? Did you ever dream of you would start your own bike tour company in a foreign country?

I spent a bit of time at uni studying communications and psychology. I was involved in theatre for a period too. This took me on travels through remote parts of the Northern Territory in Australia where the travel bug bit. I've worked in tourism for about 15 years now. Did I ever think I'd be running cycling tours based in China...absolutely no way! Wouldn't have it any other way though:)

 

Why do you think China is best seen by bike?

Almost everywhere is best seen by bike, but China just works as it is closest to the pace of life in the rural areas. You can explore all the little village paths and trails and stop for the million interesting, zany or dumbfounding things that you're likely to see each day. Lots of people in China are trading in their bikes for cars, we're doing our best to get them to trade them back.

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