Thank you Rusty for allowing us to be a part of your dream that became an adventure!

This special motorcycle team (the Seven Dragons) is made up of a China tour operator, a USA/China Tour organizer, a marketing manager, a retired inventor, a tour guide, a rocket scientist and an electronic engineer. The team was organized by Rusty BennanDubbs and Mr. Su Zhi Wei and included an excellent mix of talents that provided a perfect balance of motorcycle enjoyment coupled with cultural emersion.

Although some of the dragons were in the tour business, this expedition was really a vacation to explore the inner reaches of China, Tibet and Nepal. It should be understood this expedition, to our knowledge, has never been done before. The logistics of motorcycle travel from Beijing to Kathmandu presents many obstacles. These include permits, visas, licenses, three separate escort teams, bank accounts, organized tour companies, sponsorships, and most of all a properly equipped team of riders that had the desire to complete the expedition. Motorcycle teams applied for ten separate China travel permits during 2000 and only two were granted. Helge Pedersen and our team were the two lucky groups of riders. Click here for a map of the trip.

An extra bonus included side trips to the Tibet base camp of Mt. Everest and the Chitwan National Park in Nepal. It was a true test of man and machine. No one was injured and every motorcycle finished the entire 3000 miles. Due to an unfortunate permit problem, our two Chinese team members were denied permits to the Tibet base camp. The Communist Chinese Government was perhaps worried that our dear friends Mr. Su Zhi Wei and Mr. Dong may not return to China. As it turned out, this may have been a blessing in disguise due to the road conditions in Tibet.

As you surf through the many pages of this report, please excuse any misspelled words, chronological order of pictures and personal comments about the expedition. These are my thoughts as organized from my memory. I did not keep notes and simply have relied on my memory (a little rusty) and pictures from my trusty Olympus digital camera and Rusty’s Sony digital camera.

Here are the Seven Dragons:

Mr. Su Zhi Wei,

Honda 400 TransAlp

Rusty BrennanDubbs

Kawasaki

KLR-650

Bill Pratt

Kawasaki

KLR-650

Gary Bukamier

Kawasaki

KLR-650

Mr. Dong, Honda 400 TransAlp

Randy Hoskins

Kawasaki

KLR650

Ken Weipert

Kawasaki KLR-650

Photographed by our fantastic Chinese professional driver, and his partner sitting on the hood of a jeep. Thank you fellows for making China a place to come back.

Seven Dragons Across Asia

A dream that became an adventure!