CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Songyang it runs 377 km to Songyang; allow about 5 h 09 of riding. On the way it passes Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han, Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’, Site of Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient and back through Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’. The line favours views over speed.
A que is a gate tower, and the Shaoshi Que is a pair of them, standing like two stone gateposts at the foot of Mount Shaoshi in Henan province, on the approach to the sacred mountain. They date from the Han dynasty, nearly two thousand years ago, and are among the oldest surviving examples of this type of monument in China. The tall stone shafts, with carved reliefs of hunting scenes, animals and chariots, stand on the slope with the mountain behind them. Together with the Taishi and Qimu que on neighbouring mountains, they belong to the group of monuments in Dengfeng that UNESCO recognised in 2010 as the Centre of Heaven and Earth.
Read the complete Shaoshi Que Gates write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Shaoshi Que Gates is where the day begins. Next is Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han.
Luoyang, in Henan province, is one of the four great ancient capitals of China, a city that served as the seat of more than a dozen dynasties over a thousand years. East of the modern city, in the fields along the Luo river, lie the remains of the capital of the Eastern Han dynasty, which ruled from Luoyang from the first to the early third century AD, and of the later Wei, Jin and Northern Wei capitals built on the same site. The site is part of the UNESCO-listed Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, inscribed in 2014.
Read the complete Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’.
The Hangu Pass is one of the legendary places of Chinese history. According to tradition, it was at the old Hangu Pass, guarding the narrow road between the Central Plain and the Wei valley, that the philosopher Laozi, leaving China on the back of an ox, was asked by the gatekeeper to write down his wisdom before passing, and the result was the Tao Te Ching. That pass lies further west, near Lingbao. In 114 BC, under the Han dynasty, the pass was moved east to Xin'an county, near Luoyang, and it is the remains of this later Han pass, with its gate, walls and stretches of ancient road, that form part of the Silk Roads World Heritage site, on the route between the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang and on towards Central Asia.
Read the complete Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’ write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 108 km into the recorded legs you reach Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’. Next is Site of Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient.
The Silk Road is often imagined as a line across a desert, but in places it was a road cut into rock. The Xiaohan ancient road runs through the mountains of Henan province, linking Luoyang, the Han and Tang capital, with the west through the narrow pass at Hangu. The Shihao section is a stretch of the road that survives in the loess hills, with ruts cut into the stone by wheels. UNESCO listed it as part of the Silk Roads network in 2014.
Read the complete Site of Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Site of Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient, about halfway. Next is back through Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’ write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’ sits at 259 km, about halfway. Next is back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han comes up about 320 km into the recorded legs. Next is Shaoshi Que Gates.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Shaoshi Que Gates write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Shaoshi Que Gates closes the day.
Shaoshi Que Gates → Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han → Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’ is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’ → Site of Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient is 71 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Site of Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient → back through Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’ is 84 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Site of Han’gu Pass of Han Dynasty in Xin’ → back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han → Shaoshi Que Gates is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.