We know our chances of getting back to Kunming on this death trap are very, very slim indeed. But six days on the road, scaling mountains and defying snow storms has germinated a combination of hubris and rash boyishness. The plan is to make it back to Kunming in three days, with a first leg to Xiangcheng or even Shangri-La, then Dali and finally Kunming. If the motorbike survives, the cost of the bike, the express courier and the lodging would be less than the two of us taking public transport back home. Plus it would be a lot more fun.
We put on a total of 8 layers of clothes against the cold, deliver our bicycles and luggage to STO Express, and elicit a couple of laughs from bystanders as an unintended wheelie nearly launches our motorbike into a flock of SWAT police. Upon regaining control, we make an elegant exit out of town and ride towards the sun that is slowly rising over the Litang plain.