Tough Rides

Colin and Ryan Pyle take off from Shanghai on their two well-kitted out BMW bikes for an epic adventure. They will cover 18,000 kilometres over 60 days in a circuit of China that has never been attempted before.

Ryan and Colin Pyle leave their moon-scape camping ground at Turpan and head across the salt flats to Xinjiang, China's Wild West. In a few hours, they travel from 150m below sea level to 3300m above sea level in freezing temperatures.

After Ryan has recovered from the worst motorcycle fall he's ever had, the Pyle brothers aim for Tibet on the G219 highway, passing mountains and lakes, including one of the most holy places in Asia, Lake Manasarovar.

A local Zhongba motorcycle repairman comes to the Pyle brother's rescue, managing to get the BMW bike clutch back in working order. But further disaster strikes when Colin's bike blows a tire. The journey is now in real jeopardy.

The closure of the Eastern Tibetan border forces the Pyle brothers to travel by plane, reconnecting with their bikes in Shangri-La. From here, they head to Guizhou province.