Tag: Phavorite photo

Phavorite Photos: Tall Tales in Chongqing

By Joe Berk

It’s been a little while since we posted a phavorite photo (thanks for the series suggestion, Peter), so I thought we were due.  Usually the pics in our Phavorite Photo series are pics I took, but I can’t take credit for the photo you see above.  Susie was with me when we visited Zongshen to negotiate CSC’s first RX3 order, and during those meetings, Zongshen asked about sending Chinese folks over to ride with us in the United States.  The idea was Zongshen would provide the motorcycles and pay all expenses for a dozen or so riders if we would plan and lead the ride.  During our meeting, good buddy Thomas Fan asked if I had any destination suggestions (Fan is Zonghsen’s marketing director; in the photo above he’s the first guy seated on my left).  Boy, did I ever.  I had a bunch of photos on my laptop from my rides to US National Parks, Baja, and more.  I pulled up the photos, told tall tales about each, and our Chinese hosts were mesmerized.  Sue had the presence of mind to grab my Nikon and snap the photo you see above.   It became an immediate favorite.

Zongshen came through on their promise, and we had a hell of an adventure.  We rode from southern California to Sturgis, cut across the country headed west to the Pacific Coast, and then followed the coast back down to So Cal.  It was a 5,000-mile ride we dubbed the Western America Adventure Ride.  Folks in the US who had purchased RX3 motorcycles joined us on portions of the ride.  It was where I first met Joe Gresh (Motorcyclist magazine sent Joe and he wrote a wonderful story).  The Western America Adventure Ride was a key part of our CSC marketing strategy and it worked.  You can read all about in 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM. Buy the book; don’t wait for the movie.

About those destinations: What Fan didn’t know when he asked if I had any suggestions was that I write the “Destinations” column for Motorcycle Classics magazine.  We did a book on that, too.  You should buy a copy.  If you buy a thousand copies, I’ll ride my Royal Enfield to your place and sign every one of them.

Earlier Phavorite Photos?  You bet!  Click on each to get their story.

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Phavorite Photos: Wenchuan Man

It was the fourth or fifth day Joe and I had been on the road in China, and we were headed up to the Tibetan Plateau.  I think I can safely say that Gresh and I were the only two Americans in Wenchuan that day based on the fact that we were taken to the city’s police department to fill out forms and let them know we were there (it was the only place in China we had to do that).

Wenchuan is a lively town, and the next morning we were enjoying what had already become a routine breakfast of hardboiled eggs and Chinese fry bread on the sidewalk when a bus stopped in front of us.  The fellow you see above stepped off and looked at us quizzically (we didn’t quite look like Wenchuanians).  I asked if I could take a photo by holding up my Nikon.  He nodded his head, I shot the photo you see above, and he was gone.  The entire encounter lasted maybe two seconds, but that photo is one of my China ride favorites.  His expression could be used in a book on body language.

Three earlier favorite photos, one in Bangkok, one in Death Valley, and one in Guangzhou.  Click on them to get to their story.

Phavorite Photos: A Cantonese Monkey

Another favorite photo, and as you can see, it’s a bit unusual.  This was a young chimp in the Guangzhou zoo about a dozen years ago.   I was there on a secret mission and we wanted to do something on the weekend.  One of my Chinese contacts told me there were two zoos in Guangzhou…the big one and the little one.  The big one was outside the city limits and the little one was in the center of town, so we opted to stay in town.  I didn’t think the zoo was little at all (it was at least as big as the LA zoo), and I caught a lot of great photos there.  This one was of a young chimp who seemed as interested in us as we were in him.

The photo makes it look like the chimp is just about to take something (or maybe give something) to the young lady reaching out to him.  I had my old Nikon D200 and the similar-era Nikkor 24-120 lens (two boat anchors, to be sure, but they worked well), along with a cheap polarizer that eliminated reflections.  There was a piece of inch-thick plexiglass between us and the chimp, and I took a bunch of photos playing with the polarizer and my position to get the angle right so the glass barrier would disappear.  I think I succeeded.

Two earlier favorite photos, one in Bangkok and the other in Death Valley. You can click on either to get to the story that goes with each.