16,000 good reasons for breaking a leg

Adventurer's trek takes in 13 provinces and autonomous regions and 28 cities in 45 days

Near the peak of summer in mid July, Zach Naimon, 19, was riding his motorcycle on the highway from Akzu to Kashgarin in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. Before him, a newly completed highway stretched 430 kilometers into the desert. Beneath him was a fuel tank that was full, enough to take him 300 km.

After passing two service stations he started thinking about having to refuel, but the next two service stations on the just completed highway were yet to open, and his fuel gauge told him he had enough for only about another 80 km, with the next service station just within reach, 70 km away.