We're tying ourselves in knots around our 2015 Inagh to China charity ride and need to find, at least, a fall-back solution in case we are not able to license / ride our bikes into China.

The received wisdom from this site is that it will be essential to pay $$$$ for a guide in order to ride in China at all. However, this appears at odds with the advice we are given by our own Chinese contacts who say that (officially) the requirement was dropped years ago. Not helpful, if you're stuck at the border and then forced to pay over the odds ... and also, frankly, I wouldn't trust myself to navigate safely in China relying on GPS alone, so a guide seems a sensible precaution in any event. We just need to find a reliable one, who will work within our agenda to get us from the Mongolian border at Erenhot to Beijing as quickly and efficiently as possible. Unfortunately, the next problem is that we are told that the max age limit for a Chinese motorcycle licence is 60, which could pose a problem for my OH ('Roynie' on the Hubb), as he will be 63. Again, it seems that some older people have got temporary licences to ride in China, but others have been flatly refused ...

So, while being true to the spirit of the ride's mission, we need to consider the possibility that we cannot ride into China - for whatever reason. Has anyone successfully arranged shipping from Ulaan Baatar to the US West Coast and, if so, how long did it take/how much did it cost?

Ideally, if it comes to it, Roynie would prefer to put the two bikes on a train to Beijing and then ship by sea or air to the US, so as to be realistically able to catch up with them when we leave China/Hong Kong (having spent a couple of weeks, bikeless, doing some sightseeing), without too much of a delay. The idea is then continue RTW with a ride across the US - eventually shipping back to Ireland from the East Coast or Canada. However, any other suggested permutations would be welcome.

Is Canada not close enough? (assuming you looked at the shipping database)
From Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to Vancouver, Canada - September, 2013 | Horizons Unlimited

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At a pinch, that could work, but it would tie us into flying from China to Vancouver, which we have no interest in doing as we have friends in the US - although we have shipped in and out of Toronto to the UK before. It's useful info though, as it does give us a ball park figure for air freight. Thanks.