LI Yifei (李艺斐) is an amateur rally-raid rider who in five years managed to grow from knowing nothing about the sport to having participated twice in the highest level of rally-raid event in China – the Taklimakan Rally. The product manager first got on the bikes as a means of travelling. Then she found her true calling in rally-raid in the desert. Here is her story of bravery and resilience.
© All photos provided by LI Yifei
Before the rally-raid world presented itself, motorcycling first struck Yifei in the form of romantic getaways. She was still a student at the time. On one of her many backpacking endeavors, she had an encounter that would pay back more than a decade later. “I met a couple near Qinghai Lake. They would work for half a year and then travel for the other half. They traveled on bikes. It was this very vivid image that connected a motorcycle with the concept of freedom and romance.”
In her years of backpacking, Yifei has sustained many injuries in her feet. To continue with her passion in travelling in a slightly more comfortable fashion, Yifei started to travel on bikes when conditions allowed. Her own romantic getaways on a bike began to take form, but it wasn’t really what she pictured for herself. “I travel on my bike once or twice a year. For example, If I want to go to Lhasa, I’ll go on G318. I haven’t been on bikes that many times, and I didn’t really enjoy it. I also wasn’t a very good rider. I was afraid of riding on the road with other cars and bikes around.”
To make Yifei a better rider, her friends suggested that she go practice at a club. She came to Off-Road Adventure Club in 2019. Her new chapter on a bike began here. “I had a big injury hiking on Wutai Mountain and had to do a surgery. After the surgery, my friend introduced me to my current club, Off-Road Adventure Club, to practice my techniques. They took us to a place by the Yongding River with great scenery. I really love the dirt bikes they put us on. It was more my aesthetics. I’ve seen a bike like this years ago but I didn’t know what it was.”
Soon after Yifei found the more proper form of bike riding for herself, her new friends at the club took her to Dahaidao, part of the historic Silk Road, in the desert in Xinjiang. She met Zaker Yakp (or Zakeer Yakefu), Taklimakan Rally Champion and four-time Dakar Rally rider who still holds the best result of a Chinese rider. A new purpose is now ignited in Yifei’s heart. “I only just learned how to roll the throttle when I went to Dahaidao with them. I met Zaker there. He told me about the Taklimakan Rally. When I got back from Xinjiang, I started getting my own bike and preparing for the Taklimakan Rally. At first, people didn’t believe that I was serious about getting a bike to go to the Taklimakan Rally. So they didn’t even want to sell me the bike. They saw me as this kindergarten kid claiming she wanted to challenge the college entrance exam.”
Because of my injuries, I can only stand on my bike, which actually works well for me in rally-raid. I’m almost the same height as my bike, so I have to stand up anyway on the bike. But my right foot is weaker, so I’ll need to leverage my left side or my back to compensate and stay on the bike for the long journey.
However, two things stopped Yifei from fulfilling her Taklimakan Rally dream in 2020 – injuries and Covid-19. “I got my bike ready at the end of 2019. But I broke my hand the first time I went training because of the snow. I only recovered in the summer. The 2020 Taklimakan Rally was also canceled because of Covid. I was always determined to go at the first opportunity. I would’ve gone if it had taken place and I weren’t injured.”
The Taklimakan Rally didn’t come back until 2023. This isn’t what Yifei planned back in 2019, but it gave Yifei precious time to prepare for a proper debut. “I went racing and training with our club in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Zhejiang. We do enduro races in the rainforest in Yunnan as a form of training. A competition event would really raise you to a different level if you put your head to it. I really came a long way in the first two years of training. From knowing nothing about the sport to doing trial and enduro races, to cross-country races in the desert. I’m learning from each event. However, I still think that in China, we need a more professional system for training on dirt bikes.”
Yifei’s growth as a rider was inevitably accompanied by many injuries, which is of course part of every motorcycle rider’s journey. “When I first started, I was getting injured almost every month. I guess I just have nine lives. Through my injuries and experiences in different terrains, I grew as a rider.”
Then in 2023, the moment she’d waited for almost four years finally came. “In 2022, there were already rumors that the Taklimakan Rally would be back. But after several postponement, it was still canceled in the end. I was actually a bit frustrated then. In 2023, it was still not set in stone at first. When I finally got there, I was so amazed by everything.”
Yifei’s Taklimakan Rally was filled with all kinds of difficulties. When the marathon was over, the question of all questions came – are you coming back in 2024. “A lot of people were asking me about the 2024 Taklimakan Rally after we finished the 2023 rally. I was actually asking myself too. My dream already came true. So what’s next? Now I know what the Taklimakan Rally is, I’m taking it more seriously. Yes, I can grit my teeth and finish the journey. But this is a competition, there is this rally spirit. I need to respect it. I put in a lot of resources, it shouldn’t just be for fun. If I just want the camaraderie, I can always just be back as part of the assistance. I needed to know that I was a good enough rider to be in the competition. So I said, if I can improve my riding, I will be back as a rider.”
Yifei set a condition for her comeback then and there. But soon she realized how much she wanted to be part of the cross-country community. “When I think about how everyone goes to Xinjiang for the competition and I got left behind, I feel this loneliness. I know because of the hours I work, I already missed a lot of training. I can’t miss the competition as well.”
While Yifei was pondering about her comeback, she also came to a crossroads in her day job. Finally, in a whirlwind of events, she made up her mind on two things at the same time. “I’ve been working in the tech industry for almost ten years as a product manager. I started wondering who I was outside of this job. I was in my comfort zone at work. But after my first Taklimakan Rally, I started thinking maybe I should take some time off from my work. I wanted to find my true self without all the labels society put on me. At the end of last year, there was some organizational change at work, so I finally made up my mind to leave. At the same time, I also made up my mind to come back to the Taklimakan Rally this year.”
In the 2024 rally, Yifei unfortunately injured her left knee, but she still rode with the injury to the end. Now after two appearances, she’s more prepared than ever to take on the next challenge. “My mindset definitely is more mature now. My understanding of the rally and anticipation of the difficulties is more profound. I’m mentally more prepared for what’s coming. I also know better about my disadvantages. I already knew after the 2023 rally where I needed to catch up, but I was too busy with work and didn’t have time to get on it. There are things I already improved on in my second participation – my rhythm in the race. I felt more at home when I was riding. Now after I recover from the injuries, I can spend more time working on my riding, using the roadbook, maintenance of the bike on the way. I’ll also go to the Dahaidao Rally in May to prepare for Taklimakan.”
For now, of course, Yifei is still resting up from her injuries. Having taken off the burden and broken out of the mental burnout from her day job, and having drawn up a specific plan of what to work on, we look forward to a more well-rounded Yifei appearing in the 2025 Taklimakan Rally. A grueling rally-raid event can be her new romantic getaway that brought her to bikes in the first place.
* We’d like to thank BrokeBros破产兄弟 for all their support in making this interview happen!
Paddock Sorority 
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