Early November 2026 · Yunnan Province, Southwest China · Limited to 8 Kiwi riders

The Yunnan Gran Fondo is a five-stage event through the stunning Yunnan Province, one of the most beautiful corners of China that most Westerners have never heard of. Think of it as the Cycle Challenge Taupo on a grander scale, except you're riding through tea plantations, mountain villages, and Dai minority country, on fully signed CLOSED roads, with 1,800 riders from around the world at the start line.

The Kiwi package

I've crafted a package specifically for New Zealand riders making the trip.

• Race entry to all five stages of the 2026 Yunnan Gran Fondo
• Fully signed, CLOSED roads (rare anywhere in the world, let alone China)
• Regular feed stations on every stage
• Bilingual race staff plus me on the ground with you the entire week
• Comfortable 3 or 4 star accommodation (your choice)
• A custom GreenMonkey x Yunnan tour jersey, included in the price
• All in-country transfers from Kunming
• All breakfasts included, plus group dinners.
• A private van for the Kiwi group between stages and to dinners, instead of the shared bus the organisers run. We move on our own schedule, stop where we want, and have room for our own bikes and bags
• Me at every dinner table, ordering the food, translating the menu, and making sure you eat the dishes you'd never order on your own

A small group cap (8 riders) so we can actually move together, eat together, and ride together

$4,900 NZD for the standard package (3 star, twin share) $5,600 NZD for the premium package (4 star, single supplement)

Flights to Kunming are not included. I can recommend the best route from Auckland.

You'll eat what the locals eat, not what tourists eat.

Most foreign cyclists on this tour end up eating hotel buffet food and pointing at pictures on menus. That's not how I roll.

I lived in China for ten years. I speak fluent Mandarin. I'll be at the table with you every night, ordering the dishes you'd never find on your own.

In November 2024 I rode the Yunnan Gran Fondo with Stefano from SaddleDrunk Travel. They told me afterwards that the food experience was one of the highlights of their trip.

Yunnan food is some of the best in China. Wild mushrooms from the mountains, hot pot done the proper local way, Dai minority dishes from the Myanmar border that you will never see on a Western menu. After a decade in country I know what's worth ordering and what's a tourist trap. You won't miss any of it.

I'm Daniel Carruthers, founder of GreenMonkey Velo.

I first went to China in 2000 and ended up living there for ten years all up, including a continuous stretch from 2010 to 2015. I raced extensively across China during those years, including UCI events as a journalist and the Yunnan Gran Fondo in 2014 and 2015. I moved back to Rotorua in 2016 to start GreenMonkey Velo and raise my two boys with my wife Jennifer.

Throughout my time in China I led foreign cyclists into races as a favour, with the occasional kickback from organisers per rider I brought. Most recently in 2024 I went back to Yunnan to help Stefano from Saddle Drunk run his UK group. November 2026 is the first time I'm doing this under my own brand for an all-Kiwi group.

A few things that probably matter to you:

- Fluent Mandarin (BA in Chinese)
- Six years racing across China and Asia
- Deaflympics cycling background
- Years of leading foreign cyclists through Chinese races
- Direct manufacturing and industry relationships in China going back two decades

I know these roads because I raced them. I know the food because I lived on it for a decade. I know how to lead a foreign cycling group through a Chinese race because I've been doing it for years. That's what I'm offering you.

A 12-year-old event most Kiwis have never heard of.

The Yunnan Gran Fondo (officially the Colourful Yunnan Granfondo Cycling Festival) is one of the longest-running mass participation cycling events in China. Nordic Ways, the Beijing-based event company behind it, have been running it since 2014.

The 2026 edition is the 13th. It runs across five stages in five different cities in Yunnan Province, in the first half of November when the weather is at its best, warm days, cool mornings, dry roads.

A few quotes from past riders who aren't me:

"It's bizarre to be racing with so many nationalities in China, but it's so awesome we all speak the same cycling language." — Spike Huisman, Netherlands

"Yunnan is an idyllic province and the granfondo very diverse, and therefore a complete experience." — Olivia Ghisoni, Italy

"Fantastic organisation with closed roads makes for extremely pleasant riding. And after the races, there's many little bars around also." — Michael Naert, Belgium

I'm capping the GreenMonkey group at 8 riders so we can actually move together, eat together, and ride together. Once those 8 spots are gone, the next intake is November 2027.

Register your interest below and I'll send you the full itinerary within 1-2 working days, plus we'll book in a 30-minute video call to answer anything else.