Yeah, well, for a guy who's never gone anywhere you seem to be a little too forthcoming with advice.

Yeah, I have one.  I just never found it useful.

In China they have open sewers frequently.  My ex described about how one of her childhood friends once fell into a "river of shit".

There were a lot of places in China that I can only describe as apocalyptic.

What I visually/mentally gather it's as thou you melded together with nature itself. How many people can do that? Thanks Velek.

Yeah, I camped out most of the time crossing Russia.  I got into the groove pretty well.

I prefer the 'pink' version, it softens the harsh day and 'suggests' a red/communist vista. (almost done with your blog, it reads like an exciting book!) (ye, more on the dogs...I like how you've stated that in the United States, we are really fortunate to be blessed with so much wild life to encounter)

Yeah, that took a bit of contrast out of it.

How about the Kremlin.  I need to do some color correction on this image someday:

Really, the numbers are on our side.  I tell people that after crossing these dangerous countries my worst injury was a stubbed toe when my foot slipped off of the pedal.  Not sure what's next.  It's nice to be home .

See?  The US isn't that scary .

My ex wife, who was mainland Chinese, was terrified of cats and dogs when I met her.  It took me a while to convince her different.  Oddly she changed her mind on a trip to China to visit the in laws who had a Chihuahua.  I guess seeing as how I saw at least one rabid dog when I was there, I can see how a girl would get that way.

Oh, yes.  There are feral dogs everywhere in Russia.

I first went to China by myself in 2010.  In two weeks I saw an old hag behind the Forbidden City begging with the body of a toddler and a man subduing a woman who was trying to run out in front of a bus.  I guess they take breakups a little more to the heart there.
I got about 500 miles before I ran out of steam.  When I left I was so sick I could barely stand up and woke up in the middle of the night wondering where I was for the next week.
In 2011 I went directly north instead of south which worked out a lot better.  I made it to the Russian border in three and a half weeks.  I expected it to only take a bit more than two, but Inner Mongolia (basically the eastern Gobi) is a rough patch of land.

good info, anything forthcoming helps everyone i think, better to see 'the twinkling lights' for what they are, thanks man, and congrats on pullin' thru tough territory

Thanks.  Oh, it's also still very Communist and unfree.

in my mind China seems like paradise, but your reference makes it seem daunting, even dismal

Sorry, but, yes, it is.  The money has started flowing, but most of it is still like the Black Hole of Calcutta.  The tap water is absolutely unfit for human consumption and I had critters crawling up through the drains in some of the hotels I stayed at.  At least the ones where the shitter wasn't a slit you squat over behind the building.
The streets tend to be garbage strewn.
If you're afraid of traffic in the US you would be paralyzed with fear there.
But most of the roads are nice and smooth .
How about a few near collisions between semis:

Chinese Trucks

Or, bicycling through Beijing (relatively orderly, actually):

Bicycling through Beijing

Wow, I've traveled 15,000-ish miles now by myself.  I've also done a lot of car racing, speed doesn't scare me.  And a fair amount of SCUBA in ocean in the dark, so darkness doesn't scare me.  Plus I'm a country boy.  So, I grew up with lots of dogs and other animals running around.  Russia has so many feral dogs they make jokes about it in their movies, but they're pretty harmless.  I've even scared them away from Russian maidens in distress .
I've ridden through Beijing and a number of other nightmarish Chinese cities, so now I'm not really afraid of traffic.  Plus I live in a large US metro area.  I'm just careful and try to stay out of people's way.  I would never ride wearing headphones because I depend on my hearing as a second set of eyes.
I've ridden across Colorado without having anyone try to clip me.  Maybe if you live there and ride 1,000s of miles a year you will eventually meet a jerk.  Maybe join the NRA and sticker up your bike ?  I've had times where I carried a pistol with me.
I've gone through some wilderness survival training (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) where they would take you out and you would have to get your own food for a week and a half.  Talk about a bonk!  But you keep going.  Water is what's important.
It would seem to me that the best way really is to face your adventures boldly yet prepared.  Would a better question be what you need to know and have to be prepared and quell these fears?
Wow, somewhere along the line I became a self propelled world traveler...

I have crossed three continents on 36 hole Mavic 823s with straight gauge spokes.

I ride in Chacos so I don't need to carry anything else.  It's good to get used to being barefoot too.  I can do a ten mile walk barefoot.

I have a blog under a pseudonym for the Eurasia trip - http://www.fattiredrifter.com/ but I sort of let it go.

Thanks.  It took five months to go 8,000 miles Beijing to Amsterdam, two months to get across the US, which was 4,000.  I've done almost 15,000 self supported touring miles now.  I started May first from Beijing, which is just about right if you want to take your time and have some fun.  I had some snow flurries in northern China and hit some snow driving through Austria a few weeks after my trip ended (I rented a car to visit friends in Italy).
China is a nasty, horrible mess.  My ex is mainland Chinese so I knew enough to deal with it.  Riding through Inner Mongolia, which is effectively the eastern Gobi, I had winds in my face so hard I couldn't breathe without covering my mouth.

I've done a RTW trip, but not quite as extensive and I stuck to roads mostly.  I crossed Eurasia last year (Beijing to Amsterdam) and the US in 2009.