[Kyle]

My wife and I are moving to HK in a couple months. We are avid cyclists and particularly like longer rides (e.g., >60 miles). A few questions ...

1) In reading the threads, most of the rides appear to be rather short (which I guess makes sense). Are there any good long rides?

2) Is cycling the interior (of China) on the weekends a realistic option?

3) How safe is cycling (both from traffic concerns and crime)? Are drivers accomodating of cyclists? Is this different in HK versus Mainland China?

Thanks for your help.

[lazarus]

Originally Posted by Kyle

My wife and I are moving to HK in a couple months. We are avid cyclists and particularly like longer rides (e.g., >60 miles). A few questions ...

1) In reading the threads, most of the rides appear to be rather short (which I guess makes sense). Are there any good long rides?

Never tried it

2) Is cycling the interior (of China) on the weekends a realistic option?

Erm... Again, never tried it. But cycling in China is still the most common form of transportation. Some cyclist have electric bikes, don't get mixed up; they are not motor cycles.

3) How safe is cycling (both from traffic concerns and crime)? Are drivers accomodating of cyclists? Is this different in HK versus Mainland China?

Not sure about Crime, but for Traffic, there is a difference. Drivers on the mainland have a tendency to do strange things unexpectedly, such as a U-Turn in the middle of the freeway, some stop for a rest in the middle, change lanes without warning. Where as in Hong Kong, the traffic rules are almost the same as for England.

[jesse]

i cant exactly answer your questions, but hong kong is not the best place for cycling. the roads are narrow, the traffic moves very quickly, there are no bike lanes, and hardly anyone cycles. now, if you go out into some of the new towns like Tai Po, then cycling is a big part of getting around, with bike paths galore, heavily used by the children. when i discovered this, i was so happy. now in the states, i just couldnt live without my bike. but the public transport in hk was my substitute for biking while i was there. the hills on HK island are really steep, so cycling wouldnt be much fun there. i went on a trip to mainland china, guilin and yangshuo in particular, and we rented some bikes to ride around the countryside. i HIGHLY suggest for you to go there. the land is relatively flat with big mountains that pop up out of nowhere all over the place. you know, the ancient paintings that are so beautiful, yangshuo is the place.