[topkebab]

hi twistedfates

been reading your posts with interest, i have just arrived in hk and would like to take up skating again. could u give me details about the shatin to ma on shan route? is it busy on sundays?

thanks

[TwistedFates]

hello topkebab,

That route is perhaps the best in Hong Kong to skate on.
It is hard to describe it but it isn't hard to find. Let me describe the choices of routes first.

You have some choices as to the route in the area. And remember you can also do the reverse route.

The two main routes are:
1. Tai Wai (KCR station) to Tai Wo (KCR Station)
2. Tai Wai (KCR station) to Ma On Shan (KCR Station)

Tai Wai (KCR) is located at the bottom left corner of this link. The route proceeds along the river that goes east from that point.


The difference between the two is that they break of at the mouth of the river, one goes north along the coast to Tai Wo while the other goes east along the coast to Ma On Shan. So it is just a matter of preference.

Within the two routes you can opt for a shorter route of course, you may for instance start at Shatin (KCR) or University (KCR) instead of Tai Wai (KCR).

Now how would you pick the route then? Here are some factors to consider. You will be skating on a bicycle path. And hence sharing it with cyclists. There are bike rentals at Tai Wai, some along the path and some at Ma on Shan. So you will typically get cyclists going from Tai Wai to Ma on Shan. The worst stretch for cyclist congestion being from Tai Wai to the mouth of the Shing Mun River Channel, where some will move on to Ma on Shan and some will head back to Tai Wai. So be wary of this on weekends. Cyclists in Hong Kong are *S* *L* *O* *W*. Furthermore the path isn't extremely wide, so you will have to wait for the other side to clear before you can pass the slow pokes. If you want a wide path that is free of cyclists, go from University (KCR) to Tai Po (KCR) or Tai Wo (KCR). Cyclists avoid this stretch because it is fairly long and there's nothing in Tai Po/Tai Wo. So it is ideal to just cruise along on your blades. Another option is go from Fo Tan (KCR) as by this part of the route, most of the cyclists have spread out a tad.

As for the path itself, you will have to locate it. I would recommend bringing a map the first time at least. The bicycle path starts out on both sides of the river from Tai Wai. I have only skated the north side before because I eventually head north to Tai Wo and don't have to cross the river to do so. You can also skate on the south side. There are a few bridges for you to go across the river.

I hope that explains it well enough for you to find your way. Just get a map. It will show you the bicycle path. Too bad Google Maps doesn't show bicycle paths.

[topkebab]

thanx twistedfates. i'll probably try that this weekend if it's not raining.

[tomkitten]

Originally Posted by TwistedFates

HKSSG has skate tours on weekends However they are not all during the day. The ones at night are considerably hairier since you skate in the middle of the night on the roads. I believe there will be a day time skate on the 28th. I will confirm with you.

But before that, you could Skate on the lovely path from Shatin to either Tai Wo or Ma On Shan. I might head there on Sunday for some exercise.

That's really cool that you know Naomi. I have seen her videos and her website. I've always wanted to get some lessons from her, but she seldom comes to this corner of the world. I will have to hunt her down when I get back to Canada. Sebastian is just a really cool, soft spoken guy. Wish I knew more French.

dude she was in china about a month ago. if you want an introduction let me know - I know she's off to beijing and korea soon.

[tomkitten]

..that's so funny - she used to give lessons for free in london. she's a lovely, lovely girl.


if you want to skate sunday please drop me a pm / phonecall on 6019 2501 - desperaste to skate

[Star Gazer]

i've been looking for inline classes in english for sometime now. anyone knows where i can go to?

i tried several places, but they only have cantonese classes. private lessons are quite steep at 300-500 per hour sessions.

i took a basic course 2 years ago, and am wanting to pick up on it again. don't mind joining a group.

let me know

[TwistedFates]

What kind of classes are you looking for? There are rinks all over Hong Kong for you to just practice.

[AnIndi_Chick]

Hi,

I've always been interested in this but was never sure how to get around to doing this - is this something you have to take lessons for or can you just buy a pair and start rolling? Would the later be stupid to do if you haven't skated before ever and aren't very good at ice skating?

[Star Gazer]

im looking for a class where i can learn. i am not confident yet to do practice on my own.

[topkebab]

anindi chick,

i feel that skating is something that u can pick up easily but only if u have the confidence to go for it. hence, some people need lessons and some don't. the hardest bit at the beginning is balance, so if u can ice skate u will probably be ok. i'm not a teacher but i have been able to teach most of my friends to stay upright!

i would say, if u have never been on ice skates or roller skates, get someone to teach u, not neccesariy a teacher, but if u have done ice skating before, u might think about going it alone.

make sure u get a decent pair of skates (ie not cheap toy ones like kids get for xmas) otherwise it will be twice as hard. the downside is that it does cost a bit.

stargazer,

don't know much about lessons here, the only place i can think of is the YMCA KPCC but you've probably already looked at them. have u thought about just having a skating friend to "hold your hand" while u practice?


not much info there, hope it helped! PM me if u want to chat more.

maybe u two can do a lesson together and split the cost?