It appears that I will be traveling to Hong Kong for a month to visit HKUST (from the US). I have not done any extended trips like this and wonder about the bike. Should I try and bring one with me as I have a travel case, rent a bike in HK, or buy one there and sell it at exit? Both of my road bikes and my tribike are aluminum so they are fairly durable for travel but it seems expensive to take them with me. Any advice would be appreciated. Also does anybody know of potential rides in the part of Hong Kong? I usually do most of my cycling in the philly area with roadies but like to ride with tri groups as well.
Hey,
Been a while since I was in HK, but when I was there I lived there for three years…
My recommendation would be to bring your bike. There are some bike shops there, but it’s quite a bit more expensive than you might think. Airline fees are going to be MUCH cheaper than the cost of renting a bike or buying/selling. Plus, you don’t have to take the time to adjust to a new bike.
On that note, don’t even think about bringing your tri bike. The traffic there is like Boston or New York (or Philly!) traffic, except all the time (except in one small part of Victoria Island). It’s rideable, but you won’t spend a lot of time in the aerobars… plus it’s CRAZY hilly.
If you’re staying on Victoria Island (the main island of HK), check to the southeastern part of the Island (Tai Tam vicinity). If you need a point of reference, look up the Hong Kong International School, it’s in that area. It’s a pretty spread out (for Hong Kong!) area, a lot more open road and far less traffic. Just go out and explore, you will have a BLAST!
If you’re up for a day trip, consider taking the ferry to Lantau (sp?) island as well. Very little traffic out there, wide open, and very large. Nice place. And, you can BBQ on the beach if you get hungry.
ENJOY!!! And get those climbing legs ready!!!
x2 on the climbing and traffic. The island is tough.
The best place for long rides, especially if you want to use your aerobars, is out near the airport. There’s a section where you can do ~30km out and back and it’s more or less flat and with very little traffic (it takes a while to get there though).
You need to go to the airport express (you can take your bike on board (you cannot take your bike on the MTR)) and catch the train to Tung Chung. You then cycle along Cheung Tung Road which runs along the side of the Lantau Link (plenty of traffic on the Link, basically none on the Road). YOu then branch off onto Sunny Bay Road, Fantasy Road, Magic Road etc (its also the entrance to Disney Land HK).
IHP Triathlon (http://www.eteamz.com/ihptriathlon/) train out at the airport most Saturday mornings, I’m sure that they’d be happy to have you along.
Hong Kong is an AWESOME city. I’m sure that you’ll love it. If you’ve got any queries or want any advice re: Hong Kong send me a PM.
And I just checked out IHP’s website and they don’t seem to be organising Saturday rides any more… or Sunday runs… which is odd.
Sorry about the misinformation.
Well, if you do bring a bike, you should start practicing going up and down the Manyunk wall now… If you’re staying up by HKUST, then the area there is seriously mountainous. I was up by there last November, it’s got some really great views. I don’t know what the traffic conditions are going to be like, though. It’s not like biking on Hong Kong Island. It’s not a densely populated area for Hong Kong but since it’s surrounded by densely populated areas, you’re still going to have a fair amount of cars on the road. I have no idea what attitude those cars will have towards cyclists. Walking around on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, it was clear to me that cars were more aggressive to pedestrians than here in Philly. Does that apply to cars/bikes up in the hills? That i don’t know.
There is some really good hiking/trail running by there, too. I don’t think it’s all that far from the MacLehose trail, and presumably a bunch more.
I’ve made several extended trips to Hong Kong, but never took a bike. The traffic is really thick - the buses fly round the island with inches between the roads and the cliffs.
Try to contact someone from this site -
The way to go over there is get a taxi and and ask him to get out of town or near the airport. The Taxi’s are very cheap over there.
Thanks for all of the advice. It looks like I will bring a road bike and will see about rides out by the airport and such. I may bring the trainer as well. I have been once before to HKUST but only for a few days and without a bike. I do remember lots of hills when I ran. Appreciate it.