Hong Kong: Mountain-biking Lantau Island (Part 1)

Taipei summer
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Distance 39.00 kms 24.23 miles
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Distance 1,019.40 kms 633.18 miles
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Friday, October 28th, 2016

Mountain-biking Lantau Island...well, more like hiking the mountains on Lantau Island while carrying a mountain bike. The trails are rough: lots of stone steps, unrideable rocks, etcetera... Loads of fun but some serious work, especially in this heat. Not for those looking for a casual ride; suspension and wide tires a must.

I have breakfast at my now-favorite restaurant where they invariably seat me with other random solo diners. Communication amongst us consists of "Zao" (good morning), "Xiexie" (thank you), and passing each other various and sundry items like chopsticks or sugar packets. I load up on eggs, toast, fried pork cutlet, and noodles; knowing my day is going to require some calories. Into the metro at 8am, which unfortunately coincides with the workday commute scrum towards the central business district on Hong Kong Island. We're packed into the train like so many "沙丁鱼" (sardines).

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There must be more skyscrapers per square inch in this city than anywhere else in the world. The second I step out of the subway I'm instantly claustrophobic.
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A series of walkways connects the downtown area. All very futuristic.
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I make my way to Central Pier 6 for the ferry to Mui Wo, Lantau Island. It costs 28 HK dollars (about $3.50 US) for the "fast ferry" 35-minute boat ride across Victoria Harbour. There is an awful lot going on this harbour, some heavy-duty shipping.

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Busy harbour.
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Map of today's ride. Starting in upper-right corner. Down eastern coast, across the thin section in the middle, counter-clockwise around the bulb at the bottom, west/northwest to Pui O, then diagonally northeast accross the big bulb at the top to return to where I started in Mui Wo.

At the "Friendly Bike Shop" in Mui Wo I rent a mountain bike for $300 HK ($39 US) for the day. About 5 times more expensive than yesterday's bike but in my limited research I've surmised that a decent bicycle with suspension and disk brakes is needed for this route. Just a couple hundred meters from the bike shop I'm on a rough trail following the cliff next to the ocean. After a half-hour of this I'm completely drenched in sweat and will stay that way until the end of the day.

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Looking down on Mui Wo from the mountain-bike trail. On the right is the pier where the ferry docks.
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Looking back across Victoria harbour towards Hong Kong Island/Kowloon.
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What the path is like: stiff grades (the camera never seems to do them justice), stone steps, occasionally a narrow spot to try and ride (rarely successfully with all the random rocks/roots/vegetation in the way).
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Every so often there is one of these stands holding polls with rubber flaps attached. No idea what they are for.
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Some nice little beaches in the coves.

My plan was to follow the coast south then clockwise around the end of the island, looping back to Mui Wo. The road is blocked at "Shap Long Chung Hau" by a portly policeman who says firemen are cutting down trees up the way. There are a bunch of mainland-Chinese hikers waiting as well, after 10 minutes we collectively give up and head west. Just a few kilometers toward "Pui O" I run into the entrance of the trail where I would have finished had I gone clockwise; I just follow it to do the loop counter-clockwise instead.

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The hikers and I blocked by local law enforcement.
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Map of the southern section of the ride.
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Steep mountains everywhere.
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Now on the western side of the island, following the cliff south, looking north here.
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A rare calm section of the path.
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Looking westish, China in the distance.
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Looping in and and around these coves.
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No snoozing on this trail, those are 3-foot dropoffs, instant faceplant if you're not paying attention.
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Fabulous scenery.
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Sections are like tree tunnels.
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I believe this would be called "technical" in mountain-biker parlance. A 15% grade of rocks and stone steps.
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Butterfly selection not quite as exciting as Taiwan.

To be continued...