With a Volvo S80and own bikes, me and a friend went to Moganshan for two days. The area is picturesque located inside the mountains two hours outside of Hangzhou with old villas spread out around the top. The mountains are covered with bamboo and with an altitude of only 600 meters it makes for pleasant rides on small paths and dirt roads. We left Shanghai at 07.30 and after having lunch in Moganshan we went out biking for six hours. We started going downhill on tarmac to later head uphill on dirt roads. The road soon became worse and worse, and after four hours of biking the road disappeared and we had to find a small path and switch between biking, walking and carrying our bikes while heading down. We ended up in a small village in a valley, and after getting down from the mountain we then had to get back up on the top. Halfway up on steep roads we took a tea pause at a temple and chatted with a monk who once had performed in Xian in front of the Swedish king and queen(!).

20090929-Taiwan-072622, originally uploaded by AndSig.

During the one week holiday during China’s National day celebration I went to Taiwan and biked from Taipei to Taidong.

More info about the trip can be found on my newly created “adventure page“

Date: Sunday August 30, 2009
Distance: 95 km
Time: 4.30 h
Average speed: 21.2 km/h
Terrain: Flat,  mix of both new and old streets/highways with a lot of constructions.

After buying some new equipment and new clothes I decided to try another part of Shanghai, the south part. A quick look on the map in the morning and I took out what could be a good direction.

Well, the planned route got a but changed due to the upcoming expo and a lot of constructions. Already in the beginning, instead of crossing the river close to lupu bridge, I had to go up to nanpu bridge, immediately getting of course. I ended up going directly through industrial parks and constructions of new roads. When I after around 40 km saw some plantations it felt a bit better. The roads were also new and empty with wide bike lanes.

The further south I got the better feeling it was with farmers selling grapes along the road. Only issue was getting back.  I was really not in the mood of going back on the boring road, with all the traffic and constructions. Legs were a bit exhausted too after 75 km of biking for the first time so what to do? I started going back and it was heavy with the bonus of having the wind against me. So when I came to a small town and saw private drivers I bargained for a trip back to nanpu bridge. It was a minibus so the bike was thrown into the back and I spent 1.5 hour recovering before finishing of the last part by myself on the bike.

Lessons learned: bring food such as sandwich for a small meal. Five hours on the road without food is not good. Should also drink more water even if not that thirsty. Need gloves for my hands. Both my little fingers and the one next to it have felt numb for several days.  Need a better backpack and a solution to make my SLR camera easier accessible. And finally, find a convenient way to get out of Shanghai. Too much constructions and traffic. All the dust and pollution cannot be good for the health.

Distance: 39 km
Time: 2:16 hours
Average speed: 16.8
Terrain: City streets (lot of construction)

Last sunday I went out to explore a bit in Shanghai. I ended up following the huangpu river up to yangpu bridge and then sort of crossing Pudong to another bridge before heading back home. A total route of about 40km.

Gave good views of pudong and it is fun to cross the river. I crossed the river twice just to check the photo opportunities and if view of pudong is wanted it is better to cross before reaching yangpu bridge.

Below Yangpu bridge I had my lunch and talked to a guy who later showed me his warehouse where they had clothes of all kinds and acted as wholeseller. It was a bit cheaper there than in many other stores!

Map