Cycling Chengdu

After 2 and a half years in China, I have finally found some cycling buddies. I never really thought of looking for people to cycle with, cos I have never seen people cycling for exercise before in China. In Ireland, it’s quite common to see people dressed in their cycling gear of a weekend morning, but it’s a rarity in China. About 4 weeks ago, I was cycling to town, when I noticed that the guy cycling in front of me actually had a rear light on his bike, and was using his gears in a somewhat useful way. I talked to him and asked him if he was a cyclist and if he knew of good places to cycle in Chengdu. He gave me his QQ (online chat program popular in China, akin to MSN, but more cutesy) and added me to their QQ group (cycling chatroom). The following Wednesday, I went out for an evening cycle with a group of about 20. It was a fairly leisurely occasion, with us cycling a few km outside the city to have a hotpot-type dinner and then cycle back. Here and here are some photos of the occasion.

The following weekend, I joined another group for a more challenging trip – a cycle of around 130km outside Chengdu. Pics can be seen here and here.


This group seemed a bit more serious than the cycle-eat-cycle people of the previous Wednesday. Here is our group pictured outside the gate of my Uni, a convenient starting point


We headed out of the city at a leisurely pace. I wasn’t sure of the standard of this group; my own fitness was hardly much to talk about – but it turned out ok. They weren’t really speedsters and enjoyed frequent food and cigarette breaks! Here is the group on the road from Chengdu to the satellite town of Wenjiang:


On we went until we reached the actual countryside – a rare sight for Chengdu city slickers! It was really pleasant cycling through the country in a quasi-peleton. These guys are enthusiastic and know how to do a few tricks with bikes, but lack a bit of discipline for road cycling. Plenty of people in Ireland like that too. In true Sichuan style, we stopped at a restaurant and had a slap-up lunch!


After over-filling our bellies with spicy Sichuan fare, we headed off again. At this stage we hadn’t even got a sniff of a hill – but that was about to change. We turned off the main roads and headed for the hills. Tarmac road turned to concrete county road, which in turn turned into mountain track. Climbed a reasonable slope to a scenic spot where we re-assembled. I thought we would turn back for Chengdu at this stage, but the leader said we were heading into the hills. At this stage it also started to rain. Attempts to cycle along the steep and slippery mountain track failed, so we were reduced to pushing our bikes up the trail. At one stage, our leader seemed lost and asked a farmer the way to the main road. We crossed some fields and came across a river with only a narrow, slippery wooden bridge spanning it. Some braver souls risked the bridge, where as the rest of us, including me, took off our shoes and waded across the freezing cold river:


That was only the start of it. I thought that since there was a house at the other side of the river, that the main road was only around the corner – how wrong could I be! Instead, we had to push our bikes up a mountain – in the pissing rain and along a road long turned to mud!


I think that part knackered most people out, but spirits were still high when we eventually got to the top. The mud-fest continued down the other side of the hill. I was unlucky to get a puncture going down the hill. By the time I walked the bike a mile or so to where the others were, my bike was now brown with mud, with clumps of mud as big as your foot encasing the breaks! Luckily enough, the lads had a spare tube and got the puncture fixed. We headed back to Chengdu, stopping for a well-needed bike-wash on the way! I punctured again on the way back, but got it repaired in a bike shop – seemed the back tyre was nearly bald in one spot. The cycle back was fine, taught the lads the handy, energy-saving concept of group cycling – sticking close behind each other rotating the front rider every so often, Although we made good ground on the way back, it was still after 10pm by the time I got home – that was after leaving the house at 8am!

So, it was a good experience meeting Chinese people interested in cycling. It’s a good way to make friends, see some nice countryside and do some exercise at the same time! Looking forward to more events!