Words and photos by Michael Pryde
For my third ride in Hong Kong I set myself quite a simple brief. Design a route that was around 100km, include the Territory’s highest peak and start/finish the ride where I was going to be able to get a big plate of pasta.
I therefore fired up my laptop and began planning my century ride with Google Map. The start and finish point would be easy to decide. Tei Mei Tuk Country Park by Plover Cove Reservoir had plentiful parking spaces and various alfresco style restaurants where I could recover and refuel after the ride. It was also at the beginning of Bride’s Pool Road that tracked alongside the reservoir on route to Starling’s Inlet and Sha Tau Kok, right at the border between Hong Kong and China.

Getting from the border to the base of Hong Kong’s highest peak would require some careful riding since Sha Tau Kok Road from the border to Fanling was very popular with large trucks carrying goods to and from Hong Kong.

Thankfully, starting the ride at around 7:30am meant that I would miss most of the heavy traffic and I was able to cruise along Bride’s Pool Road’s tranquil surroundings. It is quite common to see cows in this area and on very rare occasions wild boar and hedgehogs can also be spotted rummaging around the barbecue pits for leftovers.
Having never ridden this route I was mindful not to go too hard and kept the tempo nice and easy. From Fanling I road towards Sheung Shui through some urban areas until I reached the Fanling Golf Club on Fan Kam Road. Fam Kam Road and Kam Tin Road involved some nice rolling hills and unfortunately some rather unfriendly canine residents which kept me focused and on my toes.


Kam Tin Road ended at the old Shek Kong Army Barracks where the British Forces Overseas used to be stationed. With Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997 the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) now use the barrack’s and the airfield as their base. The barracks are built on either sides of Route Twisk that goes up to the territory’s highest peak, Tai Mo Shan (Big Hat Mountain) that tops out at 957m.

By the time I reached the base of Tai Mo Shan, I had already covered around 31km and was ready for a nice stretch of steady climbing. Route Twisk is relatively gentle at average of between 8-11% with some easy 5-6% sections to allow for some recovery. Route Twisk joins Shek Kong to Tseun Wan but before descending down to Tseun Wan I took a left turn at the highest point on Route Twisk (475m) and began the final ascent of Tai Mo Shan, which includes gradients well into double digits as well as some switch backs before reaching the PLA’s geodesic communication domes.


The last 1.5km is with in the restricted area with only traffic from vehicles going to and from the communications base, therefore there would be very little traffic and I was able ride the narrow road to the top without too much concern and was able to enjoy the spectacular views to Kowloon Peninsula and to Shenzhen, China. Whilst Hong Kong enjoys some particularly mild winters it did get gradually colder on my way up and I did not hesitate to turn around as soon as I reached the peak, after zipping up my jersey to block off the chilly conditions. The descent to Tseun Wan was going to be quick and full of tight turns, lasting around 15mns over 10km and losing 873m of altitude.
Tseun Wan is a major town in Hong Kong and I was not planning to ride through it due to the traffic conditions so at the base of Route Twisk I turned around and went up and over Route Twisk back to Shek Kong.

Perhaps the most challenging climb of the day was yet to come. The relatively short 1.1km climb from Shek Kong up to Kadoorie Hill is pretty steep and after 62km my legs were getting pretty tired and I had to put the chain firmly into my 25 and out of the saddle to ensure I was able to keep the pedals rolling over. Very challenging after 3 hours in the saddle.
At the top of Kadoorie it was a quick 75km/hr+ blast down the other side and to Tai Po town and onto my rolling portion of the ride which would include some nice gentle rolling along Tai Po Rd to Shatin and onto the promenade along Tolo Harbour and Ting Kok Road back to the car and more importantly, a well deserved bowl of Mushroom Pasta in Tomato Sauce at Luca’s Italian restaurant.


Overall, the ride had been quite an experience, especially since I had never ridden the route before and it was full of incredible scenery, including the sea, reservoir, rural farmland and the territory’s highest peak, Tai Mo Shan.
Hong Kong is fortunate to be able to offer such diverse riding in areas that are easily assessable. At the end, the ride covered 96km with total climbing of 1,924m, which made the bowl of pasta even tastier.

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