Words and photos by Michael Pryde
In September 2010 I did a ride in Hong Kong that covered the Eastern New Territories of HK. That ride included some beautiful villages and wildlife in Sai Kung Country Park, and included one large climb up to Fei Ngo Shan, the highest peak on Kowloon Peninsula.

In contrast, my second ride review for HK will start in one of the most chaotic urban areas found anywhere in the world and includes extremes of dense living versus the “relatively” tranquil seaside roads that hug the rugged coastline of Hong Kong Island.


Arriving in downtown Causeway Bay during morning rush hour traffic the weather was overcast and there had been intermittent rain throughout the night. With temperatures of 19C to 23C it was perfect weather for riding, as long as the road surface remained dry.
Riding through Causeway Bay and past the Happy Valley Race Course my ride started in earnest on Stubbs Rd, a climb from the densely populated Causeway Bay up towards Wong Nai Chung Gap where I crossed over from the North side of the island to the affluent South side.

The ride was going to be up and down all morning as flat sections along the coastline and up to Victoria peak where the ride will end are scarce except for a 4.5km section before dropping down to Shek O beach where I will have a refueling break.


The route for the 62km ride will start from Causeway Bay and head up to Wong Nai Chung Gap and head to the Eastern most tip of the island at Shek O beach. To reach Shek O there will be 4 climbs including the particularly steep and narrow climb from Tai Tam reservoir up to the aforementioned flat section.
The South side of HK Island is very popular due to areas such as Stanley Market, Repulse Bay and Shek O where locals and tourists alike flock to on weekends. Therefore I was happy to have tackled this ride during the week as to avoid the dangerous conditions created by the large tour buses and inexperienced weekend drivers.


After a small break on the beach at Shek O I rode back towards Wong Nai Chung Gap, but this time I was on the left side of the road heading West and therefore able to ride right up to the edge of cliff face that the road hugs up to Repulse Bay. From there, the climb heads inland and crosses over to the Northern side of the island.
The final climb from the round about at Stubbs Road to Victoria peak was going to be particularly harsh, since my legs were already tired and at 7km long with a particularly steep final section at 24% I was going to have to dig very deep to survive.


The last climb also tracks the same course as the South Island Road Cycling group’s recent Hill Climb TT. The winning time for the 2010 edition was by Colin Robertson, at an impressive 18:52:00. Realising that I was never going to reach the top in a respectable time and with tired legs, I nonetheless set my stopwatch to start at the base of the climb. Since I already had 45km in my legs I was relatively happy with my 25:15:00 time.

No ride up to Victoria peak would be complete without a short detour to the Peak Tower that overlooks HK Island. Even on a particularly overcast day, the sight of bustling HK Island 388m below was impressive as you can still feel the buzz of the city.

The descent back to Causeway Bay was particularly enjoyable since I was lucky not to get stuck behind any traffic and had a nice run all the way down and back into the hustle and bustle of Causeway Bay where I had parked the car.

In total, I covered 63km, climbed 1,294m and averaged a respectable 24.7km/hr with a max speed of 56.4km/hr. Nice!

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