Hong Kong Cycling Guide
Cycling in Hong Kong is an efficient way to travel, rich with terrain varying from flat urban rides to challenging climbs. Terrain and temperature vary with elevation, so plan your gear accordingly. Regardless of whether you choose leisurely sightseeing or a go-getter day in the saddle, be sure to pause and take in views across the water.
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Hong Kong's Highest
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Distance 7.9 mi
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Elevation 3,259 ft
If you find yourself without much time on your hands and wanting to get the biggest bang for your buck, hit up Hong Kong's Highest.
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Suburban to Sai Kung
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Distance 45.0 mi
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Elevation 7,948 ft
Starting in one of the many nondescript new towns north of Kowloon this route takes you towards Sai Kung country park for a bit of peace and quiet but not before a detour to one of Hong Kong's classic climbs, often used for an ITT. At the top on a clear day you'll be rewarded with great views south across Kowloon with HK Island's skyline behind. Catch your breath and snap away with your camera. Careful on the descent, it's popular with early morning walkers and once back in the trees it feels like you're always on the brakes. As you go down, the apartment blocks visible to your right give you a sense of how much further you have to descend although your forearms may not thank you to know you still have the equivalent of a 30 story building to go! From the bottom, you loop back around and retrace your path briefly before turning onto Hiram's Highway and head towards Sai Kung fishing village. Here you can find plenty of refreshment stops. As you head into the country park, the traffic drops to just a few buses, residents cars, cyclists, deer and cows.
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North Lantau Fast and Furious
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Distance 30.6 mi
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Elevation 1,852 ft
The longest continuous section of flat roads in Hong Kong, the North Lantau Fast and Furious route is used by road teams in the cooler months to sharpen the legs and minds before the amateur stage race season in SE Asia. Triathletes love training here during the summer.
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South Lantau Hills
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Distance 32.0 mi
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Elevation 5,566 ft
Head over the infamous 'Beast' pass for a roller coaster ride of constant ascending and descending, visiting a giant buddha, a stilted fishing village stuck in time, and the odd water buffalo or two! Fuel stops are frequent with numerous villages along the way, the best being the restaurants on the sand at Lower Cheung Sha beach or make the last push to Mui Wo and eat at the China Bear. Make sure you have enough in the tank to get over the last hill before the steep decent into Mui Wo. Finish the ride at Mui Wo with a swim and shower on the beach and take a ferry back to HK island or head back to the MTR at Tung Chung taking on the 'Reverse Beast'. Don't forget to look back on the climb and enjoy the views across the water! This route can be combined with the North Lantau Fast and Furious route for a full Tour de Lantau.
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MAD4000+
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Distance 81.9 mi
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Elevation 15,299 ft
Hong Kong is all about climbing and this ride covers just about every nasty climb you can think off. Starting with a warm up, climb from the MTR station past the entrance to Tai Mo Shan country park which forms the top parts of HK's only true long climb at 880m. Hopefully the guard at the barrier near the top part will allow you through to finish the climb; access for cyclists can be sporadic at times. Don't let that put you off trying though as the suffering comes before the top section. Prepare for a long descent before more climbing and heading north passing though many New Territories towns. Try not to get too frustrated with the countless number of traffic lights in these places and keep and eye on your GPS to navigate you to the carefully selected spoke popping climbs, with pitches of 20%-25%. The route doesn't have any standout places to eat or drink other than the kiosk at the bottom of TMS Country Park for warm drinks after a cold descent or visa versa in the summer. This ride is all about the climbs and eating on the bike but with 7 Elevens seemingly every 200m in HK, running empty is never a possibility.
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Peak Ride
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Distance 9.9 mi
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Elevation 2,896 ft
If you're short on time, this is likely the most popular ride in Hong Kong. Start from almost any point you like and all roads lead here. Tuesday morning is Peak day for most local clubs. Like most rides in Hong Kong, you ride up the hill, then down the hill. Numerous photo opportunities await on the climb and if you're feeling adventurous, take the odd random turn - you'll generally end up in the same place - Peak Galleria. Early mornings are best, before the traffic builds around 7:30am and watch it in the wet as Hong Kong has the highest proportion of manhole covers to road surface in the world and things can get slippery on the descent. On a clear day you'll be able to see well out into the New Territories on the ascent and the view out over Hong Kong from Peak Galleria is well worth the effort required to get there.
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And Around We Go
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Distance 39.1 mi
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Elevation 7,689 ft
About as close to circumnavigating Hong Kong Island as you can get. A nice flat start around the NW side to let the legs warm up with great views out to Lamma and the South China Sea. Fly down the descent into Aberdeen but watch the traffic if you're not riding this early morning as it can become congested. There should be some nice boats anchored off Deep Water Bay as you pass Hong Kong Golf Club with the road rising and falling consistently as you pass through Repulse Bay, Stanley, and on towards the first climb of the ride from Tai Tam Reservoir up to Shek O Rd. One of the few flat sections awaits, so enjoy the view to your right back out over Tai Tam Tuk and you'll get an idea of how far you've climbed. There's a nice descent into Shek O Beach where you can enjoy a coffee at Lulu's or Ming's Cafe. The climb back out from Shek O will wake the legs back up before you drop down the other side of the ridge towards Chai Wan and start heading back to Central. The route gets fairly hectic from here with this being a busy traffic corridor, so if that's not your thing just retrace the coastal road the way you came. You will miss the pulse of Hong Kong as you go through North Point, Causeway Bay and Wan Chai though!
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Sirloin
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Distance 63.4 mi
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Elevation 14,434 ft
This is the big one. Named for the local cycling club - SIRS - The Sirloin is a double serve of the best ride on Hong Kong Island. The ride starts, as most do, from the top of Wong Nai Chung Gap Rd near the Hong Kong Cricket Club. Save your legs on the ride down the coast to Shek O; you'll need them on the way back. If you don't fancy the full meaty serve, stop at Shek O for a bite to eat before riding back the way you came. The route takes you along the coast through Repulse Bay, Stanley and Tai Tam before descending to Shek O. On the return journey, the climb up Repulse Bay Rd to the Peak is (thus far) the only successful Everesting attempt for Hong Kong. Once you make Stubbs Rd and then onto Peak Rd, the views out over the city and onto Kowloon and the New Territories are worth stopping for. Yes, that's China in the distance. Pass the tourist trap that is Peak Galleria and a final reward awaits at the top of Mt Austin with a great view out over Lamma Island. Pity about the smoke stacks!
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