Mountain Bike Magazine Autumn 2021 | Page 33

This truly is a city that never sleeps . We headed into the more salubrious shopping district in Kowloon , short cutting through alleyways and charging down avenues . A bike is a fun way to see the city and , although the volume of traffic was crazy , it never actually felt dangerous . Hans and Martin managed to get a ticking off for riding through an Adidas mega store , but I think the staff liked it really .

We headed to one of the city ’ s large indoor food markets for our supper . These may be somewhat utilitarian in appearance , with harsh fluorescent lighting and basic communal seating , but ohhhh ….. the food ! It is so delicious that they have no need to dress it up with fancy décor . We ate and ate ; one dish after another arrived as we shared family style . Bellies full it was time to head to bed and rest up for our next day , which would find us riding the epitome of Hong Kong contradictions .

DAY 3 LANTAU

It was time to hit some dirt trails again , so we packed our bikes into a GoGoVan and headed for the island of Lantau , south west of Hong Kong and connected to the mainland via a causeway . Lantau is home to Disneyland Hong Kong , the new ( ish ) international airport , the Ngong Ping 360 gondola and Tian Tan , one of the largest bronze Buddhas in the world .
It also has some world-class MTB trails , built with some collaboration from the International Mountain Bicycling Association ( IMBA ) and under oversight from DirTraction and other local bike associations . The trails are extensive , crisscrossing the island and covering quite a distance . There is also a newly built bike park featuring a beautiful urban bike adventure | MTB | 33