Hills of Hong Kong: Peel Rise

Following hotly on the heels of the third instalment, comes the fourth part in the series looking at the Hills of Hong Kong. This time we return to Hong Kong Island for one of the lesser/un-known climbs, Peel Rise.

The ‘road’ takes its name from Sir William Peel, the Governor of Hong Kong from 1930 to 1935, and in fact sections of it form part of section three of the Hong Kong Trail. Sections of it are certainly more suited to hiking.

Old Man Peel

The Route

This climb is approached from Pok Fu Lam Road / Aberdeen Praya Road, via the streets of Aberdeen, a town more famous for its floating village and floating seafood restaurants than its cycling scene.

Negotiating the traffic, a left turn at a set of traffic lights takes you up Aberdeen Reservoir Road and the start of the climb. A sharp left quickly follows onto Peel Rise. A path which, with the road surface gradually decreasing in quality, winds up to the base of Mt Kellett and Matilda Hospital.

The climb totals 3.4km in length with an average gradient of 10.8%, there are a few flatter sections but the gradients generally remain consistent throughout the climb. The road is obviously steep, but the road surface and the sharp, narrow hairpins can sometimes offer the greater challenge.

The Climb

Apart from the brief respite, the climb rarely dips below 10-12%

The climb starts with a bang as you turn up Aberdeen Reservoir Road to be faced with a wall, hitting 18-20%. But it is only 100 metres before a left-hand turn towards Peel Rise and relatively steady, if challenging gradients through a local graveyard. A brief respite comes as the road levels off temporarily before the remaining 2.5km of leg burning climbing.

It is at this stage that the question of whether or not bikes are really allowed on this section of the road perhaps explains the lesser-known nature of this climb (Strava only has four riders logged as having completed this climb…). After the flat section, crossing the storm drain the road you are faced with rises sharply up and the asphalt is replaced with a potholed, leaf covered, tarmac rubble. The climbing legs are tested, but so are the bike handling skills. A number of sharp, steep and tight hairpins on the way up means that those with mountain bike experience may fair better than pure roadies (although having completed this climb on a mountain bike, the road bike remains quicker).

A great road surface, some leaves and a good covering of trees...

The gradients for the next section of the climb remain consistently above 12-13% with steeper sections to get you out of the saddle. Adding to this the road itself offers a number of challenges and you will often be faced with wet leaves (days after it last rained), fallen trees (on occasion requiring a CX style dismount) and landslides (once having taken away 60% of the path with it). The tree canopies, close overhead, keep the road damp and can add a slightly oppressive feel to the climb.

Coming out of the trees for the final 0.5km, the road finally returns to a smooth asphalt; this luxury, however, comes at a price as the road kicks up for the last incline, pushing 19% as you reach the top of Peak Road and the base of Mt Kellett / Matilda Hospital.

Summary

An atmospheric climb that is consistently steep and can challenge even the best bike handlers, Peel Rise is an, as yet, undiscovered Hong Kong Island gem.

Just don’t let the park ranger catch you climbing it on your bike.

Its Strava leaderboard can be found here.

Three Days in Taiwan / Jia You 加油

[Warning: long post...]

Last weekend we (JK, Pt, Janice, Nic, Vicky and I) headed off to Taiwan for a bit of a jaunt in Taipei and a block of three days training across Taiwan's Central Alps. We would be cycling approx. 300km through Taiwan's mighty Central Cordillera, starting with the undulating terrain around Sun Moon Lake then tackling the epic Central Cross Island, taking us up to the highest road point in NE Asia at 3275m(!), before sweeping down into the Cilan Valley towards Yilan and the (well deserved by this point) hot springs of Jiaoxi. The whole trip was organised and supported by Cam (who also joined us on the bike), from the excellent In Motion Asia.

The trip was the first big block of training for all of us this year and a great opportunity to get three big consecutive days in the saddle in preparation for what awaited us in the French Alps. For most, it was also the first real taste of riding long alpine climbs too. People were nervous.... in fact Nic and Vicky had a pretty big wobble on whether or not they wanted to even head out on the trip at all which, in fairness, wasn't entirely unreasonable given neither had ever clipped into and ridden a road bike and would only be doing the final, pan flat, day into Paris on the Tour de Force - three days climbing through the Taiwanese Alps was overkill on the training front! A call was made to Cam to ensure that he had no concerns with having two complete novices on the trip - he didn't - although it wasn't entirely clear that he fully appreciated that they had neverridden a road bike before. Thankfully Nic and Vicky were eventually talked into joining us - it turns out both were total stars and needn't have worried.

Day(s) 0 – Hitting Taipei

On landing in Taipei, and being met by Cam, we took over a section of the airport and chaotically assembled our bikes before being driven to our hotel (Park Taipei) in downtown Taipei. What had become very clear to us all within minutes of our arrival was that none of us had really packed appropriately for the weather (and in Janice's case civilised society in Taipei). Rather optimistically we had all anticipated good weather. What we were met with was cold temperatures and rain. Vicky would be wearing the same red jeans and hoodie combo for the whole trip....

Once checked-in at the hotel we quickly sought out the nearest Din Tai Fung and gorged ourselves on Xiaolongbao and beer. After a short disco nap we headed out to see what Taipei offered in terms of nightlife on a Wednesday night. What we found was (i) a huge German style beer hall (346) attached to the side of a brewery with an eight song ABBA soundtrack on loop and an unnecessary token paying system, (ii) a couple of cool lounge bars (although the disgusting chilli cocktails should really have been avoided), (iii) it was ladies nights at the clubs Myst and Spark 101 (which basically involved free entry for the girls and some ropey alcoholic drinks and paid entry for Pt and me and some equally ropey free drinks), and (iv) a huge metal 'LOVE' sign ideal for climbing all over in the rain to get cool photos (who even has these photos btw?!).

We almost ended up being beer from a supermarket....

The morning after the night before was a little bit painful and all except JK and Vicky (who made it to the top of Taipei 101) struggled out of bed to be transferred to our hotel at Sun Moon Lake. We would have had an afternoon enjoying the tranquil lakeside scenery were it not for the fact that it was still raining and the mist had rolled in too. Some card games and more beer kept us amused though as we all readied ourselves for the first day of cycling the next morning.

Day 1 – Freezing Ice Rain

Unfortunately the weather hadn't miraculous changed over night and on waking we were met with grey skies and a light drizzle. Amongst the group there was none of the excitement you would usually expect at the beginning of a trip like this and enthusiasm was at a relatively low ebb. Nic and Vicky being particularly apprehensive as they still needed to have their first 'clip in clip out' lesson before we set off.

Team Brown with Sun Moon Lake in the background

Despite the limited enthusiasm we headed off on a 30km rolling loop around Sun Moon Lake (this had been sold to us as a flat start, it wasn't really and definitely involved some ups and downs....). Quickly though we were whizzing along with everyone perking up relatively quickly as we took in some of the scenic views (as best we could given the mist) and let Pt point out every temple he saw to us all (the most famous being the Wenwu Temple on a hill above the lake). Vicky was taking to the cycling like a duck to water and went up the first main hill like it was flat before revealing herself as a fearless descender as we sped down a narrow (and wet) descent through betel nut plantations into the town of Puli which lay at the foot of the main event of the day (and day 2), the Central Cross Island Link.

Bossing it like a Pro...

Phil G joined us briefly, but quickly dropped us....

After regrouping at a 7-Eleven we commenced the climbing. Lots of climbing.

After an initially gentle incline we started the climbing proper, heading up the Central Cross Island towards the historical town of Wushe and our lunch destination just 2km further up the hill just as the rain started to get a little heavier. As is usual as soon as the road goes up, the group fractured and spread out along the road - me leading the charge with the promise of a roast chicken lunch firmly in my mind and JK not too far behind. Pt and Janice were making steady progress as Vicky and Nic both put in great efforts to negotiate most of the climb before jumping off their bikes (literally in both cases as vans careered towards them on the wrong side of the road) and jumping in the van to meet us at lunch. Again the promise of views from the balcony at lunch was defeated by the incessant rain.

Stick Chicken in barrel, leave for 40 minutes, eat..

From lunch it was 12km climbing to our hotel (Chunjing Hillview Villa), all at a decent gradient. I had it in my head however that I would like to push on towards the summit of the road and reach Wuling Peak at 3275m above sea level - this would mean an additional 19km of climbing(!) and then the corresponding 19km descending. Pretty soon I was approaching the hotel and the decision as to whether or not I should continue in the increasingly heavier and colder rain. Inevitably I decided to keep going, a decision I would question at every 500m road marker for the next hour and a half.

As I continued to climb, ploughing a lonely, drenched and freezing furrow up the hill the rain continued to get heavier, the air thinner (apparently it is possible to get altitude sickness at these heights) and the temperature lower (going as low as 5 Celsius at the summit). The road continued to narrow and the oncoming cars become less and less visible in the rain and then, out of nowhere, I was at the summit, in a car park with three mainland tourists with the 'summit sign' annoyingly up an additional set of stairs.

It was all worth it for the wonderful views....

After dutifully click-clacking up the stairs in my cycling shoes with my bike over my shoulder I got a the all important picture (proof that I had actually cycled to the top rather than hidden round the corner from the hotel for a couple of hours?) and thought about descending. I thought about it some more. Then I decided I didn't really want to.

I have never been so cold on a bike in my life. No feeling in large sections of my hands, drenched to my core and being buffeted around in the wind whilst trying to negotiate the torrents of water flowing down the middle of the road meant that I was counting down the 500m markers with more intensity than I had been on the way up. When I finally got back to the hotel I was meet with a worried Vicky (minutes away from sending out a search party) and the promise of a chance to thaw out in one of our balcony hot tubs, which I quickly clambered into, in a bit of a cold induced delirium, fully clothed.

Clothes options were limited, but this was something else from Pt....

What a great day!

The Strava link for the day can be found here.

Day 2 – Hehuanshan

Vicky and I awoke early on day 2 to an awesomely beautiful sunrise (no pictures, sorry, it was too early to actually get out of bed) and the realisation that our hotel actually had a fabulous view and we in amongst some spectacular high alpine scenery.

It was a brutal start to the day as the road headed up as soon as we left the hotel with 19km of pure climbing up Hehuanshan to the Wuling Peak. We all headed out and negotiated the road at our own pace with a plan to meet for a refuel around 7km from the summit. Everyone did brilliantly, Nic and Vicky making it 7km up the road (beyond either of their expectations) and then tackling the brutally steep last 2km to the summit, Pt and Janice both grinding their way up and JK, of course, took it all in her stride.

Finally the clouds cleared to reveal the epic scenery

The weather was far far better than the previous day and it was enjoyable to actually get to see some of the beautiful scenery, that had been so well hidden the previous day, as we cycled upwards, upwards upwards.

All smiles at 3275!!

After all conquering the legendary Wuling Peak (and getting the obligatory photo), we plunged down the eastern side on an epic fast winding descent through the tea plantations, fields of cabbages and apple and pear orchids of the Taroko National Park, stopping at the high altitude farming village of Lishan for a picnic in front of a temple just as another cloud of heavy rain rolled in. Vicky again showing she was fearless on the descents ("everyone is braking too much...").

Team Brown leading the downhill charge

Leaving lunch we continued downhill in the rain, each bundled up as much as possible. Quickly, however, the rain cleared, the skies brightened and the temperature rose. As we hit the base of the last climb of the day towards Wuling Farm it was clear that we needed to shed as many layers as possible to avoid exploding in the heat.

On reaching the driveway to our hotel for the night ahead of the van (somehow), I decided that that would head up the 2km long climb to the hotel. The road had been described as 'gnarly' and I had expected this to mean a little bumpy or potholed, not very very steep... my already laboured breathing as I ground my way up the narrow country road was helped little by the cabbage farmers spraying pesticides in my face as I went!

Cabbage, Cabbage, Cabbage

Despite not really looking like a hotel (I spent some time on arriving deciding whether I would be walking into someone's farmhouse or not when I tried to check-in) and being in the middle of millions of cabbages the hotel (Green Leaf Resort) was really good and the food, again, was excellent. The cabbage particularly.

The Strava link for the day can be found here.

Day 3 – Cabbage and hot springs

The final day. Still raining. Almost all downhill.

We headed out on the final day and after a short ride back out to the main cross island road we hit a totally epic 60km descent on smooth roads and incredible views of the valley as we snaked our way down into the Taipingshan National Forest. I was enjoying the descent so much that 'didn't hear' where we were stopping to regroup and kept going for a further 20km...

Plunging into the valley...

After being chastised by everyone else we all headed out together to tackle the last real climb of the trip, on slippy treacherous roads (Vicky and Pt both taking low speed, comedy tumbles) in, you guessed it, heavy rain. Vicky again putting in a fab performance, taking the climb in her stride (watch out the Peak).

From the crest of the hill there was a little more descending before we decided to jump in the van and head to our final destination - the hot springs of Jiaoxi. The hot springs were exactly what was needed and helped ease some of the soreness from the past three days.

The Strava link for the day can be found here.

Day 3 – Airport dash

It turns out we may have been enjoying the hot springs for a little too long as, after a quick feed, we got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams that put arriving at the airport in time for check-in in serious jeopardy. As the clocked ticked down we made some pretty average attempts at rearranging flights whilst our driver started flying along the freeway like he as in a video game. I was pretty convinced it was a hopeless case.

Arriving at the airport with literally a minute to spare before check-in Janice legged it to the check-in desk with our passports just in time to stop the desk being closed and convinced them that we should be let onto the plane and only had a 'few bags' to check-in (Janice you little legend!) - I suspect the sight of us all running towards them with six half-built bikes was not what they expected. Credit where credit is due, the staff were great as we rapidly packed up our bikes and even joined us on our comedy run through the airport to departure gate!!

An eventful, if mildly stressful end to a great trip!

A summary...

Some very brief summary thoughts:

• Taiwan is a lot like China, but better
• Taiwan reminded me a little of Japan, just a little worse
• Everyone's training is progressing well
• The food was generally awesome (the thought of 'Chinese' food in the UK.... yuk!)
• Everyone needs to get a few more long long rides in (these rides were still significantly shorter than what we will be doing in the Alps)
• I don't like it when my bike gets dirty
• I like cleaning my bike less
• It is always helpful to have someone that can speak the local language
• Vicky is faster than me downhill
• Wet lycra in the cold sucks
• People may not finish reading posts this long
• Nic's efforts were amazing (she must love riding Pablo)
• The general support and cycle-friendliness of the Taiwanese was brilliant
• JK really does love Lulu more than a person really should love an inanimate object
• I still haven't ever missed a flight
• I'd like to cycle in Taiwan in good weather

Finally.... a star is born

There is no doubt that JK is an absolute natural. For someone that only really started cycling six months ago, she is far far beyond the level she has any right to be at – but to be honest this isn’t really unexpected, JK was always going to excel.

The revelation of the weekend, however, was Vicky! The 'domination' in the spin classes has clearly transferred well to the road. From never having clipped into a road bike at the beginning of the weekend to conquering some sections of the toughest climbing all weekend (including the punishing last 2km up to Wuling Peak in oxygen thin air) and finishing Day 3 with 75km on the odometer is an epic achievement. I should have known something was afoot when Vicky started emailing me her stats from her spin classes and talking about her RPM and Power/Kg....

The Mighty Watt...!!! (if you don't like numbers, don't read on)

I would say that it is pretty well know that I have a number of what can only be described as 'geeky' or 'nerdy' inclinations. It is for this reason that I love the numbers that my power meter spews at me during and after every ride.

Power, or more specifically the mighty "Watt", has become the focus of my training rides (I still enjoy the scenery and the taste of blood at the back of my throat, don't worry). Watts are the energy required to a move a mass a certain distance in a known time period i.e. me and my bike travelling along or up a road. The number that pops up on my bike computer essentially represents the force and speed at which I am pedalling the pedals on my bike.

Knowing this number, in real time and post-ride, removes most of the guesswork that goes into training and racing. Power meters allow you to test yourself regularly and establish a baseline from which to to focus your training and riding. As you will, hopefully, see below power meters can also provide highly accurate details about how your fitness is changing throughout the season.

See here for a better (and more complete) explanation of why you need a power meter...

But in order to save you from a long and boring post about 'critical power curves', 'functional threshold power', "circumferential velocity" I have tried to set out below my first three (and a bit) months of training this year in graphical format (click on them to make them bigger).

There are obviously a lot of (exciting) numbers behind these graphs, some of which I don't fully understand myself, so I will only briefly try to explain them. I have tried to keep it simple, probably at the expense of accuracy... However, if the graphs/charts are still incomprehensible, the rule of 'line going up = good' and 'line going down = bad' generally holds true. Thankfully the lines generally seem to be going up.... must be doing something right!

Summary in numbers...

Firstly, a brief summary in numbers.

It seems that I have been out for 53 rides totalling 90hrs, covering a distance of 1,990km and gaining 20,000m in elevation. Apparently I was only actually moving for for 77.5hrs of that; so question what I did for the other 12.5hrs?! Clearly my snooze on the beach on Lantau was longer than I thought! An average speed of 25km/h is relatively respectable given the hilly nature of Hong Kong and normalised power (essentially a fancy weighted average) of 199W isn't bad too. All of this was done at an average of 72% 'intensity'...

There appears to have been a large amount of soft pedalling though - almost 38hrs of it spent at 'Active Recovery' levels of intensity or 45% of the time! I guess the frequent descents in Hong Kong have contributed to that. The number I care about most is the time spent at 'Threshold' (that is in the range around the highest average power or speed that I could maintain for one hour) - 11.5hrs or 14% is pretty good but with room to improve over the next few months.

Time and Distance

Still keeping it pretty simple, the above graph doesn't really require too much explanation. You  can see that the majority of my rides have been around an hour in length - pretty much the time it takes to cycle up Mt Butler and the Peak or to do a good turbo session. Vicky and my ten day holiday sticks out too (more on that later). Hopefully these numbers will steadily increase over the next few months.

Power and Speed Trends

The above graph shows the average power and speed of all my individual rides. The larger points representing the 'best 25'. The graph doesn't take into account the length of the ride so the best 25 results for each are likely to represent the shorter, more intense rides with the lower values being the longer endurance rides. Two lines on an upward trend is progress.... in terms of power it represents an improvement from an average of 153W on 1 January to 197W on 11 April - a 29% improvement.

Critical Power Trend

We're moving into more geeky territory here. The above represents the best average power over a 60mins period during each ride, with the larger points representing the best 10. Again, the upward trend shows an improvement (165W to 207W, in fact - a 25% improvement) with the majority of the 'best' rides being the more recent.

Critical Power Curve

I promised it wouldn't get too nerdy and that I wouldn't be talking about 'critical power curves', sorry, this one is important...

The above graph essentially shows the maximum power output I have managed for a given interval of time over the course of 2013. The dashed red line is what I should theoretically be able to maintain for each period based on these results. Why's this helpful and why should I care? Well it helps me to establish just how hard I can pedal for a given period of time. For example, if I wanted to cycle at 333W for 20mins I would know I would have to cycle harder than I have so far this year. Conversely, 240W should be easy to maintain for 20mins (in fact, the curve tells me I have already held 240W for 52 mins this year).

From these you can establish 'zones' (e.g. 'active recovery', 'endurance', 'threshold') - the coloured shading above - and measure your effort over the course of a climb or ride to avoid exhausting yourself and blowing up.

[Note the sharp drop off in power at around 14-16 min - the climbs in Hong Kong take about this time - I basically just run out of road...]

Performace Management Chart

The last one, phew!

In essence the above graph shows my 'fitness' (and predicted fitness) up until 6 July and the start of the Tour de Force. Without too much detail (which I couldn't explain anyway), the green line represents my fitness levels (technically my, 'chronic training load'), the blue line my fatigue levels (or 'accute training load') and the black line represents that nebulous concept, 'form'.

A green line going upwards is a good sign of improving fitness, and we can see that it has been creeping up over the past 3 months. Long may that continue! Periods of intensive training obviously help push up the green line, but will cause a sharp increase in fatigue/blue line and have a negative impact on form/black line. As the Tour de Force approaches it will be important to ensure that I taper my training effectively to reduce the level of fatigue and increase my form, without losing too much of my fitness.

One interesting thing about the graph is the impact a 10 day holiday had on all three of the lines. Clearly a nice rest meant that I was less fatigued and as a result my form went up, but no activity at all meant that I lost almost 4 weeks of fitness - it will take a little while to get back into shape....


There are more, many more, graphs and figures to share but I will spare you for now. In summary though, the training is going well and I am enjoying monitoring it and planning sessions with the help of the power meter -  a geek at heart.

Hopefully a more light hearted blog next time....

Hills of Hong Kong: The Beast

As the second part in the series looking at the Hills of Hong Kong, here is "The Beast" on Lantau Island.

Probably only second to The Peak in notoriety amongst the lycra fraternity, this aptly named climb is found at the centre of Lantau Island, connecting the north and the south coasts of the island.

For most it means jumping on the MTR or grabbing a 'man with a van' to travelling out to Lantau Island, the largest island in Hong Kong. Lantau Island primarily consists of mountainous terrain and is often referred to as "the lungs of Hong Kong", because of its abundance of indigenous forest and relative scarcity of skyscrappers and infrastructure (despite being home to Hong Kong's international airport).

Tung Chung Road weaving its way up past Lantau and Sunset Peaks

The Route

Leaving the airport town of Tung Chung you quickly hit Tung Chung Road, heading south along a pass bisecting Lantau Peak (at 934m the second highest peak in Hong Kong) and Sunset Peak (at 869m the third highest).

The road rolls along gently for a brief time before hitting a small roundabout that signifies the start of the climb to the other side of Lantau, cresting at 295 metres above sea-level before plummeting down an exhilarating decent to Cheung Sha Beach on the south coast.



There are more 'hidden' black sections to this climb than it appears.... honest


The climb is a relatively short 2.6km with an average gradient of 10.2%, but that doesn't tell the full story, the last 1.5km rarely dips below 14% with numerous ramps hitting between 16 and 18%. There really is no let up.

The Climb

There are few roads in Hong Kong that I enjoy cycling up less than the Beast. It looms over every trip to Lantau. Despite arguably not really being the worse climb on Lantau, it is invariably the first climb of the day and is a brutal way to wake up your legs.

A gentle first 500m to 1km gives no clue as to the leg burning gradients that follow. A brief ramp flattens out before the true climbing begins at 1km with the gradients constantly flicking between 14-16%. With the road carved into the mountainside there is not much to distract your eye from the asphalt wall in front of you and the concrete slopes to your left.

Looking back to Tung Chung having tamed the Beast

A brief hairpin to the right at 500m to the summit provides a slight flattening of the road (still not below 12% though...) and a mental milestone allowing you to power the final steep ramp to the top.

The climb is unrelenting and, in all but the winter month(s), is exposed to the baking sun and humidty of Hong Kong. The climbing is difficult, but cooling yourself down and keeping your heart rate out of the red can be just as challenging.

Summary

In spite of its diminutive length and deceptive average gradient the Beast is a climb not to be taken lightly; even experienced cyclists have underestimated the demands, been found wanting and needed to unclip. It is a classic example of the short, wall like climbs that are Hong Kong's forte. It deserves its reputation and name!

Its Strava leaderboard can be found here.

Hills of Hong Kong: The Peak

As the first part of a short series looking at the 'famous' climbs of Hong Kong, here is "The Peak" on Hong Kong Island.

Whilst Hong Kong does not offer long Alpine style climbs (5-6 km would be considered a pretty long climb here) it does have a number of easily accessible roads that are great for getting some climbing training in. Across a number of posts I will attempt to provide a brief (insightful?) write up of some of those climbs, from the more gentle and scenic to the some of the short, but brutal, 'wall' like climbs.

The Peak, a 'mountain' on the western side of Hong Kong Island with an altitude of 552m, is probably one of the most famous landmarks in Hong Kong, offering panoramic views across Central, Victoria Harbour, Lamma and outlying islands

Originally the exclusive retreat of wealthy (non-Chinese) residents who reached their homes by sedan chairs and later by the Peak Tram funicular which opened in 1888, the road leading up to the Peak now finds a plethora of cyclists grinding their way up it every morning via the circuitous Peak Road.

At 1.4km long and gaining just under 400m, the Peak Tram is the most direct route to the top...

The Route

Starting at the base of Wong Nai Chung Gap Road and halfway up Stubbs Road, Stubbs Road climbs west, merging into Peak Road, before continuing towards the leisure and shopping centres found at 432 meters above sea-level.

Lots of blue.... just what we like to see

It is 5.3km long with an average gradient of 5.2% making it a relatively tame climb, despite the audible gasps non-cyclists let out when cycling up the Peak is mentioned in conversation. Despite sounding impressive, it really isn't that hard to cycle up - there a certainly plenty of climbs in Hong Kong that are much tougher....

The Climb

As with most roads in Hong Kong it is a road that is best cycled early in the morning, as it quickly becomes heavy with traffic making the experience more fraught then most would like, but when quiet it offers some sanctuary from the bustle of the city below as you cycle away from it - often into the clouds...

Despite a few short ramps the gradient remains relatively constant, meaning you can quickly find a rhythm and a feel for whether your legs are good (or not). On days when the pedals are turning freely it is easy to build and maintain a pace that will keep you at your threshold the whole way, regularly making for a painful, leg burning last 1.5kms.

Once at the top you find yourself thrust into the tourist melee, keen to catch your breath and (having briefly taken in the views) to cycle back down and escape.

Summary

One of the longer climbs in Hong Kong, with a gradient that lets you ride at speed/threshold the whole way, making it a useful benchmark for your training. 'Testing' myself up here has left me barely able to stand and close to vomitting on a number of occassions - I always promise myself I wont do it again anytime soon.
The Strava leaderboard is pretty hotly contested that is for sure!

Doing it again?! (Part I)

So, after almost three years of complete radio silence, I have decided to try and kick start this blog again. I am sure the lack of activity has left a huge hole in the readerships’ lives….for that I can only apologise. Please start checking back more frequently.

You would assume that the lack of reporting on here is indicative of a dearth of interesting events to report over the past few years. That couldn’t be further from the truth, but the working assumption is that they were of little interest outside of my immediate circle… perhaps they still are.

Since finishing the Tour de Force in 2010 many things have happened. Most immediately, I finally had an operation on the collarbone that was broken for the duration of those three weeks in France, only to find upon opening me up, and much to the surgeons embarrassment, that it had fully healed and the proposed bone graft and pinning was no longer necessary. A result of sorts.

Probably the biggest event, and that which has shaped much of the ‘lost years’, has been Vicky and I moving to Hong Kong. [EDIT: we also got married, which I am informed should also be mentioned here]

Life in Hong Kong has presented lots of interesting opportunities, many of an eating, drinking and junking variety, but also a surprisingly diverse range of sporting and outdoors activities too! Given the purpose of this blog is not to document my social life I will spare you those details and focus on the healthier aspects of Hong Kong.

Although Hong Kong is regarded as one of the world's great cities (and it really is!), out of the total 1,092 km² of land, about three-quarters is actually (usually very hilly) countryside. That coupled with the fact that the water/beach is never far away and the consistently better weather than the UK makes it a great place to spend a lot of time outdoors.

Wakeboarding at Tai Tam, HK

Since we have been in Hong Kong I (and Vicky) have spent a lot of time wakeboarding, hiking, cycling, competing in aquathons and triathlons (in Hong Kong and further afield), half-marathons, trail running and even some swimming.

Paragliding in Bali

Whilst I may touch on some of the other events or activities I will be undertaking over the coming months, the primary focus of this blog is cycling and will be to document why I am doing (some) of the Tour de Force again in July 2013, my training leading up to it and then the event itself.

You can expect upcoming blog entries to include, training ride reports, the challenges of cycling/training in Hong Kong, planned cycling holidays/trips, Strava (and not Garmin Connect), some of the more geeky power meter related elements of my training (it is genuinely interesting, I promise), how to fight back the urge to kill yourself when using a turbo trainer, a short series on the “Hills (or more like Walls) of Hong Kong”, Mt Ventoux (the TdF and beyond), my new (modestly priced) custom built frame and perhaps even a short film (or two).

Hopefully it will be interesting enough to secure more regular readers than just my mother (I do need to call you more often, I know) and my (understanding) wife. I actually enjoyed reading back over some of my older blog entries from 2010, so if nothing else, I can look forward to a similar experience at some point in 2016…