BEIJING BIKING

Have wheels will sell. A local merchant uses his bike as a mobile store selling mops and brooms in the narrow alleyways “huttongs” of old Beijing.

My first trip to China was in 1998. At the time I had started working for a Canadian biking and walking tour company and my job was to start guiding a biking itinerary across the country, improve on the itinerary, meet local operators and hotel managers and find ways to improve the experience for our travellers. Biking in those days was still the norm for most Chinese, traffic was obviously an issue but there were still many areas in the countryside where all you saw was bicycles and the odd truck or farm equipment. We add great rides along the Yangtze River, Hangzhou’s West Lake and of course, Beijing.

 My first suggestion was starting our itinerary to Beijing, simply because international flights were easier to arrange and the quality of 5-star hotels was solid, hence the Peninsula became my home away from home, up to a stage where, for a while I held the record of guest stays at the hotel, numbering over 102 nights. The China itinerary was massive in logistics, moving groups of 20 odd travellers across 7 domestic flights, 5 storage units of Chinese made Giant bikes, local guides, mechanics, buses, bike transportations and of course our amazing Chinese national guide who worked with me on all our China trips. Starting a China trip brought iconic images to travellers who wanted to visit the Middle Kingdom and Beijing definitely answered the visions. Our first morning would see travellers congregate in the huge Peninsula lobby dressed up in biking gear and helmets, with a fleet of 25/30 bikes lined up outside the main driveway and after testing the bikes, brakes and seats we would be off, national guide at the front, local guide in the middle and me at the tail end, always counting to make sure we had everybody…..Biking along Chang’An Avenue, the main avenue, at the time 6 lanes wide (now 10) led us to Tiananmen Square where we would stop and take a group photo with the portrait of Mao overlooking us.  There is no way we would be able to do this now thanks to traffic and security…What I remember is the quietness during the first trips in 1998 and 1999, we could actually stop in several places to allow bikers to regroup and it was such a joy as a guide to see travellers so excited to say “we are biking in Beijing!” The next day, we took a bus to Mutianyu, a village on the outskirts of Beijing, then hiked up to the Great Wall and walked along its restored section, with sweeping views of the wall disappearing into the distant mountains. Thanks to Norman, our Chinese guide, we had even arranged with a local souvenir merchant to use his table as a Moët & Chandon champagne toast station. This was followed by reuniting with our Chinese Giant bikes and a glorious downhill 27km ride through farmland.

 You definitely would not be able to do this now thanks to highways and traffic.

Our Chinese national guide, Zhang Hongjun (aka Norman) stops the group to explain where we will be biking next and to not panic at traffic lights. I’m taking the photo and I’m counting helmets….Always good to finish a bike ride with the same number of bikers you started with…

LITTLE KNOWN FACT:

Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world going back over 3000 years and has changed names 16 times…The latest name, Beijing, means “northern capital”.

BEST MONTHS TO VISIT

April +May and September till early November (avoid the national holidays May 1-7 and October 1-7 at all costs)

Longitude 80 offers private China expeditions, custom made departures featuring classic destinations across the country and more specific areas like the Silk Road and the Tea Road/Tibet areas.