Riding near Shanghai?

Hi guys,

Trying to find out if there are any good areas/trails within up to 5 or 6 hr train or drive from shanghai and whether it is worth bringing either a hard tail or full suspension for the trip.

Looking for single track trails (not dirt roads), for 2 or 3 days of 50km rides, preferably with big descents (500 to 1500m vertical per ride). Otherwise may just rent a bike instead of packing mine.

I'll be based in shanghai for 3 weeks starting Nov 7.

Thanks for any help,

Mark

Mark, I'm a long time China resident, but not very knowledgeable about Shanghai and its surrounding areas. I've heard good things about Hangzhou, there should be plenty of 1000m-400m stuff around there I believe, which is more than adequate when you are walking up, I'd bring the FS, never heard of being able to rent any bicycles, particularly something worth riding. Zhejiang is generally mountainous but Jiangsu is generally flat.

Some notes:
-November temps are most likely max 5-10c, but it isn't a wet time of year.
-I've heard that there are supposed to be AM trails around Hangzhou, try asking at the local bike shops. (Be careful some are in it only for the money and know nothing and may mislead you or don't speak English).
-Locals are intent in warning you that riding anything other than a smooth freeway is insane or dangerous, and the local Chinese riders may only ride on the road or fire-trails so some determination and stubbornness may be necessary on your part.

There is plenty of free-riding which there are a few basic kinds:

1. Goat trails. Can be very steep, need to be walked up to get an idea of the lines.
2. Farmers footpaths. With terraced farming there are fields that often go up the sides of mountains, often giving a fun single track descent.
3. Family shrine/mountain graveyard trails. On the sides of many mountains there are lots of footpaths, that are worn in and used sporadically to go to family tombs and graves. However these rarely go to any peaks and frequently are dead-ends.
4. Hiking trails. These vary from very busy tourist area mountain climbs that are paved with stairs that you absolutely cannot ride, to a blurred line between a local tourist/footpath/mountain goat trail that usually go up to a peak or temple on top of a mountain.



My bike on a 900m range in Shandong province, ready to shred some rocky goat trails.

Thanks Lew. I brought my fs and extended my trip to take a side trip down to Yunnan to check out the riding down there. Also may hit up yushan while in Shanghai. Thanks for advice re locals and their trail advice.

I live in Shenzhen,Guangdong...