Ride SUNDAY April 3rd – Huairou
This weekend is the Qing Ming long weekend. The air forecast is looking great and Spring is well and truly here. That’s the good news. The bad news is that half of Beijing will be trying to get out of the city for the holiday so traffic will be bad. As a consequence we will organise our ride on the middle day of the holiday – SUNDAY. The traffic is better on the middle day late morning so we will organise the ride for the AFTERNOON and travel back to Beijing in the evening when traffic is at its best.
Instead of wasting our time stuck in traffic we’ve organised some serious food and beverages at the awesome new Kempinski Hotel on Yanqi Lake. After a hard ride you’ll be rewarded with some fine German food and beer in the Paulaner Brauhaus by the lake. We think the food and beer will be the highlight of the ride and certainly better than being stuck on the road.
Huairou is our favourite riding destination and we have 3 great rides lined up. We’ve picked the X004 road which is usually quiet past the Shanba area. The Elites will do an out and back route starting from the Kempinski and riding all the way to Dong Bei Kou and back. There will be some traffic around Shanba but it will be manageable on the bike. There are 5 major climbs on this route so it will be quite tough.
The Beginners and Intermediate will meet at the Kempinski Hotel and then drive up together to the meeting point of X310 and G111 (if you self drive we will drive you up in the van) and start riding from there. The route is undulating with a few small climbs and one medium climb. For the intermediate group there is an extra climbing challenge up a dead end road about half way along the course. Both rides will end up at the Kempinski Hotel.
There is also an option to stay the whole weekend in Huairou with Serk. Check it out here. We will be watching the Tour of Flanders live in the mountains !
All riders are required to fill the form below (including self drive) by Friday morning.
Departure Time SUNDAY :
11.30 Serk. Arrive at 11.15 am to load bikes
Return Time : 21:30 Serk
1. Beginner – 69km 1000m Climbing
More downhill than uphill again this week ! However overall there is a bit more climbing than last week. By now you are all enjoying the climbing right ? This is a point to point course on lovely smooth roads. There are 3 climbs and 2 awesome descents. Watch the area around Shanba on the final descent as it will be busy this weekend. The ride finishes off at the Kempinski on the shores of Yanqi Lake. Step off the bike and straight in the Paulaner Brauhaus. Does life get any better ?
Ride leader : Liman
Average Speed : 15 km/h – 20 km/h
This ride is recommended for all new beginner riders. If you find the pace too slow next week you can move to the Intermediate Group. Its much better to start out on the easier ride and then move up rather than start on the faster ride and find yourself getting dropped and left behind.
2. Intermediate – 75 km 1200m Climbing
Same as the Beginner ride above but we add in a gorgeous little climb up to a dead end. There are some parts of the climb that are steep. You’ve got five courses to get through when you arrive at Paulaner so concentrate on how good the food and beer is going to taste while you are battling the climbs !
Ride leader : TBC
Average Speed : 20 km/h – 25 km/h
This ride is recommended for all Intermediate riders. If you find the pace too slow next week you can move to the Elite Group. Its much better to start out on the easier ride and then move up rather than start on the faster ride and find yourself getting dropped and left behind.
3. Elite – 119km 2200m Climbing
This is an out and back route with a bunch of awesome climbs immediately followed by an even more awesome descents. There is hardly a flat straight road on this course. Going through the Shanba area will be a little busy but apart from that we guarantee you’ll be smiling ear to ear – even before the first mouth full of German beer.
Ride leader : Morten
Average Speed : 25 km/h – 30 km/h
This ride is recommended for all Elite riders only. The pace will be pretty fast and on the flat parts of the course we will ride together as a bunch so the km pass quickly. The group will wait at the top of the climbs and regroup for the descents. If you are not sure of your fitness or endurance then please do not join this group. Instead go with the intermediate group and as your fitness improves later in the season join the Elite ride group.