Ride 23 – Olympic Fever !
It’s the 8th anniversary of the Beijing Olympics. To celebrate we’ve designed a new route which takes in part of the circuit from the 2008 Road Race. In the process of scouting out the circuit we also stumbled across a new road so as a bonus the routes for this weekend have a few new roads that I’m pretty sure you’ve never ridden on. After 8 years of exploring Beijing’s mountain roads I’m still amazed that new roads can be found !
Be warned the routes are complicated so you will need a Garmin and you must download the route or you will get lost ! If you are new to the group then join the beginner group and stick alongside ride leader Liman – she can show you the route.
All riders are required to fill the form below (including self drive) by Friday morning.
Departure Time Saturday :
06.30 Serk. Arrive at 06.15 am to load bikes and grab a coffee
Return Time : 12:30 – 14:00 Serk
1. Beginner – 40km 566m Climbing
An out and back route with a loop around the Guishui river. The ride starts with a 3km climb on a road shut off from cars. A nice long downhill and then a loop on shaded roads. If time permits and you are feeling a bit adventurous check out the bike paths along the river before heading back. Please note you will need a navigation device as there are quite a few turns. If you don’t have one you must stick with ride leader Liman.
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
We start off downhill and head along the Olympic Road Race course from the 2008 Olympics. We head straight to Nankou and then cut across on some back roads towards the Ming Tombs. Please note there is a short section on the G110 highway (about 1km) which will have a fair amount of truck traffic. After reaching the S212 you turn left and head up the tough little concrete climb and down the technical descent (go slow here as the corners are a bit off camber and there have been a few recent crashes). After joining the main road we travel up a narrow climb on a mostly abandoned road and then head back towards the G110. More back roads and eventually hit the new road that takes us all the way back to the start point. Please note you will need a navigation device as there are quite a few turns.
