October 3, 2022
Days R11-13: Hotels in Obscure Places
Day R11: Shanghai City to Xi Du (33 km)
After all the recent tragedies, there was nothing else to do but try and move on. The past month of September has seen some indications that we're turning a corner. With in-person classes restarting at school and all other manner of normal life in full swing, it is a good time to take advantage of the national holiday and do some bike riding in this great weather. Well there is a caveat: we can't leave Shanghai. Technically, we can, and there are no real consequences. They just told us not to. But it makes sense to gradually expand the scope of these bike rides as we move from the compound to the world. So fine, I'll stay in the province.
I had a great chat with a friend who suggested picking really obscure places within Shanghai province to visit that nobody else would think of going on a trip, let alone a bike.
The first day ended up being sweltering hot. Record heat for October, it reached 36 degrees. I didn't mind, as this was a nice start to the holiday. Traffic was thinned out so it was a somewhat relaxing bike ride but as always you have to be on your toes.
I stumbled on a shop selling all manner of winter jackets and decided to give it a go. When buying in the off-season, there might be fantastic deals and indeed there were. The guy kept trying to sell me jacket after jacket and saying for some reason I was a rich Frenchman. In the end I bought only one for a ridiculously cheap price.
The weather got more and more beautiful as the afternoon went on and towards the very outskirts of town I came across a sort of mini-mall with a chilled vibe and a Starbucks so that warranted a stop.
Getting closer to the hotel I rode past a massive university and noticed all the gates were locked down. This seemed to confirm the rumors that all students are forbidden from entering or leaving to prevent covid. Some of them have been there since March, basically going on 7 months.
While trying to wrap my head around this I nearly crashed into a delivery scooter. As usual, he stopped without warning ahead of me in the middle of the road. These guys are the absolute worst, and why you always have to be on your toes. He then pulled up beside me and said I should be careful but as usual I pretended not to understand what he was saying.
Once at the hotel I was pleasantly surprised to find an entire street full of restaurants and bars. This was most likely related to the university location. The hotel was a fantastic deal and well worth picking. My wife joined me later from the city and we went to one of the Mexican restaurants to enjoy some tacos and drinks after both of us having completed a fitness challenge the month prior.
Day 2: Xi Du to Baoshan (57 km)
The temperature dropped like a rock today and there was forecast for showers and cold winds from the north. Not in any rush I went for breakfast then did a bunch of work related things. Eventually I hit the road north and got ready for headwinds. Those continued all day.
The riding was pretty bleak at first with one industrial park after another. The only notable change of interest was passing through some sort of district border where the industry abruptly ended and became older houses and villas. This was getting closer to the city area as my route more or less skirted it but couldn't avoid entirely.
I made several stops for coffee and delicious lunch and then kept going. The rain and winds made for less than ideal conditions but that's just what it was.
The riding was going to end in a suburban area known as Baoshan which has a famous forest park. Well for China anyway, the "forest" is all man-made. It's the closest to nature you'll get here and we'll have to make the most of it.
There was an awesome hotel booked which turned out to be one of the best of the trip. I managed to get more work done and keep up to date on all the news.
Day 3: Baoshan to Shanghai City via La Bamba (28 km)
The weather continued to be unsettled, but the winds were in my favor. This little trip was coming to an end. The hard choice was to try and figure out where to go on the way back. A Mexican restaurant named 'La Bamba' won out and so off I went. This happened to be the same chain as where I went on the first day at a different location so why not.
Putting the GPS aside I just made up a route on my own and tried as many new roads as I could find. One highlight happened to be a complicated interchange underneath two highways that somehow I figured out how to navigate on a bike without having done it before and also not relying on any navigation.
The traffic was becoming more and more of a headache including the incessant e-scooters. It seems there is no respite from this shit. One of the highlights of any holiday time is to try and find some peace and quiet biking on roads not choked with these e-scooters. For almost 3 years now I've been stuck in China and mostly confined to Shanghai and not ever catching a break from this traffic madness. Hopefully soon that will end.
But hey, a trip is a trip right? Proceeding right on cue, this was a step up from the previous inner-city cycle rides and branching further out. Next one will be outside of Shanghai as we gradually progress towards international trips.
Today's ride: 112 km (70 miles)
Total: 595 km (369 miles)
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