2011 May Day ride, Shanghai edition

**Steve_R** · 05-01-2011, 01:33 AM

The south Zhejiang ride sounds awesome, enjoy! I've done that area many times on a bicycle before, but obviously the distance is more limited compared to what you can do with an engine.

As for getting lost, that was partly how I've discovered multiple side routes that go between Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces. That is to say, each province has its own various benefits that the others provinces do not.

One major potential advantage to the Ningbo - Shanghai run would be bikes crossing the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, and thus bypassing Hangzhou completely -- but that is unfortuntely not allowed for bikes. And I've already tried to sneak on, it doesn't work. The best plan would have been to try and sneak into the petrol stations on the expressway using the backroads, and then ride the bridge. But to my knowledge there is no way to get into those stations apart from the highways. The side routes are all blocked with 'bao an' security guards.

Maybe it has to be really early in the morning. Anyways, will try for another ride.

**bikerdoc** · 05-03-2011, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by Steve_R

The south Zhejiang ride sounds awesome, enjoy! I've done that area many times on a bicycle before, but obviously the distance is more limited compared to what you can do with an engine.
As for getting lost, that was partly how I've discovered multiple side routes that go between Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces. That is to say, each province has its own various benefits that the others provinces do not.
One major potential advantage to the Ningbo - Shanghai run would be bikes crossing the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, and thus bypassing Hangzhou completely -- but that is unfortuntely not allowed for bikes. And I've already tried to sneak on, it doesn't work. The best plan would have been to try and sneak into the petrol stations on the expressway using the backroads, and then ride the bridge. But to my knowledge there is no way to get into those stations apart from the highways. The side routes are all blocked with 'bao an' security guards.
Maybe it has to be really early in the morning. Anyways, will try for another ride.

Hey, you share some of the same experiences and thoughts - scary! About HZ Bay Bridge, I've spent time exploring both ends of the aforementioned bridge at both service centres, and even was able to take my bike into the rear bike parking area through the rear barrier gate after chatting with the security guards (Bao An's) which are manned 24/7. I convinced them that I simply wanted to go and get something to eat which is indeed what I wanted but I was also checking out how feasible it'd be to do a Cannon-ball run <winks>
The service stations at the service areas, cannot be accessed without going through the security barrier.

I can confirm that there is actually a couple of new bridges that have or are under construction, the larger and taller of the two I'm thinking of forms part of the new expressway links quite a fair way East of HZ. That being said though, there is a new bridge far to the East of ShaoXing (HZ) which has banned access to bikes, but there is an large elevator on both ends & on both sides of the lanes, that once ascended provides access to a rather wide bike lane on both sides of the bridge span. To actually find the bridge I used a route that takes me close to the Hangzhou Wan and south inlets, and stayed as close as possible to the river system on the "seawall" allowing me eventually to "discover" the said bridge. I used the elevators around Dec/Jan when I rode from Ningbo - Northeast HZ - SH. On the return leg I opted to just ride across as the Northern side has toll booths which were not manned at that stage. I'll see if I can dig out the co-ordinates or a name of the said bridge.

Incidentally, I joined one of my riding buddies, and we did an overnighter from NB, through Ninghai - Sanmen - Taizhou - Linhai - Yandangshan (crazy busy there, with an easy 20 km traffic jam, bumper to bumper traffic queues in both directions with all manner of vehicles types stuck, with a healthy mix of pedestrians too! Thankfully we were on bikes, which was still really SSSSSSLLLLLLOOOWWWW going) - Nanxijiang then return.

**felix** · 05-04-2011, 02:31 PM

Thanks for that info bikerdoc! I think i found your bridge:

http://ditu.google.cn/maps?q=30.3179...,0.052314&z=15

If you zoom in you can see the elevator towers on both ends. So you're saying you can take these elevators with your bike? That sounds like fun!

**bikerdoc** · 05-04-2011, 05:05 PM

Yep thats the bridge. Just remember though I took it end of last year, early this year and it was not completely finished at that time, or more importantly hadn't officially been opened, though the road on both sides of the bridge were open, there was a BaoAn in attendance with a kind of single lane barrier to stop bike users (cyclists, scooters and the usual array of small motorcycles). I scouted all around the bridge, including the villages to the east of the southeastern tower and also took in the road that straddles the south side of the river - quite a nice ride there right on the rivers edge with little to no traffic. Since there was BaoAn on the southside of the bridge, I watched some locals take their ebikes up in the lifts (which are huge), and so did the same myself - I was on my maxi scooter after all, easier to blend in at first glance! When I rode back that night it was quiet, there were no BaoAns on the northern side, and the tolls were not up and running yet. Probably all changed now... but the lifts are there, and they give access to really wide cycle lanes on both sides. Oh and those towers also contain stairs too though I don't recall if the stairs combined ramps as is commonly seen here. I do remember the stairs as being rather wide, with big landings but can't say if I saw ramps or not. Me thinks not, since I was round the southern towers for an age since it was so quiet I was wondering how to access the bridge without going past that BaoAn. Eventually an ebike rider arrived and it was then I saw the lift in action.

**Steve_R** · 05-05-2011, 04:49 AM

Wow, that sounds like quite a trip --- bikes on elevators. Let's just say you've definitely piqued my curiosity.

When you say stairs, is it the common type that also has a small ramp beside the stairs where you could theoretically push, or ride a bike on?

If this bridge is rideable, I think we've stumbled on paydirt here.

Last week I was trying to get to the Hangzhou airport using buses, and it was a flop. The bus stations are way out in the suburbs, requiring multiple taxi rides. The train stations aren't any better. The whole point of using the Hangzhou airport instead of the Shanghai one is to save money on flights to the south, i.e. Shenzhen or Guangzhou.

But what's the point if it costs the difference in taxi fare? So I was thinking at the time, that a bike would solve all these problems.

If only it was possible to reach the Hangzhou airport on a bike. Now it might just be, as I rode that bridge in a taxi on the way to the airport -- it's indeed the closest bridge.