I consider my blog family infotainment - family friendly if you will... But I have to say - my ass hurts (no comments from fraternity brothers allowed)!
My friend Dwayne explained to me that there was a ride from our suburb of Shanghai (JinQiao) east to the ocean. He was explaining that it was on concrete along the canal, then it turned into a dirt path that cut through fields and small villages. Eventually it delivers you to the ocean.
I am experiencing a period of complete disinterest in going to the gym. I am excited for basketball to start up, but I am not a runner - in fact I can't stand it, it is just completely unenjoyable to me. I can manage something similar in the gym with the elliptical and treadmill, but lately, I can't even bring myself to do that.
Having gained a significant amount of weight over the summer, and seeing basketball approaching with me in no semblance of shape had me looking for something athletic to do... that's when I remembered Dwayne's ride to the ocean.
So I tried to talk Dwayne into a Sunday morning ride. He begged off for Beijing to catch some final Olympic action, but I was pretty sold on the ride. Steph had a pretty good idea where this ride was, and Dwayne explained it to me... of course he explained it in a text message as 'cross Jinxiu Lu, turn left on the small road on this side of the canal... gets confusing at each bridge/intersection... braille from then on...".
Still I was undeterred.
So this weekend I bought a bike helmet and a 'camelback' and decided on Sunday morning I would set out on the adventure alone.
On the way back from dinner with friends on Saturday night I was telling Daniel when we would need him on Sunday. I explained that we would need him starting at 12:00pm. Then I tried to explain I was planning on riding from JinQiao to the ocean. I was explaining that if I got lost, I might call him to talk to a local person on my cell phone and either come get me or explain how to get home!
He didn't quite understand, but I think thought I was just crazy (or dumb enough to do it)... So he asked 'you go with who?' I explained I was headed out on my own. He responded 'why?'. Like it was strange enough a couple of expats were going to ride out to the ocean, but unfathomable that one was going to try it by himself.
Resolved that I was doing this, I set out Sunday morning. iPod set to a special playlist created just for the ride, 'camelback' filled with water that was kept in the fridge overnight, couple frozen water bottles for extra hydration and to keep the water in the bladder cold, a couple hundred kwai (aka RMB or Yuan) in case I got into a tight spot and a cell phone.
So I put 'semi' in parentheses in the title because Shanghai is amazingly flat, so I knew that the hardest part of this ride was going to simply be the heat and how long it took me to complete it. the weather helped out and it was not too hot... probably high 70s today, maybe low 80s.
The time to complete the ride is why my backside hurts. The last real ride I did was in high school when we rode around Applegate Lake in southern Oregon. I used to really enjoy mountain biking. It turns out I still enjoy it, but my 'bottom' isn't in riding shape. It was an hour and a half out and a little under that on the way back in. Almost 3 hours in the saddle was more than my hindquarters were prepared to handle!
The way out was longer in part due to some back tracking I had to do... Dwayne was right that bridges and intersections got confusing, and I had to braille my way to the ocean at different points. One memorable point was riding along the canal when I reached another canal feeding into the larger one perpendicular... meaning I was at the corner of 2 canals with no way to cross. So I turned North and rode parallel to the smaller canal across some grass field of sorts... which was fine, until there were gullies that fed into that small canal, resulting in having to get off the bike and carrying it across the gully! This led me eventually to a bridge I could cross, then had to work my way back to the main canal and head east again. There were a couple more times I had to cut north, and then back south to the canal, but was able to make it just fine.
I realized when I got there that this was not Dwayne's route, as there were no dirt paths cutting through fields - rather this was primarily concrete out to the ocean. I found out later that Dwayne was concerned enough about me finding my way (probably due to my poor Mandarin
skills) that he didn't try to explain the more complex route - and for this, I can't blame him!
The ride was really interesting. As it headed out to the ocean it was really a 1.5 hour crash course in Shanghai - specifically Pudong. I saw neighborhoods that were some of the worst living conditions I could imagine. I saw men walking out of their shack/houses in their underwear with no self consciousness at all. I saw men swimming/bathing in the canal - which is disgusting water. I saw the neighborhood open air butcher with a fan blade over the meat to shoo away the flies - no refrigeration in site, and the meat was still out and under the fan blade when I passed some hour + later!
I also saw some seemingly very nice homes on either side of the canal at certain points. I saw many factories that no doubt employed the folks in these neighborhoods. I saw new factories and commercial buildings being built.
When I got to the ocean, I saw all the barges in the ocean lining up and waiting to be called into the port.
I called Steph at this point - I think she too was concerned I would make it! I rested for a few minutes, then rode back in.
Only 1 close call with a truck on the ride. His bumper and my wheel about 2 feet from each other... As if the ride wasn't getting my heart rate up enough!
It was a great way to spend a few hours and get some exercise. I look forward to Dwayne's ride through fields and woods. And I look forward to proper rides in the Northwest when I get home!
Cheers,
Joe
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