Before Cycling in China

Suggestions for Cyclists --- the best time to cycle & what you need.

The weather in the south of China (Guangxi,Guizhou,Hunan Province)gets hotter from June. July and August are the hottest mounths. It rains but stops soon, cloudy or super heat from the sunlight. If you are keen on cycling, swimming and photographing,summer is the best time for your cycle in south China.The weather for July is around 25-37 degree centigrade.

a. Do not backpack anything when we cycle (that’s why we suggest a cycling jersey with your camera or phone in the back pocket available anytime).
b. Thin trousers and long sleeve cycling jersey (or over sleeves at least) is more suitable than short one to protect us from the sunlight (sun cream is useless in my eyes as it only protects you not get skin hurt, you are still getting very brown after just one day cycling here in summer), our skin get hurt very easily when on the mountain areas where there is no shade at all.
c. A fisherman’s hat with large edge is suggested after cycling / during our walking.
d. Light and thin rain coat is necessary (it will be very hot no matter what kind of rain coat you wear, so they are only for heavy raining in trekking days – not too much chances to use), it will also help us to keep warm when cycle down the big mountains.
e. 1-2 cycling jerseys (with back pockets on your back) is very suggested. We sells our companies cycling jersey at only extra price CNY200/USD30 so you can buy ours if you want, as for a good memory of this trip, and also they are very nice for summer cycling as they are colored white, you can pay cash for it if you are in Guilin.

Guilin One Day Bike Tour, Join in Cycle Tour to Guilin Yangshuo

f. The cloths dries very fast in summer here, so you can simple wash the jerseys every night and usually it dries the next morning (or even dries during our cycling after the biking in the rains). But it dries slowly during the raining season. In most of the hotels in smaller towns/villages, laundry services are NOT available.
g. The food here (also in many southern part of China is mainly salty), there are too much type of snacks and food here, so about 1/10 of the former guest cannot digest well after tasting too much delicious food. We are not allowed to introduce medicine to guests as it’s very sensitive between a company and a guest, so please bring some pills or own medicine helps you to digest if possible.
h. Please bring your own saddle, pedals, or helmet if you do not confident enough on our MTBs. (Hydraulic disk brake, 27 speed, mountain bike weights around 13KG, 26*1.75 wheels with hybird tires).
i. Mosquitoes are common in summer, we usually use electronic mosquito killer, or special smokes to again it while sleep, but those smokes also make us not so comfortable. The mosquitoes here bites but NOT carrying any diseases, they just make you itch.

Daily Life Changes in China --- the Four Great New Inventions

The Four Inventions of China

a. Many things you are used to will be blocked or not working in China, Facebook, Youtube, Google, Gmail, etc. As our government has some blocking in the internet service. So if you still want to use those things for business or work, please find a paid VPN supplier APP before arriving China. WeChat is largely used in China, and it’s very convenient for you to communicate with your family on the road, you can download it and install it on your phone, and then your wife can hear your voice or video with each other. So try WeChat, it’s convenient and cheap, and forget about Skype for a while when you in China.
b. The enconomy in China develops very fast but we are still a developing country. Don't feel disappointed or strange about any changes or things happens in China because we are such a huge and amazing country with over 1.4 billion population now, the world in the past 30 years were changed dramatically and unbelievably. Therefore, you may see constructions for new house, new roads, new parks/shopping malls everywhere even in the countryside areas. For example, the High Speed Train in China system is now the most developed in the world and it chances the whole country and people's life and travelling -- roads are being built, remote villages are developing very fast with endless domestic Chinese tourists, etc.
c. Foreign cell phone with apple system will encounter more difficulties than Android system in China.
d. The FOUR GTEAT NEW INVENTIONS of Mordern China are: High Speed Trains, Alipay, Sharing-Bikes and Shopping Online.

New Four Inventions in China

Tips on Hotel and Meals for Cyclists --- the reality & what you need.

a. Most of the hotel are nice, few hotels in this trip are basic but clean, supplying WIFI but breakfast is not included. So we will have the most common breakfast for Chinese in the morning.
b. If the hotel do not offer tooth brush or tower (I think only happens for Day2 at the remote cave area), don’t forget to bring your own one.
c. Lunches are supplied, most of the time they are simple but nutritional, Robert will introduce some traditional snacks and dinner are usually at formal restaurants.
d. If you are picky on food (some people missing western food a lot when cycle in China), we can try to find some bakery or super market to buy some closer to western ones.
e. If you have special requests on food (like being a vegetarian, etc.) please tell me ahead.

Road Condition for Cyclists --- find the best part to cycle.

Before you go, please prepare well as cycling in China is completely different to any cycles in Europe. The road surface here is diverse and sometimes the road is broken inordinately and hard for bikers, those ‘tracks’ and ‘paths’ in our itinerary will waste us extra energy quickly even when it’s on flat and low elevation. And a quick change of road surface in China areas is quite common if we choose to avoid the traffic on the main road, the perfect concrete road could turn into a broken one and then shifting back quickly, and the roads are being rebuilt every year, so there are some unexpected difficulties during your trip, get ready for everything as the itinerary and description of roads online is just for reference.

Road cyclists who have got used to the perfectly-paved and flat road in Europe or more developed cities in China will take it for granted that an average speed around 20-25KM/hour is quite easy, but it happens rarely in those off-the-beaten parts in countryside areas. The cycles on flat and climbs on broken surface cost us about 2-3 times energy, so if you are confident in finishing 100KM on well-paved roads in 4 hours in Europe, please get ready double the time and consuming of strength in China.

The average cycling time and distance in Guilin areas on mountain bike including resting and time for taking photos for reference: 45KM=4-5 hours, 75KM=6-9hours, 100KM=9-14hours!!

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