NEW HOME: Hangzhou, China

Finishing the climb at the end of my first race in China

This is a long over-due posting. I have been on the road ever since I left Taiwan on Feb 19th.  It was a trip fraught with both exciting and frustrating times. In summary:

  • Deported from Mumbai, India because I was visiting for sporting reasons. Locked up in a cell for 12 hours before taking the next flight back to Bangkok
  • Bangkok cycling adventures – Two days of 100k plus rides the Bangkok area – some interesting discoveries
  • Philippines – 9 day Tour of Luzon (900kms)
  • Last day in Manila some thieves managed to steal my wife’s bag containing passport.  My lovely wife has been stuck in the Philippines since (still is there now – but fortunately has new passport and new visa extension now, she will be in Hong Kong next week and will join me in Hangzhou very soon)
  • A hectic week shooting Tour de Taiwan on the back of a motorbike that had me clinging for dear life at times. I managed to shoot 50g of photographs (or nearly 5,000 pictures). I will post some here soon. Also visited the Taipei Cycle Show.
  • Hong Kong – meeting my new team: Champion System and getting my arse kicked on Tai Mo Mountain
  • Arrived in Hangzhou last week and have enrolled in my PHD classes in the Tourism Management Department at Zhejiang University.  I’m also taking Mandarin Chinese classes in the mornings to brush up my rusty Chinese
  • First race in China was on Sunday at a place in Fuyang – about 60kms away from Hangzhou City. It was way too short for my liking – 12kms! 6kms flat and 6kms up-hill.
  • Exploring Hangzhou by Bike – its quite interesting and I love the small mountains that fringe the West Lake area. Some reasonable riding to be had here and have already connected with a couple of different riding groups (including my Champion System Team).

So, that was a summary of the events of the last month and limited internet access has prevented me from up-dating my own blog on a regular basis since I left Taiwan. Stay tuned to my blog for some great stories and photos that will expand on some of the above mentioned happenings.

2 Comments

  1. mum 6 April, 2010
  2. XS 26 June, 2010

Leave a Reply