Taichung, Chiayi and Kaohsiung are just some of the stops on Patrick Pan's next trip to Taiwan, which he will be touring by mountain bike.

Pan is one of the growing number of people in Shanghai who are turning to mountain biking as a way to escape the city and get back to nature, while also getting a good workout.

Pan started taking long mountain bike rides four years ago. After completing his first such journey around Qinghai Lake, Pan realized he could make the mountain bike the center of his vacations, traveling for hundreds of miles on two wheels. His other destinations have included Hainan, Jiangsu, Hubei provinces and Northwest China.

Mountain biking is gaining in popularity as a way to travel and get back to nature. Photo: Courtesy of Patrick Pan

Far and wide

In June 2012 when he was an undergraduate studying in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Pan planned a ride to Shanghai from Hubei with some of his classmates. They posted their plan online and found several more people to join them.

"We had someone work out the route and guide us and someone who is skillful in repairs," Pan said. "In journeys to remote areas where the routes are complicated, medical knowledge always helps."

The team then went through Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces on their ride. They decided in advance on how far they would ride each day, making sure they could arrive somewhere for lunches and breaks during the day, and spend the nights in towns. Pan said that the landscape they saw on their rides made it worth the effort. No amount of planning can completely guarantee against accidents. One such mishap involved one of Pan's co-riders falling from his bike and fracturing his leg. At some 200 kilometers from the nearest hospital, the team had to flag down a passing car. The wounded team member could not continue with them on the 1,300-kilometer journey to Shanghai.

Riders in Mogan Mountain, Zhejiang Province

One of the main attractions of mountain biking is getting away from civilization. However, when riding through the less-populated regions of western and northwestern China, riders have to carry their own provisions. Pan said that, while cycling through a remote area of Xinjiang, they took vegetables and instant noodles, which they cooked on travel stoves. They also took sleeping bags in case they had to spend the night outside.

At frontier army defense inspection stations, soldiers offered them food and other supplies.

"The soldiers were quite hospitable since they rarely receive visitors," Pan said.

Pan now works in the Internet industry in Shanghai, and is looking forward to finding time in his busy schedule to travel to more destinations.



Weekend journeys

While some city mountain bikers such as Pan make epic, province-spanning journeys, others are more content with shorter rides closer to home. Wang Kun works in an office during the week, but often spends his weekends on mountain bike trips with friends. Starting with trips of no more than 50 kilometers to Mogan Mountain in Zhejiang Province, Wang has worked his way up to longer rides.

Sometimes they will break up their rides with other activities, such as kayaking.

Wang found fellow cycling enthusiasts through Prodigy Cycling Club (Rm D, 3/F, Bldg 1, 833 Huaihai Road Middle, go@mtb.com.cn).

A rider in Mogan Mountain, Zhejiang Province

The club offers mountain biking programs in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces over the weekend and longer journeys in more distant places during the holidays. Guilin, Yunnan and Tibet are popular destinations.

The club's outdoor base is in Mogan Mountain. Riders from Shanghai can go there by bus and then hire bicycles.

Accommodation provided by Prodigy Cycling Club in Mogan Mountain Photos: Courtesy of the club

"The routes are arranged for riders of different levels, from absolute beginners to regular and long-distance riders," said Zhang Linyuan, who is in charge of the club's Shanghai office on Huaihai Road Middle.

The cycling club also organizes regular workshops to help members prepare with physical training and basic first-aid training.