Cycling / Bike Touring in November

Hong Kong is not the first place most people picture on a bike, which is exactly why the New Territories cycle network is such a pleasant surprise. From Sha Tin, a dedicated, mostly flat cycle track shadows the Shing Mun River and then the shoreline of Tolo Harbour all the way to Tai Mei Tuk and the great dam wall of Plover Cove Reservoir, around 22 kilometres one way with the water on one side and the Pat Sin Leng ridge on the other. It is car-free for almost its whole length, which makes it accessible to families and casual riders rather than only the lycra crowd, and it strings together riverside parks, old walled villages, the temples and markets of Tai Po, and waterfront seafood at the far end. The reservoir itself is a quiet novelty, a body of fresh water reclaimed from a sea inlet by damming the cove, ringed by hills that hikers climb for the sunset. A guided ride adds the local texture the track alone does not give you: which village to detour into, the history of the Hakka settlements and the reservoir engineering, and a lunch stop worth stopping for. Autumn to spring is the season, when the humidity drops and the harbour views are sharp. This is the mellow, green, water-level side of Hong Kong that most visitors never see.