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I always have to think twice before I get on my bike in Hong Kong. I have a good- quality cyclocross bike which should be able to tackle most road conditions, yet it is the driving manners of Hong Kong drivers which deter me from cycling here. Living in Tai Wai means that I can go onto the cycle lanes which are designed for leisure cyclists, all the way to Tai Mei Tuk just outside Tai Po. However, thanks to a slew of new property developments in Tai Wai, large sections of the original cycle lanes have turned into paved concrete, and what used to be a continuous route is now fragmented. Where there are no cycle lanes, I am forced to cycle on the road since I have no other choices: cycling on pavements is illegal in Hong Kong.
I cycled all over London for four years and I never had one single accident. Yet I had two accidents in Hong Kong over the past year. The first time there was a big gap on the road between the concrete paving and a sewage cover yet it was simply too hard to notice; my front wheel got stuck in the gap and I got thrown onto the road. Luckily there were no cars coming behind me. The second time I was cycling at a relatively fast 35km/h in a single lane, yet with trucks and vans bent on forcing me to the side of the curb and overtaking me, I finally crashed into my friend To sum up, from transport policies and infrastructure to the driving manner and mentality of local drivers, the city is very unfavourable to cyclists even though we were supposed to have equal rights as other road users in Hong Kong.
Cycling was my life mode in London, but now I can only enjoy it as a leisure activity in Hong Kong. Since there are few cycle lanes that are long enough to provide for a meaningful ride, I will have to go on the road in order to enjoy cycling fully. However, road cycling involves waking up at 5am because I don’t want to confront the morning rush-hour traffic. But once the cars come onto the roads en masse, I’ll have to step aside. Hong Kong may have a very convenient public transport system compared with other big cities in the world, yet it still has a long way to go before it can become a cyclist-friendly city.
