Hong Kong is the place for karaoke and shopping, but who woulda guessed mountain biking to be popular with HK youngsters?!A blade of grass is hard to come upon in this concrete jungle, let alone a forested mountain!
I came across a group of extreme bikers one night in the heart of Central, Hong Kong's finance and night-life centre, their bikes speeding noisily along the ground's uneven stones -- they were riding so fast down the sloped hill, I could hardly make out their faces. Turns out, they weren't from these parts after-all. Hailing from the likes of Sheung Shui, Fanling, Tai Po Market, where dirt roads meander through mountains and the streets are refreshingly wide with bordering bike lanes, these boys had come to show off their skills for a personal photo shoot.
I wasted no time in exchanging contacts with Ball, whose demeanor asserted leadership, to find out more about
This little known past-time.Here follows the MSN interview
(conversation medium of choice it seems for young 'uns these days!):
t-LOVE is: So, where do you guys play usually?
Ball~: HK has many places, like Tai Mo Shant-LOVE is: is it popular in HK? what is the age group?
Ball~: Not really, but more and more people are discovering this sport. 15 to 30+
t-LOVE is: so how many years have you been riding? why did you start learning?
Ball~: 9 years... um...... i think is when i watching ppl doing this, i have interest to learn, then ask ppl how to jump, that start from small jump first
t-LOVE is: how many hours a week do you play?
Ball~: Only when I'm free, around 2 hours. Before, I did 4 hours a week.
t-LOVE is: Why weren't you wearing a helmet?! It looks dangerous!
Ball~: When we go into the mountains, we do. But doing jumps on the street is easy :) check out this video, you will know what's dangerous. http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1008862/nissan-uci-mtb-world-cup-bromont-dhi-me...
t-LOVE is: have you gotten hurt a lot when you were learning?
Ball~: Sure, [I have] many scars. Some of our frd broken their bone[s]
t-LOVE is: but in the mountains, isn't it hard to get an ambulance?Ball~: Yes ar, sometime need helicopter.
t-LOVE is: wah! so extreme!!
Ball~: That's why I love it ^_^
Ball, a tourism student, proceeded to tell me about his posse, and on their forum site, their main mode of communication, I found a video of Goatstyle 2009 where bikers did gravity defying turns and jumps. But before I could ask him whether he also could do these amazing things, he'd popped offline, leaving me to scour the internet to quench my new found fascination with the sport.
Wanna know more?? Check out Goatstyle 2009:
Hong Kong Downhill Bike Facebook Page