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For Tour de Bund’s 550 bicyclists, it’s quite a ride
Print Edition
THE Peninsula Shanghai organized the annual charity bicycle ride, Tour de Bund, for the fourth year on Saturday, with 550 bikers participating in the race.
Co-sponsored by Shanghai Daily, Tour de Bund provided an opportunity for both professional and amateur cyclists to enjoy a Saturday morning ride along the Huangpu River, as well as raising money for the Raleigh China charity.
“Wherever we operate a hotel, it’s important for us to become part of the community,” said Gareth Roberts, hotel manager of The Peninsula Shanghai. “And so when the hotel first opened, it was very much about what we can do to support China.
“We found Raleigh China. It’s great for youth and they also do a lot of responsible programs in various parts of China, so we thought it was a great organization to work with,” he adds.
Raleigh was founded in the UK in 1978 by Prince Charles, with an aim of promoting youth development. The branch in China was established in 2008 in Shanghai.
The cyclists started at the iconic Nanpu Bridge in Pudong, with professional and club cyclists taking a 50-kilometer tour, followed by leisure riders who undertook a 30-kilometer tour. Riders pedaled along the waterfront in Pudong before crossing the Huangpu River and reaching the finishing point at The Peninsula Shanghai.
“We always have to make a few tweaks depending on construction, as things often change in Shanghai quite quickly,” said Roberts. “It’s a similar route with last year’s. The person who designed it was Bill Gaylord, chairman of SISU, a biking club here in Shanghai. He starts six months before to put the route together and we do rides every month to make sure the track is still OK.”
Kyra Collins of the UK, who has been living in Shanghai for a year, said she joined the race for the first time after learning from SISU. She rode two hours with the group of about 10 people.
“I feel OK but I wish I could have ridden more and longer,” she said after completing the ride.
To prepare, she went for a few rides during the previous week, trying out the route.
“I ride weekly with SISU. I like to ride and I don’t feel it’s such a challenge to practice. I think it comes from within, and I just love to ride,” she said. “Whenever you get an event, you take part, do your best. Just get some rides when you are not busy with work, go out on weekends and have a good time.”
Coming from Wales, she did lots mountain riding. After coming to Shanghai, she started road riding, mainly in Pudong.
“I live in Puxi, so it’s interesting to get back across the river by ferry,” she said.
This year’s race attracted 150 more participants than last year’s event. For the past three years, the race has totaled more than 1,000 participants, raising more than 100,000 yuan for charity.
“It’s growing. Every year it gets a bit bigger and bit more special,” Roberts said. “You really want to continue to elevate the event. The starting point was much more elaborate this year. As the event gets bigger, we have to have a bigger infrastructure, and it’s very special that we have many people who were involved in it.”
It’s also a great family event, there were many families doing it for leisure as well as companies doing it for team building.
“It’s a very diverse group,” said Roberts.
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