Believe it or not, but until recently I had never done tandem cycling before! You might have read my adventures cycling in places like Montevideo, Soweto and Taiwan, but China was the place where my girlfriend and I first hopped on a tandem bicycle!
After a fantastic morning of bamboo rafting we ended up in a small riverside settlement known as Jo Yuen.
Being stranded there and needing to get back to Yangshuo, we opted for hiring tandem bicycles.
The gorgeous views while bamboo rafting on the YuLong River near Yangshuo, China. We thought this would be a great way to admire the countryside as Yangshuo is spectacular. To hire a tandem bike, rates are NOT fixed and are flexible. If you are foreign they will of course charge you more (a common trait in China). We paid 30 RMB at Jo Yuen and cycled one tandem bicycle back to Yangshuo. There was also a deposit of 100 RMB which we got back when we returned them in Yangshuo.
Organising our bike rental at Jo Yuen, China.
How was our tandem bicycle experience?
Wet wet wet! Yes, a 1980s Scottish pop band would have been proud of China’s skies.We had ponchos on and traffic was relatively light but despite the torrential rain I loved it. Due to the weather we didn’t stop too many times to admire the scenery as we basically just wanted to get back to base. The road signs are also not very clear so if you get lost, do ask people where Yangshuo is and they will almost all know the right way. Don’t follow the tourist traffic though as half of them are heading for Guilin and the other half to Yangshuo.
How far is it back to Yangshuo after the bamboo rafting? It’s only about 8 kilometres back to Yangshuo after bamboo rafting which took us under an hour and we went slow and had heavy rain.
It really is the best way to head back to Yangshuo. If you’re a couple then go for the tandem cycling. If not hire individual bikes or find a friend!
Cycling round Yangshuo on my return to the town.
Videos from tandem cycling in Yangshuo:
Top photo credit only: TastingTravels. com.
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
