HAPPY HANDLEBARS

I'm always grinding, pushing, punching, running, lifting, squatting, burpeeing and having all sorts of sweat fests at the gym, so it's really nice sometimes to just slow down and catch my breath.

One of the things that really amazes me about the +852 is that you don't have to do much to get out of the bustling metropolis and escape from the feeling of being eaten alive by skyscrapers or shoved by the next person walking toward you with their noses buried in their cellphones. 

We hike a fair bit when the weather is good, but I've never biked in Hong Kong before. So I was all kinds of excited when we did just that last weekend (after my usual Saturday boxing class, of course). We rented bikes from Tai Wai and cycled all the way to Tai Mei Tuk, which was a leisurely 2.5-hour ride one way with lots of greenery and waterfront sights along the way. 

(Bonus tip: If you select a bike rental shop that has a branch at the end point, you can return your bikes directly without having to cycle back all the way to Tai Wai. We got our bikes from Asia Bicycle Company. They also did a DIY fixing of a basket to my bike so I could place my lunch bag in there.)

It was so worth it because another Hong Kong was literally unfolding before our very eyes. 

There was to be no glorious Thai food for me at the end point, unlike the lucky husband and Nish, who were both rewarded for their biking efforts with a big plate of stirfried rice noodles and other dishes (which smelled amazing) that I have clearly blocked out from my memory because, by comparison, I only had a tupperware of zoodles with ground beef and 2 hardboiled eggs.

But this sweet slice of serenity was definitely worth it for me, no matter the noodle or zoodle.