Beijing West Cycling 京西骑行群 group headed back to the, now iconic, Shuangda Lu climb today. We had 115km planned with 2500m climbing, and immediately hit the climbs at the beginning of the ride. Country roads turned into country lanes which then turned into country paths, in an unexpected twist. The climbing, though rough in places, was completely spectacular and we had sections of the mountains completely to ourselves. The very bumpy descent on gravel eventually turned into beautiful smooth tarmac as we climbed to Shuangda Lu. Sadly, the main road to the climb was blocked. “Rain” and “weather” were the official reasons, so we reluctantly turned around and tried to summit via the other side of the mountain. It was also blocked. “Pandemic measures” was the reason given that time. Spirits were a little bit down but everyone tried to make the best of being in the mountains on what was a warm but beautiful day. Group lunch at the end of the ride buoyed all our spirits. We will return to Shuangda Lu soon!