April of last year I was in Beijing for work. Looking to avoid the standard tourist traps, I went hunting for a bike shop and discovered a pretty special one just a few blocks North. Not just any bike shop, this one was named in CyclingTips "Ten of the world's coolest bike shops" list. Checking with my colleague she was up for the trip, we grabbed some public rental bikes and made our 6 mile journey from the Forbidden City to Serk. 

Serk Cycling was the creation of Shannon Bufton, an Aussie expat, and Beijinger Liman Zhao. They have played a key role in creating the cycling culture in Beijing that exists today; from providing strategic advice on Chinese cycling to numerous UCI Pro teams to being a founding partner of Smarter Than Car, China's first cycling advocacy group.

I met up with Shannon for a quick shop tour, and was quickly impressed. I discovered his talents also include designing titanium bikes and carbon wheels. The Titanium Road bike was sweet, but the Ti Adventure bike he was finalizing was on another level. Enjoy...

Serk Ti Adventure

I was curious what brought him to Beijing and if he intended to stay. He told me the riding there was some of the best in the world, and by the looks of his bikes and the epic adventure rides that Serk is organizing I couldn't argue. If you are ever in Beijing, give Serk a visit. Better yet, join them for a weekend ride.

Photos: Shannon Bufton, Serk Cycling