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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Beyond Lugu... but not much more

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Tribute To Turton

Seeing as I did this ride on Sunday, I guess it is a testament to how little blogging time I have had as of late. 

I decided to give the climbing a test and headed out to the hills above Lugu with the hope of capping the tea farms of Sanlinxi. The distance is already a challenge from my home in Taichung city, but it is the climbing that wears you down. I have done this ride before, and I learned I am still some way away from that level of fitness. 

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Here is a sign telling "poor cyclists" to ask the staff for a pump or tools if they need them. Awesome! 

The ride down the Highway 3 to Jiji was like sleepwalking. I just turned the pedals and I was there. Then as soon as I turned onto the Route 131 to Lugu, the legs kicked in. I was feeling fine and just enjoyed the weather with one eye toward the mountains to gauge how long I might have before the haze congealed into a mass of water. 

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Everything looked perfect.

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There were several low elevation tea farms turning in a harvest. 

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I then hit the steady climb up to Sanlinxi. At about the spot where the road between Sanlinxi and Si Tou split, I felt some discomfort in my knee and promptly turned around. Last year I would have willed myself to the top. This year a wiser man took over and I was happy to roll home with my knee feeling... okay. I kept the throttle open until I ran out of gas just at the Taichung city limits. By the time I rolled to my door I had put in 150km and the weather was looking nasty. 

Nice ride. Nice way to wrap up my summer vacation. 

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