Trouble in Paradise: Tour of Taiwan's Future In Doubt

Last week a report appeared in the Liberty Times questioning the future of the Tour of(de) Taiwan, Taiwan's premiere UCI sanctioned stage race. 

The entire report is posted below:

〔自由時報記者葉士弘／台北報導〕2013年環台賽昨天畫下句點，卻傳出自由車協會有意吹熄燈號，明年可能停辦環台賽。副秘書長王美香表示，比賽自去年升級為2.1級後，各方面要求都明顯提高，尤其國際轉播需要大筆經費，來自經濟部的贊助卻可能在明年取消，續辦將遭遇極大困難。 

環台賽因寶島地形特殊，總能吸引世界各地車隊參賽，卻不是一路順遂，也曾在2001年因經費募集困難停辦一次。去年升級為國際車總2.1級賽事後，大幅增加的國際轉播費用，車協依靠來自經濟部的經費挹注，但今年贊助只剩三分之一，明年甚至可能取消。王美香說：「降級太難看，如果找不到錢，可能會停辦。」停辦環台賽，引來車界不同看法，申騰美利達領隊邱朝雄說：「每年就一場比賽，這是最能代表台灣的比賽，停辦可能讓車隊找不到贊助商。」 

南寶樹脂NOVATEC車隊教練郭文進則強調，當初升級就太倉促，環台賽都是國外車隊曝光，與國內車隊有距離。 

Liberty Times/ Reporter Yeh Shin Hong 

2013 Tour de Taiwan ended yesterday. However, it’s rumored that the Chinese Taipei Cycling Association is planning to suspend its role as host for the Tour de Taiwan next year. The TCA deputy secretary, Wang Mei Sian (王美香),  stated that the requirements for hosting games have been raised ever since the race was promoted to class 2.1. In particular, international broadcasting rights are quite expensive. However, the subsidies from the Department of Economic Affairs might be suspended, making it difficult to continue hosting the event next year.  

The Tour de Taiwan is famous for its special geographic landscape, always attracting teams from all over the world to participate. However, things are going as well within the Tour de Taiwan. In 2001, Tour de Taiwan was not held for a year due to the lack of sponsorship and financial difficulties. Beginning last year, the Tour de Taiwan was promoted to class 2.1. The increase expense in international broadcasting has been relying on the support of Department of Economic Affairs. However, the amount of money from the Department of Economic Affairs that went to the event was slashed to one-third of what it used to be.  

What’s even worse is that the Department of Economic Affairs may be planning not to allocate funds for the race next year. “ Instead of being demoted in class, it’s possible the race will be postponed for a year if not enough financial aid is provided.  

When asked about the possibility of postposing Tour de Taiwan, various comments have appeared. The manager of Team Senter-Merida Taiwan said that “This is a yearly event, which best represents Taiwan. Postponing the race may put teams in danger of not able to find sponsors.” 

On the other hand, the coach of Nanpao-Novatec Cycling Team emphasized that the promotion to class 2.1 was too rushed. It turns out that most teams participating in Tour de Taiwan are foreign, while local teams are not provided with enough opportunities.

My first reaction is to assume the issue will come to naught. My guess is that this is part of a play by the sponsors to pressure the government and taxpayers into picking up a greater percentage of the tab. 

The chief beneficiaries of the Tour of Taiwan, besides the chiefs in the UCI, are the large bike companies that routinely use bike festivals and events as a sales tool for generating greater streams of domestic revenue. 

Although there is another part of me that feels the influence of the sponsors in route planning really hurts the Tour of Taiwan's ability to market itself for broadcasting. 

I mean, who really wants to tune in to watch the peloton cut through polluted and industrial Dajia for the simple reason of swinging past the Giant factory to pad the company's ego? It may play into the whole "King and kingdom" motif they have built up around Giant and King Liu by having riders pass the headquarters and pay homage, but it does not make for very compelling racing or marketable television for the amateur cyclist. 

The race has been in existence since 1978, and recognized by the UCI since 2005. It may be high time to step up and focus on repositioning the race on the race calendar as either an early season stage race to condition climbers and other specialists for the grand tours, or position the race as a season ending option for a few riders who failed to live up to their hype and earn a few more points before the World Championships. 

Moreover, organizers are going to have to resist those tempting industrial wasteland loops in favor of parcours through Taiwan's more challenging interior. Taiwan has the terrain to become a bright spot on the cycling map, but the Tour de Taiwan lacks the confluence of timing, geography, weather, and willpower.  

For starters, the organizers can replace "de" with "of". 

Related: 

Lee Rodgers has a nice article in Pez Cycling about the Tour de Taiwan.

Points North: A Rare Adventure In Taipei

I spent my weekend in Taipei visiting Taipei Cycle, and it would have been a shame to spend a day ogling hardware without actually going for a ride.

I met Dom at the show and we casually sketched out some ride ideas for Sunday morning. Weather be damned, we were going to be on bikes somewhere in Taipei.



Amid a light drizzle over breakfast, we decided on a route following the Route 106 out of Muzha to the northern coast and the old coal town of Ruifang. The decision was made based on how easily it would be to exit the city without losing too much speed checking our directions.



The drizzle started to let up as we entered the hills.



The grades were pretty easy and I foolishly decided to give myself a workout by staying in the big ring as a kind of "game" with myself.



The climbing was quite doable with few real tough gradients to fight through. Just as in Taichung, the scooter and big-bike groups were out tearing up the roadways.



We made it to Pinghsi in good time and hoped the hills would eddy out to the coast.



It was all a mirage. The climbing continued just as I continued to play my stupid game. The ramps would appear from behind the curves and I could only guess at where they stopped. Again and again we were pushed upward over the landscape.



Finally we had arrived at a descent that would continue in a favorable direction. I wiped the imaginary sweat from my figurative brow as any real sweat had been parched away in the gleams of sunlight that were filtering through the notoriously somber Taipei skies.

I assumed it would be a simple roll along the coast back to Taipei. I assumed the climbing was behind me and I had survived my day in the big ring with my legs intact. I had forgotten so much about the northern coast. 



As we sped toward Keelung Harbor, we made a detour out to Heping Island (Peace Island) to get a ride through history.

Heping Island was the center of Spain's colonial operation on Taiwan (1626-1662).

In 1626, King Philippe IV of Spain ordered the Spanish colony in Manila to construct a fort in northern Taiwan for use as a base of operations to better monitor and check their rivals in the Dutch East India Trading Company (VOC).

Heping Island hosted a large, walled fortress known as Fort San Salvidor, as well as a smaller supporting structure (La Retirtanda), a fortified lookout on the high point of the island (La Mira) and a small gun emplacement (El Cubo) at the narrow channel between Heping Island and the Taiwanese mainland.

The base was supported by a number of slaves from the Philippines and there was some trade and interaction between the Spanish and the local Basay and Senar groups of indigenes. Though, the Spanish attempts to convert the locals to Catholicism was a regarded as a general failure punctuated with extreme acts of violence committed against the Spanish priests, small Spanish controlled settlements sprung up around the fort and the harbor.







On August 24, 1642, a combined force of Dutch and indigenes landed and quickly overran the meager Spanish defenses on the island's eastern flank before taking the high ground at La Mira. After five days of lobbing cannon balls into the Spanish positions, the undermanned and undersupplied garrison surrendered. The chief administrator for the Spanish presence in Taiwan, Governor Gonzalo Portillo, was glad to be taken into Dutch custody where he was quick to provide the Dutch with lavish detail on the Spanish enterprise in East Asia. Had he been returned to Spanish custody he would have been executed for... failing to fight to the death.

The Dutch maintained a small presence at the fort until 1662, when  the Ming loyalist, Cheng Cheng-gong, ousted the Dutch.

A small Dutch force established another foothold at the site between 1664 and 1668, when it was determined that the Qing Empire did not have the ability to assist and support the Dutch in their bid to retake Taiwan.

There are still the remains of a cave once used by the Dutch soldiers to worship the Virgin Mary away from the disapproving eyes of the Dutch Reformed Church. 

Sadly, the cave is about the only accessible artifact from the days of Dutch colonialism on Heping Island.



We made our way back onto the Highway 2 toward Danshui. Somewhere along the way the breezy flats of the coast were replaced with undulating dips and climbs. I continued playing games in the big ring, but a pit in my stomach had gone unheeded too long and with the extra effort of the climbs turned into a complete lack of energy as soon as we banked into a typhoon with 45km left before Taipei, and that would have been simply the municipal welcome mat and not the actual city. 

As we rolled into Jinshan I was already in trouble. I tried to load up on some emergency calories at the Family Mart, but I had pushed a ring too far. 



Dom and I sat there at the Family Mart eating carbs and thinking the same thing. It was 42km to Taipei along an undulating coast into a headwind... or 9km to the Taipei city limit over Yangmingshan. 

Ah the Devil's Bargain! 



Knowing full well that I was spent, I opted for the climb as I enjoy climbs far more than windy flats. We edged up into the heights of the mountain and Dom slowly slid out of sight ahead. I stopped to take a few pictures and rest the legs. 

I lost a few great shots as I dodged Taipei's awful city folk out for a holiday on Taipei's favorite mountain. 



A few sprinkles fell and I wondered what I had gotten myself into. The winds became far more fierce as I climbed up from the jungle and into the tall grasses. 

As soon as I had hopped the final rise, I enjoyed a momentary plummet toward Taipei, until a parade of cars made the descent far trickier than I was in the mood to entertain with a smile. 

By the time we had landed at the MRT station, I had logged 140km of hills, mostly in the 53 tooth ring. I was hungry and filthy from road spray. 

It was another amazing ride in Taiwan. 

Some days that's just how it goes. 

European Cyclists' Federation Director Questions Taiwan's Commitment to Cycling

A reader spotted this ad in Florida

In a report from Taiwan Focus, Kevin Mayne, the director of a major European cycling advocacy group leveled some needed criticism of Taiwan's commitment to incorporating cycling into the transportation grid despite Taiwan's recent claims of being a "bicycle kingdom" and a "cycling paradise". 

According to the report:

"Taipei, March 20 (CNA) Taiwan needs to lower its speed limits and allocate more space for cyclists if it hopes to achieve its aim of transforming into a "cycling island," a foreign expert said Wednesday."

Mayne's observations and recommendations came amid the opening of the 2013 Taipei Cycle bicycle expo in Nangang.

Mayne's stinging criticism underscores what many cyclists in Taiwan have understood for a long time. The solutions are there, but the political will is not.

Mayne, whose federation consists of national cycling organizations throughout Europe, said speed limits in Taiwan are too high for cars and scooters to coexist with cyclists.
Cities friendly toward cyclists usually have speed limits of below 30 kilometers per hour, he said, citing German and Dutch cities as examples. 

He said lowering speed limits is also a "cheap" solution to building Taiwan into a cycling paradise, as nothing needs to be built. "What you need is political will and enforcement," he added. 

Mayne also advised cities in Taiwan to allocate more space for cyclists and to take bolder steps to improve the environment for them, citing New York, Paris, London and Vienna as examples of cities that are currently doing so and upon which Taiwan could model itself.
He said the bike-sharing system in Paris, for example, offered 15,000 bikes when it was first launched, while Taipei's bike-sharing system, Youbike, currently offers only 1500. 

Mayne's observations are welcome words to cycling advocates as he knowingly, or not, shines a light on the fact that much of Taiwan's trouble in realizing its own ad copy comes from the fact that cycling and cycling infrastructure is often deployed by opportunistic politicians to score cheap points or direct public funds into politically advantageous locations. There is no wide-spread commitment to cycling beyond tourism. Much of what has been built is simply for show with little concern for function.

The rebuttal from Giant's King Liu may serve to best exemplify what is wrong with Taiwan's cycling infrastructure.

Meanwhile, King Liu, chairman of Taiwan's bicycle titan Giant, pointed out that the government invested NT$3 billion (US$100.85 million) to build 2,088 km of dedicated bike lanes around the country between 1999 and 2011. 

The government plans to invest a further NT$1.2 billion to build more bike lanes in the next four years, he went on. 

Giant cooperated with the Taipei city government in 2009 to launch the Youbike, which is now used by over 20,000 people every day, a number that is expected to increase when the program is expanded this year, he added.

The focus is always on the abstraction of numbers and never on how these projects will benefit the society and the community. Liu does not detail how those lanes are expected to be used.

In practice, many/most of those kilometers exist on the fringe of the cities and are allocated for leisure cycling, and thus they do little to reduce carbon emissions or reduce the use of motorized traffic. Most of those lanes are completely divorced from the transportation grid that connects home and work. Cars. busses and scooters are not being replaced by bicycles in Taiwan.

In many ways Liu highlights why Taiwan's priorities are not in-line with Mayne's vision of urban cycling. The goal is not really to promote bicycle infrastructure, but rather to dole out tax dollars to townships and sell more Giant bikes (the more expensive ones the better).

As a nation with access to domestic bicycle production, the glad handing over kilometers and tax dollars spent should be replaced by a sense of shame and missed opportunity.... unless you are in the business of constructing all those kilometers of bike lanes.

Training Wheels: My Route Back To Fitness

I spent the past four or five weeks trying to build back into shape for Sanlinxi. Riding one or two times per week is not the recipe for making great gains, but I tried to build on what I already had in my legs to multiply my gains.

I tried to take a few pictures on my training rides, but was usually too busy to think much about blog fodder.

Here are some of the routes I used to whip myself back into some form of shape.

The weather was perfect for too many days in a row and I hardly took advantage of the dry February days.



After a couple rides to check my knee, I threw myself at the three climbs of the loop over the fence. The ride was aimed at testing my endurance over repeated climbs and distance.

With an initial climb to Zhong-xing Ling, near Hsin-she, I took the Route 95-1 to the Highway 21 and Baimao Shan.

Bike route 2021579 - powered by Bikemap 

This is a regular training route for central Taiwan's competitive cyclists. It offers some great views, smooth roads, and thrilling descents. The climbs are steady and, if done with a bit of urgency, can really stress the system.



After emptying out of Guoxing Township onto the Highway 14, I took the bold step to climb back to Taichung over the Route 136. The 136 from the Puli side is the hardest climb at the day and that is why it is served last.

I found this great sign to promote skiing, snowmobiling and other wintery activities that are so popular in Taiwan.

Bike route 2021575 - powered by Bikemap 

Snow Sports



I didn't feel so great after the ride over the Route 136, and decided to take a step back and stay closer to home. I dashed up the Route 88 from Fengyuan to keep the legs awake. I felt much better on the climbs. The Route 88 is actually higher than the more commonly used Route 129, but without the traffic.






By the next ride Ole' Dom had come back from vacation and we could do some training together as we were both registered to ride the Sanlinxi race.

I needed to stay close to home and monitor my knee for any more soreness.

Therefore, I plotted a great set of climbs lacing over Dadu Shan; the 10km berm that separates Taichung City from the Taiwan Strait.

It was an interesting ride so close to home. I was able to push the legs to the red zone and repeat. That day I was feeling good. I recommend the route as a great option for climbing without really leaving the city.

Bike route 2021568 - powered by Bikemap 

We had the February 28 memorial day off, so Dom, James, Cam, Steven and myself took to the foothills for a bit of an added day of riding.



We took the Pinglin Rd. from Zhuolan after a climb over the Route 129 to Dongshih. The Pinglin Rd. offers a degree of hills and false flats that make for great riding away from traffic. We kept the pace above friendly and I tried to slightly over-gear the climbs.



By the time we had looped back to the Highway 3 my legs were rubber. My body wanted to rest. My mind wanted to keep training, but my legs wanted to go home. We were all hurting a little bit, so I split from the group and climbed the Miaoli Route 130.

Foolishly satisfying. With weather that great and too many wasted days behind me, I was happy to get out and put in a little more than I could match with my legs.





Family obligations took me to Sanxia and Tucheng in New Taipei City. I decided to take my bike and tackle a hill climb I had been eying for a while.

As I left the house I noticed my rear tire, which was designated as a purely competition tire, was severely frayed and missing a lot of rubber. I quickly grabbed a bag of new tires and tubes before leaving and planned to install them when I arrived in Taipei. I also hoped to tighten my rear hub.

I left the hex wrench at home and decided to take my bike to the local bike shop to tighten my hub and throw the tires on while the bike was there. I figured it would be easier as I really had no place to work on my bike other than out in the rainy street.

That was a costly mistake.

The Giant shop charged me NT500 for the job.

I imagine the owner, a small shop owner who bought into the franchise, is feeling the pinch from the company and passes the screw down to the customer.



The climb is right behind the Tucheng MRT station. It starts as a gradual climb into the hills before it becomes a screaming wall of pain.



The picture does not properly illustrate the severity of the ramp, but it was a serious exercise in pain.
I hung my body far out over the head tube; my knees hitting the bars on every stroke.



I bit down and trudged up to where the grade eased up a bit. My family was waiting at the top for lunch at A-Sali. A hillside restaurant that specializes in local fare like free range chicken as well as wild game food. Most of the fare is grown locally on the mountain where there are several hiking trails.



The ride took only about a half-hour, but it took a lot out of me.



I returned to Sanxia mostly satisfied, but worried that it wouldn't be enough to build on my gains.



Time was running out and I needed to really put my legs to the test to simulate the cycles of stress and recovery on a long, competitive climb.



Aside from a Tuesday night warm-up ride, my last chance to make improvements and adjustments came on a climb up Daxue Shan above Dongshih Township.

Bike route 2021571 - powered by Bikemap 

The weather was the best I have ever experienced up there. Several other riders seemed to be using the mountain as a facsimile of the Sanlinxi race. The climbs are similar in grade, length and altitude, but Daxue Shan was much closer to home.



The views were stunningly clear that day.

The only obstacles for the descent were the birds and bird watchers. I almost ran over this Swinhoe's Pheasant as I let gravity take over.

Bike route 2021573 - powered by Bikemap 

Comebacks: Sanlinxi 38.5km Social Race/Ride

Finish Line

Comebacks:

"Don't call it a comeback
I been here for years
Rockin my peers and puttin suckas in fear
Makin the tears rain down like a MON-soon
Listen to the bass go BOOM
Explosion, overpowerin
Over the competition, I'm towerin
Wreckin shop, when I drop these lyrics that'll make you call the cops
Don't you dare stare, you betta move
Don't ever compare
Me to the rest that'll all get sliced and diced
Competition's payin the price"-- L.L. Cool J

My riding in 2011 was something I will never forget. I was training four days every week. I was feeling fast. I felt like there was no road in Taiwan that was out of reach. I could cover long distances and the highest climbs on a whim and a little grit. That was 2011. Dust in the wind.

I spent my 2012 season training hard at being a new dad. I don't figure on getting the hang of the job any time soon, but at least my little girl is constantly becoming better at being a kid and that makes the job of being a dad incrementally easier.

It seems every weekend is the first day of my return to form. Each ride holds the promise of new beginnings or a cleave in the ledge where I may catch my fall from the fitness I used to enjoy.

It seemed as though every time I would put two decent rides together, something would happen to put me back to square one; weather, family business, equipment failure, injury, work and all kinds of other black magic conspiring against me.

My situation is probably not unlike a lot of my friends out there on the road. This is the curse of the amateur cyclist. We have lives that interfere in our training plans and nobody is paying us to be seen succeeding and standing next to their products. We may ride to live, but we may not be able to live to ride.

I am sure my drop in blogging was noticed by more than a few. It is not that I have had nothing to write about. On the contrary I have had too much to write about and no real time to do it well... or even as usual... half-assed.

The Comeback: Isn't that what so much of cycling is about? We are always trying to get back to some real or imagined destination that always seems better than where we are now. If I am sitting here at a computer writing this, there must be a better place to be.  

This post is clearly dedicated to each of my aborted comebacks, announced and unannounced, that litter the past several months of this blog. 

I swear, this time its for real. 


A.M. Start

Several weeks back I put my money down to participate in the Merida-Maxxis Sanlinxi Challenge; a 38.5km hill climb from Mingjian Township to the tea fields of Sanlinxi. 

I had done the ride several times from Taichung and figured it would make a great way to get back into more regular participation in some cycling events. 

For the past several months my training plan had been a shambles. 

With a month-long vacation for Lunar New Year I figured I could put in some serous training on a four-day schedule to really rebuild. 

It never happened. 

I spent two weeks with a chest cold and wrestling with asthma. Then my pedals broke. Then the New Year obligations. I tried a couple of local climbs, but I really didn't do anything worthwhile until mid-February. That gave me four weeks of training to reverse months of neglect. 

After four weeks of building with some help from Dom, James and a few other riders, I found myself sitting in the middle of a sea of riders in another one of Taiwan's infamous mass-start races. 

"A lot of guys are dressed pretty fast today", I quipped to the rest of the guys from T-Mosaic. 

A lot of guys are dressed for speed, but once the bunch starts rolling uphill, the cards are all flat on the table.   



The horn sounded and it took several minutes to even reach the starting gate. A few of the lucky riders at the front could enjoy a fast, unobstructed start. The rest of us became locked in a bottleneck just outside the gate and were forced to walk our bikes for several more minutes... Ah, the beauty of riding with 2500 other people. 

I slipped to the outside to leapfrog the slower riders weaving about in the center of the road. I hoped to warm my legs up before climbing up the Route 151 to Lugu Township. It was actually my first time riding the Route 151 to Lugu. I always take the nicer Route 131. I really didn't know what to expect in terms of grades or ramps. I only knew that they looked pretty nasty on the descent. 



I made further gains as the group smashed head-on into the climb. I felt relaxed and confident as I maintained a line amid weaving wheels looking to shave the edge off the grade. 

I had prepared for cool weather, as Sanlinxi is always covered in freezing clouds, but it was a surprisingly clear day and I was quick to strip off my arm warmers. 

As we spilled through Lugu, the easier grade gave me a chance to rest between the 7-11s I had marked for popping my first gel. 

I felt a little sticky in my legs, but figured it would pass the more I warmed up. Just like every other time I had made the climb to Sanlinxi, my legs were due to come alive when the climbing started. 



Just before the final 7-11 when the grade gets nasty, I felt something was wrong. My legs were burning up prematurely. It took a minute to figure out what was happening. I was in the midst of an allergy attack. My nose was filling with snot. My eyes watering and the asthma was coming on. 

I couldn't believe it. 

"Asthma attack, now!?" 

I tried to persevere, but finally pulled off the road for a few minutes to pop a Benadryl and break out the inhaler. 

I watched as all those riders I had climbed over to get to where I was, were streaming up the hill ahead of me. I admit, I really hate having to look at some of the jerseys and relished in putting them behind me. 

With my eyes red and blurred by the water from a barrage of sneezing, I leaped on the bike and trudged back into the stream. I could barely see. It was like one of those final fight montages from the Rocky franchise. I was seeing Clubber Lang in double and triple, growling at me in slow motion. 



I heaved and winced as I plodded toward Sitou. I thought about turing back and collecting a DNF. I was a total wreck. 

With Benadryl in my system it was a race against time before the dehydration and cramping set in. I blew my nose into the palm of my cycling gloves and flung it onto the road. Again and again I grossed out the surrounding riders with repeated handfuls of mucous wringing from my right glove. 

I am sure I looked to be in much more difficulty than I was in.

The turn to Sanlinxi arrived and I decided I would keep going and try to beat the Benadryl in my system. 

I felt a lot better and my legs were again turning the pedals in fluid circles. I eased into a rhythm and started attacking the inside corners as the ramps edged up into the cedar forests. I was making up time, but not fast enough. 

I could see the final bend up above before the grade levels off to the peak. My calf had been cramping for a kilometer or two and I was doing my best to wiggle it out without losing momentum.  



As I rounded the corner prepared to turn on the steam for a push to the finish, I realized the finish line was much closer than I had imagined and in a strangely narrow part of the road, rather than a kilometer or two further down the road where things open up. 

I did my best to push a couple hard circles on the crank, but there was no space to make a spectacular finish. 

I arrived at about the same time as my teammate, Dr. Wu, and we decided to continue the two and forever kilometers down the road to the staging area to collect our official times and swag-bags. 



My official time was 2:12:08. Not too bad for my first race of my current comeback. I came in 255th of over 2500 starters and 124th of my age group. Next year I get to compete in the M40 class.

I think I could have shaved several more minutes off the time without the asthma stop. I could have probably shaved a couple-several more minutes off my time with those lost four weeks of training. 

But isn't that the case with cycling. Just a little more training and a little change of circumstance to make all the difference between this time and next time.  

Terry Lin (Caffe Terry) Time: 1:50:12



Watch out, here I come.... Until the next time. 


Photo Courtesy of T-Mosaic