A Whole Lotta Lovely!: Ride and Links

One of the great things about living in Taichung, is the close proximity to the hills. Taichung allows the rider innumerable combinations of hilly routes that sit right above the city. Unlike some other areas of Taiwan, most of these routes offer up the climbs and the scenery, without ever having to backtrack on the way home.



I have done this route dozens of times but it never feels old. I might... but the route never does. This time out I was testing some equipment for a future post and project, and there is no better testing ground that the mixture of high velocity descents, tight corners, distance and heart stopping climbs.

I normally would post on this route as I have so many times in the past, but there is something to be said of the sensation of descending on a well built titanium bike not everyone understands. It allows you to use your hips to fling the bike into the corners as you stomp the outside pedal. It is wonderfully reactive to rider input.

Then, while climbing over the dreaded 136, my body told me to do this route much more often and get used to the heat. The cramps hit like firecrackers. It was a lovely Saturday on the bicycle and it was the type of ride that keeps me scheming for the next adventure.  



Links:

• Over the weekend, Taiwan's Huang Ting-ying on the Women's circuit, took the opening stage of the Tour of Chongming Island in Shanghai. It is remarkable that these incredible Taiwanese cyclists such as Huang and Hsiao Mei-yu and Sally Wang, among others, have been able to accomplish so much in the sport while viewing their bicycles as accessories, like handbags.

• Joshua Samuel Brown has a lengthy piece on how he sees the development of Taiwan's bicycle culture. Lots of familiar tropes and some baffling remarks.

As goes Taipei, so goes Taichung, with other cities around Taiwan following suit. And as go the big cities, so go the smaller towns around Taiwan, thousands of them connected by bicycle-friendly roads, and in many cases dedicated cycling paths.

Readers can assess this one.