Hammering Hills: Route 88, Highway 21 and Route 136

Nanyang Rd.

Sunday was another day of hill climbing. I have been gradually extending my rides and making them more difficult. One constant in my weekly riding schedule has been, and will continue to be, hill climbing. It is the first thing to go when you're not training and it is a really great way to get the lungs and the legs back from the dead. I decided today I was going to push my limits a little bit and ride some of my favorite local routes.

Bike Trail

I started out with a warm-up pace into Fengyuan. My Garmin was misbehaving, so I lost the complete info for my ride. It had me riding along a 246% grade from Taichung to Fengyuan.

I did happen to ride one of Taichung's bike trails in Fengyuan City. I would rather ride the cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix.

Colorful Tower

From Fengyuan City I turned up the Local Route 88 a.k.a. Nanyang Rd. which peaks in Longjing, a higher summit than simply taking the Route 129. Even at 8:00am the heat was unbearable.

Looking Down the Route 88

Route 88 is a really nice climb, but a better descent as a couple of the ramps registered 20% grades. The pain is over soon enough and the road levels off high above the city.

Sky Rider... A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man... who does not exist.

I bombed down to Route 93 at about 65kph. and stopped for some coffee with several other local cyclists at the great big 7-11.

Route 93 has a lovely technical descent down to Zhonghe Village and out to the junction with Highway 21 and the route over Baimao Shan (White Whisker Mountain).

Up The 21

The Highway 21 is one of my all time favorite roads. It makes a nice climb with the most scenic views or Heping Township, a largely Atayal indigenous area of northern Taichung.

View Near Top

The highest point on the mountain is 2808ft. but it is not a terrible ascent. I actually settled in to a nice rhythm all the way to the little cafe at the top, where I thought an iced coffee would do me right in that kind of heat.

I also had to stock up on water seeing as I had left a full bottle of water back at the 7-11 earlier and had to climb with nothing but backwash in my bottle.

Rest Stop

I was soon blasting down the other side on one of the greatest descents... EVER!

It is not uncommon to keep speeds around 60kph all the way down. The only real drag were all the hotshot riders on their Big Bikes (motorcycles). If those fuckers are so Lihai/厲害 (skilled), then why can't they stay in their lanes. Share the fucking roads guys. Share the fucking roads. I mean it!

Sorry, but really...

Iced Coffee

As I rolled through Guoxing I was facing a pretty good headwind. This made my enjoyment quotient on the Highway 14 plummet. I hate that road when it is windy. It just becomes too much work for that type of flat roller of a Highway. I then decided to take the Route 136 back over the mountain. This meant a third climb over 2000ft. for the day. The temperature was a broiling 40C/104F, but it sure beat a headwind.

The Other Side Of The 136

I pedaled squares all the way to the summit. It was agony. I was ready for a speedy descent. It was fine at first as I sliced my way through hairpin corners and dug into banked turns... until I was hugging the rear end of a Toyote Previa van. It was a slow coaster the rest of the way down.

I was beat. I had pushed myself to my limits and that was fine with me. This will make me stronger and take me one step closer to my goal of getting back to and surpassing my prior state of fitness.

I got home and cleaned up before flopping on the couch. Within minutes both inner quad muscles severely cramped up leaving me in agony for several minutes, frozen in the contortions of pain.

Strangely, my legs feel lively and energetic. I don't feel like I beat them to a pulp.

What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger.

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Taichung Ups and Downs

I found a little more time than usual yesterday, so I decided to look for a better hill training route.

I am still trying to build back up to a place where I can charge up the hills and have plenty of gas left for some speed on the flats and a sprint home. I would also like to do a few more hill century rides like these. Here, Here.

I figured I would have enough time to do an evening of climbing and get home in time for dinner.

I left along Wu Chuan West Rd. and through the Industrial Park. This makes a nice little climb through the back gate of the Tunghai Market and over to Taichung Harbor Rd. This is a better climb with less traffic than simply charging up Taichung Harbor Rd.

I then prudently bombed down the Highway 12 into Shalu. I had to slow down a little and remember how the roads worked. I wanted to go directly into Ching Shui and not back up the Highway 10.

The Highway 12 splits at the Highway 10 junction and, with some traffic heroics, you can make another easy descent into Ching Shui. At the southern end of Ching Shui, at the back of the town, you can go up on the Highway 10乙. This is a fun little ascent with a 5% grade. It has some switchbacks and some straight climbs. The Highway 10乙 goes past the Taichung Airport and links to the regular Highway 10, which goes directly into Daya.

I turned off to Highway 10 to go up to the Taichung Municipal Park. This is an excellent little climb with some flat sections on the top to spin the lactic acid out of the legs. The road ends at the highest reaches of Hsitun (Xitun) Rd. with a fantastic descent off the top if you can get it free of traffic. Hsitun/Xitun is narrow and packed with vehicles. Lots of fun, but dangerous.

I would normally turn on Wenxin Road, but I needed to stop by Mosaic and make one tiny adjustment. I left the Garmin on... whoops! Then I went home on Huiwen Rd.

It was a really nice way to shake up the legs a bit and get back into sustained climbing. i highly recommend this route for anyone in Taichung who is looking for a short, hilly training loop.

Tour de France and Some Taiwan Cycling Events

Michael Cannon Astride His Speedone

This weekend kicks off the 98th edition of the Tour de France, the peak of the professional cycling calendar. After last year's bore fest I am not looking forward to it as much as I was the Giro. With Alberto Contador riding with a vengeance following his positive test for clenbuterol and the doping ban he has hanging in legal limbo, I am just hoping the Schlecks from Team Leppard (Yes, I know.) or some brighter dark horses can make Contador and his Saxo Bank comrades work a little harder for le Malliot Jaune.

Honestly, after watching the Spanish rider eat up the competition in the Giro d'Italia, I wish everyone luck.

Tour de France:

Brought to you in part by EPO.

VeloNews has a stage by stage breakdown and Contador to be, what Professional Wrestling might describe as the Foil of this Tour. MSNBC chimes in on why Contador sucks.

Cavendish is going green.

BIG George make his 16th Tour appearance.

Cervelo will use the TdF to unveil their new carbon fiber S5. According to Cervelo's new marketing literature, the "S" stands for Supercalifragalisticexpialadocious.

Official TdF page.

Meat Is Murder! David Zabriskie of Garmin-Cervelo hopes to use Tour results to tout the benefits of the vegan lifestyle.

Despite his retirement and an aggressive doping investigation leveraged against him, Lance Armstrong keeps busy at shoring up his golden image.

Cycling Tips keeps tabs of the incestuous relationship between media and sport.

Tour de France viewing online can be found HERE.

Taiwan Events:

The TUAA Alishan Challenge is this weekend. Good Luck! I wish I could join.

The Iilan Road Bike Race will also take place 7/2/2011.

Bikeman's July Events Calendar (Chinese)

Never Stop Wuling Challenge 8/21/2011 (More events listed in Chinese)

Wheels Of Knowledge: Kaohsiung College Offers Credit For Biking

The National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology (NKFUST) Dept. of Liberal Arts and Humanities is offering a course entitled, Bicycle Theory and Practice, with the aim of teaching social awareness and cultural understanding, while teaching a practical set of skills.

According to the course instructor, Tsai Hsin-chieh, the university has provided several free bicycles for students to ride around campus. Tsai would like to combine the school's goals with the concept of bikes and provide a course to better integrate the school's aims for its students.

Professor Tsai's plan requires students to "adopt" two bikes on campus with the course which is divided into three parts: (1) maintainance- which involves fixing school bikes. (2) Teaching students how to ride safely. (3) Planning a bike route. The students are required to plan a ride around the island of Hsiao Liu-chiu 小琉球 at the end of the semester as their final exam for this course.

Students are also required to record a journal of their experiences.

Tsai hopes that through taking action on their bikes, his students can better combine theory and practice in a more practical manner and help to better their community as well.

..............

Yes, I like making up excuses to get paid to do what I like doing in my free time as well.

Also:

• As The World Terns: Josh Hon talks about a rift in the family.
• Seattle Police Department bike patrol stands up for nose-less saddle.

Taiwan's Bicycle Tourism... What's Next?

Joyce Enjoys Riding The Roads

Jack Becker, the Director of the 2012 Velo-City Conference, is in town to attend the Bicycle-Environment Friendly City Conference at the Chung-hua University in Hsin-chu, where he presented on cycling tourism. Check his blog for some early impressions: HERE

This got me thinking of a little something I just read from Ryan Anderson over at Savage Minds, the Anthropology blog. Anderson writes:

I often wonder about the future of places like Las Vegas, Cancun, and Nakheel, especially since many international organizations (like the UNWTO) promote tourism development as a sustainable, surefire solution for socio-economic development. What will Vegas–or Cancun–look like in 100 years? What purpose will these places serve, and how sustainable will they actually be in the long run?

Many countries around the world continue to promote and finance ever more tourism development, in hopes that these investments will create long-lasting social and economic benefits. At least, that’s how the narrative goes. But what kinds of social spaces and places are being created under the guise of tourism, and what futures do these places face? What are the lasting social, political, and economic effects of these spaces?

Yes, what will become of these tourism bikeways and their infrastructure once the Chinese have biked them and gone home?

• Taiwan's government now offers a downloadable e-book to help tourists and cyclists navigate Taiwan. I fear this will be ripe for misuse, but hope it could be of help.

Also:

Congrats to all the RAAM finishers and competitors. Still, you're no Jure Robic!

Taichung Bike Routes: Central Taiwan's Best Officially Designated Bike Routes

Joyce Enjoys Weekend Riding On The Hou-Feng Trail

Here are a few of the most popular bike trails and routes around Taichung City. I will let you draw your own conclusions.

Taichung City Bike Routes

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Hou-Feng Trail

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Nantun River Route

Bike route 1071598 - powered by Bikemap

Taichung Industrial District Route

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Hou Zhuang Rail Road Route

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Ya-Tan Trail

在較大的地圖上查看【自行車道】潭雅神自行車道

The Call Of The Route 136

Off The Alternate Route 6

As I start rebuilding my strength and stamina, I keep looking for rides that will stress my body to the point of adapting and improving. I have been working in my regular weekday rides and doing some weekend rides that are deliberate in that they focus on jump-starting my fitness without wasting time or inducing another injury.

Of course, working these rides into my schedule is becoming more and more of a challenge. I had a bunch of family obligations this weekend, so I planned two shorter morning rides for Saturday and Sunday. Sadly, this weekend we had a passing typhoon dump a bunch of rain on Saturday and so I moved that ride over to Sunday as it was the more challenging of the two.

I decided to ride the storied Route 136 from Taichung to Caotun and back... over the hills.

The ride is a magnet for area riders as it is known for its unforgiving ramps and grades in the high teens. It is also a beautiful ride.

The Route 136 leads out of Taichung City through Taiping, where not a soul has ever taken a driving lesson. The High Life at the edge of town acts as the official point of departure where Terry from Caffe Terry starts his Route 136 Time Trial.

The road then undulates up through Toubienkeng and into the hillsides, which are covered in fruit farms and Long Yen (Dragon Eye Fruit) trees. Dogs lazily smother fleas on the hot tarmac and in the summer the sound of cicadas can be deafening.

Who Is A Ga Ga Fan?

I headed out of the city near Warner Village Mall, where I found a student waiting in line for the Lady Ga Ga ticket give away. Rumor has it that Lady Ga Ga will be performing in Taichung, Taiwan's third largest city... for free. If this is true it smacks of politics, I swear!

The 136

The highest point of the Route 136 sits over 2300ft and it is often referred to by local cyclists as "The Fence", for its vertical nature and its ability to create a natural division between Taichung and Nantou County. A cyclist can either climb the fence or go around.

The Lower Sections

I had my coffee at the 7-11 near the High Life and pushed myself up the fence. I saw Team Caffe Terry pass while I was sipping my drink, but I had no intention of trying to catch them. I wanted everything in the tank for my ascent. I was actually making pretty good time on the lower sections. The bike felt perfect.

Near the notorious and poorly named Bat Hole, I slowed for a rolling picture and a couple riders came up from below. I deferred and they gave me space to join them. I stayed for a few minutes, but then I felt strong enough to push off the front and they disappeared into the jungle below.

View Of Taichung

I burned a lot of matches on the way up. The ramps 3/4 of the way up, combined with the steamy conditions following a night of rain, made it rough going. I was pushing a 39 to 27 cog and the extra torque was really making me work for it.

Then, I was at the top. I had remembered one more climb ahead, but it wasn't there. It had taken 55 minutes, but not over an hour as I had feared.

Party Time

At the top there were several cyclists hanging out, chatting and hydrating. I saw several more descend as I was climbing. There would be waves of riders arriving all morning. Vendors will drive up to the top and sell drinks and snacks to thirsty riders. The place is like a hang-out.

Fun On The 136

Looking Out At Taichung City

Jimmy Flies To The Top

About 10 minutes later my riding parter from the lower reaches of the hill was making his final push to the top. He had jettisoned the fellow he had been riding with and made the ascent solo.

Astro Engineering

Jimmy is an engineer for Astro Engineering, a bicycle company, and he was trying out their gear.

The Other Side

I didn't stay long as I already had a full day planned with an Anti-Drooling Ceremony for my nephew, so I headed down the back side toward Caotun.

The descent was a a thrill ride. The roads on the eastern side of the hill were mainly dry, save for several of the juicy corners that were wet and covered in slippery betel pulp, which took some of the thrill out of the ride.

One Day I Will Get A Picture That Shows Exactly How Ridiculous This Really Looks

All too soon it was over and I was making good time back to Taichung on the Highway 14.

Pastoral Taiwan

I decided to take the prettier detour on the Route 6, which is the alternate from the Highway 14.

As I entered Taichung on the Highway 3, a fire was raging in Nantun. The last thing I needed was to breathe a bunch of smoke. I tried to duck under the plume by getting nearer to its source. Before long I was rolling back home. My legs were tired and I know I have a long way to go. But I felt like I had made a giant step to getting back to riding the way I want to be riding.

The 136 is a challenge every cyclist in Taichung should do at least once. I know I will be doing it more regularly as I regain my form and fitness.

Fire

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