Thursday Night Fights (Video)

Each Thursday night I like to attack Dadu Shan, the hill overlooking Taichung City, and work a little on climbing and bike handling.

Some riders don't like riding in Taichung during the day, let alone at night.

I really enjoy it. With lights, you can see cars and drivers can better see you.

This particular route goes from Wu Chuan West Rd. to the Taichung Industrial Park, and then through the back door of the Tung-hai Market. I then cut across Taichung Harbor Rd. and hit Art/International Street, before coming down Xitun Rd. and back onto Wen Xin.

I normally complete the loop in just over 45min. but I was taking it easy and thus I thought I could get some video.

Evening Ride: 5/24/2010 (72kph)

I had a pretty good night ride tonight. I saw an opportunity between rain storms to get a good ride in and took it. Hopefully Wednesday will pan out as well and I can get a few more hills in my legs for the month.

I put in a faster time today than last time and the new cleat position is beginning to pay dividends in conserving energy. I still need to build up a little more strength in my hips for the new position, but it feels great.

My climb was averaging 14mph (22kph). I felt pretty good about that. Maybe a little less energy than I wanted, but the climb also comes before I really have a chance to warm the leg up.

The big improvement came in my descent. I know the hill and where the manhole covers are, so I can hit it with more confidence. When I can be sure no cars will cross my path I can really open it up. That is just about 72kph and I still had a little more in the legs for that.

My fight down Hsitun Rd. stayed in the mid 20's (40's) and the sprint down Wenxin edged the 30's (50's). I think I held back a little at the end. Shame on me. Now I feel much better and can face the rest of the week.

Night Loop: 5/24/2010

Night Loop: 5/13/2010

New Numbers

New Numbers for the Night:

Tonight I beat my old time on the "Night Loop" by 2 min. to 40.34min. My slowest climbing speed rose from 10mph to 12mph. Average 15mph. My descent was steady at 41mph. My sprint maxed out at 33mph.

I just felt really good on the bike. I thought I would experiment with lower tire pressure as suggested in the article below. Everything felt tight and right. I felt I was in good position all around and every minute was a tooth gritting scrap for turf. The roughest part was the lantern festival on Wen xin Rd. Talk about chaos.

Oh! This is the second time I have done this route entirely in the big ring.