Missing Time

A few TiC readers may be aware that I took a bit of a sudden and unannounced hiatus from blogging after the first week of April. I have only just started blogging again. It isn't that there wasn't anything to blog about. A few great stories came and went during that time.

Regretfully, I was unable to write much during that time and I missed some good stuff. Oh well, that's just life-- the life of so many cyclists working to balance employment, family, health, weather and the sport we love. 

Things were looking really promising as I gained strength and stamina during February and March. My speed and recovery times improved dramatically in the weeks of climbing leading up to the Sanlinxi race, where I put in a respectable time for a guy still climbing back from an idle Winter of knee recovery.

The knee.

Every time I think I have it figured out.... it flares up again. I build my fitness up, and just as I start to push myself a little bit harder... it brings me back down to zero. This case of missing time is not related to space aliens, magnetic fields or crop circles. This is entirely about the knee. The goddamnedfucking knee!



On April 7 I embarked on my annual Taichung to Kaohsiung ride in honor of the Paris-Roubaix race. I was joined by Ryan, a fellow expat and a bicycle industry guy.

I felt I could make it as it was a flat route that would simply take a bit of endurance. I've suffered through worse and with all the hill training I had done, I figured I could just spin the crank at an even 32-34kph. In December I had done a pretty strong ride to Tainan, and then another to Kenting the next day. We rode hard both days, so I figured Kaohsiung would be that, plus a few more kilometers.



Ryan and I made pretty good time. We both favor titanium bikes and he is a very strong rider. Small talk chewed away at the hours and we felt pretty confident we could make it as long as we kept consuming caffeine and calories.



At one point I lost energy for about 20min. as there was a gap in my fuel intake.... whoops! I still felt pretty good. A little itchy in my calf as a lingering effect from the Sanlinxi race.



Just after Tainan my knee started to feel a little "fuzzy" and then achy. I was less than 50km from our destination and fought on despite the soreness.

We circled around the Zuoying HSR Station, like the velodrome in Roubaix. We were tired, but in pretty good spirits. We had made it in about 9 hours, which is a pretty typical time for experienced riders. Not bad. Done. In the bag.



I then had commitments from work that filled the next sunny day. I was really swamped with work anyway, so no blogging. It seemed all the days when the weather was nice enough to ride, I had commitments. On the days I had reserved for riding... torrential rain. This continued for eight weeks.



By the time I finally got onto the bike, my knee started to hurt after 50km. I limped home. I rested and stretched, and hoped for an improvement.



I joined Michael and Dom for a short ride a week or two later, and I had a flare up. 



I limped home and tried more ice and rest. 



I knew I had a ride up Wuling planned, so I rested and then delicately tried out the knee with a lower saddle height. 



I went out to search Bagua Shan for some hidden roads and found an amazing little climb. Some of the back roads were too slick and I was forced into the dirt to avoid a crash. 



I tried to rest and do my Wednesday night climb. 



Then hoped for the best on Hohuan Shan. Hope doesn't heal knees. To make matters worse, my camera broke and I am stuck using my iPhone, which isn't exactly the machine best suited for blog inspiring shots. 



This is when I decided to do a refitting and possibly get to the root of my problem and stop treating the symptoms. I am tired of missing time doing the things I love. 

Paris-Roubaix Tribute Ride: Taichung to Kaohsiung (240km)

For many cyclists the second Sunday of April does not represent the death and purported resurrection of a Jewish prophet, who will redeem the believers and relieve them from suffering. Instead, this date marks a different tradition, one in which its adherents use a cobbled roadway dating from the Roman era as a blunt instrument to inflict the maximum amount of suffering a cyclist can endure. Yes, it was Paris-Roubaix weekend all over again and I decided to craft my own homage to the fabled Hell of the North with a 240km ride from Taichung to Kaohsiung.

Looking for Lukang

My goal was to follow the tradition of Paris-Roubaix, and complete a point to point ride in a similar distance at the Queen of the Classics.

Paris-Rubaix is usually run on a 250-260km route from Paris the velodrome in Roubaix, Belgium. The uneven cobbled roads are legendary for shaking riders and their gear to pieces.

Although I have hardly trained, I felt well enough to give it a go and casually made plans to hit the Highway 17 South to Kaohsiung. I did this ride two years ago, but missed last year due to injury.

Erlin Prison

My plans almost immediately went awry. First, my camera stopped working. Then I took a construction detour in Yuanlin that landed me away from my planned route to Lukang, where I had anticipated hooking up with the Highway 17.

I could feel I was going away from my intended destination and stopped to ask directions. Nobody in Taiwan ever seems to have a clue regarding directions and often the obvious signs are absent, so I found myself meandering through Changhua County.

"Does this road head toward the Highway 17?", I would ask. "Yeah, just go straight." This conversation on three occasions led me to a T intersection.

To make matters worse, I was pedaling into a headwind. Talk about panic setting in.

As I blindly swiped at possible roads, led only by intuition, I was increasingly aware of how much time I was wasting and how much energy it was costing me to fight against the wind in a desperate search for a corridor to the coast.

I ended up spending 3 hours meandering around Changhua County trying to find the Highway 17. When I finally found it, I realized I would be fighting a steady headwind from the SE. I remember when I looked at the weather forecast, the prediction was for a wind from the NNW. I wondered if I had misread the information, and if it meant the wind was blowing TOWARD the NNW.

Now, this was bad. Not only had I wasted valuable time and energy making little progress in Changhua, but I would also be moving at a mere 25kph.

Yes, I cursed this situation aloud. I even thought of turning tail at the Zhoushui River. For some reason, maybe stubbornness and the fact that I had already posted my intentions on Facebook, I got in a tuck and lurched my way southward.

Zhoushui River

The Paris-Roubaix was dubbed the "Hell of the North" by the race organizers following a reconnaissance tour of the route following World War I. The devastation that had ravaged the French and Belgian countryside was enough to conjure visions of Hell.

Blight

Taiwan's western seafront along the Highway 17 could also be compared to a vision of Hell.

This is the proverbial carpet under which all the unsightly things in Taiwan have been swept. It is a desolate landscape of decaying infrastructure, smoldering industry-scape and the resulting eyesore of brothels, cheap motels and lurid KTV joints. The entire route between Yunlin and Tainan is a flat, windswept wasteland of rubble along with the piles upon piles of discarded oyster shells. There are mounds and stacks of shells dotting the entire area, some neatly bundled, others scattered in heaps.

This is by no means a scenic route.

Guy Shooting Rockets For Me

My legs were already burning by the 100k mark. I wondered if I had gotten myself in over my head again.

Then, at just around the fishing port of Budai, I was passed by a temple procession.

One little blue truck with three guys in the back passed me and they shouted a cheer for me. I saw the fat guy in the back frantically groping for something and I worried he might be getting ready to throw firecrackers out the back to wake me up.

I could see a puff of blue smoke as he lit a red box of rockets and I braced myself for the coming onslaught of exploding projectiles.

It wasn't an attack, but instead it was a cheerful salute as they rooted for me to keep going.

I looked down at my Garmin and I was cooking at 23mph.

Flooded Tombs

Shells

The wind had shifted to the NNW direction and I was rolling along making good time.

The temple flags confirmed that I would be finishing my ride with the wind at my back, soI settled back into the drops and blasted through Tainan.

Tainan City seems to last forever.

You know you're in Tainan when you the only hills you encounter are where bridges have been built to traverse the rivers and canals that cut into the pancake-flat plain.

Tainan Canal

Biking through Tainan I had more cheers of support from passing drivers. It really gave me a jolt of energy.

Oceanfront Bike Trail in Tainan

When I finally rolled into Kaohsiung, it was still earlier than I had anticipated. I was feeling ok, but clearly at the end of my riding day.

Kaohsiung

Before long I had my bike bundled up and was on the HSR to Taichung. I usually get business class because it affords more space for my bike behind the last row of seats. When I went to retrieve my bike, I noticed some asshole had put their luggage on my derailleur. There was plenty of space for it in the luggage compartment and in the cargo space above the seats. Totally stupid and unnecessary.

I sipped a coffee and let my legs decompress.

Bike, Stroller, Baby, Bag

I was back in Taichung in time to grab dinner and watch the real Paris-Roubaix. I felt better than when I did this ride two years ago. I have more miles in the legs with a new bike. I found I could ride in the drops longer and I took fewer breaks. I just wish I had been able to be in better condition. I have only one one other ride this year that was over 100mi.

I guess it was a good day of punishment.

Walking Dead

A Spring Classic: Taichung to Kaohsiung--158mi/254km

Route: Highway 17 to Kaohsiung

Distance: 158 miles / 254 kilometers

Time: 9:11:21

Average Speed: 17.1mph / 27.5 kph

Wind: NW / South

The original plan had been a Paris-Roubaix tribute ride in honor of the Spring Classics. I decided I should do a ride of a similar length and flat terrain. Kaohsiung was the perfect destination. I was sold on the idea and made it my project for April.

"Fuck, I'm going to Kaohsiung!" I said aloud as I was only about 300 meters from my front door. The streets were still wet and I could feel a tenderness in my upper calf muscle, an overuse injury from a month of preparation. I had on my yellow backpack full of granola bars, bananas, a light change of clothes, cash, bike bag, peanuts, cranberries, Tylenol, Benadryl and a back-up mini-pump in case my CO2 cartridges failed again. I was wearing a new set of Assos bibs and rolling on new tires. I had been far more focused the week before, but the injury had filled my head with doubt. "Kaohsiung, fuck!", I growled under my breath.

The Coast

I was feeling fast and I had refreshed the ipod with enough new songs to keep me pleasantly surprised. Everything seemed to be moving in fast motion. This was the third time I had taken this route in a month and all the familiar landmarks were passing by sooner than anticipated.

As I hit the bridge to Changhua around 6:30am, the foggy morning light erupted with a loud ripping noise. I looked around to see what was going on. Off to my right a giant plume of white smoke billowed up from behind the river. About three dozen green and white flashes filled the sky. "Now I have to do it, if they're letting off rockets for me", I thought to myself. It was too perfect.

I am sure there is a way to interpret good luck into this... there always is.

I made excellent time to Lukang and I was in Yunlin County about the time I started waking up. The sun never really came out and it was one of those days that was perpetually morning... and felt like it. Everything was spinning so well my speed remained steady hovering between 34 and 36kph (21-23mph). I kept trying to dial it back as it was going to be a long day, but it just wasn't in my comfort zone so I just let my body tell me what speed was right. Every hour or so I would stick food in my mouth, but I really didn't want to eat anything.

Wetlands

The area south of Mailiao is a wasteland of dilapidated concrete and brick buildings, used and disused fish and oyster pools, makeshift talking bars, and unfinished mega-temples. I don't recall seeing a single finished temple without huge sections of exposed concrete. The streets are lined with bales and stacks of grey and white oyster shells. Most of these small towns appeared to only be inhabited by little men with pipe-cleaner builds, oversized shorts and a limp. The coast of Taiwan seems to be where all the rough edges from all of Taiwan are collected and neglected. The townships and counties just throw a plastic tarp over these places and wish them away. There are few gas stations or convenience stores, so if you want to take this route be sure to bring extra water and food.

Fishermen

Every bridge doubled as a fishing platform and there was no shortage of folks relaxing in the roadway waiting for their catch. I was still keeping my speed up but my leg injury flared up as I had feared. The area behind my calf was in pain and an occasional shock of pain would shoot through my knee. I changed my foot position to the most comfortable position to pedal without aggravating my injury. I pointed my toe down slightly and managed the ache as well as I could. My mind raced for escape routes and I decided the best one would be the HSR station in Kaohsiung. A little nagging soreness wouldn't be enough to slow me down.

Southbound and Down, Loaded up and Truckin'

I was soon on top of my fastest century ride to date. I hit 100 miles in 4.9 riding hours and about 6 hours total. I was in Tainan county by 12:00pm. The scenery was still a desolate collection of mud puddles and brown wetlands. Between townships an occasional canal would creep inland to give me a bridge to cross or a little hill to climb. The most interesting part of Tainan county were the shrines along the road (which I didn't get a picture of). Many of the people who live along the southern coast are the ancestors of plains aborigines and they have incorporated many of their traditional religious practices into contemporary life. These ex-aborigines may not know their beliefs have a root in Austronesian Taiwan, but if you take a closer look at these shrines you will notice how different they are from Hoklo style shrines.

Canals

My neutral NW breeze turned into an annoying headwind after the town of Budai, but at least my leg pain had disappeared. I don't know whether it had abated or if I just failed to acknowledge it. After I had completed 100 miles I dialed it back a bit. I realized I was pacing myself too fast and needed to conserve energy. I also needed to pee a lot more. I made more potty stops on the final third of the ride than I have ever taken. My taste for granola bars and gels had begun to wane as well.

After a while more and more inland canals announced I was in Tainan city. I had to stop for a coffee and another pee. I am so non-pro... I just will not piss myself to save time. I stopped at a 7-11 but they didn't have coffee or a restroom. I stopped at another, but their restroom was closed because some jerk-off had crapped in the urinal and the poor clerk was getting paid NT80 per hour to scoop poo out of a urinal with a plastic soup spoon. The scene was revolting (and so I thought I would share it). I had to continue for another 15 minutes to find a suitable place to pee and then enjoy a Fin sport drink and a large coffee. I was really getting tired. I had just been driving a fast pace and by Tainan I was paying the price.

Tainan Beachfront

I seriously dialed back to 17-18mph and enjoyed the Tainan beachfront. I hadn't been out there in 12 years and it was nice to see that they cleaned it up and added a bike path. In Taiwan a bike path often means a pedestrian road with bikes pained on it where people can walk dogs and kids can hang out eating hot dogs and fish balls while blocking the way. Tainan was no different. After 5 minutes on the bike path I was back on the road.

Shrimp Pots in Taiwan

The Bike Trail

Kaohsiung

Something happens between Tainan and Kaohsiung. Tainan always feels very alive, electric, friendly and vivid... like an amusement park without the rides. As soon as you slip over to Kaohsiung county the mood changes to become more cool, muted and subdued. It is not necessarily bad, but a totally different feeling. I must say that when I first visited Kaohsiung a dozen years ago, it was a total shithole. Today it is a completely different city. It is still cool and subdued, but it is pretty with wide avenues and real public space. It is the polar opposite of Taipei. Taipei is cold, gloomy, heartless and filthy. Kaohsiung always feels like that moment of quiet contentment when you realize you are waking up in the morning, but your alarm hasn't gone off yet... if that makes any sense to anyone.

Design Inspired By A 1962 National Geographic

I slid into Kaohsiung and followed the signs to the High Speed Rail. It was not going to be long enough and so I passed it and tried not to get lost for 15 miles until I could get close enough to my original goal of 160 miles. I finally made my way to the station, disassembled my bike and took the escalator to get tickets. It was 4:24 in the afternoon and I had been on the bike for over 9 hours. I realized the station I had gone to was the local MRT train and not the HSR. Whoops! I trained it one more stop and was on the train to Taichung exactly 12 hours after I stepped out my front door. By 6:50pm I was back in Taichung.

Hooray!

If you want to go south there are prettier routes. A lot of cyclists like the Highway 17 because there are fewer stop lights. It was a fun physical test and I was pretty comfortable the entire way down. I keep thinking that Kenting isn't too far out of reach. Maybe next time. I am happy to make this my own little Spring Classic. Fabien Cancellara beat me by 2 hours and 35 minutes... with a cobblestone handicap. So, I was the official winner of the Hell of the East, the Taichung-Kaohsiung classic. Good enough for me. Damn I am tired today.

I Made It!