Weekend Racing, Riding, Reporting and Links!!!

This weekend will be the 2011 running of the Hualien -Taitung-Hualien 380km road race. There will also be an amateur race that is a mere 300km, along with a ride for weekend duffers who just want to enjoy the scenery. Good Luck!

In other racing news, the Taiwan Cultural Portal has a pretty detailed write-up of this year's Tour of Taiwan. Lots of stuff to read here beyond bikes.

July 3, The Taiwan Urban Athletic Association will hold its, Alishan Extreme Challenge, in which participants are required to pedal to 2100m above sea level amid Taiwan's awesome mountain peaks.

This contest is divided into two groups- self-challenge and athlete. Participants can not only challenge your strength but also appreciate the magnificent mountains. The contest also combines energy station, concept of safety timekeeping, TUAA finish commemorative cards, etc.

The concept of timekeeping means not to count the time, spent on downhill, for contestants’ safe sake. As for, energy station is for contestants to regain their strength and for audience to cheer up challengers.

Registration period is until May 16. Anyone must considerate his/ her physical condition before joins in the event and must take enough physical training! For further information, please visit the organizer’s website: HERE

Alishan is a beautiful area to ride.

And Finally...

I took my Salsa in to switch out some of the stock parts with some old favorites and have a better fitting done. I switched out the Salsa Moto Ace Bell Lap bars for Deda Newtons, like my Seven. I switched the disc rotors between the Avid BB7 and the Shimano disc brakes. I will use the stock Salsa Delgado wheels as off-road/abuse wheels, while the custom built DT Swiss/Chris King wheels will be my standard touring/commuting wheel. Most importantly, I replaced the stock bottom bracket with the Shimano Ultegra bottom bracket, which was 1.5 times heavier. Not to be a weight weenie... but I brought the total weight (including pedals) down from 24lbs to about 22lbs. Note: Cheap bottom brackets are often the cause of mystery bike weight... if that matters to you. At 22lbs, I am not concerned. The bike is looking good and is a lot of fun to just ride around on.

---------------------------------------

Links:

• Cycling in Hawaii goes viral. And not in a good way.
• Bike commuting in decline. Are friendlier cities the answer?
• The UK mulls laws against cycling like an asshole. (Caution: Much of the report is in "English")
• Oriental Cyclists (Not what you think).
• More From The Silk Road.
• If you are on the market for a road bike, check out VeloNews for their buyer's guide.

Tour of Taiwan Wraps Giving Austrian Eibeggar The Win

Austrian, Markus Eibeggar walked away with the Tour of Taiwan GC title after coming back from behind in the 9 stage race.

This year's race ended on Yangmingshan for a little more of a finale, where Eibeggar found his legs and the win over his teammate.

Taiwan's top finisher, Huang Hsin-hua, finished 25th overall and the Aussie team Drapac Professional Cycling won the team classification as a little gift for David on Formosa.

Now if only they'd come up with a more original winner's jersey. The gold jersey outside the TdF is kind of cliche.

Trade Shows, Prologues and Weekend Links

Iced Latte at Warehouse 185

My weekend riding was pretty much a wash. I rode the La Cruz "The Moose" for a little bit on Saturday, and took the Seven up to Dakeng on Sunday. The leg issue is still a rehab assignment in progress, where I can ride for several kilometers without issue and then things get painful. When the pain sets in I'll so dome stretching and I'll be fine for a while longer... and repeat. So, I climbed two-thirds the way up to the CKS Campground and enjoyed a descent nice enough to put a smile on my face. I then cooled my knee at the 185 Warehouse cafe with James Murray, the sales manager there.

In other Taiwan related bike news...

• The Taipei International Cycle Show wrapped up with mixed reviews. I guess it depends upon which end of cycling you're from. Sabinna from Cycling Satin Cesena and Primavera Cycles loved the colors, lights and the collection of the entire supply chain under one roof. OzSoapbox was a little less excited by a show that is more geared toward industry wonks rather than the consumer. Still, I think I could get excited about bamboo bikes.
• The Tour of Taiwan is now well underway with the South Korean, Park Sung-baek, taking the first stage (I'm sure he cheated *wink!*), after the prologue was taken by the Aussie, Adam Phelan. It appears Taiwan's government is shilling for TOEIC standardized testing by requiring a TOEIC certificate to serve as an official translator for the Tour of Taiwan.