Changhua County (100k)

This long weekend could have seen more riding. Instead of riding I spent some time with friends and family.

That isn't to say I didn't get a ride in.

Saturday morning I decided to put in 100k over Bagua Shan and around Changhua to get a sense of how my legs are feeling at the over 50k mark. I've been pretty consistent with my Wednesday 50k TT with averages around 31-32kph for a night course with traffic and lights.

A 50k route is different than a 100k or 160k, and they all require a specific ride plan depending upon your fitness and your goals.

My ride on Saturday lacks the usual pictures as it was hazy and I was busy riding or suffering in the furnace of the Changhua Plain.

I had a few things going against me. The first is that I had lost a lot of sleep with imaginary conversations and concerns from work filling my head to the point of getting only two hours of real sleep each night. Rest is one of the most important factors directly correlating to physical performance. Sadly, it is often the most neglected.

The second issue was the heat. I awoke at 6:00am to suit up and get out the door, but I collapsed in bed again to catch an extra hour. By the time I got out the door I didn't stand a chance. I had forgotten the sunscreen again and made a quick pit-stop at Fen Yuan to baste myself in enough white fluid that I may have been mistaken for the star of a Japanese movie.

The climb up Bagua Shan has a few sections at 10%, but it quickly comes to an end at the Route 139 along the ridge of the mountain. Bagua Shan is tricky because it seems flat, but when you check the Garmin you find that you're pushing a 7% incline. You can quickly wear yourself out. Lots of little rollers to keep busy on.

As I approached the final two kilometers before the descent into Song-bo Ling, I meekly passed a couple of hard looking guys kitted out in fan jerseys. From the looks of things it was Alberto Contador from Saxxo Bank and his minion.

I politely nodded and gave a polite "Good morning!" in Taiwanese, and then I continued at a pretty hot pace around 40kph. As I looked back, I noticed I had a wheelsucker. Mr. Saxxo Bank on his matching Specialized Tarmac was enjoying my draft. Game on!

I kept at it while Mr. Saxxo Bank abandoned his riding buddy to chase me down.

As we got to the hump just before the big drop, he made his move and put four or five bike lengths into me just up to the base of the hill. I then did the same to him on the climb until my cleat popped out. He passed and then I edged him out over the hill before gaining speed for the descent.

A real key to descents and road riding in general is to train yourself to look where you want to end up. Focus on the open spots and the bike will follow. As human beings we are hardwired to focus on objects, but in cycling this often leads to disaster. You gotta look where they ain't.

By the time I finished my descent, I was very much alone again and my scrimmage was over.

The plunge out of the tea district of Song-bo Ling to Er Shui is an absolute rush. I hit 67kph and could have gone faster if the traffic hadn't stopped up on the straightaway. Then the knee ache started in.

I tried to cool it and stretch it. It isn't as bad as before, but annoying.

This led to a final 50k that could only be described as a series of fits and starts. Bursts of speed combined with bursts of .... non-speed. I got a little lost and had to slowly assess my situation, but nothing serious.

The heat was just getting unbearable. A final popsicle provided the fuel I needed to make it home.

It was really a rough day on the bike, but as always... a good day on the bike.

Changhua Schools Make Students Suffer On Bikes Before Graduation

Several Chinese language news outlets were reporting on the cycling event organized by the Changhua Bureau of Education that went horribly awry yesterday when 15 students were admitted to the hospital suffering from symptoms of heat stroke and broken bones.

The Changhua Bureau of Education hosted a cycling event for 2000 junior high school seniors as part of their end of the year activities. The event happened to coincide with one of the hottest days of the year and involved 18km of climbing.

After a few kilometers several of the students began suffering from symptoms of heat stroke and heat exhaustion, while others suffered physical injuries at the result of collisions with other cyclists, and in one case, a student suffered physical injuries after falling from the bike in exhaustion. Fifteen students were admitted to the hospital with one in serious but stable condition.

It takes time to acclimate the body to riding in higher temperatures, and whoever organized this event used poor judgement that hurt some young people. Furthermore, these kids spend way too much time indoors studying (especially junior high school seniors who have been cramming for their exams) and not exercising, so it is no wonder their bones are weak and they buckle during a bike ride. I applaud the idea of promoting cycling for these young people, but proper preparations would have been helpful.

Contractor In A Hole Lot Of Trouble For Tour of Taiwan Mess

In Taiwan, we are used to our public roadways being regularly ripped apart, usually two or three times a year, as the local governments are owned by Taiwan's construction industrial complex and the shady characters who lurk in the grey areas between the "black and white" sides of the law.

Many of these contractors engage in racketeering, bid rigging and more threatening schemes that eliminate competition to ensure any public project will be several times the rate if it had been competitively bid on.

These projects are lucrative to several of the major players in politics, business and organized crime as they allow for overlapping interests to converge and various debts to be paid.

Now, the Taiwan Construction Industrial State threatens to disrupt the Tour of Taiwan.

It is being reported in the CNA and Taiwan Focus that a construction contractor has dug a massive hole in one of the routes scheduled to be used in the sixth stage of the Tour of Taiwan.

The hole is in the middle of the Highway 74-A, which has been in a regular state of construction for well over a year.

According to the article:

"Even if the contractor fills it up soon, the uneven road probably will cause injuries to cyclists," Fang told the Central News Agency.

Police officers who inspected the road conditions for the 136.05 km Tour de Taiwan race said a Taiwan Power Co. contractor had erected a 1-km long barricade on the road and dug a big hole, leaving only half of the road for traffic.

Chang Chueh-fen, a Changua County government official, said local workers had been asked to fill the hole quickly and race organizers were at the scene trying to determine what should be done next.

Well, if anything, the competitors can see what the cycling environment in Taiwan is really like.

Two Sides Of Central Taiwan: Looping The Banks Of The Wu River (65km)

My wife really wanted to get out on the bike to shake off the New Year malaise. She wanted something flat, easy, and not too busy. I just wanted breakfast.

After a long morning of digging up bike clothing and equipment that had been mislaid during Lunar New Year cleaning, which meant it wasn't just lying around in plain sight, we headed out the door to the Early Bird Diner on Chung-ming South Rd.

With my borrowed bike I am without my usual seat bag and so my pockets were bulging with all the things I like to have handy for a ride: Multitool, tire levers, mini-pump, keys, camera, phone, money... etc. I decided not to bring the extra inner tube as it wouldn't be a long ride and I has meticulously put one in my wife's seat bag when she bought the bike. I could just use hers and the probability of two flats in a 65km ride is pretty slim.

Bike Path

After breakfast I decided it would be easier to roll straight down Chung-ming South Rd. to hook up with the Highway 3 out to Nantou.

There is a lovely bicycle path that runs the length of Chung-ming South Road, which is perfect for small children, leisure 2kph rides in circles and neighborhood entertainment.

It serves as the perfect example for how bike paths are not taken seriously in Taiwan. They are not intended to move bicycles as traffic.

This path follows the raised median on a path made of uneven brick. It unnecessarily zigs and zags. There are concrete traffic pillars every block... and it cuts through a pedestrian green space. This is not the type of thing you would use to commute into the city. It is pretty and great for a little fun if you have fat tires and no place to go... but it is in no way a bicycle viaduct that might encourage leaving the car at home.

Caution... for you or for them?

I had been banking on the idea that maybe the traffic on the Highway 3 might be a little less aggressive as it was a weekday and just before noon, when everyone in Taiwan is scheduled to go out and eat.

I was wrong on that count and regretted not taking the more casual route along the 63 viaduct. The traffic from Taichung to Dali to Wufeng was making Joyce nervous. Lots of aggressive bus drivers and guys trying to show off their penis size by driving fast, wild and loud.

Joyce Waits At The Tricky Bridge

Just after Wufeng the insanity in the traffic subsided and the Highway 3 became a pleasant ride.

Happy Rider

At Nantou I was trying to connect to the Highway 14丁 on the Changhua side of the river, but it was not marked very clearly so we had to cross the big bridge to Nantou and then double back to connect up with our road.

Under The Viaduct To Nantou

Despite all the hassle of getting there, the 14丁 is a fantastic road. It offers an up close glimpse into that rustic side of rural Taiwan. It seems every building is in a state of slow motion collapse.

Bridge Over The Wu River

There are fields, rolling hills and Bagua Shan above.

The Apple of Her Eye?

The 14丁 follows right along side the Wu River and its surrounding wetlands. Suddenly you are in a different Taiwan than the clouds of dust and exhaust from the trucks on the Highway 3 side.

Along The River

We followed the road back toward Changhua and passed one small faming community after another.

Local Riders

The 14丁 ends at the market in Fenyuan where we stopped to hydrate and relax. My legs were still tired from the 160 kilometers the day before and I welcomed the chance to sit down.

Waterworks

We continued to casually spin down the road and I was happy to see my Wednesday night ride illuminated by sunlight.

Roadie

Everything seemed to be going right. Joyce was pacing herself and enjoying the ride. I was up ahead looking for pictures.

Bagua Shan

Then I felt my phone vibrate like a phone call. "Uh oh!", I thought.

Wall Art?

It was Joyce on the other end. "I have a flat tire."

I quickly turned around to change the flat. I knew I had everything ready to make a quick tube change and then we could be on our way to get back in time for a meeting with some good friends. We had a reservation at Puzzle Pizza and therefore could not be late. The pizza is too good to lose a reservation.

When I arrived, I opened her seat bag to pull out the inner tube I had meticulously placed into the bag when we bought the bike. Whoops! Empty. I had not double checked the contents of the bag before leaving. We were in the part of the trip between neither here nor there and so we walked ahead to a wood carver shop. The guy at the shop was enthusiastic to help, so I let him take out his patch set and air hose. Unfortunately, the patches were too old to work.

The guy loaned me his scooter to ride back to the closest bike shop. They were closed.

Finally, Joyce called a taxi to come out and pick her up. If you ever need to call a cab, withhold the information about having a bike. Although a modern bike can easily fit in the back of the average taxi, in the mind of the cab driver it is impossible. Once the driver spends the time driving out to pick you up, the idea of collecting a fare on the trip is a much more attractive proposition.

We loaded everything in the taxi and we all thanked Mr. Zhang at the wood carving shop before heading back.

I pumped up the speed and my legs were searing with muscle burn as I hammered at the 52 tooth chainring. The burn lasted for ten minutes before I settled into a good pace home.

The taxi beat me by less than 10 minutes.

Despite the trouble it was still a fun ride.

Moral: Don't Be Stupid and Check Your Shit Before Leaving The House.

Ugh!