Severe Weather and Taiwan Roads

My evening training rides have been pretty well scrapped for the week. Tantalizingly gorgeous mornings of sunshine have routinely deteriorated into afternoons of rain and drizzle.

I know it is only rain, and I don't mind it so much if I in in the middle of a ride and the skies open up, but the roads in Taiwan are just too unpredictable to risk a night ride on wet roads. After three days of riding in Taiwan I lost count of the number of near "incidents" I had. There are just too many surprises to worry about on wet roads to make riding in the rain worthwhile.

If people didn't drive like assholes, then maybe... but until then I will pass.

So, until it clears up a bit, by fitness will decrease. Eh!

Bike Insurance: How Much Would You Pay For A Little Piece OF Mind?

The China Post is reporting that one insurer has begun issuing insurance policies for bicycles. The policies provided by Taiwan Insurance will cover accidental damage, loss, theft and personal injury.

This is a wonderful development as I tried to see if I could insure my own bike when I bought it three years ago. At the time I was told that it was impossible to insure unless the bike could have a registration number and it could not be insured under any other policy.

The bicycle insurance that is being offered by Taiwan Insurance can be purchased from NT 1295 to NT 6000, depending upon the value of the bike and other coverage.

There IS only one catch....

The policy must be purchased along with another insurance plan offered by the company. This may be a great idea if you are a cyclist who is currently in the market for an insurance policy, but possibly too prohibitively costly for just the bicycle insurance. Now, if you are an avid cyclist who often takes risks with a very expensive bike, the offer might be worth buying some additional insurance. You might actually feel comfortable leaving your beloved steed parked at the World Gym.

Fall Quarter Will Start Without The Professor: Laurent Fignon (1960-2010)

Known in the sport as The Professor for his scholarly eyewear, Laurent Fignon, the two time Tour de France winner lost his battle with cancer at the age of 50.

Fignon was also known for his tactical skill and finesse in a race. Although Fignon won two Tours, he will likely be remembered for the one he narrowly in an epic duel with Greg Lemond during the 1989 Tour de France, which came down to an 8 second difference between the two riders, and remains the narrowest of Tour victories ever recorded.

Although he lost the Tour de France in 1989, he did manage to pick up the Maglia Rosa in the 1989 Giro de Italia and win dozens of other races.

Au Revoir Laurent!

Guide Of The Century: How To Prepare For A Century Ride

Due to work and other commitments, I often have to save up my serious riding for weekends and that often means as much time on the bike as possible. The result has been dozens of century rides under my belt as I seek new and different places to visit or different ways to test my body. Putting down 100 miles in a day has become a pretty common feat, though the mystique of the "Century Ride" remains. There is something rewarding about seeing the odometer flip to the triple digits, and now I am training (weather permitting) to double that in a day's ride.

With all the long rides I post, a number of people have contacted me about my preparations for completing a century ride. Although I am not as meticulous asI was when I first tried 100 miles (note: This is not kilometers) there are still some practical and sensible things a rider should do to prepare.

1. Be physically prepared: Ride longer distances leading up to your century and try to emulate the conditions (hills, flats, estimated wind direction...). If you know the route and you now the landmarks then you know where you are in relation to your goal. It helps rein in a defeatist imagination that seems to want to imagine you are further back. You don't need to long distances to get into shape. Shorter, high intensity rides, can increase your overall fitness so the long miles won't seem so long. Two weeks before your first century, you should complete a longer ride, maybe 50-75 miles. Cut back on the riding the week prior. When you ride, pace yourself. Do the first 50 miles at an easier pace and see how you feel for the other half. A slow 15mph pace can easily get you to your destination in 8 hours with the occasional pit-stop.

2. Make sure your equipment is in good working order. The last thing you need are mechanical problems on a long ride. This goes with shoes and clothing. Can you imagine finding out your chamois rubs or you get hot spots in your shoes at 50 miles? Once you start to think about any article of discomfort, you will think about it all day. Be sure your bike is fit well and is comfortable with properly inflated tires. Every imperfection is magnified the longer you sit on a bike. Overinflated tired might not be noticed on shorter rides, but an beat you up on the long rides. One century ride I got a flat and filled with CO2. I usually inflate to 100psi, but I bet I was around 130 and it just beat the crap out of me. A helmet that doesn't fit can give you neck and back aches down the road as well.

3. Food and nutrition management is vital. Start eating and drinking for your century a week before. You want to make sure you have plenty of glycogen stored in your muscles. Start really packing in the fruits, veggies and carbs mid week. If your body is ready it helps ease the mind. Cut the caffeine and the booze. These will only dehydrate you. Start taking in the carbs to fill your glycogen stores for maximum exertion.

4. Eat during your century. Maybe one thing every hour if you are not conditioned for regular centuries. Eat before you are hungry. Granola bars, raisins, a ham sandwich... whatever works for you. Try not to eat candy unless you are 20 miles from the finish.

5. Drink during your century. Drink before you are thirsty. If it is hot, you may want to add one sport drink for every two bottles of water.

6. Start stretching more the week before your century.

7. Read for pleasure. It gives you something to think about on the ride if you go solo.

8. Don't worry too much. You put down a few miles and take them one at a time. Next thing you know you have put together a string of 'em and they make 100.

Pollution and Cycling

Ever since Sabinna posted this article at Satin Cessena, I have been trying to think of the reports I have seen that suggest cycling helps to negate the effects of pollution and other health risks.

I finally found an old article that I think explains and compares the impact on one's health the different modes of commuting have. You can check it out: here

The study found that motorists registered the highest levels for all pollutants except nitrogen dioxide, while "cycling commuters had significantly lower levels of exposure to benzene compared with car commuters".

Dr Chris Rissel of the Central Sydney Area Health Service, one of the authors of the study, explains: "There are two competing explanations for our findings: the tunnel effect, where everybody is travelling in the same polluted corridors, and the leaking of the exhaust and fuel systems into vehicles."

So while cyclists are often able to take routes with little or no motor traffic and produce no pollution themselves, motorists get a double dose from vehicles around them and their own cars. High levels of benzene exposure for motorists in particular can be due only to the leaking of their own vehicle fuel system.

A similar European study in 1995, found that "even when account is taken of effort (a cyclist breathes on average two to three times as much as a motorist), the cyclist emerges as the victor of this comparison" (quoted in Cycling: the way ahead for cities and towns).

Victorian health professional Dr Jan Garrard points out that a regular cyclist is better able to deal with air pollution as well: "Physical activity enhances the immune system, so in general terms a fit person will have a stronger immune system".

CNN Ranks Kaohsiung Third Best Cycling Metropole In Asia

CNN international has released their rankings of Asia's "Cities for Cyclists", and Taiwan's second largest metropole comes in at number three behind Kyoto and Beijing.

According to the article Kaohsiung boasts, "a growing network of bike lanes that currently add up to 150 kilometers (not bad for a nation known for scooters and busy streets). It’s also the first city in Taiwan to offer self-serviced bike rental kiosks to the public."

I would have to agree in the respect that Kaohsiung has undergone a transformation over the past several years from a chaotic and polluted blight of urban decay, into a very friendly and charming city for cycling as well as other forms of alternative transportation.

I recall my earliest impression of Kaohsiung from the late 90's was something akin to a mash-up between The Road Warrior and Escape From New York. After a couple trips I wrote the place off as simply a place to catch a bus to Kenting.

After many years of mainly avoiding Taiwan's second largest city, I recently went back and the place had totally transformed into a large friendly metropole with a small town feel... like the unlikely mating between Taipei and Tainan. There are now wide, tree-lined boulevards and open spaces. Public art (that is not in the vein of Gimmo worship) and rapid transit. The city was relatively clean and bright. Most of all... I saw people freely moving around the city on bikes.

For my own trip there by bicycle, I rode down in just over 9 hours and quickly navigated through the city to catch the HSR home. It was gorgeous. Most of all... I felt safe.

I think the points highlighted in the article point toward some progressive and visionary leadership that has helped make this all possible. Kaohsiung's Mayorship will be contested later in the year and I hope to see the people of Kaohsiung continue to support the leaders who are taking bold steps to make a transformative difference rather than simply funding projects to enrich themselves (by proxy) and their cronies.

Mayor Chen Chu and former Mayor Frank Hsieh deserve a tremendous amount of credit for Kaohsiung's amazing transformation and I hope this point is not lost on the people of Kaohsiung. I would also like to see an end to the ethnic politics that has kept many Taiwanese from pursuing their own interests in a sustainable future and throw their support behind politicians who make similar moves to improve the quality of life in the Taiwanese city.

Furthermore, in a more abstract way, I feel these concrete changes we have seen in Kaohsiung are both the direct and indirect result of a Taiwan centered outlook. I hope to see more of this in the future. China and Chinese do not hold the keys to Taiwan's future and no amount of increased revenue can turn Taiwan into an island that lives within its environmental means.

I Love A Rainy Night

I just thought I would post a few ics of our lovely night ride in which we were stranded for an hour during a torrential downpour and electrical storm that seemed to come out of nowhere. We just waited it out with a few other unfortunate folks in a nearby temple.

That's just a fact of life here in Taiwan, where the late summer is a crap shoot of weather... or maybe some crappy and shitty weather to be more exact. The rain cooled things off and it actually turned into a nice evening.