Ch-Ch-Ch Changes: Planning For A New Bike

On top is my old bike's geometry...

And here is a draft of the bike I have in the works. I was looking for something that might be suitable for long distance and climbing... but with vigor and some race personality.

ST ctr-ctr: 485mm

TT: 531mm

HT Angle: 72.5 Degrees

ST Angle: 74.0 Degrees

BB Drop: 69mm

CS Length: 410mm

HT Length: 134mm

SO: 776mm

Front Center: 57.0

Fork Rake: 45mm

This is very close to what I was imagining. The only surprises are in the longer chain stays and the bar height. Something to consider.

Anyone want to weigh in on the matter?

The Town Bike: Kaohsiung Offers Attractive Bike Rentals To Stimulate Tourism

If anyone finds the idea of biking around Kaohsiung to be titillating enough, the city of Kaohsiung offers folding bicycle rentals at the R16 Zuoying Station and the R11 Kaohsiung Station.

The bikes were specially produced for the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit system and have been appropriately named the KRT Little Yellow. An all day rental is NT200. If you would like to rent bikes with an all day KRT pass the total package is being sold for NT300.

The two stations also offer storage lockers for luggage, so you can just drop your things and hop on the bikes. The bike service is available Monday through Friday 8:00am - 8:00pm and on weekends from 8:00am - 9:00pm.

Kaohsiung also offers 50 locations citywide where people can rent bikes and return them at any of the 50 locations. There are 4500 bikes available for rent. The program is organized around a timed rental or a pre-paid structure in which citizens can buy a prepaid membership card. Details here.

With offers like these... everyone can have a ride.

Off Island Adventure

My friend and riding buddy, Michael Turton, just got back from a two week cycling trip around Sabah, Borneo.

Aside from simply being an interesting read, his ride report also serves to give the rest of the cycling community on Taiwan a little perspective in regard to how lucky were are to have the cycling environment we have... and also a little perspective in regard to how close we are to some amazing cycling adventures that are only a short trip away.

Read the whole ride report HERE

News in Brief: Contador Stripped of TdF Title BANNED

Velonews is reporting that the Spanish rider. Alberto Contador, has been banned for one year and stripped of his Tour de France title following an investigation into the rider's positive samples for doping agents.

Contador has dismissed the doping accusations, blaming the test results on "tainted beef".

This makes Andy Schleck, now of Team-Leopard, the official victor of the 2010 Tour de France after Contador took the lead when a chain malfunction forced Schleck out of contention for the GC.

Regardless, a win by default has got to feel like no win at all.

New Bike Sneak Peek: Oh my... what have I done?

Bike lust ends here!

Lance Armstrong Gets Taiwanese Animation Treatment

It was only a matter of time before Lance Armstrong fell victim to the crack team of animators from Next Media and received what has been coined as, "the Taiwanese animation treatment".

Like other treatments Armstrong has undergone, the Taiwanese Animation Treatment can be disfiguring, humiliating and also cathartic.

Enjoy!

Park & Ride: Taipei Offers More Bicycle Parking

The Taiwan News is reporting that Taipei City will begin increasing the number of bicycle parking spaces citywide.

One goal is to increase parking capacity near public transport hubs to make it easier for bike riders to take advantage of the mass rapid transit (MRT) system's expanding mixed-mode commuting network, according to office director Chang Jer-yang.

But effectively managing those parking lots will be just as important as building them if the bicycle-MRT commuting option catches on.

"People will feel more comfortable parking their bikes in a public area near an MRT station under our staff's watch, " Chang said.

This is a very promising development. There are actually plenty of bike racks in Taipei, but few of them are any good (front wheel slots) and most of them have little if any additional security.

I would love to see this program expand to include fully enclosed bike boxes, but maybe it would also save some money to increase bicycle access so you could more easily bring your bike on mass transit systems.

Also in the news...

The Straits Times is reporting that a Singaporean religious organization has finished its mercy mission to Taiwan and looks to spread is beliefs to other poor countries, including Malaysia and the United States of America.

Here is the full article:

WHEN cycling around Singapore started getting routine, four members of the Concern and Care Society (CCS) took to cycling 1, 400km around Taiwan, at the same time bringing cheer to victims of last year's hurricanes and floods.

Together, they cycled their way through 100 nursing homes and orphanages along with 66 other cyclists from Taiwan.

Ms Siow Lee Khoon, 43, Mr Lee Yok Leun, 77, Mr Marcus Loh Yoon Siong, 53 and Mr Wee Lian Seng, 62 armed themselves with hopeful messages written by students from Nanyang Girls' High School as well as members of the public.

The four are part of Cycling Club Superstar, which promotes cycling among members of the CCS and other residents. The club decided to use cycling to reach out to the needy, and the initiative was born.

'It started off as a way to get old folks, especially retirees, to lead a more active lifestyle. We later wanted to make it even more meaningful by using cycling to help others,' said Mr Lee.

The club has plans to do the same in Singapore. Road trips to Malaysia and the United States are also on the cards, according to Mr David Lee Chih-Wei, honorary consultant, CCS.