Disaster On The Mountain: Wuling Never Seemed So Far

Morning Breaks In Puli

After a punishing day on Saturday, I thought I should join the team from Mosaic and do a little recon work up on Ho Huan Shan for next weekend's Neverstop Wuling Challenge.

Prepping For Launch

I have been a little bit quiet about my preparations for this race and it might explain why I have been a little anti-social in my riding and also why I have been mad about climbing for the past few weeks.

In coming back from my knee injury, I thought I should have a goal in mind to help guide my training and rehab. Unfortunately, that goal was Wuling. Wuling, at 3275 meters, is the highest pass in Taiwan along the Central Cross Island Highway... and it is a bruiser. After an initial stretch of warm-up 3%-4% grades, the road launches up some serious pitches of over 15%. The final two kilometers zig-zag up the bare face of the mountain where the air is thin and the temps drop into a chill.

Views From Ching Jing

I joined the rest of the Mosaic team too early in the morning and we all headed out to the Ching Jing Leisure Farm half-way up the mountain and beyond some of the more serious climbs below Wu She.

As we rolled out onto the roadway, there were already teams of cyclists deep into their cycling day. The soreness in my body made spinning up to speed difficult, but I was soon toiling away steadily near the front. I was pushing, but not that bad. After a few more kilometers I was laboring pretty hard, but I had a different problem.

On Saturday, early in my ride, I felt a pit of soreness behind my knee. That soreness did not really go away and did not progress throughout my day. As I mashed over the 136 it had become more pronounced and I took it easy. After a night to sleep on it I hoped it would be gone in the morning. Nope. By the time I reached the base of the final hay stack up to the top, the soreness in my knee was evident in every revolution of the pedals. I stopped to stretch and it came back.

I told myself after recovering from it the first time that if I started to feel the same thing coming on, I would have no problem pulling the plug on any ride and just going home. I did just that. I turned around and coasted back to base camp at the Ching Jing SupershoppingfestivalDisneyland. I felt a little upset that I couldn't summit, but I am sure I would feel worse sitting on my ass for another 4 months.

9 Lives!

I then just sat around watching people and drinking coffee until the rest of the team made it back. They all got to summit.

Compensating!

I am feeling ok now, but I will need to rest and stretch all week. I have mixed feelings about going up onto Ho Huan Shan last Sunday. I am glad I had a chance to check the route and make mental preparations for the topography... sometimes not knowing what the rest of the hill looks like can be more demoralizing as the actual hill.

On the other hand, by going up there and being unable to make it I have sewn the seeds of doubt in my own ability to beat this thing. With the knee soreness I will also be super sensitive to that and it might steer my mental focus away from my climb.

At this point I will just be happy to attend. I will be even more excited to finish. If the knee flares up again, I will have no problem rolling back down the mountain.

There are plenty of races and thousands of roads... but you only get two knees.

Sometimes As Cyclists We're Chasing Windmills

• Muse of Taichung tests his mettle on the road to Wuling.

• eSun also tries Wuling.

• T-Mosaic has pictures Here.

Huisun Leisure Forest Adventure (惠蓀林場): A Trip To Taiwan's Ideal Oasis for Forest Recreation

My Hi Life Fan Club

On Saturday I determined I still needed to put some more altitude into my legs and set my sights for the Huisun Leisure Forest in Nantou's Ren Ai Township.

Tandem

After two consecutive weekends of unstable weather, Taichung's cyclists were out in force and champing at the bit for some saddle time. Riders of all shapes and sizes were on the roadways and making it count.

Team Neko

I tagged along behind Team Neko for a while and it was nice to see so many of their riders assembled in one place.

Rare Cyclist Getting Bent

Along with the different riders on the streets, there were also several different types of bikes.

Rikulau

Although I don't think cycling is all about the gear, it is great to see people's individual expression in their choice of bikes.

Rest Stop

I made casual work of the Route 129 to Hsin She and stopped for a brief coffee at the 7-11, which was already brimming with riders by the time I arrived. The social aspect of Taiwan's cycling scene is something to behold. What I don't get is all the smoking during a water break. I really hadn't been feeling well all morning and feared I may have eaten a "bad peach", which on a long ride, really could have meant being up shit creek without a spare cycling cap.

Clouds Over Hoping

I didn't rest for more than a few minutes to refill before charging out to the Highway 21, where I again saw Glenn from Primavera Cycles out training. I have blogged on this portion ad nauseam, so I won't go into too much detail, but I would like to call out that jerkoff gangster with the Honda Civic in front of me who threw a half-can of Heineken out the window onto the road in front of me. I have a few problems with this guy: a) Don't be drinking and driving at 8:00am on a mountain road b) Don't throw crap onto the road... especially potentially harmful things like containers of liquid... and c) Don't waste good beer.

Follow Highway 21

At Guoxing I hooked along on the Highway 21 through a valley that is just a treat for the eyes. Right where the Highway 21 cuts a tight switchback to Puli, the Chunghua Rd. or Nantou Route 80. shoots off on a one-way trip up into the mountains.

No Catching Fish, No Cooking Fish, No Electrocuting Fish, No Poisoning Fish

The road is marked an official "Bicycle Route" and makes for a nice ride through some pretty towns and various agricultural projects.

Long Haul

Many of the locals are Seediq speakers, but there are several monasteries nearby, so I passed a few monks in grey robes strolling the streets. I realized I had ridden past Qing Chuan Village, which is the location the original inhabitants of Wu She Village were moved to following their violent rebellion against the Japanese administration in 1930.

Aid Station

The Red Cross and Red Crescent sign above is interesting as Taiwan is not allowed to participate in the organization... yet they have so dutifully adhered to the signage.

Geo-Wonders

I paid NT100 to enter the Huisun Leisure Forest and it makes a wonderful first impression. The landscape has been etched by wild rivers and painted by tectonic brushstrokes.

I was soon fighting up the mountain and hugging the cliff walls to avoid debris that might tumble from above. The grades in some parts were over 15% and it made for a good struggle.

Road Going Up

The scenery was that type of wild, high mountain stuff that fills the heart with adventure.

Magnificent!

I mashed my way around one particularly rough bend beneath the shade of tall cedars, when the forest transformed before my eyes into a tame picnic spot for tourists. I was left completely dumbfounded.

Leisure Forest

Here, deep in the forest, there were couples strolling along wide boulevards. There were retirees lounging in one of the dozens of hammocks strung between tree trunks. There were insect sculptures made of logs. There were cabins and teenagers in loud hats mugging for photos. One babbling creek was packed with day trippers cooling their tootsies beneath the rippling waters. It was a "Stepford forest"... almost too idyllic to be real.

My New Friend

There was still a steep set of switchbacks to go, and I made really good time up to the top... and then the road ended at a scenic viewing platform seeded with flowers to attract insects for the bug watchers.

Posing For Pics

I had been expecting more climbing and felt a sense of helplessness when it ended. I thought to myself, "Where do I go from here?" So I turned it into a date with my bike. She and I would enjoy the sights like everyone else.

Frolicking Near The Creek

That lasted all of 10 minutes, when I had had enough and launched back toward home.

Great Road

I stopped for a refill at the Hi Life before heading back home over Route 136 to cap off my day of climbing.

Score:

Distance: 150km (93mi.)

Elevation Gain: 2226m (7306ft.)

Calories Burned: 5000cal.

A Taiwanese National Pastime ?

Travel Writers Needed To Put Taiwan Cycling Propaganda To Print

--- [ PRESS Trip Announcement ]---

Taiwan Tourism Bureau is organizing the Cycling & Lifestyle press tour


The U.S. office of Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) invites professional travel writers on assignment based in the U.S. to join their Nov. Cycling and Lifestyle Press Tour. The writer will be traveling in Taiwan for about 12 days (tentatively from Nov. 1 to Nov. 12, 2011). Please review the requirements before applying for a position on this trip.

--- Taiwan Cycling & Lifestyle PRESS TRIP FOR U.S. WRITERS ON ASSIGNMENT only--

The press tour will focus on introducing the coastal cycling/biking routes in Taiwan and offering participating press a personal experiences of Taiwanese healthy lifestyle - including hot spring/spa experience, Taiwan tea plantation visit, and Chinese herbal cooking and food tasting.

All participating writers will be attending the opening of annual road cycling tournament "Taiwan Cup" on Nov. 6th in Hua-Lien and have an opportunities to meet/interview with international cycling teams from the China, the U.S., Spain, France, Romania, Colombia, Norway, Australia, Netherland, Ukraine, Japan and Taiwan.

The adventurous tour will include one-day visit of the well-known Taiwan brand bicycle manufacture factory (Giant or Merida). Participating writers will be able to see the behind the scene detail of bicycle production process.

Taiwan cycling/biking & lifestyle tours are considered adventures at a level above, and the lodges we stay at are exquisite. Guests eat at superb restaurants in each trip area. Our daily activity is majestic and scenic. Our tours are catered to both beginners and intermediate adventurers.

REQUIREMENTS: To qualify to join Taiwan Cycling/biking & Lifestyle Press Tour on one of its world-class adventures, you must be a professional travel writer with a signed letter of assignment.

WHAT'S INCLUDED: TTB will cover writers' domestic and international round trip tickets, land costs, lodging and food for a qualified travel writer on assignment.

CONTACT: Travel writers meeting the requirement should contact Joyce Lu, joyce@intertrend.com
Joshua Samuel Brown
Author, Vignettes of Taiwan, Co-Author, Lonely Planet Taiwan 7, Belize 3, Singapore City Guide 8, Greater Mekong 2, Singapore Encounter 2, Central America on a Shoestring 7, Taiwan 8, Belize 4

Follow me online @ "Snarky Tofu" ~ http://josambro.blogspot.com/
USA Mobile ~ # 413 772 9468

_______________________

Booking Through Changhua County: Michael Le Houllier Making News While Making A Difference

Today the Liberty Times ran a great story on Taichung's own Michael Le Houllier; an expat with a stake in his community.

Le Houllier made the news for his active participation in the bicycle book exchange-- a program established by the Changhua County government to promote fitness and literacy in a lead up to the National Games this October.

The program involves over 100 participating police stations, libraries and churches within Changhua County. Any participant may pick up a "book passport" at the police station on Zhong-zheng Rd. in Changhua City, free for the donation of three books.

According to Le Houllier, he filled his passport in only four rides, capping it off with an ambitious 251km pull down the Highway 19 and returning on the coastal Highway 17. In four rides he covered over 400km.

Le Houllier says,

" I met a lot of interesting people -- police officers, local grocery owners, and even a couple of middle school kids who helped me find a station in Lugang that was on a very confusing lane. I loved it."

The program will continue for another 2 and a half weeks.

I think this is also a prime example of foreigners taking an active role in their Taiwanese communities.

Update: Here is a link to the English Translation.

Anti-nuclear Fixed Gear Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine!!!!

A few blips from the wire:

Fixed Gear Taiwan has a little post about the Japanese man who transformed his fixed gear bicycle into a human-powered ice shaver for making Sno-cones.

"You put ice cubes in and get a sno-cone out... yum yum fun is all about!"

Mom, dad... if you're reading this I just need to tell you again that you really missed a big chance to purchase my affections by not getting me that Snoopy Sno-cone Machine. Huh!

But on a more serious note, the Anti-nuclear message of this shaved ice reminds be of a Taiwanese song my the now defunct Labor Exchange Band. I have had this song rattling around my playlist since Taiwan's first nuclear debate in 2000, when the incoming Chen administration sought to halt construction of the 4th nuclear power plant on Taiwan's northern coast. Several anti-nuclear protests were conducted and led by the forward thinking Taiwanese democracy hero, Lin Yi-hsiung. The issue prompted a row with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). After a meeting on the issue the KMT leader deemed the meeting "insincere" and continued to use the issue as a pretext to cease any form of cooperation with the Chen administration leading to entrenched legislative gridlock and apathy from the KMT controlled Legislative Yuan. Chen capitulated and the plant is sadly still under construction. Most people say it was rather that all the kickbacks had already been paid, so the plant had to be built.

Nuclear Free Homeland: Labor Exchange Band

我們腳踏著豪邁 我們來自那高山

We are stepping forward with bravery. We come from the mountains.

來自海洋和平原 我們如河般蜿蜒

We are from the ocean and plains. Our lives gather together and go on like a river.

我們腳踏著勤勉 要為子孫和祖先
奠下永續的生態 非核的家園

We are stepping forward with diligence. We are going to set up an environment with sustainability—a land with no nuclear power.

腳踏著豪邁 非核的家園
腳踏著豪邁 非核的台灣

We are stepping forward with bravery, stepping forward with bravery to a non-nuclear Taiwan.

我們豪邁的足跡 就是歷史的分際
我們怒吼的歌聲 就是進步的呼聲

Our brave steps are the dividing line of history. Our ranting and singing is a declaration to progress.

我們邁向的社會 將無萬年的核廢
我們腳踏的土地 生命自然的演替

This society is going toward a land without nuclear power for thousands of years.

The land we are stepping on is a place where lives will be able to move on naturally.

腳踏著豪邁 非核的家園
腳踏著豪邁 非核的台灣

Stepping forward with bravery to a non-nuclear Taiwan. Stepping forward with bravery to a non-nuclear Taiwan.

I have always been touched by these lyrics, but to bring this thread full circle I have to admit that I occasionally like to change the words 腳踏著 (stepping) to 腳踏車 (bicycle). :)

Also:

• No sooner had a major Taiwanese sponsor entered the professional peloton than the dream was over. Last Thursday it was announced that HTC-Highroad, the Taiwanese backed powerhouse with a stable of top talent, TdF green jersey winner Mark Cavendish, was to fold at the end of the season due to HTC pulling its support. This is sad for a number of reasons as some form of Highroad team had been in the mix for a few years now. Furthermore, it is sad that a country at the center of the production side of cycling would lose its largest sponsor. Lastly, I really had never thought about HTC until I made the connection with the HTC-Highroad team. The advertising deal was obviously a winner.

• If anyone wants to bike Highway 86 and get back to me on it, the Liberty Times put out this report on it for cycling.
• Mosaic has plenty of pictures from their Houli ride.

Lastly

• Congratulations to everyone who tried to kill themselves on the infamous 136 Time Trial. SUNe has pics and times.

Some Days You Get It Wrong: Rainy Day Hill Climbing

Route 95 to Chung Ho Village

All week I had been watching the progress of a nasty looking typhoon out in the Pacific and wondered what it would mean for my weekend riding. I had missed my mid-week rides due to circumstances beyond my control and I really had to get out on the bike.

Based on experience, I figured Saturday would be the better day with the rains coming after the typhoon had passed Taiwan with the majority of the wet stuff falling on Taipei. The Central Weather Bureau and TV news meteorologists tend to have a Taipei-centric view of the weather, so it is easy to disregard their predictions. I also figured that if it did rain, the rain would fall in the afternoon... after 1:00pm. This seems to be the summer pattern.

So with this in mind I planned an ambitious day of climbing that I could accomplish before noon and be safely on my way back to Taichung if and when the rains hit. It sounded like a great plan and I set my sights on the Hui Sun Forest (惠蓀林場).

Hoping Township

My legs were feeling really good and I made short work of the Route 129 to Hsin She. I thought I would stop at the 7-11 along the Route 93 for breakfast and to stock up on extras for a foray into the mountains.

I spent a little time chatting up some riders from Warehouse 185 and another group of guys who were doing the 136 to 129 loop. They all took off to beat the rain, but quickly returned as no sooner had they left then some fat, juicy raindrops filled the air. It was time for another coffee.

After half and hour it looked like the clouds were rained out and so I made my climb over to the Highway 21. Along the way I passed Glenn from Primavera Cycles hacking his way up the switchbacks out of Chung Hsing Village.

Highway 21

It looked like the weather might hold and I was optimistic, but the wet roads made descents slow. Furthermore, it appears Taiwan offers a big bike license in exchange for a deposit of brain cells. Note to Big Bike Riders: It is probably not a good idea to pass me on a blind corner on wet roads at high speeds. You might not see that blue truck. Dumb!

I didn't really need anything, but I thought I would stop at the Family Mart at the bottom of the descent off Baimao Shan. It would be the last stop before going into the mountains. Then, after a few minutes, the skies opened up again. I waited in the store with a bunch of families from Miaoli who did not think I looked like an American because I am too short. I had to point out that Americans can look like anybody... like the Children of the KMT Central Standing Committee and possibly Ma Ying-jiu. I figured as a bunch of moneyed guys from Miaoli, they would not be amused. The rain stopped and I made full speed for the Route 136.

Sunshine on 99 Peaks

I thought I might stop at the Hi Life at the base for a few moments and assess the weather before heading up the hill. Again, it started raining. As I walked around the store I noticed a group of boys on kid bikes had arrived to buy candy. As they came in, one of them noticed me and exclaimed, "Foreigner!"

I went into my well rehearsed pantomime of confusion in which I crane my neck in every direction as if to get a better look, "Where?!"

I convinced him I was not a "Foreigner" and he seemed satisfied with my answer, enough to tell one of the other boys I was not a foreigner when he asked. Then, as fellow cyclists, we then got down to business of talking bikes.

The boys enthusiastically waved me off as the rain stopped and I seized the opportunity to make time up the Route 136.

Gimme Shelter

For most of the ascent spots of sunshine managed to slip through the clouds to create a steamy warmth on the blacktop. I was feeling great and ate up the 8% grades. I was able to reserve my 27 tooth cog for the ramps and that one bastard of a spot 3/4 of the way up by the little farm. I stopped a couple times to take pictures, but they were not strategic photos, just nice pictures with the sunshine casting odd highlights on the 99 peaks in the distance against a dark curtain of rain. I thought I might make it over the 136 without getting rained on and pushed past the last little shelter before the peak.

If you've ridden a road enough times you become familiar with the points along the way to take shelter in a rain squall... and I had just passed the last one before the exposed stretch along the highest point and the treacherous descent to Toubienkeng.

I had been playing a game of Cat and Mouse all day with the weather and this mouse got caught at the worst possible moment.

Rain on 136

The rains started as a light mist, but soon turned into thick drops that instantly soaked into my socks. I couldn't think of any suitable place to sit out the rain except for the possibility of a temple gate up ahead with the possibility of a roof.

Sure enough, it was just wide enough to stand under and wait out the rain. I paced around taking pictures and wondering how long I would have to wait. I also considered the wet descent down the other side.

I watched one ant save another from a raindrop

After 30 minutes the rain held off long enough to get a start on the descent. I just modulated the brakes, kept the speed down, and avoided any of the paint on the road for a slow yet uneventful descent.

As I rolled into Toubienkeng the rains started again forcing me to take shelter under the aluminum covering of a roadside temple.

The rain didn't last more than 20 minutes and soon I was again making good time back to Taichung City... where the roads were dry and the sun was happily poking through the clouds.

Some days you just get it wrong.

Distance: 100km

Climbing: 5151ft.

Weather: Wet

Praying For Good Weather?

Excellent Links and A Fitting Tribute To One Of Taiwan's Great Cyclists

Dwight J. writes a fitting tribute to one of Taiwan's great cyclists and one of my best friends... Michael Turton.

What makes Michael one on Taiwan's great cyclists is not that he puts up particularly great numbers, wins races, or accomplishes inhuman feats on a bike. He is not a lithe rail of athletic prowess. On the contrary.... He has grey in his beard, a bit of roundness in the middle, an old foot injury and sunglasses that are clip ons. In many ways he seems like an ordinary guy.

Michael also embodies the passion for cycling that so many of us share. On each ride he brings the heart and enthusiasm that is missing from so many people's lives and his attitude is infectious. Riding with Michael is always a good time. Moreover, Michael takes the time in his week to run intervals up the hill behind his house and strives to become better. He pushes himself to ride and to discover all the life that is happening simultaneously in the cultural fabric of this shared space we call "Taiwan"... and then takes the time to analyze it on his own blog.

Few people actually find the courage to do what Michael has done-- to try something new and difficult. I know for a fact that he has inspired others to pick up a bike in search of the same type of passion. I can only hope they found even a sliver of it.

This July I was happy to share a few stages of the Tour de France with Michael as we chatted online turing the webcast. I couldn't help smiling as he became engrossed in the rolling battles and the slow games at play. He was hopelessly hooked.

I look forward to many more opportunities to ride with Michael and I would encourage any of my readers out there to hunt him down on his blog to ask for a ride. I am sure he'd oblige as he can rarely pass up the chance to throw a leg over a top tube.

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Taiwan Links:

• Taiwanese granny takes bike tour with youth in tow.

• Cycling Satin Cesena looks at the alloy cocktails of 7000 series aluminum tubing.

• The Merida Tour of Changhua (Huan Hua Sai) will be held 9/25/2011. This is a good entry level race for competition or for just a challenge. The course is mostly flat with a short hill climb and a distance of around 100k. You can find details here.

• The Daily Bubble Tea climbs 1150m of hills between Taichung and Nantou.

• Taiwan born cyclist dies on the streets of Seattle in a hit and run.

• I would also like to wish Dom A. good luck. Dom will be riding around Taiwan for the next two weeks for a little adventure. I can't wait for the ride report.

Other Links:

• Going Dutch: Taiwan claims to want to copy the European model, but can we create this type of culture.

• The bicycle is a mind control device. Or at least that's what I tell my wife when I want to spend money. But now scientists are working on the mind controlled bike.

• Team Radioshack's Chris Horner suffered a blood clot following his crash at the Tour de France. See his incoherent babbling here. I cann't believe team doctors put him on a bike... and even more so, I can't believe he finished the stage.

• Titanium and Carbon heart valve gets Contador hater a steel Waterford.

The Outspoken Cyclist interviews Rob Vandermark of Seven Cycles. Rob was also at the fore of Titanium bike frames in the early days of the technology. Nice podcast!