Tainan Century Ride

After a couple weeks with little to show for it, I was finally able to use my long weekend to lay some miles down on the bike. It was the perfect opportunity for a Century ride (160km). I was joined by Michael Turton and Chris Bolster, a cycling neophyte.

For Chris, a man who weighed over 300lbs last year, this would be his first Century ride... and his first ride over 100km.

We chose the easiest and best route for a Century between Taichung and Tainan by taking the Route 145 from Hsiluo to Beigang. Although there are several larger and better marked routes, the Route 145 is flat, beautifully paved, and is almost devoid of stop lights... or at least any stops you actually need to heed. It is easy to slip into a pace and maintain that pace for kilometer after flat kilometer.

With a strong wind at our backs, progress was easy.

With this being my first ride of any real length since November, I was cautious and steadfast in my goal to simply take it easy. I only needed to spend time in the saddle and acclimate to the feeling of spending hours on a bike seat.

The road just unfolds southward through fields and farms. Today, the smell of pigshit was not overbearing and we could take our time enjoying the scenery.

The route is marked by the periodic sight of a smoke stack or rusting hull of one of the hundreds of sugar refineries from the Japanese colonial era that made up such a major part of the prewar Taiwanese economy.

We tried a more creative route into Tainan which dumped us out onto the Highway 1. With 49km to Tainan City and 30km shy of a Century, I decided to go for broke and put the Century ride to bed in short order. I hopped the speed up to between 35kph and 40kph and reached the 160km mark just about where the road turned to the HSR station.

Michael, who had put in a little more distance earlier on in the trip, pulled up at the Shanhua Station. After a rest and a stretch, the mighty Chris came rolling along and we took the turn to find the HSR.

I kept expecting to see the station at any moment. The slight bow of the HSR line simply masked the distance to the station and made it seem frustratingly far. In fact, it was frustratingly far. We ended up riding an additional 24km. Just before the station, the road rises up into the highest hill of the ride (possibly the highest hill in Tainan City) to the station. We heaved over the hill before packing up our bikes and a celebratory beer. We headed home in Business Class style because the have more space to stow a bike and they offer coffee and dessert service.

The whole ride was 185km and Chris was just incredible on his first Century. I am looking forward to doing this again.

Moreover, I am happy to be feeling well enough to do these longer rides again.

Tour de Product Placement

An interesting little tidbit came out of Bike Europe the other day involving Taiwan's second largest bicycle manufacture, Merida Bikes, and the company's interest in placing their equipment under the asses of some of the world's top cycling talent as a pro team sponsor.

More factories, more models, especially in 29-ers and racing bikes, as well as more marketing support. There was even talk about participating the Tour de France with a professional team. That will probably happen with the new Merida Scultura SL Team (photo) which, together with a new series of 29-ers, was launched at last weekend’s Merida Dealer & Press Camp in Mallorca.

Merida is better known as a major shareholder in Specialized and the manufacturer of Specialized equipment.

The company's expressed interest in supporting a pro cycling team shows that Merida is looking to jump into the limelight as a stand-alone brand rather than be complacent as simply a Taiwanese OEM/ODM.

As much as the Tour de France is a display of both team and individual cycling prowess, the Tour is also the world's largest vehicle for bicycle marketing. It is in the Tour de France that consumers ogle their favorite teams as the riders splash logos across the television screens for six hour stints.

Several of the bikes in the pro peloton were simple OEM frames a couple years ago or at least much less regarded... until they made their debut at the Tour de France and saw their stock, in the eyes of the consumer, shoot to the stars. Much of the "cred" carried by the Giant TCR Advanced SL revolves around their use by Team Rabobank. It is not that these bikes are any more advanced than many others. It is because the companies have made the expensive investment in branding an image.

It will be an interesting interesting case study as our "little" Taiwanese brand shows if the marketing coup of a Tour appearance can rocket a company into becoming one of the world's more coveted brands.

Taiwanese Cyclist Plods Around The World: 600 Days and Counting

For months I have been wondering what ever happened to Wu Shih-chang, the Taiwanese man who set out to travel the globe by bike on $10 a day.

Wu left Taiwan in June 2010 to begin his journey in Alaska, before heading southward to Argentina. Along his journey the young Taiwanese man miscalculated food supplies, negotiated wild bears in Alaska and finally arrived in Seattle where he was taken in by some of my friends from the Seattle Taiwan Center.

Now, after 20 months on the road, the 30 year-old resurfaces in Paris, where his bike was stolen and he was forced to wait for a replacement.

Here is an excerpt from Focus Taiwan:

He cycled across Alaska, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Belize and Central America before pedaling south to Peru, Chile and Argentina. He flew or traveled by boat when necessary.

He met a snowstorm on a mountain road in Argentina, experienced acute altitude sickness in Peru, and had diarrhea for a week.

Despite all this, he said that after witnessing the beauty of plateaus, experiencing desert weather, and feeling coastal breezes, all the discomfort went away.

Money was a big issue for him and visa fees accounted for the largest expenses on his trip. As Taiwan lacks formal diplomatic ties with many countries, entering other countries can be expensive.

He was due to fly from Argentina to South Africa but was unable to as the South Africa Embassy in Argentina denied him a visa.

He traveled to Europe instead and spent his 30th birthday at an airport in Madrid. His travel turned for the worse Feb 3 when his bicycle, donated by Taiwanese bike maker Giant, was stolen in Paris.

Wu was forced to contact his friends in Taiwan and ask them to send another bike for him so that he could continue his trip.

He said he did not know when he will finish traveling, but said the trip has made him realize the importance of family.

Taiwan's problematic diplomatic situation, combined with a weakening push for international space seems to be taking its toll on Taiwanese travelers who are often misidentified as Chinese.

I hope Wu keeps going, but 600 days is a long time to be on the road.

Also:

The Accell Group has fortified its Taiwan branch with some top talent to better get into the scrum of the growing Asian bicycle market.

In Other News:

• The Dope: What an exciting week it has been off the tarmac. First, the seven time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong is let go by the feds, who have decided not to bring the retired cyclist and accused doper to trial on a list of charges. Lance is still not off the hook. The Wold Anti Doping Agency would still like to look at some of the evidence gathered during the Armstrong case. Meanwhile, Alberto "El Pistolero" Contador, possibly the world's top grand tour specialist, is handed a mathematical 2 year sentence for traces of clenbuterol in his blood. Contador blamed the positive test on "tainted beef". Although the Spanish rider has his victories since the positive test wiped from the records, creative accounting allows him to resume competition in only 6 months.

• Why cycling will make you happy...and not gay as many Americans believe.

• 17,000 Londoners sign up for safe cycling.

• Commute By Bike on The Cycling Opponent.

• Going green gets a little complicated. Crushed glass causing flats?

The Rollers of Bagua Shan

Monday was a day off, so I decided to test the knee out with a ramble over Bagua Shan, the 50km hill that reaches from Changhua to Nantou.

I was joined by the indomitable Chris Bolster, who is becoming increasingly sucked into the addiction of cycling.

For me, it was a trial of fitness. The route consists of one stiff climb followed by dozens upon dozens of rollers. The entire route from Taichung and back is almost exactly 100k, so it would be a distance record for Chris, who is still only in his second month of cycling.

We rolled into Changhua and yucked it up with tales of ribaldry over cheap coffee before punching over the hill to the Changhua Route 139.

The morning was bright, but the haze in the air heralded a spot of bad weather for the afternoon.

We punched along the spine of Bagua Shan through the tunnels of treelined shade.

This route is a local favorite as there are few cars and around every corner there are reminders that the beauty of Taiwan is just a short bike ride away. Too often we get caught up in the ugliness of the city and forget how amazing the countryside really can be. Rows of tea and pineapple can really arouse the imagination into entertaining silly thoughts of retiring in a place like this.

We blasted the descent into Songboling at 68kph. and then turned onto the Route 137 with its seemingly endless pits and rises. That road is great torture on the legs as you try to maintain a constant speed over every bump.

We decided to cap off the ride by climbing the Highway 74 back over Bagua Shan. It makes a nice, torturous climb after a long day in the saddle. For the first time in a long time I was feeling flashes of my old self.

As Chris and I went our separate ways after 100 kilometers of fine riding, I had to remind him that he was only 60km from achieving a standard Century... and with a tailwind to Tainan with no hills... he he he...

Exploring Nantou

I had originally planned to head into Nantou city along along the Route 139, but the route is not marked upon entering downtown Nantou, so I wasted enough time that it just wasn't worth continuing with that plan.

Ordinarily, I would be a little upset without tasting the meat of the ride through the hills to Jiji, but since I rarely spend much time in Nantou, I had seen enough to explore a little.

I crossed the Lumei Bridge. The bridge in its current form was completed in 1997, but was actually a modern conversion of a much older bridge.

Just on the other side of the bridge I noticed the remains of a bamboo palisade with a stone wall inside. It may be the remains of a family compound, military outpost, or even a satellite village of the Hoanya speaking Sarva group of indigenes.

Just around the corner I found the traditional market and a park.

The park is home to a new croquet court.

It is also home to the only remaining segment of the snake kiln from Shuili. The original kiln was destroyed during the 921 earthquake, but one segment was recovered and moved to its current location in Nantou.

On my way home, I stopped to take pictures in a community built from traditional mud bricks. Unlike more famous structures that use fired red brick that arrived in Taiwan as ballast for ships, the majority of Taiwan's Qing era buildings were constructed using sun-baked bricks composed of mud, rice husks, and water buffalo dung. The husks and dung gave the bricks a type of waterproofing while holding the bricks together. The walls were then covered in a lime paste.

Last, I stopped by an old playground to get a picture with one of the antiquated concrete animals that used to be the highlight of Taiwanese playgrounds for earlier generations of children.

Training Again

Most of us have been there. For whatever reason we need to take time off the bike. I have had an overuse injury combined with getting used to being a new dad, so the riding has been on the back burner.

Last night I did my first real training ride in two months. My training loop is a 50k loop of mostly flat roads that I do Wednesday evenings. It seems every club is out Wednesday nights as it is mid-week between weekend races and longer rides.

As I slid out into the cold, windy Taichung night, I could feel my sustained speed was slower than I had hoped. The large muscled in my legs were hungry for oxygen that I couldn't provide. I pushed and eased back, pushed and eased back. It was rough. It was hard. It hurt like hell. It was demoralizing.... It was absolutely marvelous to be back out there.

The endurance is the first thing that fall off when you stop training. Hopefully, if I keep throwing myself out there, everything will come back on line by April.

Sometimes it seems like you'll never get back, but it happens... it just taked longer and longer to get here.

Inside Knowledge: Taiwanese Bike Companies and The Costs of Chinese Manufacturing

Bicycling IQ has a very good article up on the exodus of smaller Taiwanese bicycle component manufacturers from China as structural increases make doing business in China less of a profitable endeavor. The problem for these companies is in finding competing economies of scale.

Courtesy of the China-Taiwan cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), tariffs on bicycle imports between the two countries have dropped from their previous levels of 12%, to 0% this year. The ECFA has been well-received by Taiwan-based makers of higher-end bicycles; but mostly those who had previously added mainland infrastructure to their manufacturing arsenal, years before they caught a whiff of earnest free trade discussions. They can now toggle their operations almost effortlessly between the two countries, depending on demand and client need. Other, smaller, OEM’s may struggle to compete against such flexibility in a declining global market.

The whole article is really intelligently thought out and is worth a read.

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In other news, Giant has apparently won a bid to supply the city of Taipei with a system of bicycle rentals. Details of the winning bid or competing proposals are scant, but it appears Giant has its work cut out for it. This must be good news for Giant's President and Founder, King Liu, who also serves as a special advisor to the Taiwan's president Mr. Ma Ying-jiu.

The You Bike program aims to:

• Promote Taipei City's image as an eco-friendly international metropolis
• Create new tourism opportunities in Taipei
• Improve residential quality of life and citizen satisfaction
• Reduce the use of cars and motorcycles to improve air quality and transportation
• Encourage people to take up cycling
• Transform Taipei into Taiwan's capital of cycling

It is this writer's belief that the Taipei city government will have to do much more in providing city-wide bicycle infrastructure to make this project more than leisure rentals along bike paths. The city will need to provide a safe cycling environment, enforce traffic laws, provide safe storage facilities, retrofit busses and MRT cars for bicycle transit, increase the number of bicycle ONLY lanes and many other projects before this projects can begin to benefit Taipei residents. Lots of work to do before putting bikes on the roads.
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Also:

• Jim's Bike Blog takes a brief look at Taiwan's Cycling Scene.

• Merida's Ike Tseng passes away at 81. Merida is Taiwan's second largest producer of bicycles and a major shareholder in Specialized.