Taking The Typhoon's Tail to Dongqi Rd.

Saturday morning started off a little slower than normal. I had made up my mind to ride, but even as I rolled along Gongyi Rd. I still hadn't decided where I was going exactly. This is a bad. You should never set out for a ride without knowing what you would like to accomplish. This is the road to heartache.

The only thing I really wanted to accomplish was to get on my bike and ride it.

I finally settled on the foothills between Taichung and Jhuolan Township in Miaoli County.



With a passing typhoon still lurking nearby, the winds were mixing it up every which way. The only real plan I had on the day was to go into the headwind on the way out and coast on a tailwind for the return. No more than three blocks from my door, I determined there was no possible way to tell which way the wind was blowing and so I figured the safe bet might be to head for the hills. At least with a hill you have the satisfaction of climbing something as opposed to just battling the wind to a draw between gusts.

As I lurched along, my face pummeled by a barrage of cold licks to the chops, I bore down on my crank to make it to the edge of town. My lips were already in a noticeable snarl. Funny how close the grimace of anger and pain looks to a full smile. I am sure I looked like the happiest cyclist in town.




I figured a climb up to Hsinshe would be fun and steadily made my way over the top as I watched in half amusement as other riders gingerly negotiated the crosswinds on the way down.



I took a coffee break in Dongshih. Alone on a windy day, my coffee break meandered from being a short rest, into a full vacation. It is too easy to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and watch life pass by a decorated window. Compared to the alternative of chopping my way through a thicket of crosswind, a 7-11 counter wasn't at all half bad.



Eventually the fighting spirit returned and I threw myself into the hills on Dongqi Rd. behind Dongshih.  The Route 47 meanders through orchards and along deep gullies on a little used road to Da An River.



Made pretty good time and started to lose myself in my thoughts and in my headphones.
The sudden and unexpected arrival of a city bus brought me back to the road.






Dongqi Rd. eventually empties out in on of the Atayal villages the Japanese used to keep a closer eye on the populace. The first mark that I had entered the village was a brand new rainbow gate. No, it is not an LGBT event. The rainbow symbolizes the Rainbow Bridge in Atayal folklore. Atayal tradition holds that when an Atayal dies, he must walk across the Rainbow Bridge to his ancestors. Of course, to show the utux, or spirit, that he has lived a fulfilling life as an Atayal man, he must raise his hand and it will be dyed black from the blood of those whose heads he has taken. A woman must also show her hand that has been blackened by the dyes of weaving. The old symbols have become a major tourist attraction in Taiwan.



I finally spilled out into the riverbed and hammered for home with a healthy tailwind.



The ride was only 100km, but it felt like 160km. Dongqi Rd. is still a wonderful ride despite the wind.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

The Central Cross Island Highway Gets Paved: Magazine Features Taiwan's Toughest Climb

After a reader notified me that the Fall 2012 issue of Paved Magazine features an article about cycling in Taiwan. I was curious and downloaded the issue from the iTunes News Stand.

I have to admit, as a long-time resident of Taiwan and a frequent rider on its roads, I was skeptical and opened my new digitized magazine with a mixture of jaded "What did they fuck up this time?", and "I can't wait to take out my long knives and serve this up well-done for my readers."

I was absolutely wrong. This article is the best piece of cycling writing to cover Taiwan that this blogger has ever seen in print and it should serve as the gold standard for other writers and editors who hope to detail Taiwan cycling in pictures and words.

The Paved article is not the usual Taiwan Tourism Bureau talking points other writers are bound to adhere to in appreciation of a free trip on the TTB's dime or to please a big corporate sponsor.

This article by Bruce Minnigh and photographed by Stephen Wilde provides a vivid expose on what makes cycling Taiwan such an amazing and addictive way of life.

I can not recommend this article highly enough. There are a few minor quibbles here and there, but nothing I would care to nag about. This is really a solid piece of writing. It is honest and highly entertaining.

It is certainly worth the price of admission. The article can be purchased HERE.

Excerpts:

The dull pain of lactic acid burned deep in my quads, and my head ached from altitude and dehydration. My will power was in danger of being trumped by a mounting list of physical impediments. I lowered my head and attacked another lung busting climb, gasping to extract as much oxygen as possible from the increasingly thin air. 

Suddenly the road began to level out, its steepness supplanted by a stiff wind sweeping across what appeared to be a giant alpine meadow. Though I couldn't see Hehuan Shan or Cilai Ridge, it was clear from the clouds racing by that I had crested the pass. I had done it. I had ridden my bike up one of the world's toughest paved roads.

----------

For the next few hours we were treated to a deceptively swift descent through the mind blowing Taroko Gorge-- the namesake and main attraction of Taiwan's most diverse national park. The strikingly narrow heart of the gorge stretched for about 13 miles, hemmed in by marble walls that soar for over a thousand feet above the riverbed, often blocking out the sky.

--------

Tour of Sanyi

Sunday was a beautiful day to get out on a bike, so I did my best to wake up early and get out the door to enjoy the sunny weather. I had a few plans on the table, but settled on a ride through Sanyi on the southern edge of Miaoli County. 



On my way out to Houli and the Highway 13, I couldn't help but stop to take a few pictured of my favorite example of Taiwan's rigid zoning regulations. 



Pictured is the No. 74 Expressway that is being built to wrap around Taichung City. 



This particular section has been built to thread the needle between the brand new Tzu Chi Hospital and its even newer annex. The expressway also passes within an eyelash of the Ivy Bilingual Academy dormitories. 

It is really something to see. 



I plodded along through Houli, fighting the wind with every turn of the crank.



The Highway 13 to Sanyi offers some great shots of various transportation schemes. Sometimes the built environment is just as wildly interesting as the natural environment. 



The climb up to Sanyi was much easier than I remembered. It is good to pass through in the morning before the weekend tourists arrive to pick the place clean of "traditional Hakka" woodcarvings and handicrafts. 



Sanyi is a town that saw most of its early growth as a train stop for forestry products. Now, the area is recognized for its woodcarving festival. Many Hakka people who came to Taiwan were skilled carvers and they moved to Miaoli as it resembled the geography of their former homes in the hills between Fujian and Guangdong in China. 

Many of Sanyi's Hakka families also come from families of ex-aborigines who simply became "Hakka" between the 18th and 20th Centuries. 



The rail lines built by the Japanese colonial administration on Taiwan at the beginning of the 20th century really defined Sanyi as a town that mushroomed out, bisected by rails. 



I passed numerous cyclists out to enjoy the weather. Groups large and small rolled along through Sanyi Township in a rolling demonstration of Taiwan's cycling culture. 







I made my way through Tong-luo village on my way to hook up with the Highway 6; an easy viaduct to the Highway 3 for my return. 



I guess it had been a while since I passed through the area and I misremembered the route back. In trying to cross another one of Taiwan's fabulous bridges, I had to sneak under the expressway along some creative solution for the area's non-motorized traffic. 



I think Taiwan is home to more interesting bridges per sq.km. than just about any other country on the planet. I am always amazed by what a construction budget and a willing architect can come up with. Someone should really do a photo essay on Taiwan's bridges. Seriously.



I found myself on the Miaoli Route 119 heading back to Sanyi. I knew the road, but had never taken it to Sanyi. It was a drunken path of smooth tarmac in, on, over and around every bump and contour back to Sanyi. 

I could see the fields getting prepped for this winter's strawberry crop. 

I logged about 140km on the day and seemed to be doing well. Just not well enough. Too tired still. 

The day was really a nice time on the bike.  

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Warning: Sima Xian Shan Road Closed

This past weekend I was toying with the idea of a Sima Xian Shan ride to toughen my legs up a bit now that I can climb again. I saw Michael Turton's wonderful set of pictures and (a) wondered why I hadn't joined them, and (b) why I hadn't taken a beautiful day to hit one of my favorite climbs. 

Today I received word from Steen, a regular reader, that the road on the back side of the mountain has been cut off by a nasty avalanche. 

Unfortunately, Steen had to find out the hard way by slugging his way up the quad-bursting ramps on the southern side of the hill, only to charge headlong down the other side into a debris field that would not let up. 

In cases like this there is no real great option to salvage a ride. 

Steen had to get a lift home. 

You just never can tell what some of these roads are going to be like week to week and month to month. 

So, for anyone thinking about this route, look at the alternate at the top of the mountain (left and across the ridge not down). It looks like it may be some time before they clear the mess.  

Many thanks to Steen for getting the word out. 


 mm

Team Lampre-Merida-- Press Release

"Now its official."-- Michael Jackson (Thriller, 1984)

MERIDA enters the UCI World Tour

Merida Europe GmbH is pleased to announce its commitment to the UCI WorldTour as per January 1st 2013. With the UCI ProTeam Lampre a both likeable and successfully established team has agreed to be supplied with MERIDA’s high-end equipment for the next three seasons and to compete under the official name “Team Lampre-MERIDA”. With the MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM, Taiwan’s second-largest bicycle manufacturer has been supporting one of the world’s most successful mountain bike racing teams since 2004; entering the UCI WorldTour thus was a long-awaited and logical next step in order to get the best showcase possible for the brand’s premium road products as well.

As per 2013, the new Team Lampre-MERIDA will be competing on state-of-the-art equipment: The SCULTURA SL is setting benchmarks in terms of stiffness, agility and vertical compliance, thus making sure that the Team Lampre-MERIDA can participate not only at the big races such as the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta a Espana and the Tour de France with legitimate aspirations. On top of that, early in 2013 a time trial bike that has been developed from scratch to meet the demands of time trialling with the world’s elite is going to be presented. More team bikes tailor-made to suit the needs for cobble-stone classics such as Paris-Roubaix or particularly aerodynamic models for long escapes and building a lead-out train for a sprinter are going to be presented throughout the next year.

MERIDA is the private brand of Merida Industry Co., Ltd, Taiwan’s second-largest bicycle manufacturer. The company had been founded in 1972 by Ike D.H. Tseng in Yuanlin, Taiwan. After the founder’s death in January 2012, his son Michael Tseng took over. At its three production facilities in Yuanlin, Shenzen and Shandong (the latter two based in the People’s Republic of China), about 3500 employees produce about 2.5 million bicycles per year that are being distributed in 70 countries around the world. MERIDA’s world-wide workforce sums up to about 52.000 people. Ever since 2004, MERIDA has been participating in international competitions with great success with the “MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM”, a team that has Olympic and World champions in its line-up with riders such as Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja, Ralph Näf and José Hermida.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

A Bicycle Homecoming and Other Links

The Taiwanese couple that set out 30 months ago for a well sponsored cycling trip around the world is set to return. It is still to be seen if a couple that bikes together stays together, but it has obviously been quite a trip.

Lin Xiao-kai and his girlfriend Yan Yi-hui told Taipei City-based Central News Agency Sept. 17 in Los Angeles that the journey has been a bittersweet but once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

“This faded cycling jersey is a proof of what we have been through over the past 900 days,” Lin said. “We have taken more than 400,000 pictures and 1,000 video clips to keep track of every place visited.” 

According to Lin, he has kept a blog of the couple’s trip and is planning to publish a book on their odyssey at some point in the future.

Apparently, this is the longest cycling adventure undertaken by a Taiwanese team.

Also:

Giant toots its own horn for forging close ties with the government. This past week the really, super big bike maker hosted John Kuan, head of the Examination Yuan in an effort to promote Giant and to make it look as if the government might be concerned about reforming the civil service.

Taipei, Sept. 18 (CNA) Examination Yuan President John Kuan visited bicycle maker Giant Manufacturing Co.'s production plant in Taichung, central Taiwan Tuesday with the goal of learning from the company's recruitment and training experience. 

Kuan said that in addition to the company's recruitment process and training mechanism, Giant's corporate philosophy and global competitiveness also have a lot to teach the country's civil service 

Of course, a long time observer might note that the civil service has been a valuable tool for the ruling KMT to maintain its power base within the middle class, while using the civil service's access to state benefits as a lever for maintaining loyalty to the KMT/ROC and its ideology.

Ma Ying-jiu actually had to work hard during the last campaign to woo back some disaffected stalwarts in the civil service after finally instituting the final phase of a series of tax reforms that finally covered every branch of the civil service requiring every citizen to pay income tax.

I doubt Ma, who is reported to be disliked by many in his own party, is in any hurry to take the reins off  such a reliable voting bloc.

Moreover, the idea that government should be run like a business is one of the most idiotic concepts to gain popularity over the past 20 years. Sometimes a government needs to simply serve the people and not the bottom line.

And

A Japanese delegation was recently hosted by Giant to discuss mutual dreams of bicycle tourism.

Wheel Giant's Bike Market Update reports:

On the first day of the visit, the Hiroshima and Ehime governments organized a
joint tourism presentation showcasing Japan's Inland Sea. Many media and travel agency representatives were on hand to learn about the rich tourism possibilities of Hiroshima and Ehime. Giant President King Liu and CEO Tony Lo also shared their personal cycling experiences riding the Shimanami Kaido and the Inland Sea. 

On the second morning, the official delegation visited Giant's global headquarters in Dajia, Taichung. Giant officials led their Japanese visitors on a planned a factory tour, and exchanged opinions about bicycle culture. Cycling activities were arranged for the afternoon of the second day and the morning of the third. Routes included the Hou Feng railway path, Dong-fong green corridor, and the Sun Moon Lake bike path. 

After their two-day cycling tour, Hiroshima governor Yuzaki and Ehime governor
Nakamura noted that Taiwan bike lanes showcase Taiwan's exceptionally beautiful landscape, especially the world-renowned Sun Moon Lake path

*Groan* 

Clash of the Taiwan Titans: Merida Sitting Pretty in Pink With Lampre

According to several sources, including Bike Europe, Merida Bikes, the bike maker more famous for being the OEM behind several other top brands, is poised to reveal a sponsorship agreement between Merida and Team Lampre.

The news on the Merida sponsorship is denied nor confirmed by Merida spokesman Peter Koperdraad, general manager of Merida Benelux. “We will issue an official press release on 21 September. Until then we will deny everything”, said Peter Koperdraad. “Merida is talking with several teams and perhaps arrangements have been made. However we will not give any comment on this issue until existing contracts with current sponsors are terminated.”

If this is the pairing that will be announced this Friday, it would see Taiwan's largest bike makers go head to head in Pro Tour competition. Giant, the industry's largest bike maker, has been a major sponsor of Team Rabobank since 2009. Lampre will be switching from Willier bike frames to the Merida Scultura.

Team Lampre is still reeling from serious doping accusations directed at several current and former riders in the Mantova investigation. Perhaps a little positive attention can boost morale for next year.