Tour de Taiwan Stage 4

Tour de Tai...yawn!

I passed through part of the Taichung TdT route on my bike ride to work this morning behind one of the official cars.

With Taiwan as the world's greatest bicycle producer... by volume... we are proud to host a UCI sanctioned cycling event: The Tour de Taiwan. (Don't ask me why they insisted on using the French "de"... I guess it could very well be The Tour-的 Taiwan and hence implying UCI dominion over the event as stated in the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations).

Year after year I get a little excited over the event, but honestly, each year I am disappointed by the routes they choose for the stages. I understand that the Tour de Taiwan must serve a myriad of needs and mostly must satisfy local communities (and their representative who own or exact unofficial taxes over the roadside stalls) who want to make absolutely sure the "Tour" implies tourism dollars. This is savvy politics.

Each year the Tour organizers promise to better consult the local cycling community to choose better routes, but rarely do we see the evidence in the final results.

Each Tour I have the, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate" moments. I have seen routes and places in Taiwan that would make protour cyclists feel Taiwan really is a world class destination for a UCI event. There are places that could truly demonstrate the beauty of this place and not just a tour through the old concrete boxes.

Anyone have a route they'd like to suggest for next year.

Sigh!

Maybe it is just because of the March weather.

Takashi Miyazawa won yesterday's stage 3.

David McCann of Team Giant holds the GC.

Tour de Taiwan News:

Taichung-Tunghai Night Ride: Cat Attack

I was pretty pleased with my ride tonight. I felt my stroke was strong and even and I felt my riding was more even across the board. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn on my GPS until the big hill. From occasionally glancing at my cyclometer I was mainly spinning about 14mph on the climbs and maxed out at 20mph climbing. The graph represents the ride from Dadu Shan along Xitun Rd. with a turn at Xitun Rd. and Wenxin Rd. I was doing ok jockeying through the mess on Xitun Rd. but I did have a close call with a cat.

As I was trying to sprint ahead and put some distance between myself and the traffic behind, I saw what looked like a white bag drifting across the road. In a split second the cat and I locked eyes triggering whatever a body in panic does when a cat is about to attempt a Japanese bike suicide. Visions of broken arms and hospital time spun through my head. Somehow there was no contact and I kept hammering away. The good thing about that road is that it is a great way to learn how to watch the road and choose lines to keep pace amid a pack of chaos.

When I was finally in the clear on Wenxin I had a little more space to speed up though traffic is never kind and it is easy to get boxed in or have cars slide over and slow down. Not too bad though.

Ching Shui

A Pillar of Empire

Saturday was supposed to be a busy riding day. I woke up at 6:00am to join a ride with some local triathletes and then I was going to split off after a couple hours to do hills with Michael T. The sound of thunder and rain made the idea of a hard, fast ride at early o' clock in the morning sound un-fun, so I went back to bed with the hope that the rain would piss itself out by mid morning and I could still catch the afternoon session.

I was paranoid I'd be late and rode way too fast for a warm-up from Taichung to Tanzi. I met Michael and off we went to the mountains. Just before starting the climb, the clouds opened up and we retreated to Feng Yuan City for coffee.

When the rain stopped we headed out to the coastal town of Ching Shui instead. We took the Highway 10 out of northern Taichung County down a fast and fun descent into Ching Shui and took it from there.

Ching Shui Elementary

The Ching Shui area was formerly the home to the Papora speaking Austronesian cultural-linguistic group of indigenes. Prehistoric evidence of the Pre and Proto-Papora has been found in several parts of Taichung County. There are archaeological sites around Dadu Shan and one adjacent to the Tiger City mall. Taichung Mayor, Jason Hu, a Han-chauvinist at heart, once declared that he would move to continue development at the Tiger City site as the find was "not as significant as terra cotta warriors". Much of the site had been destroyed before scholars could file an injunction.

The Papora cultures were documented in Dutch records and Ching Shui is routinely mentioned in Dutch sources as, "Gommach", which is believed to have originally been located near Ching Shui Elementary School. Neighboring Shalu was another major village called "Salach". Each village was surrounded by several satellite villages that made for more balanced trade and resource management in the era before the Dutch organized the deer trade, which helped trigger a collapse of the traditional political economy on the indigenous Taiwan plain. Later effects of this policy would culminate in pressure for indigenes to acculturate into mainstream Taiwanese/market culture.

During the Cheng siege of Fort Zeelandia, in 1661, a Cheng garrison was stationed near Ching Shui. Soldiers from Cheng's forces started interfering in village life and molesting the local women, thus antagonizing the Papora villages, this and other forms of social tension led to several large revolts. In 1670, another revolt in the area led to the destruction of one satellite village and the wholesale slaughter of its inhabitants.

Later, in 1722, during the Qing administration over Taiwan's western frontier, Papora revolt leads Cheng commander Luo Guo Hsuan to destroy the village of Sha lu. In response, Governor Man pao ordered a boundary line constructed running North to South delineating the non-tax paying aborigines from the Han and Aborigines loyal to the Qing. The boundary of trenches and hills was meant to prohibit settlers from occupying land beyond the markers that may result in any more destabilizing Aboriginal violence.

Corridors of Imagined Communities

During the initial phases of Japanese colonial administration on Taiwan, Ching shui was one of the earliest towns in central Taiwan to be integrated into the greater imperial economy. Ching Shui is a fantastic example of the early Japanese infrastructure project as the town became a hub for moving produce and goods along the coast. Ching Shui also became one of the earliest manufacturing hubs in central Taiwan. Local weavers were recruited to produce hats and textiles in Ching Shui's industrial district. At one point Ching Shui was the largest producer of the popular straw hats the Japanese were fond of in the early 20th century. The industrial infrastructure laid by the straw hat producers provided fertile ground for other industries seeking skilled weavers; namely the sporting goods industry. Straw hats led to footwear, tennis racquets and later, in cooperation with the machine tool training many Taiwanese received during and after WWII... bicycles.

On our ride, Michael and I stopped at Ching Shui Elementary School on Guang hua and Zheng Nan roads, which was one of the earliest elementary schools in central Taiwan. It was founded in 1907, primarily for the children of Japanese industrialists, but later the children of the Taiwanese gentry were allowed to attend. This had a major impact on society asTaiwanese were, for the first time, able to be educated with the mission in mind, to help them read about and imagine their community.

Pedaling Pilgrims

We ran into the Hsin Kang to Dajia cycling event. The even is a 110km ride to follow the route the Dajia Mazu will take on her annual pilgrimage from her home in the Cheng Lang Temple in Dajia. The Mazu festival marks the traditional arrival of Spring. Although Mazu pilgrimage in nothing new to Taiwan, I have heard... ahem!... the Dajia event has become mainly a tourism juggernaut run by organized crime and local politicians to fulfill their political fortunes and fortify their local fiefdoms of gravel, construction, bid rigging, sex, drugs, weapons and betel nut. I have also been told that some of the revenue generated from these events, eventually makes its way into the coffers of a particular political party with roots in China... ahem!

Making for Mazu

We made our way out of Ching Shui back along the villages along the base of Dadu Shan. I noticed that the villages had a strange layout, like a soldier village, and Michael suggested they were more recent plains Aborigine villages. The names suggested as much. Much of the Taiwan plain is dotted with this type of village and EVERY major town was once a center of indigenous life. The villages we passed through on our way up the hill are in an area known as Fan Cheng, or "Barbarian City". These areas were probably considered indigenous until the Japanese colonial period when the ethnic markers that once delineated Aborigine from Han were eliminated only by official caveat.

We rode back to Tanzi and I sped the 8 miles home at speeds between 23(37kph) and 29mph (46kph). Another great little ride complete. For the day I only logged 50 miles (80km), but it was a really nice ride.

Rocky Huang: Cycling Taiwan Video

Support Your LBS:

Final Build

Here is a great video posted by my friend and builder Rocky Huang from T-Mosaic Cycles in Taichung.

When Rocky is not preparing for a race he usually reserves his weekends for taking customers on rides. They usually offer different rides for different levels of fitness, so nobody is excluded.

Although the big box stores like Giant and Merida offer some good deals, you don't get the same level of expertise you get when dealing with a good local bike shop. At an LBS like Rocky's, you might pay a little more, but you get service from a guy who actually knows what it is like to seriously ride a bike and shares the same passion for the sport. Often, the big corporate stores do just enough to move merchandise, but the employees do not have the saddle time it takes to understand the customer's needs. Sometimes with large corporations, excessive overhead drives the sales rather than ensuring the customer has the bike they want and need. In my own experience I have found Giant and Merida stores are great for a quick repair, but generally they are technicians of limited ability. The employees go through a short training course, like McDonalds, and then hit the sales floor. Rarely are the Giant derailleurs ever indexed properly. Visiting Rocky is more like going to a cycling councilor. I can discuss training technique, different component options, geometry, routes and resources. This is a huge advantage of the LBS.

Furthermore, supporting your LBS is a great way to support your cycling community and I hope more cyclists will go out of their way to lend these places their support. The LBS forms a center where local cyclists can meet, ride and build community awareness. They need your patronage to remain a part of your community. To favor the corporate stores is simply penny wise and pound foolish.

I would again like to thank Rocky for his expertise and help with prepping by bike on short notice when I need to ride. Best bike shop in central Taiwan.

Clipless Pedals

Time to go CLIPLESS... please!

I have seen too many riders out there who are still using grubby old athletic shoes and pushing away at old platform pedals.

Platform pedals were great when I was when I was a kid and I would just leap off my bike and let it coast down the hill into Mr. Anderson's new Berlinetta.

Time Atac

Now that cycling has become, for me, both recreation and serious exercise, the pedal becomes a serious and essential piece of equipment to get right.

I am not just bringing this up to dump on people for not looking "pro", but rather, with clipless pedals (pedals you clip a cleat into) you can deploy more muscles and take advantage of your entire stroke to get better, more efficient performance.

The perfect stroke

The most efficient pedal stroke should be, as it has been described to me, like scraping dog shit off your shoes. Nice even strokes with the foot being generally flat at the bottom stroke (or pointed up for climbing). I have seen some guys who have pointed their toes down for years, so much so, that it has changed their frame size requirements. Old habits die hard. I could only imagine how awesome they would ride with a corrected stroke.

A lot of people are afraid of being locked to the bike, but the clipless pedals essentially turn the show into the pedal. It isn't so scary with a little practice and becomes second nature. (I fell down my first time out... in front of some cute girls who happen to be there whenever I look like a total boob.)

Speedplay Zeros

For shoes in Taiwan, I made a fashion faux pas and bought SIDI mountain bike shoes for NT8000. Mountain bike shoes have a bit more tread and you can pretty much walk on the street as if you are wearing regular shoes.

Look Keo

I paired the shoed up with Crank Bros. Candy SL pedals because they have a small platform and are easy to hook in and out. They use the CB SPD style cleat. They are small and pretty universal. For roadies, a lot of guys like Speedplay Zeros, which have a huge clip that attaches to the shoe. Look Keo and Time Atac are also great pedals.

Crank Bros. Candy

No argument.... If you don't have 'em... get 'em!!!

Cross-ing Taichung County

Exploring Farm Roads Off The #136

One reason I sought out and went through all the pain and expense of building up a CX bike was to better explore the little betel nut roads and farm trails that litter Taiwan's counties. Unfortunately, I don't get to do enough of this. For the cost of several minutes to change tires and tubes, I can go from a road bike to an off-road bike and hit the trails. This would be better if my car hadn't been stolen and I could drive out to where the trails start... rather than bike 30 miles before the ride even starts. That's the down side. Knobbies tend to be a bit softer and a couple months on the road wears them down pretty bad. For this ride I went out the Local Taichung #136 past the Bat Cave (now unfortunately called "The Bat Hole") in Taiping. Just past the gaudy, gold-painted monastery I took a left over the bridge and off into the hills to the Fairy Falls. I used to go out there to jump into the waterfall before anyone really knew about it... but word leaked out and it has since become a party spot for foreigners and Taiwanese alike. Every so often someone drowns out there and the authorities discourage jumping into the falls.

I chose my 32c Michelin Mud 2 for the front and Michelin Cyclocross Jet for the rear. These are hard to find in Taiwan and I use them sparingly. Otherwise good tires. I do wish I had switched them around for the day or went all Mud2.

The whole area is much different from when I first visited a decade ago. The through road collapsed in a mudslide and now there is no access from the other side. Huge boulders are strewn about and a giant swath of hillside is noticeably missing. The area has become a kind of defacto nature preserve. I have seen pheasant and large herons back there as well as other animals.

I surveyed the terrain and made my way in. The path was partially paved and some parts overgrown and muddy. It was glorious.

Some parts of the road had been washed out and some half-assed construction was going on to make the road passable. It wasn't so bad.

As I got further down the road the conditions got more and more iffy. huge sections were overgrown and I took a little refuge under some banana trees as it started to rain.

In some parts the road was just a narrow track of dried mud. I glided over smoothly as if it were asphalt. I could look down at the stream below and at all the waterfalls. I love river tracing, so I had to imagine how to negotiate the stream bed below.

The whole valley was pretty peaceful and quiet. The only noise came from a distant construction project and the occasional roll of thunder.

I got a pinch flat on my way out. I didn't even notice for a while. As I stopped to change my flat, I heard the sound of grunting from the bushed. As a former paperboy I immediately feared a large dog or something would burst out of the bushes. I hate big dogs like Indiana Jones hates snakes. Finally, I looked up and saw a troop of monkeys looking down at me as if they were laughing at my folly. I patched up and went home before the rains picked up again.

Night Stats

I just got back from my night loop. Not a personal best, but I'll take it. Traffic was a little heavy tonight, but I love the feeling of fighting through the scooters. My bike, as a cyclocross race bike, excels in these situations. It is almost like criterium racing. I think I was a little tired for the intervals at the end. This is also the third time I have opted to just hold my gearing to the 50 tooth chainring and limit my cogs between 12 and 26.

Time for some chocolate milk!