Northern Cross Island Adventure: Join The Ride (June 2-3)

Michael Turton over at The View From Taiwan would like to put out an invite for any and all cyclists to join him on another amazing trip across the Northern Cross Island Highway. 


The ride will be a two day affair beginning Saturday, June 1st at the Yongjing metro station at 7:30am.


The first day will end in Baling, where riders can crash at one of the cheap hostels available. Sunday, June 2nd, riders will descend into Iilan in the early afternoon to catch trains back to Taipei or continue on to other exotic locales if they wish. 


The ride will be at a friendly pace, so it is perfect for the novice who is looking to get out for a little bicycle adventure with a really great gang of people. For stronger riders this is an opportunity to slow down and enjoy the stunning scenery and share in the camaraderie of Michael's rolling party. I may even make an appearance. 


Everyone is welcome and nobody is ever dropped. This is about friends and fun. It is always nice to see some new faces in the group. 
_________________________________________________


When: June 2-3. Beginning June 1, 7:30am.
Who: Anyone who wants to have a fun and memorable ride. 
Where: Taiwan Northern Cross Island Highway (Highways 7A and 7). 
How: Meet at Yongjing Metro Station.
What: Bring your bike. A change of clothes. Money for food and lodging. Helmet. Great Attitude.
Why: Because life is too short to be boring.


More Info: Contact me through my blog or Michael Turton (turton.michael@gmail.com)

The Bad and The Beautiful: An Awful Ride Through Wonderful Places

 Taichung Cycling Path

Yes, I am still blogging.


These few weeks have been a bit rough for this blogger, with weather problems followed by a chest cold as the weather shifted from rainy to humid. Now, my father is in town visiting, so my riding will again be curtailed. 


I was finally able to get out for a ride on Saturday, and I decided to complete the route I had initially attempted the previous week. I thought I could roll from Taichung to Zhushan (竹山) and then up the 149甲, turning on the Yunlin Route 158 back toward Gukeng (古坑) and Douliu (斗六). I had even contemplated climbing home over Bagua Shan if I was feeling energetic. 


The whole route is about 160km through some really great tea growing areas. Too few cyclists ever explore these incredible roads, so it is always a pleasure to soak it all in from the saddle. 

As I sped through Wufeng, I stopped to take a look at one of those imposing monuments to the era of Cold War ideological posturing that feels anachronistic and out of place to anyone who has spent any time  with their ear to the ground in Taiwan. The KMT emphasis on "China" seems to betray the party's own insecurity and acknowledgement of Taiwan's own lack.

The roadside monument was arranged in 1989 between two local Lion's Clubs. These private organizations have often acted as a means to conduct unofficial international diplomacy between Taiwan and other countries. 


In 1989 Taiwan (The ROC) and South Korea (The ROK) maintained a united front against Communism in East Asia. By 1992 South Korea officially switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing as the representative of China in an act of realpolitik. In response, the ROC organized a "spontaneous demonstration of anger" outside the South Korean embassy, which involved stone throwing and other acts of orchestrated violence directed toward the Koreans. Taiwan enacted punitive sanctions and severed direct air links that would remain a point of negotiation between the two countries for over a decade. 


This demonization of Korea is also the genesis of much of the animosity many Taiwanese direct toward Koreans. I don't know how many times I have heard a Taiwanese tell me how much they don't like Koreans because of X,Y or Z. Still, these old hurt feelings haven't done much to deter younger Taiwanese from becoming the top international consumers of Korean pop idols and soap operas. 

Everything was pretty easy on the morning. I happily slipped along the roads into the hills. 

I always love passing the tea gardens along the Guo River. It seems they are always filled with people picking tea, as if they are doing it for my benefit. 


These are lower elevation oolongs, but they are hand picked, so the quality should be pretty good. 

Just where the tea gardens spread out at the top of a little climb, I took a right turn over the hill to Douliu. 

I kept a good pace up into the hills, but I could hear a worsening noise from my bottom bracket. I also may have pushed myself to go too fast over the hills. I was trying to be both ginger with the pedal mashing, but also dig into the climb. 

When I finally crested the hill, I felt completely spent. 


I haven't felt this bad in a long time. Maybe I still had too much fluid in my lungs. Maybe too much time off the bike. Maybe poor fueling. Maybe the bottom bracket was causing me to work much harder. Maybe the headwinds and crosswinds took the piss out of me. I really don't know what it was. 


We all have these days. We know what we should be capable of accomplishing. We have done much harder rides. This should have been cake. I shouldn't have been watching the hours slip by. Sometimes it happens and we have a bad ride. We are not immune to riding like crap. The mighty Thor Hushovd from Team BMC unceremoniously bowed out of the Giro d'Italia last week after a poor start punctuating a poorer season.  Some days you just suck. 

I continued plodding along at 20kph. I had nothing in my tank. I couldn't summon any more energy to move forward against the wind. The snapping the popping in the bottom bracket got louder and more annoying. 


I was in a state of shock. I hadn't been through such a humiliating experience in years. It was as if my legs had gone on strike. 

Finally, at Caotun, after 140km, I surrendered. I called for a ride home. My bottom bracket was a mess and so was I. There was no sense in prolonging my suffering. The will to push forward was gone. 


Better luck next time. 

Taking It Slow Around Sun Moon Lake: The View From Taiwan Rides The Ring

I don't have a lot to offer this week, but Michael Turton has a wonderful piece on a leisurely ride around Sun Moon Lake.

If you pay attention to the boardwalk bike path and lack of shoulder space in many of Michael's pictures, you can see why I recently savaged CNN-GO for ranking the area among the world's bets bicycle routes.

Moreover, this ride was done early on a Saturday morning under less than touristy conditions resulting in a much lower volume of traffic. On a sunny weekend the lake is spilling over with tour busses and all sorts of motorized traffic.

Michael provides a great look at how the most casual riders can enjoy a saddle top view of Taiwan's largest body of fresh water.

Please stop by The View from Taiwan and enjoy Michael's blog and his pictures.

Fatherhood and The Bicycle

After a week of endless rain, I scanned the skies for any sign things might be looking up. At this time of year the Taiwanese weather is so unpredictable there is really no point in following the forecast. Everyday should be labelled sunny with a chance of torrential thunder showers. 


Still, as I scanned the heavens for a sign that the weather might clear up enough for a weekend ride, I saw my chance on Sunday. 


As a husband and father I did my time working all week and doing all the fatherly things father types do. I spent three days cleaning the house (houses get really nasty with a baby around) as we are expecting guests. 


I spent Saturday outside lavishing attention on my little girl, all for the mere reward of looking into her gigantic, black dewy eyes and seeing them smile back. 


On Saturday night my wife went out to spend the evening with friends having fun. 


The promise of a full day on the bike was etched in stone. This was a check I could cash. 


I set my sights on a loop through Gukeng. I figured some flats and hills in an area that might offer various points of shelter should a menacingly dark cloud appear over the mountains. 


I was ready to put pavement behind me. 

As I rolled out onto the Highway 3, I felt sluggish, but expected the feeling to wear off once I started to push myself. There was a bit of a breeze and too much haze, but nothing too severe. 


I could just imagine stopping at Gukeng for a little local coffee before busting back over Bagua Shan, parched and aching. 


Then, in Caotun, I received a text message from my wife saying that out little girl was coughing and needed to go to the doctor. She was hoping I could cut things short and make it home. 


Without a moment of hesitation I squeezed hard on the brakes and came to a squealing stop like a locomotive headed for a damsel in distress.


I was soon passing the all too familiar landmarks that have become so routine I hardly even notice them. I was going to get back to my poor little girl and make sure she had medicine. I imagined a race against time like some kind of Taiwanese Iditarod; mushing through gargantuan trials to bring medicine to a community in need. My return home took on heroic proportions in the Walter Mittiest recesses of my mind. 


Then, as I came to a stop in Wuer, just a couple kilometers from home, I checked my phone. 


There, in the message box, was a short text from my wife that read, "Kit is ok now. She is sleeping sound so just continue your ride." 


It was too late. I was mentally finished with my ride for the day. 


That is the thing about being a cyclist and a father. The call of the road is loud. The call of the family is louder. We make our sacrifices and happily do so. We happily set everything aside for our families. 


The roads will always be there. 

Into The Sunset: Dadu Shan Hill Loop

After all that rain, I finally made it out for a Monday night ride over Dadu Shan and back. What a great evening for sunsets. 

The route has a lot of climbing packed into 48km, and I probably should have taken off 15min earlier for a little more daylight through the tricky bits, but it was a good evening ride. 

It is often far too easy to forget how great it is to be a cyclist in Taichung if we can tolerate the nasty traffic. Lots of options for every type of rider.  

Rainy Days

Not a lot to write about this weekend. 


The weather this time of year can go from dry to downpour in just a few moments. 


The only thing Taiwanese cyclists are getting these days is cabin fever. 

Cycling Taiwan's Northern Tip (Video)

Here is a nice little video from a rider who chose to climb up in the hills around Jin Gua Shi and Jin Shan along Taiwan's northern coast. Beautiful scenery that makes be rue this recent spate of foul weather.

Enjoy!