The Face of Taiwan Cycling

A while back I was asked by a member of the cycling press what I thought about the narrative provided to he and some other journalists who were brought to Taiwan to cover the Taiwan International Bike Festival. 

The narrative in question surrounded the mythology that Taiwan's cycling culture was the direct result of one man, his singlehanded drive to promote cycling, and the large company he co-founded many years ago. The narrative continued to expound on how this person was the single most important figure in Taiwanese cycling culture, and both the Adam and the Eve to all cycling in Taiwan. 

To me the narrative was preposterous. 

Then I thought back at my time working with Taiwanese machine tool manufacturers as I tried to transform their marketing information in a way that might appeal to English speaking markets. 

One of my first goals was to play down the importance of the boss and founder. In most cases, company underlings (often consisting of the founder's adult children), used a disproportionate amount of copy to lionize their chairman and provide a lengthy roll of his individual achievements, patents, awards and capital investments and possibly is IQ and penis size. The chairman was like a one-man army.

Preposterous, but this is often what is fed to foreign buyers and, in this case, the foreign press. 

So to come back to the point of this post. 

What does the face of Taiwanese cycling look like, if it does not look like the face of the man mentioned above? 

This past Sunday on a morning training ride over Bagua Shan, I was more than happy to look into the faces of Taiwanese cycling. There were hundreds of riders out on all sorts of equipment enjoying the morning. Everything from snappy carbon and lycra to creaky steel and coaching shorts. 

The sheer variety was simply brilliant. 

Taiwanese cycling culture does not owe its life to one man and his company, but rather, it owes its existence to all the riders who have made the choice to spend their time enjoying life from the saddle of a bicycle. 

Below are some pictures of some of the riders from the day. 

These are the faces of Taiwanese cycling culture.



This Sunday I rode with the T-Mosaic squad on a recon tour over Bagua Shan. 







































































Nothing like a good cigarette to clear the lungs

10/10 Holiday Social Ride: Everyone Is Welcome

This October 10th, a bunch of local riders will be getting together for a casual ride through the Sun Moon Lake area. This is by no means a competitive affair. We are just hoping to keep the mood light with a rolling party through some really nice places.

This event is open to everyone and it should be suitable for most regular riders of varying degrees of fitness.

If you are interested in getting out for this bicycle mixer, Michael Turton at The View From Taiwan has the details:

Oct 10 ride: celebrate the day off with a long social ride through the mountains of central Taiwan. Description:  

Meet at No. 563號, Zhōngzhèng Road, Wufeng District Taichung City, Taiwan 413. The plan is to rendezvous at the Wufong 7-11 on hwy 3 at 7:15 am. We'll ride south to the 14, turn east at Caotun and take it to 147 and head south to the 131. We'll ride around the east side of SML and descend down to hwy 16 via nantou 63. Return then to Taichung via the 3 or the 139 (entirely optional) depending on how brave we feel. This will be a social ride. No one gets dropped. The distance from Taichung is approx. 160 km through Taiwan's beautiful central hills.

I hope to see you there 

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.

--------