Mother's Day: Six-year-old Bikes 15k for Missing Mom

In a similar story to the case of the 6yo. boy who rode his bike all day looking for a puppy, we have another story of a Taiwanese child biking far and wide. 


The news last night had a story of a six year old girl rode her little bike 15 Kms to find her mother. When her dad was sleeping, she got her ribboned bike out and took off. She naturally got lost. Someone thought it was weird that the girl was out riding by herself, so the police were notified. The police suggested that she should get in their police car. So she reluctantly got in the car. They attempted to help her locate her mom at work, but, like most Taiwanese children, the lost rider couldn't really remember where her mom worked. The police were forced to return her to the police station. Eventually, the girl's father went to the police station and took his daughter home.


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Links:

• British PM, David Cameron, looks to appoint a cycling tsar to address the concerns of cyclists in the UK. If everything goes accordingly, Bradley Wiggins will be limping out of the TdF this July and will have ample time to devote to UK cycling. 

• Remember to hydrate in the heat. Palm Desert heat claims cyclist. 

• Because the truth hurts: The Cyclist's Wife.

• Why do cyclists look funny? Q&A

• Cyclists Clash With Toronto and the only thing that can restore the peace is if Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette and Alasdair Gillis can come together as a Giant Robot. 

• Injured veteran cyclists ride on Washington.

• The only cyclist who can afford a Cervelo R5ca will donate $40 million to support NY sports.  As if NY sports teams are hurting for cash. 

• Injured cyclists deserve to be disfigured, crippled and killed. Look at the way they are dressed. They're asking for it.  

A History of Mongoose BMX Bikes: I loved my old Motomag!

SALE!: Get A Garneau Steel Taiwan Touring Bike

I am putting this up as a favor for a friend. TiC is in no way responsible or liable for any transaction. Any and all transactions are strictly between the buyer and the seller.

I have seen this bike in action and it is a decent, capable tourer for Taiwan. Please see the information below for details.

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From Dom:

I am selling my steel road bike. If you live in Taiwan and are interested, contact me...0987763144 The frame size is for an adult. I am 5'9 and it fits me well. The tires, upgraded, are new Continentals. The handlebars, stem are upgraded. The pedals are upgraded- They are regular pedals, but also have another side with clips. I have ridden this bike probably about 4ooom K in the 15 months I've had it. It is sturdy and comfortable to ride. It has been stored indoors. 16k NTD.

Weekend Update

Well... the weather kept me close to home this weekend, but I did manage to get a short ride with some hot climbing done. Dom and I did a little ride over Dadu Shan between Taichung and the coast. It was nice to try out my climbing legs to better evaluate how I am coming back from all that down time. 


The goal was to push heavier gears to about 70rpm on the climbs


The speed was there, but the recovery times were not. I guess I still need some engine work. 


Good times. 


Here is the route for a short jump over the hill with limited time. 


Links:

• Pedaling Madly Backwards has a nice article about Taiwan's child bike seat nonsense.
• I am also happy to see Bikemaps has reverted back from using a map in Hanyu Pinyin for Taiwan. Whatever your feeling on Romanization systems, the fact of the matter is that on the road, a visitor will need to know the local spellings. 
• Don't Miss OzSoapbox as he continues to take the piss out of Taipei's bike lanes. 

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In other cycling news, the big one-day races are over, with my favorites in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The Ardenne series also wrapped up without the heavy favorites faring terribly well. I get the feeling Radioshack, BMC and a few others are holding back before the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. 


I did enjoy seeing Nibali make a great effort to only place second in last night's Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He showed a lot of the courage that made him a standout in the 2010 Giro. 


It is a shame that so much racing is reserved for the final few kilometers of these races.  

Polar Opposites: Taipei Urged To Follow Kaohsiung's Lead In Bike Rentals

In the wake of a crumbling urban bike "plan", KMT City Councilor, Lee Yen-shiu is urging Taipei to take a more proactive approach to integrating the bicycle into the urban grid by following Kaoshiung's lead in offering an extensive bike rental program.

The Taipei Times Reports:

Taipei City has set up 11 public bicycle rental sites in Xinyi District (信義) since launching the program in 2009, providing 500 bicycles for rent near MRT metropolitan rail stations in the district, including Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station and Taipei City Hall Station.

According to the city’s Department of Transportation, an average of 23 people a day use the system. The department has budgeted NT$14 million (US$ 470,000) a year to manage the program, and incurred a loss of more than NT$10 million since its launch.

KMT Taipei City Councilor Lee Yen-shiu (李彥秀) said the department has failed to promote the program by limiting it to the Xinyi District. She called for the number of rental sites to be expanded to 12 districts and for a friendlier environment to be created for cyclists.

“Public bicycles should not only be used for recreational purposes, but as a short-distance commuting tool. With rental sites only in Xinyi, it’s difficult for more residents to take advantage of the service,” she said.

In Greater Kaohsiung, which also launched its bike program in 2009, there are 49 rental sites around the city, with 800 bicycles available, she said, adding that the number of residents using it has reached 1,300 per day.

It is refreshing to finally see some growing criticism on how the government is choosing to craft cycling policy. Now if only someone would commit to giving cyclists space to safely ride.

Dunhua Bike Lane Debacle: City Puts NT$60 Million Failure To Rest

My quick synopsis and commentary of a recent article from the Chinese language news wire:

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Taipei City has finally been forced to terminate the ill-fated Dunhua Bike Lanes.

The Dunhua bike lane was launched 2 years ago with much fanfare, but due to poor design othere have been several serious accidents and numerous complaints. Therefore, after a lengthy evaluation by the Bureau of Transportation, the lanes have been slated for removal.

The lanes have been routinely criticized for having been constructed as a knee jerk reaction to the first bicycle boom in 2008, when the city sought to win political points on the heels of a trend.

Now, the city is proposing a redesign. But after an initial NT60 million initial investment, Taipei residents are reluctant to fund the redesign fearing a continuation of the same type of ill planned, ill thought-out city project that has been the hall mark of Taiwanese urban bike trails.

The lane runs from Min Quan E. Rd. to Keelung Rd. at 4.6km.

Ever since its opening in Sept. 2009, the city has received regular complaints. Many residents feel the basic design has many errors, for example the rubberized material is easily damaged and becomes slick in the rain. Furthermore, the lane cuts between pedestrian walkways and bus lanes forcing citizens to dodge bike traffic in order to catch a bus.

What this really shows is how little the government really considers the needs of cyclists before spending public funds on these types of projects. Often these bike paths are a quick means to pander to the electorate and to spread money to various construction firms.

It is disappointing when a city loses a bike lane when they should be creating them, but that is the risk of letting unrelated factors influence necessary infrastructure. If you're just going to do it half-assed, then don't do it at all.

Taiwan's Commuting Conundrum: Has Someone Finally Noticed? (Updated)

The Taipei Times published an article today concerning the influx of commuters in the wake of rising energy costs, and more importantly on the problems that still face Taiwanese commuters despite the NT$870 million allocated for bicycle infrastructure in 2011.

Some netizens scoffed at the idea, saying that the government was unfriendly to bikers and that saving NT$60 per day on fuel while spending more on lunch was not a good tradeoff. However, netizens who have already begun to commute to work by bike said they enjoyed the health benefits.

The article points to some companies that have taken the initiative by providing facilities for cyclists. Rather than paving more leisure trails for visitors and tourists, the government might want to allocate part of the budget for offering to subsidize the installation of facilities that promote cycling to work.

One anonymous staff member at an e-commerce firm said his company encouraged its employees to bike to work, adding that it had set up shower stalls equipped with free toiletries and hair dryers.

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Taiwan Cyclist Federation director Tien Yi-sheng (田沂生) said that safety was still the most important concern for bicycle commuters.

“We still need more systems that are biker-friendly in Taiwan,” Tien said, adding that in Denmark and the Netherlands 30 percent of the workforce commutes by bicycle.

This is really the crux of the issue. Taiwan's streets are still too dangerous for most cyclists to want to navigate on a regular basis. To make the sweeping changes necessary to make cycling a safe and effective alternative to the automobile, someone is going to have to start making some politically unpopular decisions.

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An editorial in the Taipei Times echoes many of my sentiments. Read It HERE

Taichung to Lugu (140k)

Sunday seemed like a good day for a ride. Still no word on my camera, so I am stuck with these awful Nokia images.

My plan was pretty simple. I need to put some miles in the legs and I need to build back into climbing.

The best way to do that from Taichung seemed like a little trip up to the tea farming areas around Lugu. Aside from the workout, I felt like getting up there to take a look at the Spring harvest. The Spring teas should be ready by the end of May and many of the lower elevation teas are already being rolled.

I love spinning along through some of the small villages in the area when the air is filled with the smell of freshly processed tea.

I had the most inauspicious start to my ride with a piece of tissue paper flying up off the road and into my rear derailleur. After picking the pieces out and getting things back to normal, I sluggishly took the Highway 3 out of Taichung toward Nantou.

Just between Nantou city and Mingjian I came upon the scene of an ambulance carting off a fellow rider. He seemed pretty banged up, but not in serious condition. His teammates ambled idly by over the demolished Bianchi frame, which sat in three pieces, held together by the brake cables.

It appears he may have swerved into the path of a passing scooter.

I normally don't take pictures of wrecks, but I thought I would just post a reminder that this could be any one of us on any given ride. Ride safe and be careful.

I took the bridge at Jiji over the river to the Nantou Route 131. This is a nicer way to bike up to Lugu. The grades are not as severe or as crowded as the larger Route 151, and there are plenty of pleasant scenic surprises.

As I reached the Route 151, I decided to simply cross the canyon to Hsiao Ban Tian, which is another tea producing area near Lugu. I really saw no point in continuing up to Sanlinxi in weather that looked just shy of rain.

I thought I would swing through Hsiao Ban Tian and see how the tea harvest a was doing. A few farmers seemed to be getting ready for the big Nantou tea competition, which is abut a month away.

The town was mostly still asleep. I continued off the hill on the exciting Route 55 and made some good time on the Highway 3 back home.

Just after Nantou, I decided to get off the three and hook up to the Highway 14 on the opposite side of the Wu River. As I exited I passed a wedding banquet that was being held in the space under the viaduct.

My legs felt pretty good all the way back and I kept the speed up so I could get home early and see my daughter.

I was home just after 1:00pm... with plenty of time for play and then a trip to Caffe Terry for a beer and the Amstel Gold Race.

Nice day!