Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/615520815
151km, 7h09, elevation 2145
On this Sunday, the Fengyuan Gang wanted to go to Daxueshan. I decided to take my newly purchased Sirrus E5 for the challenge. Somewhat heavier, but disc brakes for going downhill sounded perfect! I went to Fengyuan in complete darkness, had a quick breakfast at Mr. Cai's place and then we headed out to Dongshi;
We met several of the other guys at the 7-11 located in Shigang and from there we went to Dongshi. Just like last time to Guguan, I noticed that on flat roads it was hard to keep up with their race bikes.
But things changed as we entered the mountain. When I stopped for a quick pee, they just kept on going, shouting that I would catch up with them. I was raged by that and as soon as I got on my bike I started jamming it. I gained on them at the 7.5km mark and when I passed by them, obviously they cursed me haha. After that I kept pounding on it and only two km later I already felt tired. I wanted to be the first to reach the 15km check point, which eventually I did. But I was already drained 70% when I got there.
The 15km mark on my alloy E5 flatbar buddy with beefy 32mm tires.
The first checkpoint in Daxueshan, the 15km Police Station
I waited for everybody to appear and of course Liao Shijie was number 2. Eventually everybody came and we all had some drinks and snacks. After some chatting, we started the second part of the climb, going for the 35km mark.
At the 19km mark, we stopped for some pictures. Unfortunately, there were three guys who wanted to go back home. They were tired and could not finish the climb. Who was left? Me, Liao Shijie and Shu Wei.
But we took some nice pictures together first
And I had a picture of me as well
Then we continued our climb to the 26.5km tunnel. During this section, I was keeping about equal pace with the others. After all, I was riding a heavier bike and my body was also heavier than theirs.
When we reached that tunnel, it was pure chaos. Too many cars in this little space. We had to wait for the cue in the tunnel to clear up. We decided to bide our time taking pictures.
I did not bring my camera, so only my cell phone to collect some precious memories.
Mr. Zhang Shuwei and his yellow helmet
Liao Shijie with his Specialized Venge and Mavic Cosmic wheelset
The red sign in Chinese says: not allowed to enter tunnel when there is a vehicle coming from the other direction. But when I ride my bike, I never get that respect from the Taiwanese drivers.
Us having a good time
A beautiful sunny morning. Apart from the overly crowded Sunday, it was nice
Daxueshan is just beautiful! All these people coming here to spend their Sunday makes perfect sense
A walking trail next to the Hengling tunnel
Packed with cars. Happy Sunday!
When the tunnel finally cleared up, we continued our way for the 35km mark. It was getting later and later (I had a class to teach at 2pm. Luckily after the 32km mark, it is all flat. We arrived at the 35km spot and took some more pictures of this beautiful space called Daxueshan National Park.
The Daxueshan National Park, entrance fee 100 NT; Today I didn't go in though.
At the entrance gate of the national park.
What risk of forest fire do we have today? Medium!
Breathtaking views
And the weather was extraordinarily good
Due to a lack of time, we did not linger too long on the 35km spot. During our way downhill, I took some pictures of the other guys. My flatbar with discs had just the breaking power needed and sometimes I even had my hands free for some snapshots. Pretty cool.
Look at them go, focused on their descent
More closeup
Don't forget about these landscapes
I'll have one of myself too
See that? He is warning me for an incoming vehicle! Great reaction! Whenever you hear the word "che" (Chinese for car), you need to make sure you are on the right edge of the lane.
The 32km blue bridge, we just had to stop here
And take more pictures
This time of us together
Excellent yellow outfit
I love this view
Somewhat harder uphill, a joy downhill
No entrance for pedestrians and tourists
My bike still looked new here
We stopped here because Shu Wei's hands were aching from the descent. I could imagine this, as the roads condition was not fabulous. We all made it down safe, except for Shu Wei who had to do some handlebar adjustments at the 15km mark.
After getting down, we went back to Fengyuan as soon as possible, where I had a quick lunch. Then I raced to school, giving it all I got to make it in time. I had called them to say I wold be late by 15 minutes. In the end I arrived perfectly at 2am, but after changing and getting ready, I did overdo it by 15 minutes. No stress, I had a wonderful ride and did a crazy 150km on this new bike. Good times with bicycles!
No comments:
Post a Comment