June 20, 2015: This is not Tou' erping, this is dead-end Gangxian lane

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/809390218

81km, 3h32, elevation 862m

Every day a new discovery, that is what life should be all about, right? I lived up to that adage today. I went to Fengyuan as usual and I took a climb up to Gonglaoping. Then, I descended further along Taichung-90, returning to Shigang. My plan was to cycle the ever steep Tou'erping lane, but I did something wrong...

Coming from Taichung-90, you have to take a turn right to a temple. From there, there are two directions to go. One leads to Tou'erping and is the lane to the right. I accidentally took the one to the left. Why did I make this mistake? It seemed logical that I would be taking the road that ascends, as I remember Tou'erping to be a very long climb. However, I was wrong...

In my defense, from the very beginning I felt strange on this path. It did not feel like Tou'erping. However, I just kept on cycling.

Shortly after that I knew I was not riding Tou'erping, but I wanted to see where this was going. This snapshot almost feels like some tranquil area in Nantou, but don't be fooled, this was just in Fengyuan's backyard.

This sign says that the road ahead is interrupted. I still wanted to see what was here. Maybe cyclists could pass? It was worth a try...

There were more and more road blocks. The government really does not want people to be driving their cars here...

I slowly began comprehending what was going on. These falling rocks were telling me that probably after a typhoon this road has been blocked up.

Incredible views just in the backyard of Fengyuan. Central Taiwan is such a mysterious place.

Bartman on June 20th. My helmet still had the Fengyuan race sticker on it

Maybe not completely clear from this picture, but there was a series of falling rocks and sand blocking the road.

This is where I decided I needed not take things further. The road was blocked, not by these yellow blocks but by the cover up in vegetation and rocks behind it. Too bad this lane did not offer an extra connection to Xinshe. It would have been nice if I could combine it in a Grand Tour de Fengyuan.

I went back to the starting point, because I wanted to check what the name of the lane was I had been cycling. The answer was Gang-xian lane. Good to remember...

I was supposed to take this small lane at the right to Tou' erping. Instead I went for a more sacred conquest of Gang-xian lane at my left.

I passed some small lanes and connected to a point to Shigang's Hwy 3. Then I cycled back via the Dongfeng path to Fengyuan for tea. 

February 1, 2015: Test riding the Specialized New Tarmac in Taichung's Xitun area

This test ride came as a surprise. I was teaching in Taichung when suddenly one of my students cancelled a class. It meant I had a three hour gap. I went to the Taichung Specialized store. The shop owner asked me if I wanted to test ride their Specialized Tarmac. That was an offer I could not decline!

This bike was size 54, perfect for me! They set it up without click pedals, so I could use my regular shoes I was wearing. Now let's take this thing outside for a spin!

From the bike shop I went to Xitun road, which is a nice climb. I noticed right that the Tarmac was made for climbing.

I took that little street to the right, it connects directly to Metropolitan Garden road. This part is nice and steep with 10%.. Here we have a nice view over the handle bar.

A view over Xitun. The feel of the bike was quite different from my Roubaix. Impossible to get used to it on such a short ride. We did it for the unique experience.

Xitun area, Western Taichung

Sometimes I ride here when I come home from work. I was a bit nervous over these 23mm tires. I seriously do not like that size.

The frame was super light and stiff. The wheels could not work for me. I had experienced a carbon failure at this very Metropolitan Garden. No way carbon wheels can ever entice me again.

Roval Rapide 40, Specialized's own brand carbon wheels. I only had a brief experience with them, but I will never ride them again. That's for sure...

The weather was perfect. This red sand which is typical for Shalu looked like a fairy tale.

Also new to me, the SRAM set up. For road bikes I have only ridden Shimano Ultegra

A close up of the New Tarmac frame

Size 54, perfect for my 178 cm.

I was taking a lot of pictures for this short ride. On top of metropolitan garden, I went into this small path. It is the one that ends close to my home. 

There will be no cars popping out here. I descended a little along that steeper section, I wanted to check if I remembered that carbon wheelset performance in the correct way. I did! Braking performance was horrible. Good thing I managed to stop. After that I started heading back.

It took me a few attempts, but I managed to get a nice picture of the bike standing.

From a different angle...

I arrived back at Xitun road. I descended back to the store. Once again I reminded of the awful braking performance of carbon wheelsets. The frame itself was nice. The New Tarmac is a serious bike, but I will stay loyal to Roubaix.

December 22, 2014: The discovery of the Tan-Ya-Shen cycling path on the day I flew home for Christmas

Late in the evening, at 23:30, I had a flight home from Taoyuan Airport. I love night flights for two reasons: 1) I can sleep during the flight which makes the trip seem shorter 2) I have a full day I can enjoy. Before going to Taoyuan, I visited my friends in Fengyuan. This time not only did we have tea, they even invited me for a meal in a restaurant. I tried to remind them that I was coming back in just two weeks haha. However, it still felt like saying goodbye.

Ever since I started going to Fengyuan in Augustr 2014, I have been using one single route: highway 10. It runs from Shalu/Qingshui to Shengang and on to Fengyuan. Lately I had been watching my map and the signs on the streets and I noticed that there is a cycling path that also spanned most of this distance. This path was called the Tan-Ya-Shen cycling path, Tan stands for Tanzi area, Ya for Daya and Shen for Shengang. In other words, it is a path that runs from Tanzi over Shengang to Daya. I decided to check this out on my way home.

I departed from Fengyuan and the first part was still along Hwy 10. Until you see a little bridge, which is the cycling path. That is where I got on.

Officially on the Tan-ya-shen cycling path. Now let's roll!

A map that shows what can be found in the immediate surroundings.

I loved the feeling of tranquility, no cars honking. Lovely!

I was riding for a while until I realized that Shalu was the other direction

Woops! Going in the wrong way, better turn around.

Tanzi in just 2.5 km but I needed to go the other way.

This is the bridge that runs over Chongde road. My GPS sent me over Chongde road once or twice on a Sunday morning before a Fengyuan group ride.

OK, I was back on track for Shengang and Daya. I had to count up until 10, not count down. 

This very moment I felt like I did in Taipei, back in 2011 and 2012, when I spent hours and days on those cycling paths. It was cool that central Taiwan also had a cycling path like this. I even recognized some of the road I traveled by when a taxi took me to Guofa in early August. Suddenly I was starting to like a lot of stuff together.

At the 10km mark, I had to get back on Hwy 10 again. But this was already were the airport was. This cycling path was a great alternative to the more crowded road. I will definitely be riding it a lot more in 2015.. From Hwy 10, I took Taichung-67 down to Zhulin. The weather was perfect. I was home in time for my bus to Taoyuan.

Waiting for the red lights at ''Shalu's Wing'', as the locals refer to it. I always feel special on a day I fly back home.

Beishi Dong Road in Shalu... I stopped here for a meal with my friends and then I went back home. My luggage was already packed. I only needed to take the BRT to Chaoma and from there I could take the Tonglian to the airport. 

This was it for this year: 3288km in two months. In January, I will have a carbon sirrus. I am hoping to sell this one as such, but let's worry about that later. Now sit back, relax and enjoy your flight. It's Christmas!

October 13, 2014: A Miaoli ride with my former Shalu landlord and his buddy

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/611623849

126km, 5h17, elevation 1497m

When I just arrived in Taiwan, I needed a place to stay. I found a little student dorm room online and I moved in there that same day. However, that room was only temporary and I found a better place after two months. My landlord from the room I rented, also a fanatic cyclist, invited me for a cycling trip together with one other friend of his. I could not really decline could I? 

So we met a six am at Providence University. The three of us headed out to Qingshui and took Hwy 1 north to the Miaoli region. I noticed this landlord of mine was seriously hammering it. I did not even want to keep equal pace with him. I cycled at my own pace and just tried to keep him within sight. Sometimes he would wait. 

In Miaoli we took Route 121 further north, until we reached the Route 130. Something annoying happened here. There was a lot of traffic and because my landlord gained on his friend in a tight position, he forced him to a sudden stop, which caused him to smack into the concrete. Good thing eh was fine, but what an asshole behavior. I did not pronounce my thoughts at the moment, but I was disgusted by it.

Back to route 130. This a long climb that goes until Sanyi township. I have ridden this section in previous early rides in 2014. We went through Sanyi city and took Miaoli-49. If you have no idea what I am talking about, just check out my Garmin map. We then started climbing Miaoli-56, the so called Guandaoshan. We only did the first climb though.

I had never been to this area before. It is the Guandaoshan mountain. The views were lovely. We stopped here for a quick break. The climb up here was strange: 12% with minor descents in here as well.

I was not yet at their level, but that's fine.

This is the road of Guandaoshan, a.k.a. Miaoli-56. We did not go in here, we turned back to the main road where we came from.

They told me Guandaoshan was a very steep climb and that it would be cool for another ride.. 

Sanyi, Dahu, Shengxing station, Longteng broken bridge... A lot of scenic spots in Miaoli. We went straight ahead, hoping to connect to 130.

Good thing I brought my Garmin. There are a lot of cool routes here. Gotta come back here!

Then we saw this. We thought it was just meant for cars, so we passed. Often you have these road blocks where you can pass as a cyclist.

And then we noticed we really could not pass. These workers were even unfriendly, shouting ''can't you guys read the sign that you are not supposed to come in here''. 

So we went for plan B, which was going back to Hwy 13 and descending to Houli from there. On the long straight section our speeds were very high. I believe I did around 65 kmph. Incredible! In Houli we took a section underneath a bridge that lead to Shengang and Daya. From there, Shalu was close.

This is a snapshot I took in Qingshui. I used to cycle here a lot in the days I worked with Gert in Qingshui.

It was a nice ride with some serious elevation, but honestly speaking, I will cycle with other people next time :-)