January 31, 2015: May-day, man down during a Fengyuan group ride

Garmin Activity: No activity

Today we had a very short ride because I had class at 1 am. Nevertheless, I made it for the Fengyuan group ride. I took my bike cam for some bike fun. This time I decided to install it backwards, so I could have more pictures of my buddies in the handlebars.

Bike cam is working, now let's hit the road

We teamed up a the 7-11 near Shuijing in Fengyuan. The first challenge of the day was Wanli Changcheng, Taichung-88.

Shuwei, Mr. Cai and Steven, all dressed in yellow.

Woops, I gotta slow down, otherwise I still don't have their pictures

That's more like it. It was rather chilly and everybody was wearing wind vests.

Inside of the little tunnel, this is all before the real climbing starts to kick in.

the white rider in the back is A-Yong

We waited here for the others to join.

I took off my helmet to inspect my camera, making sure it was still attached firmly. Accidentally had this picture of myself.

Entering the beautiful hills of Fengyuan's garden of Eden in the early morning. Truly a lovely experience.

Then the climbing started and distance was shaped almost naturally

I tried to slow my speed but even that had a bottom line.

This picture shows neatly how this road is curling up.

Slowing down did result in two other riders approaching... Who were they?

The rider in the red jersey is my close pal Liao Shijie

The sun was making its way above these hills.

Good morning Wanli Changcheng, how are you doing today?

It is a beautiful day

Wanli Changcheng is actually a very narrow path. Good thing there are never a lot of motorized vehicles over here.

We waited at the top for the others to join. Then they tour guided us through some neat small roads.

The gang was complete here

And they were showing me a side of Xinshe I had never seen before. Lovely stuff!

This path was even more narrow. The kind I like most

I believe this is Taichung-93 but I am not sure.

It was interesting to see how many nice views I could capture with my camera installed like this

Then we cycled to a spot called Danyaoku 彈藥庫, Chinese for gun powder box. It was a small climb but I had never been there. There was another cyclist there, a friend of Steven, he would join us on our ride.

Riders following me at Danyaoku

This is where that rider joined us. We waited for the others to join here.

Mr. A-Yong covering up most of my lens's reach haha

The skies above Xinshe

And then we cycled out of Danyaoku

On the right you can see a Taiwanese cemetery, although tombs like these are for the high class rich people.

I waited for the guys to join here and made a video recording

We waited here because A-Zhu would be joining us here. Mind the sign that indicated Shuijing.

The guy on the right is that friend of Steven.

When everybody was there, we marched on

More small lanes filled with Fengyuan riders

After some more climbing we once again waited here for the rest to join. Today's group ride was just a relaxing ride. Don't think too much of it.

Back on track

We were riding here when all of the sudden I heard somebody crashing into the ground. Oh no! When I turned around, I saw that friend of Steven had fallen with his bike. He fell over a light that came loose from A-Shun's bike. That guy was hurt and his bike was history. His front wheel totally twisted. It was only a 7000 NT bike. 

Steven called for someone to pick him up and have him sent home

Etiquette has it that the group must wait until help has arrived

We waited here for thirty minutes

But we had fun chatting and throwing these little nuts around

A-Zhu stealing the show

A picture of me with my  bike cam

After the guy was picked up, we cycled back to Fengyuan. We did pass through that Tou'erping lane. It was a bit tight but I made it in time for my classes in Taichung.

June 24, 2015: A Nankeng in full construction is still very steep but the view at the top is worthwile

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/814142656

106km, 4h28, elevation 1122m

Another day with classes in the late afternoon, so obviously some cycling in the morning. After my breakfast in Shalu, I took that small path from Qingshui to Haifengli again. From there it went over the Dajia river and then some small paths through the Waipu and Houli areas; I often cycle there lately because it is a tranquil way of going to Fengyuan

Farming activity along these fields and therefore some tractors will pop up now and then

I went through Waipu and Houli, through that Jiushe area. From there I connected to Hwy 13 which ran again over the Dajia river. Check it on the map. Eventually I made it to Fengyuan. In the afternoon I decided to do some cycling. Originally I had planned to do Beikeng but I somehow took the wrong road and ended up cycling Nnakeng (the southern slope)

The first km of that road are doable, but then there is a very steep section that leads to Xinshe. Every time I came here, there were construction works and today was no different. It meant getting off the bike here.

Admittedly, these road construction works were progressing and maybe next time there would be concrete/

This would be a nightmare on a road bike, but with my wider tires it could be done. Hooray!

Mind the writing on the wall. Apparently some locals were frustrated that it is taking too long to have this road normally connecting. 

I may be agile on the bike but here I was walking. Right after this there is a very steep ascent, with gradients of 22%. Out of the saddle and on the 32T cog it is doable.

Fengyuan's Nankeng alley. The first time I went uphill here. I came down here a lot of times. It was kinda terrifying on my road bike. With disc brakes it is doable.

Nankeng alley leads to Xinshe. When I got here I saw that it would be raining soon. So I decided to go back to Fengyuan.

This is around 500 meters of elevation. The views are nice though.

I think I am about to experience a downpour here!

I took Taichung-88, Wanli Changcheng back to Fengyuan. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my friends and then I went to Taichung city for my classes.

After the classes I spent quite some time chatting with a student. When I got back in Shalu it was already past 11 pm. But I did more than 100km!

July 24, 2015: Meeting new friends on the day before the KOM race

Garmin Activity: No Garmin Activity

The day before the big KOM race in Hualien, I travelled there by train. I did my preparations in Shalu, looking up where the venue was. I got a train ticket from Fengyuan to Hualien and I got a bike bag for my transport.

Early in the morning I cycled to Fengyuan and caught the train. This train was going north to Taipei and then on to Hualien. 

Looking up the venue in Hualien city.

I also saved this waypoint to my GPS for easy navigation

My bicycle bag, ready for a big journey

I had to bring a lot of stuff for this race

Fengyuan railway station, going north to Miaoli from here.

In the train I met some friends who were also racing at the KOM race. There was one German guy and the others were locals. We started chatting a lot about cycling.

These pictures were taken in the section between Yilan and Hualien, the so called Suhua road.

I rode this section in 2013, when I was cycling around the island

It was quite a bunch of them and we got along great. One remarkable thing occurred: When I saw the list of participants my name was not there. Luckily I was able to call the organization and have everything fixed before my arrival.

Everybody was feeling for an epic KOM adventure

In Hualien we first had something to eat and then we went to the hotel for registration.

After registration I suggested we go check where the starting point of the race is. That spot was called Qixingtan and was way on the coast.

My Roubaix with the Great Pacific right behind it. It was a fantastic weather day

Relaxing before the big showdown.

The Qixingtan bicycle path

We made some pictures here

This would be a nice option when cycling around the island.

Hualien, sea and mountains

Hualien is such a beautiful place. I cannot describe the immense feelings I have every time I come here.

We stopped here for some Mango Ice

Jummy mhmmm

One of the guys was riding a Pinarello bike, just the one my Fengyuan friend Shu-wei wanted. Obviously I had to show off with it.

In your face Shuwei haha

Mango ice in the summer sun of eastern coast Hualien, beyond doubt the best July 24th I ever had.

On our way back to Hualien city, Qixingtan is located along Route 193.

The presentation at the hotel was quite fun.

This medallion only goes to those who actually finish the race

Great! I could feel the passion burn inside me when I saw this height profile

I won a little gadget during the pop quiz section

My participant number. This picture was taken in Nita Lin's hostel. 

The beautiful morning sun of Qixingtan. Let the games begin!!!