Weekend Riding

Davy and Steven go out every Sat or Sun at about 7am
for a spin up to Helen's. It has finally started to
get a little easy (yeay!), so we have begun to wander
further afield (satellites yesterday). We stop for a
coffee and a chat somewhere (a nice place called Momos
or something yesterday) and get back around lunchtime.
We'd love some company! Beginners very welcome. Old
hands that can show us the rides- we'll buy the
coffee!

Cheers!

1000 km Cycling Tour

The Taiwan Cyclist Federation is again sponsoring a 1000 km supported tour of the island August 5-15. You can't beat the price- US$100 for students or 11000 NT for others- and all hotels and meals are included. This is a great opportunity for someone either on island or off.

The link is here:

http://www.cyclist.org.tw/en_home-03.asp

Send it around to your friends!

Bill

Saturday Riding

As far as I know, the Bryson Ride is departing TAS at 5 am tomorrow for a 100 km spin out along the flats and back.

I just received a text from Davy saying that he is meeting at Taipei 101 at 7:30 am to lead a "leisurely beginners bimble to Helen's." He said he will be passing by the National Palace Museum at 8:15.

I am meeting Peter for a ride out towards Jinshan at TAS at 9 am. I'm racing in the Giant Cup Sunday, so I'm not sure how far I'll go, but I know Peter is planning on lunch at Camp Taiwan, so he will be going all the way to Wanli.

Have a good weekend of riding!

Bill

Tour de Pig

The Course:
45min + 1 lap Criterium race around the Tien Mu Baseball park ( A.K.O TPEC park)

The course is the inside loop (1 road south of pig n whistle road) so we limit traffic problems. Start at the top of the hill with a rolling first lap so everyone knows the course. Rotate in a clockwise direction. Finish at the 6 white lines at top of hill.

Sprint prime at the end of 5 laps (includes the rolling first lap) the line is the 6 white lines at top of hill.

Date:
Friday 1st June

Meeting Place:
Pig n Whistle 5.15am

Start Time:
5.30am

Entry Fee:
NT$100

Prizes:
Sprint Prime Male: 10% of all entry fees
Sprint Prime Female (if 3 or more female riders): 10% of all entry fees
Male 1st: 20% of all entry fees
Male 2nd: 10% of all entry fees
Male 3rd: 5% of all entry fees
Female 1st (if 3 or more female riders): 20% of all entry fees
Female 2nd (if 5 or more female riders): 10% of all entry fees
Female 3rd (if 7 or more female riders): 5% of all entry fees
Clydesdale 1st: 5% of all entry fees
Over 45 1st: 5% of all entry fees
If there is 7 or more female riders then the extra money can be given away for fun prizes- oldest cycle kit, worst haircut, best raleigh 10speed etc....

Notes of Interest:
Going through red light at own discretion. (outlawed in September)
be cautious on corner by cinemas and downhill corner
Nudity at your own discretion
No one is to pull out at the 11th hour (You know who you are)
If the pack is disrupted by a loose dog, person or car, 2 whistles will be blown and group must return together
1 whistle will be blown to determine sprint prime lap and the final lap.
If you happen to crash, get back on your bike and finish the damn race without bitching or moaning!


Questions to be asked:
Will Dave W continue his fine form of smoking it up the hill for the finish line?
Will Bill O'Brien take victory in his penultimate race in Taiwan or will he make friends with Jose Cuervo again?
Will Sean don the Columbus kit and give the young fellas a run for their money?
Will Seymour and Reedus make an appearance?
Young vs Mature members of the team
Which country will be atop of the podium

See you on the start line.


Craig Johns
www.taiwanracing.com

May 26th & 27th Giant Cup & Weekend Riding

Recent Races

I still need to post updates from the Tour of East Taiwan and last week's Fulong race- we had some great finishes. Update and photos to come...

Weekend Rides

There is a 4 pm Friday Cultural College spin followed by a cold one at the Green Bar. Meet at TAS.

Saturday morning meet at TAS at 6 am for a spin out somewhere. At the moment, the plan is to ride the coast road to Jinshan and then ascend from there, but plans could change.

Any thoughts for Sunday?

Giant Cup

Sign-ups have mostly closed for the Giant Cup race in Taichung on the 26th & 27th, but if you missed the deadline, it might be possible to sneak you in- let me know with a comment at the end of this post.

Details on that race (courtesy of Craig):

Saturday:
XC - mix of dirt trail and road
Downhill - I hope you have good medical insurance (weight back is recommended....)
Sunday
Road Race - course is flat
Climb - apparently has a hill in it (weight fwd a good idea)

Saturday 26th May MTB (XC)

30km - RE, REM
8km - M15, M20, M25, M30, M35
6km - M35, M40, M45, M50, M55, M60
4km - W20, W30

Saturday 26th May MTB (Downhill)

All categories 1.2km of pure adrenaline rush

Sunday 27th May Road Race

4laps (44km) - RE, REM, M15, M20, M25, M30
3laps (33km) - M35, M40, M45
2laps (22km) - M50, M55, M60, W20, W30

Sunday 27th May Road (Hill Climb)

All categories 2.5km


Cost is 300 NT for the first race with 100 NT for each additional race.

-Bill

Saturday Morning Ride

Anyone up for a short ride Saturday morning? I need to be home by 9 am. I'd be happy just to get out for an hour or so, but I can go longer, too.

If you've been meaning to do a particular ride, I'd be happy to show you the way...

Bill

Taipei Traffic Laws Enforced

Victor sent out an email update on Taipei city bike law enforcement:

Starting September of this year, there will be fines charged for bicycle violations. They are similar to motor scooter fines, you must:
have front/rear lights
wear helmets
follow traffic signs
not run red lights
not ride in recreational areas (like parks)
not ride against traffic
etc…

Beware...

Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Taiwan

ESPN is showing the Tour of Taiwan and Paris Roubaix over the next couple of weeks. The Tour is on today and tomorrow at 11 am, and Paris-Roubaix is on tomorrow at 10 am.

A full schedule is available over at www.bikeman.org.

New Wheels

Any advice on new wheels?  I can feel the rims worn down at the brake contact surface on my Ksyriums.

 

Looking at Ksyrium ES or SL3 or Fulcrum Zero or 1 - anybody with good or bad experiences?  Wheels need to be strong - my oversize weight would probably kill a super lightweight wheel.

 

Thanks,

 

Simon Moore

Tuesday May 1 Ride

Anybody else have Tuesday May 1 off?

 

Planning a longer ride leaving from TAS at 6:30.  Up Helens, down Helens backside, then either up Jinshan or 101 depending on weather/wind/energy/etc.  As most of our fast racing teachers will be working, pace will be slower and we will regroup on top of Helens, Wanli, Jinshan, etc.  Come out for all or part? 

 

Can meet people at National Palace Museum if easier.

 

How has the racing been?  Any race report from last weekend?

 

Bill/Craig, can you forward this to your invite list?

 

Thanks,

 

Simon Moore

Race Results and Weekend Riding

I've been waiting to post a race report until official times and photos were available, but I haven't found anything yet. So... despite the rain, Rock, Leon, Craig, Curt, Chris, Mike and I made it out Sunday morning for the Elspeth's Hill Climb.

Mike was off in the first group and finished first (again!). He demolished the field, finishing a full minute quicker than anyone else and posting the 4th fastest age group time of the day (a few youngsters were a little quicker).

In the 30 year old category, Rock came in 5th with Chris taking the Canadian Cup over Curt (at least for this round).

Leon passed Craig and I near the top in the elite race to finish with the quickest time of us all and 7th place overall. There were definitely some quick riders out there.

Weekend Riding

I'm out for the 5 am Bryson ride tomorrow morning, and then Leon, Rock, Mike and I are doing a Sanjr spin on Saturday at 3 pm (update: we are departing at 3:30 now- blame Rock!). We'll meet at TAS. If you're interested in an early morning ride Saturday, the Bryson ride is departing at 5 am, back by 9:30ish.

I'd like to get out for a short spin Sunday morning, but I don't have anything solidified yet.

Anyone else have plans?

Bill

Weekend Riding

As long as the weather doesn't deteriorate much more, Leon and I are meeting up at TAS at 6 am Saturday for a steady ride out to Jinshan and back.

There's another 4 km hill climb race up Elspeth's Hill (rifle range) Sunday at 9 am. The race start is on the bridge on the right half a kilometer past the National Palace Museum. You can register on the morning of the race- just plan on getting there before 8:30. The race is Round 3 of the Canadian Cup- should be a fun one!

Bill

NCR Results and Coming Races

The Foreign Riders of Columbus Team

Sunday morning may have been grey and gloomy, but the cyclists lining up in Wanli for the 2007 North Coast Race were ready to go. A group of close to 20 expatriate cyclists from Taipei joined the 1000+ local riders in the various road and mountain age categories.

The first groups to set out at 8 am were the Elite and Elite Masters. Three teams fresh off last week's Tour of Taiwan- Giant Asia, PZ Racing, and e-Ma- led the field of Elite racers. Several of the riders had finished well in the Tour, including the winner of Stage 4. The rainbow stripes on one rider indicated his status as the 2006 UCI Masters World Champion. Leon and Craig rode well in the peleton and finished strongly on the final climb. Leon even managed to break away with one of the pros at one point before being reeled back by the field.

The age group categories followed at 2 minute intervals. Results were impressive. Mike pushed the 35+ age groupers with Simon and Rock helping out. On the final climb, Mike blasted away, taking first in M40. Barry and Peter forced the pace on the coast as well, with Barry taking first in M55 and Peter claiming another medal for his trophy room with 5th in M45. A number of the other riders were in their first bike race and rode very well- nice job, guys!

Age Group Results
Overall Results

Mike on the podium for M40



Barry on the podium for M55

Big thanks go to Dave and Craig for putting together the post-race tailgate. Craig went to great risks to procure Red Bull and sausages (including a run-in with the Kaioshiung police and Red Bull girls) and make it back from the Kenting Half Ironman in time to drive out to the race the next morning. Dave arrived home from a week with 100 ninth graders in Beijing (85% of whom were angels, 15% of whom were hellions) and 12 hour days on his feet and still had the energy to run out to Costco for food and beverages. You'd never know from the smile on his face after the race that the cassette on his borrowed wheel was skipping every second revolution. Thanks guys.

Thanks also go out to Barry, Bill, Simon and Craig for driving riders and bikes from Tien Mu out to Wanli. We really appreciated it!

Coming Races

The next race is the Elspeth's Hill Climb on Sunday, April 8th. Pre-registration of 100 NT usually occurs at Sean's with race day registration of 200 NT possible. The race goes off in age-group packs beginning at 9 am. Since it is only a 4 km race, it's a quick one...

Registration is now closed for the April 21st-22nd Tour of East Taiwan.

After that, set your sites on the Saturday, May 12th Gongliao-Shuangsi (Fulong) race. In addition to the NCR and the two days of the Tour of East Taiwan, this will be Round 4 of the Taiwan National Club Cycling Championships. The starting and ending climbs are brutes.

Round 5 of the Club Championships will be Sunday, May 27th with the Giant Cup down in Taichung. It will consist of a 11 km lap raced four times followed by a separate 3 km hill climb.

My final Taiwan race will be the Saturday, June 9th Datun Shan climb via the 101.

Hope to see you out at a few more races this spring!

Bill

Exciting Weekend of Cycling

If you're looking to check out some bike related activities, this is the weekend for you!

This year's edition of the Tour de Taiwan started on Sunday down in Kaoshiung. English language results are available on www.cyclingnews.com. The Tour finishes up Saturday morning with a criterium around Taipei City Hall. Below is a map of the course.


The course is easily accessible for the Taipei City Hall stop on the blue line of the MRT. There is a citizen's race on the criterium course of 20 laps of the 1km circuit from around 7:30 until 10am. At 11am, the pros hit the circuit for 60 laps. If the weather is nice, it's a great spectacle. Actually, it's a great spectacle even in the rain!

While you're down at the course, you may want to head over to the Taipei International Cycle Show held at the World Trade Center. Although the show is mainly for vendors and buyers, it's pretty neat to check out if you're into bikes. If it's similar to past years, tickets are usually sold at the door or they can sometimes be obtained from Sean by asking nicely. Young children are not allowed, however.

Sunday is the North Coast Race, a 47 km club race that runs from Wanli around to Baishawan and back, finishing on a 5 km hill. There are 801 road cyclists and 512 mountain bikers registered for this year's edition of the NCR. There are close to 20 local expats mixing it up as well. If you'd like to ride out to check out some of the race, the Google Earth file
can be viewed by right-clicking (control-click on the Mac) the previous link and saving the .kmz file to the desktop. It can then be opened with Google Earth.

Have fun!

Bill

Tour of East Taiwan Sign-up ASAP

I know we haven't even had our North Coast Race yet, but entries have just been posted for the Tour of East Taiwan on April 21st and 22nd.

Information (in Chinese) is here:

http://www.cyclist.org.tw/bulletin_info.asp?news_id=N0063

You can use http://www.google.com/language_tools to get a very rough translation of the page.

Basically, it will be a big weekend. Riders will need to get to Hualien Friday evening, April 20th. In the past, we've transported bikes down with Sean in the morning and flown down to Hualien after work- I don't know if there will be room this year, though. We stay in Hualien that night and get up Saturday morning for the 130 km race to Taichung. We stay that night in Taichung and then get up Sunday for the 160 km race back to Hualien. We then head back to Taipei.

From what I can tell, race entry fees are 2000 NT. Hotels and transport are extra.

I've actually never managed to do the race weekend- this will be my first. Perhaps someone who's done it before can give a better description. I do know that it's the highlight of the Taiwan club racing schedule.

There's also a 350 km challenge ride held over the same roads (with a few extra thrown in for fun) over the same two days. Bill Bryson knows all about this one. Information (in Chinese) is here:

http://www.cyclist.org.tw/bulletin_info.asp?news_id=N0064

Registration for the race closes on March 30th, but Sean is collecting entries early, as spaces in the race and hotels are limited. I would like to get the entries to him by this coming weekend. If you would like to race, please email me ASAP.

Thanks,

Bill

Saturday Ride

Hi Everyone! Since the North Coast Race is fast approaching, a number of riders want to practice the last 5k of the NCR course, which is a variable (4%-18%) climb up to Ta Ping (home of Camp Taiwan). I therefore plan to follow the same route as Bill O this Saturday, which means I will also be returning to Tien Mou by climbing over the back of Helen's. This route will be familiar to anyone who did the Yangmingshan Challenge ride last year, as TaPing and Helen's were the second and third peaks of that four-peak effort. This being the case, the ride options for everyone on Saturday's ride would be:

1) Turnaround in San Jih for those who want to do neither hills nor 90-100k, or who are short on time (60k);

2) Rest stop and turnaround in Chin Shan, for a full metric century (100k);

3) Rest stop in Chin Shan and climb up YangChin Road (the "back of YMS") to the Saddle, and then down to Tien Mou (82k);

4) Rest stop in Chin Shan and climb up to the NCR finish line (TaPing) and return to Tien Mou over the back of Helen's (85-90k).

Depending on how long we stop in Chin Shan, and assuming we start on time, all of the above options should get people back to Tien Mou before or around 0900. We can discuss post-ride coffee venues during the ride. Hope to see everyone there on Saturday!

Bill B.

Weekend Riding & taiwanracing.com

Getting very excited for next Sunday's North Coast Race- and the tailgate party following! In preparation, Chris, Rock and I will be departing TAS at 5 am Saturday to ride the coast and the race finish. We will come home via Helen's- we must be back in Tien Mu before 9:00 for family commitments. Anyone up for a blast is welcome. The Bryson ride should be meeting at 5 am as well (although there is discussion of a different route for that ride- perhaps Bill will elaborate on the blog...).

I'll be going out for a shorter spin Sunday afternoon at 1 pm with Rock and Chris. We'll swing by TAS before departing- we will return by 3 pm.

Also, Craig is keeping the updates coming at http://www.taiwanracing.com/. He has information on Sean's grand opening Sunday and race reports on the Paris-Nice stage race. Check it out!

Hope to see you out.

Bill


Update:

I received the following from Bill:

Glad to hear you guys will be doing the longer ride. I would prefer to do the coast road and the race finish as well. So, I guess the Saturday ride will be a coast road ride with the following options:

1) Turnaround in San Jih for those with limited time or who do not want
to do hills or 90-100k (60k);

2) Metric century coast ride, with a rest stop and turnaround in Chin
Shan (100k);

3) Coast road, rest stop in Chin Shan, push up to the NCR finish, return
over back of Helen's (85-90k).

I will happily take the third option, though I do not expect to keep up with you guys once we start climbing to TaPing (though I may try to keep with you on the bridge breakaway).
FYI, Howard and his team will be joining us, as will Tracy and her friends, so it looks to be a pretty big group.

Best regards,

Bill

Sean's New Shop Grand Opening

Word on the street is that Sean Huang's new Giant shop has been accepting visitors over the past couple of weeks. The official opening will be this Sunday, though.


Watch for details to be posted shortly at www.taiwanracing.com.

Bill

Weekend Riding

What a rainy, yucky week. I got out a couple of times and was wet and cold each time. Blech.

Chris and I are away for a soccer tournament on Saturday. I believe the Bryson ride will be departing at 5 am unless it's raining.

Leon, Chris, Rock, Dave and I are riding out to the NCR course Sunday afternoon departing TAS at 12:00. We hope to blast out there pretty quickly. We'll ride the hill finish and then make our way back to Tien Mu by 4ish. If you're up for a push, come along!

Update: Due to wet, cold and family obligations, the ride will be shortened to just a 101 climb. Back to Tien Mu by 2ish. The group should be a little larger...

Bill

Awesome Weather - It's riding time - Sunday recap

Well, I don't usually post ride recaps - but I just had to today. For family reasons I had to get out early - so I headed out Satellites from where I live in DaZhi. Oh my - what awesome weather. If you've been a dormant rider waiting to get back out, now is the time - great time to get back into things before Taiwan heats up and gives you any more excuses not to ride again.

Heading back down Satellites toward the Palace road I first met Brent Loken on his way up - he's getting back into the swing in preparation for "Test of Metal" this summer in Squamish, BC. This is one of the major such events - the event was sold out in 45 minutes (1000+ entries). If you're into x-country or trail mtb-ing style, then you have to do this type of an event once in your life. It's absolutely grueling - an incredible challenge (roadies who think they know what a climb is - give off-road climbing a shot and make your call).

Shortly after passing Brent, Tom Broughton was a few minutes behind Brent. Once on the Palace road, I then saw Brenda Huff heading on up. I didn't count, but on the way down Satellites and home through the DaZhi tunnel, I passed at least 100 riders on the way - it was inspiring. Just before getting to the tunnel, Bill O'Brien's gang of 4 was headed up Helen's (Simon M., Curt F., and Davy).
see you on the road - dave