8 am Sunday, 10/30

We've changed the time for the Sunday ride- 8 am at Sean's Tien Mu Giant shop. We'll head out to check out the Pali race course. I expect to be back by 10 am.

Come along!

Bill O'B

6:30 am Saturday 10/29

The semi laid-back ride continues to be regularly scheduled for 6:30 am each Saturday.  Meet in front of TAS.    This week’s ride has no chosen venue or time frame, but we should be on the road by 6:45. I’ll have my road bike, so we won’t be doing the ride we did last week

 

Also, is there a well-laid out map for the 101 loop?  I headed out there last Sunday, climbed up to the cemetery overlook, and then just went back through Tanshui again, since I wasn’t sure how much further I needed to go to connect with a familiar road.  Of course, part of the fun of riding in Taiwan is being adventurous, but a little knowledge can be a good thing!

Le Tour de Hualien & Weekend Riding

This past weekend saw some fast and furious racing action down in Hualien. Reedus, Seymour, Maggio and I flew down Friday evening whilst Director Sportif White Dog drove the steeds down in Sean's van. After several days of carbo loading, spirits were high and energy levels were spiking by the time we reached the hotel.

Saturday morning saw the four Team Columbus riders line up along side 193 other riders, including 61 international Elite riders. National teams from Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere were represented. Giant Asia had swelled their ranks with the #3 finisher of the previous week's Sun Tour in Australia (who beat out Baden Cooke in 6th). I later Googled one of the racers who had flown in from Colorado- #1 US Pro in 1990, raced 1991 Tour de France for Motorola, etc... In short, the field looked impressive.

From the gun, the pace was high. Unfortuntely, Reedus answered the call of nature early on and never caught back on to the main group. Seymour pulled away with the pros on the first hill, while Leon left me for dead half way up. After a number of km along the flats, the race again turned into the mountains for about 30 km. Steve still hung in with the big boys, while I managed to catch up with Leon and the female Merida pro (whose wheel he was very closely drafting) just before they descended back to the flats.

With 70 km to go, Leon and I formed a group of 8 or so riders who we pushed as hard as we could. Unfortunately, only one other Hong Kong rider was willing to put in much of an effort into the brutal headwind. With 15 km to go, we split our group on a rise and Leon and I and the HK rider pulled ahead. In the last 5 km, Leon drifted off the front, forcing the HK rider to bridge the gap. I then pulled away. Leon waited until the gap opened and then sprinted across, leaving the HK rider hanging out on his own. He was overheard later talking about “getting worked over by a couple of Columbus guys”…


Leon and I finished together in 58th and 59th place, just inside 5 hours for 167 hilly headwindy km. Steve placed an impressive 32nd, just ten minutes behind the winners. Reedus finished with a solid 77th place.

I flew back to Taipei that night, but the others stayed down to do it all over again Sunday morning on a hilly 5 km circuit. Leon and Reedus rode hard and hung on to the brutal pace for 9 laps. Steve was sitting pretty with the pros until he flatted in the 14th lap. Impressive effort!

We had a terrific weekend and we owe a large thanks to Sean Huang. Without Sean's support, we never would have been able to even enter the race. Thank you Tien Mu Giant!



The next local racing will be a hill climb on Sunday, November 13th. This is a good race for anyone to enter, as it will be low key and requires no special riding skills. Sign up with Sean Huang or drop me a note if you’re interested.

Word on the street is that the illustrious Lanslow will be joining the boys for this weekend’s riding. At the moment, the plan is for a 6:30 am departure Saturday for a two hour ride (although that time may be moved a bit later- email to double check). Sean may give a tour of the race course Sunday morning, and Land is threatening to show up as well.

Hope to see you out there!

Bill O'B

Friday afternoon and Saturday morning

Leon and I are going for a very easy spin out past the National
Palace, leaving TAS at 4:05. Saturday morning's ride departs at 6:30.
We're heading out through Tamshui and along the coast towards Jinshan
and then back. I believe we'll be doing some short pushes to continue
with our race prep. Sunday should be an easy spin- I'm not sure of
the time yet- probably 6:30ish again. Let me know if you'd like to
meet up for any rides...

Bill

Races and race training

If you're interested in racing, there's a 7.5 km hill climb race on
Sunday, November 12th over in Bali by the red bridge on the way to
Tamshui. Entries close November 5th. See Sean Huang if you're
interested.

Leon, the Steves and I continue to train for "Le Tour de Hualien" on
the 22nd and 23rd of this month. We'll be doing intervals on the
Switchbacks this afternoon around 4 pm and we'll be heading out for
another hard push Saturday morning followed by an easy spin Sunday.
Next Wednesday afternoon will be our last hard push before the racing
on the weekend. If you're interested in meeting up with us for any of
these rides, just drop me a note.

Bill O'B

Riding 10-10 weekend

The girls and I joined Joe Earley and the boys for a spin out along the river this morning- beautiful!

My ride tomorrow will be departing TAS at 2 pm for a race training ride up the Satellites to the Saddle, down to Jinshan, along the coast and back up 101. I know Steve S. and Leon will be there; hopefully others as well.

Sunday's ride will be an early morning departure (6 or 6:30 probably) out towards the airport along the flats with a couple pushes.

I imagine Saturday will be a recovery ride.

Let me know if you'd like to meet up!

Bill O'B

Saturday Oct 8th Ride

Well, I hope any of you that are off today (Friday) are out enjoying the great riding weather.  The rest of us sit in offices and look at the rain forecast for the weekend!

Anyway, if the weather looks OK, I plan a ride at 6:30 at TAS on Saturday Oct 8.  Maybe up Helens, along the coast then Jinshan?.  Or maybe reverse depending on wind direction. 

See you there.

Thanks,

Simon Moore

Simon R. Moore
Director, Fab Business Development
Air Products Electronics
Taipei, Taiwan
Office Phone (886) 2 2537-9326
Mobile Phone (886) 921-939-974
Fax (886) 2 2568-1602
mooresr@airproducts.com

Saturday, Oct. 8

A group of us will be meeting in front of TAS at 6:30 am for a semi-leisurely ride. (Most likely, no hills involved on this ride.)  Itinerary to be determined Saturday.  Brenda

 

Riding week of October 3rd

I'm up early for a ride this morning- sorry I didn't post anything
earlier. Wednesday, Leon, Steven and I are going to launch an assault
on the Switchback times (actually, Leon and Steve will be launching
the assault; I'll be setting a benchmark for this year...). We'll be
up there in the afternoon (departing Tien Mu around 4 pm). I'm hoping
to get out for a spin Thursday afternoon as well (around 4 pm). If
you'd like to join either ride, let me know.

As TAS has a four day weekend coming up, we will probably have two
big days of riding in preparation for the October 22nd race. At the
moment, those days look like Friday and Sunday. More details
forthcoming.

Bill

Saturday morning ride

Apologies for the late notice, but a group of us are heading out
Saturday at 6 am from the TAS main gate. The plan is to return to
Tien Mu by around 11 am- the riding should be fast and hard. Planned
route:

Out through TamSui, then up the road to the beginning of 101, carry
on down to SanJr, then along the coast and up Chin Shan but only to
the bridge, then turn round go back along the
coast, back up the road to 101, and then either carry on up 101 or go
back down and through Tam Sui.

Anyone up for a push is welcome!

Bill

China's B-Day Ride

For those interested in an experienced-level mountain bike ride, four of us will be riding the Wu Jr Shan trail starting at 7:00am Sunday morning (Oct. 1st). We will meet at the 7-11 opposite the National Palace Museum at 7:00am. Total ride time expected to be 5 hours and includes 600 meters of vertical ascent. The Wu Jr Shan trail has excellent single-track riding with moderate hike-a-bike. Total trail descending time exceeds two hours.

Hope to see you there. Mark (0935-519-259 before 9:30pm)

PS - Don't forget the cake!

Saturday, Sept. 24th at TAS

Couple of us headed out at 5am from TAS – not sure where we’re headed.

dave

Sattelites ride - Tuesday morning

Departure from National Palace Museum 6:15 tomorrow (Tuesday) morning for a short but fairly quick climb towards the satellites and onwards to Starbucks. We should be able to leave Starbuck at around 7:30-7:45.

 

Jesper

 

 

 

Mtn. Bike Ride Sunday Sept. 18 - Experienced Level

For those interested in an experienced-level mountain bike ride, five
or six of us will be riding the Wu Jr Shan trail starting at 7:00am
Sunday morning (Sept. 18). We will meet at the 7-11 opposite the
National Palace Museum at 7:00am. Total ride time expected to be 5
hours and includes 600 meters of vertical ascent. The Wu Jr Shan
trail has excellent single-track riding with moderate hike-a-bike.
Total trail descending time exceeds two hours.

Hope to see you there. Mark (0935-519-259 before 9:30pm)

YCC Riding Notes: Post rides to the blog!

Hello cyclists!

What gorgeous cycling weather! I can't believe how perfect the riding has been recently. My rides have been snuck in here and there; apologies for not posting any group rides. I did see that there is a regular 6:30 am Saturday ride heading out with Brenda Huff. I hear that Steve and Leon and the boys are planning some pushes this weekend.

I'm away to the States tomorrow morning for ten days, so I won't be posting any riding notes for a little while. Please continue to make use of the website. To post a ride, just send an email to yangmingshan.taipeiycc@blogger.com with the post title in the message subject and the posting in the message body. To check if there is a ride heading out, visit  http://taipeiycc.blogspot.com. 

Have fun out there!

Bill

Weekend Riding

Due to the typhoon, I am thinking of doing the Triple Crown ride
Saturday morning, departing at 6 am from TAS (over Helen's, along the
coast and up 101- about three hours or so at a quickish pace...). Let
me know if you'd be interested in coming- I'm still undecided.

Bill O'B

P.S. Apologies for not getting out this week. Things have been very
busy, although I've snuck a couple afternoon rides in...

Saturday 9/10/05

Regular Saturday morning 6:30 am ride. Route/s and pace to be
determined, depending on weather conditions and riders. One route may
be to Four Corners via Peitou. Other route/s may be along bike paths.
Y'all are welcome to join us. Brenda Huff

YCC News: Interested in a duathlon? Sign up today.

Hello cyclists-

Message from Craig Johns:

Jinshan Duathlon.

 

Distances are 5km run / 40km cycle/ 5km run

24th September 8am start (7am check-in)

Howard Resort Green Bay

 

5 people have already entered with me. I will send the entry form away on Monday 5th September. If you wish to enter please email me the following details:

 

Name

Date of Birth

ARC #

Cell Phone Number

Email Address

 

And bring NT$700 to the TAS aquatics office please.

 

Craig Johns

TAS Aquatics

johnsc@tas.edu.tw

Saturday update and Sunday ride

It was another beautiful Saturday morning ride. Steve S., Steve R., Claus, Jesper, Leon and I headed out to Damshui and up 101 where we met Peter for a spin down to Starbucks and a couple lattes. Steve S. blasted up 101 in 28:18, just off his record and Steve R. set a PB with 29:05 (must have been due to that stretching...). Others set marks to beat for the future!

I'm meeting Craig at 1 pm in front of TAS Sunday for a very leisurely ride out past the Palace Museum towards Helen's. I expect we'll turn around at the ridge past Psycho Squirrel Bridge. Please feel free to join us.

Keep spinning!

Bill O'B

Sunday bike (9/02/05)

Hi,

Does anybody biking to Yang-Ming Mountain or any places every Sunday morning
at 6:00am?

I'll love to meet you in front of TAS, thanks!

See you soon!

Best,
Susan