Three Days in Taiwan / Jia You 加油

[Warning: long post...]

Last weekend we (JK, Pt, Janice, Nic, Vicky and I) headed off to Taiwan for a bit of a jaunt in Taipei and a block of three days training across Taiwan's Central Alps. We would be cycling approx. 300km through Taiwan's mighty Central Cordillera, starting with the undulating terrain around Sun Moon Lake then tackling the epic Central Cross Island, taking us up to the highest road point in NE Asia at 3275m(!), before sweeping down into the Cilan Valley towards Yilan and the (well deserved by this point) hot springs of Jiaoxi. The whole trip was organised and supported by Cam (who also joined us on the bike), from the excellent In Motion Asia.

The trip was the first big block of training for all of us this year and a great opportunity to get three big consecutive days in the saddle in preparation for what awaited us in the French Alps. For most, it was also the first real taste of riding long alpine climbs too. People were nervous.... in fact Nic and Vicky had a pretty big wobble on whether or not they wanted to even head out on the trip at all which, in fairness, wasn't entirely unreasonable given neither had ever clipped into and ridden a road bike and would only be doing the final, pan flat, day into Paris on the Tour de Force - three days climbing through the Taiwanese Alps was overkill on the training front! A call was made to Cam to ensure that he had no concerns with having two complete novices on the trip - he didn't - although it wasn't entirely clear that he fully appreciated that they had neverridden a road bike before. Thankfully Nic and Vicky were eventually talked into joining us - it turns out both were total stars and needn't have worried.

Day(s) 0 – Hitting Taipei

On landing in Taipei, and being met by Cam, we took over a section of the airport and chaotically assembled our bikes before being driven to our hotel (Park Taipei) in downtown Taipei. What had become very clear to us all within minutes of our arrival was that none of us had really packed appropriately for the weather (and in Janice's case civilised society in Taipei). Rather optimistically we had all anticipated good weather. What we were met with was cold temperatures and rain. Vicky would be wearing the same red jeans and hoodie combo for the whole trip....

Once checked-in at the hotel we quickly sought out the nearest Din Tai Fung and gorged ourselves on Xiaolongbao and beer. After a short disco nap we headed out to see what Taipei offered in terms of nightlife on a Wednesday night. What we found was (i) a huge German style beer hall (346) attached to the side of a brewery with an eight song ABBA soundtrack on loop and an unnecessary token paying system, (ii) a couple of cool lounge bars (although the disgusting chilli cocktails should really have been avoided), (iii) it was ladies nights at the clubs Myst and Spark 101 (which basically involved free entry for the girls and some ropey alcoholic drinks and paid entry for Pt and me and some equally ropey free drinks), and (iv) a huge metal 'LOVE' sign ideal for climbing all over in the rain to get cool photos (who even has these photos btw?!).

We almost ended up being beer from a supermarket....

The morning after the night before was a little bit painful and all except JK and Vicky (who made it to the top of Taipei 101) struggled out of bed to be transferred to our hotel at Sun Moon Lake. We would have had an afternoon enjoying the tranquil lakeside scenery were it not for the fact that it was still raining and the mist had rolled in too. Some card games and more beer kept us amused though as we all readied ourselves for the first day of cycling the next morning.

Day 1 – Freezing Ice Rain

Unfortunately the weather hadn't miraculous changed over night and on waking we were met with grey skies and a light drizzle. Amongst the group there was none of the excitement you would usually expect at the beginning of a trip like this and enthusiasm was at a relatively low ebb. Nic and Vicky being particularly apprehensive as they still needed to have their first 'clip in clip out' lesson before we set off.

Team Brown with Sun Moon Lake in the background

Despite the limited enthusiasm we headed off on a 30km rolling loop around Sun Moon Lake (this had been sold to us as a flat start, it wasn't really and definitely involved some ups and downs....). Quickly though we were whizzing along with everyone perking up relatively quickly as we took in some of the scenic views (as best we could given the mist) and let Pt point out every temple he saw to us all (the most famous being the Wenwu Temple on a hill above the lake). Vicky was taking to the cycling like a duck to water and went up the first main hill like it was flat before revealing herself as a fearless descender as we sped down a narrow (and wet) descent through betel nut plantations into the town of Puli which lay at the foot of the main event of the day (and day 2), the Central Cross Island Link.

Bossing it like a Pro...

Phil G joined us briefly, but quickly dropped us....

After regrouping at a 7-Eleven we commenced the climbing. Lots of climbing.

After an initially gentle incline we started the climbing proper, heading up the Central Cross Island towards the historical town of Wushe and our lunch destination just 2km further up the hill just as the rain started to get a little heavier. As is usual as soon as the road goes up, the group fractured and spread out along the road - me leading the charge with the promise of a roast chicken lunch firmly in my mind and JK not too far behind. Pt and Janice were making steady progress as Vicky and Nic both put in great efforts to negotiate most of the climb before jumping off their bikes (literally in both cases as vans careered towards them on the wrong side of the road) and jumping in the van to meet us at lunch. Again the promise of views from the balcony at lunch was defeated by the incessant rain.

Stick Chicken in barrel, leave for 40 minutes, eat..

From lunch it was 12km climbing to our hotel (Chunjing Hillview Villa), all at a decent gradient. I had it in my head however that I would like to push on towards the summit of the road and reach Wuling Peak at 3275m above sea level - this would mean an additional 19km of climbing(!) and then the corresponding 19km descending. Pretty soon I was approaching the hotel and the decision as to whether or not I should continue in the increasingly heavier and colder rain. Inevitably I decided to keep going, a decision I would question at every 500m road marker for the next hour and a half.

As I continued to climb, ploughing a lonely, drenched and freezing furrow up the hill the rain continued to get heavier, the air thinner (apparently it is possible to get altitude sickness at these heights) and the temperature lower (going as low as 5 Celsius at the summit). The road continued to narrow and the oncoming cars become less and less visible in the rain and then, out of nowhere, I was at the summit, in a car park with three mainland tourists with the 'summit sign' annoyingly up an additional set of stairs.

It was all worth it for the wonderful views....

After dutifully click-clacking up the stairs in my cycling shoes with my bike over my shoulder I got a the all important picture (proof that I had actually cycled to the top rather than hidden round the corner from the hotel for a couple of hours?) and thought about descending. I thought about it some more. Then I decided I didn't really want to.

I have never been so cold on a bike in my life. No feeling in large sections of my hands, drenched to my core and being buffeted around in the wind whilst trying to negotiate the torrents of water flowing down the middle of the road meant that I was counting down the 500m markers with more intensity than I had been on the way up. When I finally got back to the hotel I was meet with a worried Vicky (minutes away from sending out a search party) and the promise of a chance to thaw out in one of our balcony hot tubs, which I quickly clambered into, in a bit of a cold induced delirium, fully clothed.

Clothes options were limited, but this was something else from Pt....

What a great day!

The Strava link for the day can be found here.

Day 2 – Hehuanshan

Vicky and I awoke early on day 2 to an awesomely beautiful sunrise (no pictures, sorry, it was too early to actually get out of bed) and the realisation that our hotel actually had a fabulous view and we in amongst some spectacular high alpine scenery.

It was a brutal start to the day as the road headed up as soon as we left the hotel with 19km of pure climbing up Hehuanshan to the Wuling Peak. We all headed out and negotiated the road at our own pace with a plan to meet for a refuel around 7km from the summit. Everyone did brilliantly, Nic and Vicky making it 7km up the road (beyond either of their expectations) and then tackling the brutally steep last 2km to the summit, Pt and Janice both grinding their way up and JK, of course, took it all in her stride.

Finally the clouds cleared to reveal the epic scenery

The weather was far far better than the previous day and it was enjoyable to actually get to see some of the beautiful scenery, that had been so well hidden the previous day, as we cycled upwards, upwards upwards.

All smiles at 3275!!

After all conquering the legendary Wuling Peak (and getting the obligatory photo), we plunged down the eastern side on an epic fast winding descent through the tea plantations, fields of cabbages and apple and pear orchids of the Taroko National Park, stopping at the high altitude farming village of Lishan for a picnic in front of a temple just as another cloud of heavy rain rolled in. Vicky again showing she was fearless on the descents ("everyone is braking too much...").

Team Brown leading the downhill charge

Leaving lunch we continued downhill in the rain, each bundled up as much as possible. Quickly, however, the rain cleared, the skies brightened and the temperature rose. As we hit the base of the last climb of the day towards Wuling Farm it was clear that we needed to shed as many layers as possible to avoid exploding in the heat.

On reaching the driveway to our hotel for the night ahead of the van (somehow), I decided that that would head up the 2km long climb to the hotel. The road had been described as 'gnarly' and I had expected this to mean a little bumpy or potholed, not very very steep... my already laboured breathing as I ground my way up the narrow country road was helped little by the cabbage farmers spraying pesticides in my face as I went!

Cabbage, Cabbage, Cabbage

Despite not really looking like a hotel (I spent some time on arriving deciding whether I would be walking into someone's farmhouse or not when I tried to check-in) and being in the middle of millions of cabbages the hotel (Green Leaf Resort) was really good and the food, again, was excellent. The cabbage particularly.

The Strava link for the day can be found here.

Day 3 – Cabbage and hot springs

The final day. Still raining. Almost all downhill.

We headed out on the final day and after a short ride back out to the main cross island road we hit a totally epic 60km descent on smooth roads and incredible views of the valley as we snaked our way down into the Taipingshan National Forest. I was enjoying the descent so much that 'didn't hear' where we were stopping to regroup and kept going for a further 20km...

Plunging into the valley...

After being chastised by everyone else we all headed out together to tackle the last real climb of the trip, on slippy treacherous roads (Vicky and Pt both taking low speed, comedy tumbles) in, you guessed it, heavy rain. Vicky again putting in a fab performance, taking the climb in her stride (watch out the Peak).

From the crest of the hill there was a little more descending before we decided to jump in the van and head to our final destination - the hot springs of Jiaoxi. The hot springs were exactly what was needed and helped ease some of the soreness from the past three days.

The Strava link for the day can be found here.

Day 3 – Airport dash

It turns out we may have been enjoying the hot springs for a little too long as, after a quick feed, we got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams that put arriving at the airport in time for check-in in serious jeopardy. As the clocked ticked down we made some pretty average attempts at rearranging flights whilst our driver started flying along the freeway like he as in a video game. I was pretty convinced it was a hopeless case.

Arriving at the airport with literally a minute to spare before check-in Janice legged it to the check-in desk with our passports just in time to stop the desk being closed and convinced them that we should be let onto the plane and only had a 'few bags' to check-in (Janice you little legend!) - I suspect the sight of us all running towards them with six half-built bikes was not what they expected. Credit where credit is due, the staff were great as we rapidly packed up our bikes and even joined us on our comedy run through the airport to departure gate!!

An eventful, if mildly stressful end to a great trip!

A summary...

Some very brief summary thoughts:

• Taiwan is a lot like China, but better
• Taiwan reminded me a little of Japan, just a little worse
• Everyone's training is progressing well
• The food was generally awesome (the thought of 'Chinese' food in the UK.... yuk!)
• Everyone needs to get a few more long long rides in (these rides were still significantly shorter than what we will be doing in the Alps)
• I don't like it when my bike gets dirty
• I like cleaning my bike less
• It is always helpful to have someone that can speak the local language
• Vicky is faster than me downhill
• Wet lycra in the cold sucks
• People may not finish reading posts this long
• Nic's efforts were amazing (she must love riding Pablo)
• The general support and cycle-friendliness of the Taiwanese was brilliant
• JK really does love Lulu more than a person really should love an inanimate object
• I still haven't ever missed a flight
• I'd like to cycle in Taiwan in good weather

Finally.... a star is born

There is no doubt that JK is an absolute natural. For someone that only really started cycling six months ago, she is far far beyond the level she has any right to be at – but to be honest this isn’t really unexpected, JK was always going to excel.

The revelation of the weekend, however, was Vicky! The 'domination' in the spin classes has clearly transferred well to the road. From never having clipped into a road bike at the beginning of the weekend to conquering some sections of the toughest climbing all weekend (including the punishing last 2km up to Wuling Peak in oxygen thin air) and finishing Day 3 with 75km on the odometer is an epic achievement. I should have known something was afoot when Vicky started emailing me her stats from her spin classes and talking about her RPM and Power/Kg....

Fundraising (if you only read one blog post....)

So, this really is the one post that everyone should read (and in reality the reason behind all the others).....

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, both recently and way back in 2009, the Tour de Force is a charity event created by and for the William Wates Memorial Trust whose mission is to help the most disadvantaged young people keep away from a life of crime and violence and fulfil their potential. This is achieved by giving grants to charities that engage young people through the mediums of sport, arts and education.

We will all of course be raising as much money as possible for the William Wates Memorial Trust. In addition to this the Tour de Force team have been exceptionally kind and accommodating in letting a large number of riders riding in memory of Dan join up with their event and raise money independently for the Daniel Bagshaw Memorial Trust in addition to the William Wates Memorial Trust.

The Daniel Bagshaw Memorial Trust, amongst other things, will focus on raising money (1) for charities which raise awareness amongst the general public of cardiac risk in the young, and fund research into early diagnosis, and (2) to provide financial assistance/bursaries to talented school pupils in the Lancashire region where Dan grew up to help them to fulfil their potential.

Doing something in Dan’s memory is deeply personal to many of us and we all really hope that we can raise as much as possible to help a charity that is in its infancy and which promises to do fabulous things.

I now have a donations page up and running, which can be found here, for anyone that wishes to donate to this worthy cause. A portion of all money raised will, of course, also be going to the William Wates Memorial Trust.

Should you need any encouragement to sponsor me, bear the following in mind:

• I will be completing 7 full stages of the Tour de France in 7 days (that's every kilometre and every mountain pass)
• I will be riding over 1,000km across France
• I will spending the majority of that time cycling through the mountains in the Alps
• I will be doing the longest stage of the Tour de France (clocking in at 242km and ending at the summit of one of the most iconic and feared climbs in the Tours history)
• I have given up alcohol (this is not true, although those that have seen me get p*ssed on two pints will confirm I have at least cut back)
• I have been getting up at 5.30am most days of the week to train for 1-2 hours before work
• I will have spent, adding up all the hours, over 3 whole days on my turbo trainer (in just a rather fetching set of (almost see through) bib shorts, heart rate monitor and a full set of 80's sweatbands - Vicky loves this)
• I will be taking unpaid leave to do two intensive training camps in the Dolomites and the Ardennes (these are training camps, not holidays. Training camps.)
• I have been training in all weather in Hong Kong, sometimes even when the temperature has been below 10 Celsius
• I am covering the cost of the trip entirely myself (I even had to buy a very expensive new bike for the trip, in fact a lot of new kit has been 'necessary') and every penny raised will go directly to DMBT (and WWMT)
• Should I reach my target amount I will (most probably) shave my legs (those of you that have seen how hairy my legs are will appreciate that professional help will be required...)

Dig deep!

HK Island 100

Saturday morning saw another training milestone (of sorts) - my biggest ride on Hong Kong Island to date, clocking in at 100km over 4.5 hours.

A 100km ride is not exactly epic in distance, and is certainly something that can be bashed out with comparative ease on my home roads of Essex or Hertfordshire, but when you throw in 2500m of climbing and a physical limit to the amount of road actually available then it becomes a (little) more impressive. To put the vertical ascent in context - across a similar distance in Essex/Hertfordshire you would only expect to hit between 600-800m of climbing and in terms of 'bang for your buck' the ascent:distance ratio compares favourably to all but the hardest mountain stages of the Tour. By all accounts a big day in the saddle.

A 6am start saw me cycle over Magazine Gap Road, up Mt Butler and then up to Park View before meeting Janice, Pt, Simon, David and Jono at the Cricket Club for a gentle cruise to Shek-O. Simon, David and Jono had all cycled with Dan in Hong Kong at various points over the past couple of years and it felt appropriate that we should all have a brief spin together on the morning of the Black Tie Benefit Party that had been organised by Nic (with help from JK and Vicky) and would be raising money in aid of Dan's trust - DBMT. The only notable absence was JK who is still on the mend from her accident.

The Dark Knight pauses to admire the view....

And what a glorious morning it was, a stunning sunrise over Cape D'Aguilar and a clear, cool and sunny morning. Perfect cycling weather to make the most of before the all too familiar Hong Kong humidity makes a morning spin feel more like a brutal spin class in a maxed out sauna. A definite improvement from the wet and windy (I would say it was cold also, but at 14C that seems a little unfair for any readers back in the UK.... still it felt cold, but its all relative I guess) ride of the previous Saturday. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

One half of the bike powering system (note blurry road for 'speed' effect)

The group stuck together all the way to Shek-O were we fed and watered ourselves at our usual cafe. Gleaming bikes lining one side of the quiet street and suped up supercars lining up the other side (with their admiring owners in matching Ferrari/Lambo/Porche jackets, caps etc congratulating themselves at being able to open the throttle for more than 5 seconds on the run down into Shek-O). In fairness I am not sure who is worse, the lycra-clad cyclists or the team kit clad motorists - mid-life crises manifesting themselves in different, but at the same time very similar, manners....

"Horse-Dog" was also spotted again.... a photo is really needed to explain what I mean by that. Next time.

After stuffing my face with arguably the best french toast on the Island we all headed back off to Central at our own pace, with me diverting off almost immediately to climb up to Cape D'Aguilar's radio mast (a climb for some reason named as "Luke's Lament" on Strava.... I have no idea who Luke might be, but you can understand the possible reasons for his lamentations as you inch yourself up the 13-16% gradients)

Taking some time to deeply regret having climbed Luke's Lament

From there back to Central and the base of the Peak it was a pretty uneventful ride with little to report, other than my failed attempt to catch Pt and Janice. Only afterwards, when really thinking about it did it occur to me that giving them a 20min head start (by virtue of my lamentation) was a pretty significant deficit to overturn in little over 17kms! Still, I tried.

Pro..!

The remaining 30km of the ride at this stage was mainly achieved by going up and down the Peak/Mt Austin and Mt Butler a couple of times to eek out each km from the limited road space - a task that got more and more fraught as the traffic up to one of Hong Kong's prime tourist locations on a sunny day exponentially increased with every passing kilometer. A decent first ascent of the Peak was followed by a distinctly average second and it was becoming evident that the 100km marker couldn't come soon enough. With 3km to go I finally dropped down Magazine Gap Road back towards home.... only to have misjudged the distance by 100 or so meters. 99.9km is not 100km so I cycled straight past my front door, bagged the extra 100m and did a u-turn to finish the ride.

Some chocolate milk, a vat of rice and scrambled eggs, a snooze of the sofa and a bit of 'sorting stuff' later I was ready to knuckle down to the days biggest challenge and attempt to tie my bow-tie....

The Strava link for the ride is available here



Bumpy...



Doing it again?! (Part II)

Having done this before, I come into the challenge of doing the Tour de Force 2013 with my eyes very much wide open, but for those of you that were unfortunate enough to miss the blogging back in 2010 (or being subjected to approximately 80% of my chat for that entire year), it is worth setting out again exactly what it involves.

The Tour de Force is a charity event created by and for the William Wates Memorial Trust and is their main annual fundraising event. It offers mere mortals the opportunity to cycle all 21 stages of the Tour de France route, staying 7 days ahead of the professionals and finishing approx. 3500 km later, in Paris. The majority of cyclists participating ride a ‘Tour Taster’ package of between two and nine days – a true test of stamina, on average burning 7000 calories a day – with stages ranging from the shorter, flatter time-trial stage to those with 30km climbs, 12% hill gradients and up to five mountains! A smaller number of cyclist (‘lifers’) will take on the staggering challenge of completing the entire route.

The Tour de France 2013....

I was a lifer in 2010 and know first-hand what an awe-inspiring, and rewarding, challenge that is! However, having completed the full route in 2010 I was originally looking for new (cycling related) challenges. I had signed up for the Cent Cols Challenge (Pyrenees) in 2011, but the move to Hong Kong made it a logistical nightmare. There were a few trips that I contemplated in Asia, but the opportunity to travel to so many amazing new places, and not enough holiday, meant that beaches and diving holidays largely trumped cycling holidays. A UK return date during 2013 had meant that I was seriously considering having a crack at the Cent Cols Challenge (Dolomites).

All the while a good friend and Hong Kong cycling mate, Dan, was in my ear about perhaps getting involved in the Tour de Force 2013, if not for all of it (as he planned to do), then at least for a ‘Taster’. I wanted to get involved, but equally wanted to try something different (and doing just some of it after having done all of it previously felt like a bit of an easy option), so I sat on the fence for a long time.

Ultimately, the decision to commit to doing as much of the Tour de Force as possible was made shortly after Dan's sudden and tragic death last October, where his heart stopped just a metre before the finish line of the HK international triathlon. This cause is personal to me (and to each of the Hong Kong pariticipants) as having not only been there on the day, and seen just how sudden and unexpected it was, Dan was such a fabulously great and generous guy with so much more to give. Losing Dan has been an indescribable loss for all of his family and friends and somehow taking part in the Tour de Force in his memory, and raising money for the charity set up in his name (more on which to follow), seems fitting. A large contingent from London, including his brothers, will also be riding in his memory.

A good group of Hong Kongers, with a diverse mix of cycling pedigree, have all committed to taking part in the Tour de Force to varying degrees. Vicky, Caroline and Nic will be doing the final stage and will ride into Paris and take part in the final day celebrations. PT and Janice will be joining from stage 18 for the trilogy of mountain stages and the finish in Paris. JK (Dan’s girlfriend and my principal training partner in Hong Kong) and I will be starting in Givors for stage 15 and riding all the way to Paris, taking in Mt Ventoux and the Alps along the way.

It is really only work commitments (plus a two week honeymoon!), and some uncertainty at the time about my potential return date from Hong Kong, that prevented me committing to the entire thing again (not being inclined to do things by halves where possible) - however, things being as they are, of all the Tour Tasters available Tour Taster 8, the one JK and I have gone for, is definitely the most challenging. The Tour is all about the epic mountain stages, right?