Posts tagged “taiwan”  

The Let’s Bike Taiwan tour continues through Yanmingshan National Park. Cyclelicious shot the video with a bikecam and represented in a Hugga Jersey.

More Taiwan

• Taiwan Cycling and Cultural Tour: Mark V
• China Airlines Stewardesses on bikes
• Taiwan tag

The Let’s Ride Taiwan 2009 event at Sun Moon Lake was sponsored by China Airlines, who thoughtfully provided company in the form of stewardesses (or if you must, “flight attendants”). Considering that it was raining and the sheer number of people on the ride, these women were quite competent riders on the bikes, provided by Giant. The route was only a short portion of the Round the Lake Road, as the sections on the far side would be challenging to the casual enthusiast and those not on performance bikes.

Besides, we needed to get to the Lalu Hotel so the organizers could bury us under a decadent Chinese style banquet. And if you’ve never experienced a Chinese banquet, then you’re missing out on life.

The weather here has been a bit damp, as there is a typhoon ravaging the Phillipines not too far away, but otherwise the the conditions here are really nice. If I had the opportunity to stay here a week or so during the depths of the Pac NW winter…just to relax and get fit, that would be AWESOME. The food here is really great too. Price-wise, it would be inaccurate to say that it is dirt cheap, but it is certainly reasonable, and much less expensive than Japan.

I’m in Taiwan for the Let’s Bike Taiwan 2009, a cycling and cultural tour of the island known as the Republic of China. Today’s ride was a scenic jaunt along the very picturesque Sun Moon Lake. Bikes were provided by Giant, an evermore appropriate name for the Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer. On one of the stops of today’s ride, I shared some tea, grown right here in the Sun Moon Lake area, with the vice president of Giant, James Hu.

After being at the forefront of bicycle production, both cutting edge and mundane, the Taiwanese leaders are looking to foster an enthusiasm for riding bikes in Taiwan itself. Has it worked? Actually, cycling has seemingly caught on like wildfire among the people, and bicycle friendly infrastructure in the capitol Taipei is on the rise.

Mark V is in Taiwan with other bloggers and journalists for a cultural tour, including Cyclelicious.

Mark left for the tour on Friday, the day after Interbike and our Mobile Social.

Mark V is joining a Taiwan Cycling and Cultural Tour the day after Interbike. In the few years we’ve traveled, ridden, and blogged Taiwan, it has become a bike country.

Cycling is the national pastime and they’re working now on promoting the country as a cycling destination. We’re happy to help! The tour itinerary includes:

1. Sun Moon Lake, Round the Lake Road
2. Poet’s Aria Taroko
3. Dongfong Green Green Passage
4. Guanshan, Taitung County
5. Taipei Guandu Left Bank of Bali.

While on the trip, I’ve asked Mark to watch out for dogs in shoes, bring back a crazy small folding bike, and enjoy a Hello Kitty Pie. Also obey the traffic robots and get some Pizza Cut Five shirts.

Previous Taiwan Coverage

• Taiwan Tag
• Taiwan photos
• Taipei Blogger Party

More from the SouthSea Fixed Gear Fight Club.

Uploaded by Subcrew Fai or Fhaione | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Nabiis goods. Bike parts, DVDs, from the fixie scene in Taiwan. We missed this crew during our trips to Taipei -- won't do so again.

Uploaded by Αdward | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Note: I have a special spam folder for the occasional gems like this from Taiwan

Power-curved cranks use the design of golden spiral ratio, which create more pedaling efficiency than traditional cranks can provide, so that no matter bike lovers or normal riders can enjoy more fun of speed and comfortable riding.

BioPace redux. Anyone going to the Taipei Bike Show please investigate further. Totally pimp to put a pair of those on a cargo bike.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

While in Taipei, we spotted a bike parking attendant. This was between the hotel and the trade center.

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Don’t know how we missed this crew during our last trip to Taipei, but we’re looking them up next time …

Uploaded by fhaione :: subcrew | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Iris and I went to the “Taipei Story House”, a colonial-era building that has been turned into an odd little tribute Taiwanese commercialism. On both stories of the house, there are Taiwanese products from the past such as “Darkie Toothpaste” along with print and/or video advertisements. The one thing Bike Huggers should find interesting was the Hey Song Soda bicycle.

(The photo is crappy because I had to take it clandestinely… no photography allowed in the Story House. The majority of it isn’t worth photographing either.)

Iris and I went to visit her aunt who lives in the apartment where Iris lived until she was 11. Just a couple blocks from the address, tucked in on a small alley, was a little bike shop with a showroom smaller than a American SUV. Despite its size and rather low key shop face, it was chock-a-block full with cool bikes.

One day while in Taiwan, Iris and I saw this robot re-directing traffic. Powered by a car battery, it waved its arms constantly and neither pissed in the street nor made lewd suggestions to my girlfriend.

We had gone to visit her aunt and uncle who live just outside Taipei proper. After stuffing ourselves on a Taiwan feast of stinky tufo, shrimp, greens, and tropical fruit, they invited us for a walk outside.

What often seems to happen when Asian countries become more prosperous is that cycling takes on a negative aura in the eyes of the public as they rush headlong into the trappings wealth and consumerism. Seduced by petrol drenched dreams of success, people leave behind the bicycle as if its humble drivetrain chained them to old ways and poverty. And while the heavy industries, upon which their hopes rise to the top of world commerce, choke the air foul and the now swarming cars fill the gaps between with rivers of emissions, the bicycles are further pushed to the margins of the road and sidewalks. But the Taiwan government seems to be aware that the quaint bicycle, together with improved public transportation, can be a terrific foil to the issues of air quality, traffic congestion, and infrastructure of a society overly dependent on automobiles.

I have to confess that I didn’t do much cycling in Taiwan, I mainly shopped and ate and took really long, hot baths. It was vacation with my girlfriend after all. But wherever I go, I keep an eye out for things related to cycling. And it seems like Taiwanese popular culture has latched onto cycling like America in the 1970s.

A couple times while we were in Taipei, Iris and I went to the Ximending shopping district, sometimes called the Harajuku of Taiwan, a place where youth, consumerism, and culture collide in corridors of bright lights and gaudy colours. We walked through the many shops and arcades, amongst street performers, shoppers, and shopkeepers. We saw these tricycles, apparently advertising escort services with internally lit panels.

Apparently bookstores are the new hangout in Taiwan. The Eslite booksellers franchise has a huge flagship store about 6 blocks from Taiepi 101. They have 5 floors topped by a fancy restaurant floor. The basement level is a food court.

On our way, I spotted this bike labelled “Rollo”. What’s so unusual about it? It’s model that Bianchi sold in the states, basically a downgraded version of the Bianchi Milano with green metal-flake paint and a stupid clown head horn. I don’t think that Bianchi had a Taiwan presence when this model was produced, let alone sold it Taiwan. How did you get here, you little ugly bike?

Iris took me to a couple of the night markets in Taipei. These are spectacles that shouldn’t be missed. For one reason, there’s the food, which is both really good and really cheap. Another is the atmosphere of the Taiwanese passing the time, leisurely winding their way through narrow passageways, and the shop people in their semi-busy routine that must have been formed through countless nights just like this one.

In between eating treats of squid legs and yam fries and shopping for handbags, I spotted this work bike. It’s a longtail trike, single speed with what appears to be a frame mounted brake lever. I would see these trikes here and there but never in the new Taipei core around the 101 tower. As the city is almost pancake flat, nestled amongst mountains and dressed with good pavement, the trikes need only be sturdy and simple. Chances are that these trikes were manufactured long ago, and yet despite the onslaught of motorscooters and autos, they live on because of their economy and durability.

I found this picture of a Gios mini velo and someone’s grandma. I’m pretty sure this is Taiwan and not Japan, so I guess that maybe these bikes are imported to Taiwan. Or maybe they never left Taiwan since I’m certain that these bikes aren’t made in Japan. Either way, Gios mini velos are much more common in Tokyo than Taipei.

Also, I’m a bit jealous if this grandma actually owns and rides that bike.

I’m in Asia on vacation, and one of my amusements is finding interesting mini velo and folding bikes. Here’s my current object of obsession, the Gios Panto. I saw one parked outside a bike shop while in Taiwan.