Sunday Ride in Canberra 19 January 2014 (65 kms)

It has been a very hot week in Canberra with daytime temperatures at 40 degrees or higher each day.  Because of this I only rode to work twice this week. Apparently the heat wave is going to break sometime tonight.  But it was a tough week for riding a bike.  I was leaving work at 7 PM or after and still it was over 37 degrees. The sunsets have been stunning though. Here is a photo ii took on my iPhone one evening.

Sunset on McKellar Hill

Because of the hot week my cycling buddy, Steve and I decided to once again keep the distance short and do only 60-70 kms. So this week the option was Wallaroo Road to the north of Canberra. Again I met Steve along the Lake Ginninderra bike path and headed along the Barton Highway past Gold Creek and Hall village. As we were climbing the long hill near Gold Creek a group of four cyclists past us like I was standing still. So I told Steve he was holding me back.  So he responded by attacking the climb.  By the time I reached the summit he was 50 metres ahead of me.  I should know by now that I should not mess with Stefano Bakerelli the well known Italian climber.  I mean this guy is undefeated on the Stelvio in every Giro he has raced. 

Then it was along Wallaroo Road and the beautiful Goromon Ponds Road.  Steve reminded my that last time we rode this together I had provided some Portuguese custard tarts to eat.  I promised to do better next time and offered him my power gel as compensation.  Not good enough apparently.  My legs were feeling very weak today so I let him take off up the hills and then catch him on the descents. Oakey Creek Road was also lovely today but when we reached the turnaround I noticed that we were facing an easterly headwind. Still it was a lovely ride back to the Highway.  On the climb up to the Barton Highway I too this photo of Mr Bakerelli giving a master class on how to ride a 6 per cent climb

Then it was through Hall village and into Gunghalin along a new stretch of cycle path.  Here we met up with my friend Louise for a coffee.  It was so relaxing sitting outside in the shade just talking.  Louise had ridden her new 'vintage' ladies bike from home and it is a really cool bike.  Here's a few pictures of it. In the second picture you can see Steve's and my bike

Then it was a relaxed 15 km ride home. While not a huge distance it was great to get out and finish the ride before the heat built up.  Next weekend it's the Australia Day long weekend and the plan is to do a 100 km ride. Might take out a road bike rather than a tourer.

Sunday Ride - 65 kms around Canberra

The forecast was for 35 degrees today so Steve Baker and I decided to keep the distance shortish so we could finish before the heat became unbearable.  Riding from Charnwood I met up with Steve along the Lake Ginninderra bike path.  Gee my legs did not want to cooperate today.  Luckily Steve was happy with a relaxed ride.  Plus my Mclachlan's gearing wasn't working well despite stopping a few times to adjust the barrel on the rear derailleur. It really needs a rebuild and I am waiting for my new Trek cyclocross bike before I do that.  But maybe I will need to do it sooner as the Trek isn't going to arrive before early April.  

Well the route today was certainly scenic.  We rode along bike paths through Gunghalian and up along Gundaroo Drive.  To think that only a few years ago this was all farmland.  Now it is all new housing development.  Plus no more dirt road to the NSW border.  That's a mixed blessing as it's definitely a nicer surface.  But the cost is a little more traffic.  Then we cut across to Sutton along East Tallengandra Lane and along the service road next to the Barton Highway into Dickson.  Just before we dropped into Dickson I snapped these two photos of the road and of Steve looking resplendent on his Cannondale Cyclocross bike.

The well known Italian climber Stefano Bakerelli. 

We had iced coffee and cinnamon toast at a cafe before riding the bike paths home.  I said goodbye to Steve on lake Ginninderra and arrived home just on 11 am. The heat was certainly starting to bite as I climbed the short hill home.  Another hour out there and it would have been a bit arduous.  

PostScript on a wonderful trip to Taiwan

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I returned and it has given me time to reflect on my trip to Taiwan.  I would strongly recommend Taiwan as a place to visit.  It's a beautiful island.  And if you are a cyclist who loves touring I would say go there!!  The cycling is absolutely brilliant.  Not only that you will meet some of the most genuine and friendliest people in the world, who go out of their way to help you.  Language need not be a barrier.  You can get by with English and some basic words in Chinese - thank you is a great word to learn and so is hello.  And remember never get cranky with someone when you are having a problem. That never accomplishes anything apart from all sides losing face.

I am more than ever determined to return and do some more bike touring there.  I think it will be in November 2015.  I might even get up the courage to attempt around the island. Although the ride up the Suha Highway from Hualien to Suao does worry me quite a bit.  I have learned to not bother about taking a bike. Good quality hybrid and MTB Giant bicycles can be hired for a reasonable fee.  It think it is $TND1200 for the first 3 days and $NTD200 each day after that.  So for 15 days that will cost $NTD2800 - or $100Australian.  That's pretty good really. So next time I will hire a bike and take my own pedals and maybe seat.  Again 70-80 kms on average is a good distance.  You don't need to rush things and it will give you ample time to stop and view the amazing scenery.  If I were to do the around the island trip this would be my rough schedule

Day 1:  New Taipei City (Xizhi) to Guanyin - Around 75 kms

Day 2:  Guanyin to Zhunan - around 75 kms

Day 3:  Zhunan to Taichung (Wuqi) - around 90 kms

Day 4:  Taichung to Mailiao - around 75 kms

Day 5:  Mailiao to Tainan - around 100 kms

Day 6:  Tainan to Kaohsiung - around 5o kms - and start early to have a full day in Kaohsiung

Day 7:  Kaohsiung to Fenggang/Fenglin - around 75 kms

Day 8:  Fenggang to Manzhou - around 65 kms

Day 9:  Manzhou to Dawu - around 80 kms

Day 10: Dawu to Taitung - around 65 kms

Day 11: Taitung it Yuli - around 85 kms

Day 12: Yuli to Hualien- around 95 kms along route 193

Day 13: Hualien to Suao - around 105 kms - starting very early to avoid the trucks eg 5 am 

Day 14: Suao to Fulong - around 75 kms

Day 15: Fulong to Keelung - around 60 kms

Day 16: Keelung to  New Taipei City (Xizhi) - around 110 kms

Many people do the around the island trip in 9 to 12 days.  that's great if that's what you want to do.  But quite honestly you do get to see and experience more if you keep it to 70-80 kms a day.  For a start you won't be too tired to go and check out the night markets.  And you will have time to just sit and watch the world go by at a cafe and maybe strike up a conversation with a local without being pressed for time. So my approach when I go back will be to keep the distances shorter and only do 100 kms or more when it is necessary.  

So that's the Taiwan trip done and dusted.  

Of course the cycling is great.  But I also go there to visit my best and dearest friend LIn-HUi.  You may notice I have posted no pictures of her and her children.  Well I made a decision not to post pictures of her two girls but here is one of Lin-hui with her sister when we visited Chaiyi.  Lin-Hui is on the right of the picture. 

Just one more message and that is: I LOVE TAIWAN!!!

Hong Kong - 10-14 December

Tuesday -  the plan was to do some sightseeing and go to the Peak on the tram. After breakfast at a local cafe we caught the MTR into Hong Kong station and walked across to Central.  I found that my old Octopus Card still worked and better still had $HK200 or so loaded on it. Kemmy's card (borrowed from his mother) had some value on it as well.  We walked from Central to the Peak Tram and since we has Octopus cards we did not have to line up to buy tickets.  The ride up was pretty spectacular.  Sure it was vey hazy but Kenny seemed to enjoy it.  Up the top we wandered around taking photos and looking through the tourist shops. We bought some tacky souveniers and then. Kenny saw the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant.  Named after Forest Gump, the movie, Kenny convinced me we should have lunch there.  Well, it was only 12.00 noon and we only finished breakfast at 9.30, but why not. So I made a booking for 2 PM.  We wandered are undo the peak for 2 hours, took photos and window shopped.  Back to Bubba Gump where Shrimp (what we Aussies call prawns) was king of the menu.  So that's what we got.  I ordered a Coronarita. That was a big mistake as it consisted of a large glass of margarita and a corona beer sitting upside down in the glass.  It must have held 5 standard drinks because I was sure woozy afterwards.  We had a window table looking over towards the city.  After lunch, which lasted nearly 2 hours, I had to return to the hotel for a snooze.  Actually I slept for nearly 2 hours.  While I was sleeping Kenny wandered around Tsuen Wan.  That night we did not feel like much dinner so we just had Mos Burger.    

Wednesday was what I really wanted to do, to go to Lantau Island: visit the Po Lin Monastery, and have their beautiful vegetarian lunch.  We took the MTR out to Tung Chung and took the cable car to the top.  We got a crystal cable car which meant the car had a glass floor.  It was a beautiful ride up to the top.  Here are some photos. 

Up the top we wandered around Nayong 360 village.  This is a completely tourist creation, but it's so well done you feel right at home. We visited a tea shop and the lady there was demonstrating how to brew and serve flower tea. I was immediately taken, it was such a beautiful tea to drink.  So I bought a flower tea set. Then we visited the big Buddha.  We climbed to the top and looked around.  It's an amazing statue and many Chirnese people were kneeling saying prayers both up the top and down the bottom.  If you find yourself in a Hong Kong be sure to visit the Big Buddha.  More pictures:

After this we had lunch at the Po Lin Monastery restaurant.  This is another must do.  The meal is amazingly delicious and it's all vegetarian. Unfortunately for Kenny some  of the dishes had mushroom in them. But he was able to avoid them. (He is allergic to mushrooms.) we walked around the monastery, but unfortunately much of it was closed to to renovations.  I made a small donation to the building fund and we watched the devotees burn insence and pray.  After that we headed back down on the cable car and back to Tsuen Wan.  That evening we went to the Jordan night markets. I was disappointed as they sold mainly tacky stuff.  Plus no food like they have at Taiwanese night markets.  Kenny told me I was in a bad mood.  He was probably right. Don't get me wrong, I like Hong Kong.  But it isn't Taiwan, which I love.  Maybe I was just missing my friend and Taiwan.  And maybe I was also missing home and my wife Nilda.  It had been 5 weeks since I left and a week in Hong Kong seemed just too long for me.  Kenny decided I was useless and selected a restaurant near the night markets.  I had a nice mild curry (and that tested my stomach which still gave me grief every now and then) and Kenny some chicken.  We caught the MTR back to the hotel and I fell asleep while Kenny was watching the national Geographic Channel.

Thursday was shopping time.  I had promised we would go to Shenzen and the IT mall.   So after breakfast at the hotel we caught to MTR out to Lo Wu and crossed the border into the special economic zone of Shensen, PRC.  After some initial confusion we sorted out their metro system and caught the train to the SEG centre.  Wow!! 10'floors of IT stuff.  We bought up big on gifts and stuff for ourselves.  We bought bluetooth speakers, iPad cases, computer stuff and lots more.  We also bought some more luggage.  I bought a roll along backpack and Kenny a really good backpack.  We got them both for less than $50. We probably could have done a little better with the bargaining, but who cares. I reaction we got a good deal for the price compared to what a similar product would cost back home and the shop owner probably thought he did better than normal. I knew they were genuine reproductions as well.  So everyone was a winner.  I another we bought 3 Bluetooth speakers at one place. They quoted 270 Yuan for them and I  just bargained very lightly. The sound quality was not too bad and at only 250 yuan I thought good value.  As we walked away the shop keeper was obviously happy at not having to be bargained down very much as he had a big smile on his face.  Sure I probably could have got them for under 200 Yuan, but who cares. We returned to the border and Kenny bought some 'genuine' Ray Bahns for Alfred and agift for his mother.  That night we had dinner at the Dim Sum restaurant we are at on Monday night.  

Friday we decided to go to Stanley for a look around.  I like Stanley. It is a seaside town with markets and cafés and restaurants. We caught the bus from Central to Stanley and when we arrived there was a Tesla demonstration. Here's a few photos of Kenny looking at the car.  After that we wandered around the market area. I didn't buy anything though as I was worried about packing it all into our bags.  I have plenty of baggage allowance but with a bike another bag would be just too unwieldy.  We then had lunch at a cafe and after some more strolling around decided it was time to head back to Tsuen Wan.  This is where I found that I had lost my Octopus Card.  When I got back to the MTR station I bought another and headed back to the hotel. I had a nap and Kenny wandered around the local shopping malls.  That night we had dinner at Melissa's Seafood and steakhouse restaurant and it was a lovely meal.  Then we set off in search of an iPad for Alfred's Xmas present.  It took some finding I can tell you as we were after a specific one - a 32 gig retina display mini iPad. Just as I was ready to give up, this is the most popular model apparently, we found a shop that had one.  I handed over my card and we finally had one.  

Now Mr Laszlo Montgomery of the China History Podcast was in town. And I had arranged to meet him for lunch on the Saturday. We met Laszlo and his friend at the Peninsula Hotel.  We decided to have lunch at the Peninsula.  Laszlo is an amazing guy.  He has worked in China for nearly 3 decades and he really knows the place.  It was a real pleasure and honour to meet up with him. I have been trying to convince him for some time to come to Australia.  Maybe in 2014 he said.  I hope he can come and I will show him around Canberra and some local sites with a Chinese history flavour.  Like the  museum at Young where the infamous Lambing Creek massacre took place.  If you want to get a flavour of the canvas of Chinese history have a listen the the China History Podcast.  You can download it from iTunes. Laszlo is well over the 100 episodes now.  I can tell you it's a great podcast.  My Chinese friends are always impressed by my knowledge of Chinese history and it's all because of Laszlo. All I have to do it turn on the play button of my iPhone or iPad and he does all the work.  

That afternoon we went out to the airport and checked in. The Qantas club beckoned and I had a shower and change of clothes before boarding the plane. So did Kenny. A G&T or two and before long we were called for the flight.  It was an uneventful flight. I can hardly ever sleep on a plane and this was no different.  I talked to the couple next to me a little and they were travelling to Wollongong for their daughter's graduation.  I told them that I had also gone to Wollongong University and that their daughter had a good degree from a very good university and that they should be very proud. That made them very happy.  Again, I am sooo smooth.  We touched down on time at Sydney and after getting through immigration and customs, transferred to the domestic terminal.  Another shower at the Qanntas club and then the flight to Canberra. Just as we were about to taxi out I saw our bikes. Being carried away from the plane. Kenny got worried.  Hey, that's great I told him.  Now we don't have to worry about finding a taxi van big enough to take them home. Qantas will put them on a later plane and courier them to our house. Which was exactly what happened.  We arrived home just after midday.  I was pretty tired, but relieved to be back home again.  

Taipei and finally having to leave beautiful Taiwan

 Again, I am posting this after I have returned home.  This post relates to Thursday 5 to Monday 9 November.

On Thursday we went into Taipei and did the tourist thing.  We went up to the top of Taipei 101, which is one of the tallest building in the world. The view from the top is superb.  But quite honestly, I was annoyed by the over-commercialisation of it all. It was just too much over the top.  This is quite at odds with most things Taiwanese, so I put it down to the large numbers of mainland tourists comprising the vast majority of visitors. Despite this, Taipei 101 is another must see!! I got over the commercialism and embraced it by buying souveniers.  Kenny bought some of the cables they use in the  elevators. Apparently, while Taipei 101 is no longer the tallest buildiing, the elevators remain the world's fastest. 

Here are some photos.

We lunched at Din Tai Fung in the Taipei 101 mall - an iconic Taiwanese dumpling restaurant.  Such beautiful food!! I love Taiwanse food, especially the dumplngs.  If you ever find yourelf in Taipei you absolutely have to go to a Din Tai Fung restaurant.  I guarantee you will never regret the experience.  There are a couple of Din Tai Fung restaurants in Sydney now. So you don't have to even travel to Taiwan.  Kenny had Beef noodle soup which is probaly one of taiwan's national dishes and reported that it was delicious. I had vegetarian dumpliings and prawn dumplings followed by steamed layered cake.  

Kenny wanted to buy a new lens for his camera so after a bit of research we found what amounted to camera street.  We found a shop that sold what he was after and he purchased the lens at a price much lower than what could be gained home. We caught the MRT back to Taipei main sation whre we had coffee. Then it was back to Xihzi where I cooked dinner for everyone. 

On Friday I attended a seminar at the Council of Labor Affairs.  That took up the entire morning.  Kenny wandered around Taipei and found a great electronics market area.  I met up with Kenny around 2 pm and he stll hadn't had lunch, so we found a cafe so he could eat.  After Lin-Hui finished  work we went to Taipei City Hall for more shopping, dinner and to a coffee shop.  

Saturday morning we went to Costco!! I wanted some supplies to make breakfast but everything was in bulk. So it was the Wellcome supermarket where I bought what I wanted.  We travelled into Taipei after lunch and I bought a great carry on bag at a department store.  

The next morning (Sunday) I cooked blueberry pancakes with a yoghurt and honey topping.  Janet and Jennifer loved it so mission accomplished.  This was my last day in Taiwan so we stayed at the apartment.  Kenny and I put our bikes into their cases and packed up our stuff.  Actually, I discarded most of my bike. I got rid of the wheels, handle bars and pedals plus all the cabling. All I kept was basically the frame, forks and the group set.   For the rest of the day we just lazed around talking.  It might be 10 or 12 months before I see Lin-Hui again. 

The next morning (Monday) was departure day.  It only seemed like I had arrived a few days ago.  I said goodbye to Janet and Jennifer earlier in the morning and before long our taxi van arrived to take us and our bikes to Taoyuan Airport. It was very sad to say goodbye to my friend. It was a very quiet journey to the airport. I was wondering when I might return and when I would see Lin-hui and the girls again.  Sitting in the Cathay Pacific lounge I pondered over a truly remarkable trip to Taiwan.  By a combination of bicycle and train I had completed a circumnavigation of Taiwan.  I had met some wonderful people, shared some remarkable experiences with new friends and witnessed such beautiful scenery. It all didn't go to plan and I sure regret not completing all of the ride I had planned.  But, hey, that's a good reason to return. 

How I love this island of Taiwan!!  The Portuguese were right - it is Formosa the beautiful island.  

Arriving in Hong Kong we checked into the Hotel Nina in Tsuen Wan and had dinner at a local Dim Sum restaurant.  Tomorrow some sightseeing.  The Peak awaits.  

Taroko Gorge Tour and back to Taipei

Well I have been a bit slack on writing up the rest of the Taiwan adventure. So I am writing this after I have returned to Australia. This write up relates to Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 December.

On Tuesday we had a pretty lazy day. After breakfast we went for a short bike ride around Hualien. We stopped at a market and looked around.  After that we walked into the city and momentarily considered hiring I scooters again.  We decided after a while to head off to a local shopping mall.  Kenny wanted lunch at Mos Burger. It's asian fast food with rice hamburgers and the like.  I also admit to a fondness for Mos Burger.  It's fast food that is probably reasonably healthy.  At the shopping centre I bought a tea pot for Charlotte at work.  She had preordered one and I saw one I hoped she would like (and she said she did when I presented it to her). Kenny purchased an insulated flask which are all the rage in Taiwan and Hong Kong right now. Then we made a decision that Kenny said he regrets.  We got haircuts.  I must admit it was a rather severe haircut.  I asked for a trim and got a very good old fashioned short back and sides. I quite liked it.  Kenny gave rather specific instructions about what sort of cut he wanted - number 4 comb here, a number 2 here etc.  And he got exactly the same as me. Which he wasn't too keen on.  What do you expect for $NTD100 (about $4 Australian)? He did not take kindly to my question - what's the difference between a good and a bad haircut? A week.

That night we returned to the Hualien night market for dinner. My stomach was improving because I was able to eat over half of the pizza I ordered.  I had more watermelon juice and local tea ice cream. Tea ice cream is a real treat.

Wednesday was the Taroko Gorge tour.  I visited Taroko Gorge in 2009 and I was really looking forward to today.  Tiffany our guide picked usup from our B&B in the morning and our first port of call was Chissington beach and after that the Qingshui Cliffs.  At the beach we had time to wander arond.  It seems that a popular activity is to erect stone columns - so Kenny did as well.

A lovely day at the beach

Tiffany wih Kenny

Qingshui Cliffs

As you can see, the scenery is stunning.  The road up through th Qingshui cliffs was extremely narrow.   If you want to do an around Taiwan ride you have to do this sretch - a 100 km ride from Hualien to Suao. It looked quit scary to me.  Narrow and dark tunnels with very litle room for trucks to pass a slow bike rider. I think if I return and atempt the whole island that I would stay on the northern outskirts of Hualien and start really early.  Like 5 am or so.  

After the cliffs we headed to Taroko Gorge.  This is one of the natural wonders of the world.  We went to Swallow Grotto and lots of other places.  I will let the photos do the talking.

The Jin Heng memoral - a famous engineer who died working on the tunnels 

Taroko Gorge is a must see if you ever travel to Taiwan.  You can do one day tours from Taipei where you fly into Hualien in the morning and catch a train back that night.  If you are pressed for time do that. But my personal recommendaton is to contact Tiffany Chang and arrange a personal tour with her.  She is really good and will take you places that the other tours don't take you.  Her email address is: tiffany_935lk@yahoo.com.tw  

Tiffany also has a Facebook page. Just search for Tiffany Chang tour guide in Hualien.

After the tour we arrived back in Hualien at about 4.30 pm.  We collected our bikes and Tiffany dropped us at the train station where we boarded our train back to Taipei.  Before we left we donated our helmets to the B&B we were staying at.  We arrived back in Taipei just after 10 pm and caught a taxi back to Xizhi.  it had been a long day, but an incredible one with lots of extremely beautiful sscenery.  

Taiwan is such a beautiful islndand Taroko Gorge is one of the jewels.  

For the nex few days we will stay in Taipei to spend time with Lin-Hui and Janet and Jennifer.  It has ben great travelling for the week or so, but it will be great to spend time with Lin-Hui.

Tour Taiwan: Day in Hualien

Kenny's room lets him get in touch with his more sensitive self.  Here's a photo. Very strawberry.  

My room is a much more manly nautical theme. 

Kenny kept on insisting we try and hire motor scooters.  I had heard of a place called Pony that hires scooters to foreigners but. I thought that we would need an international drivers licence which I had neglected to arrange before hand.  Anyways, we found Pony very easily as it is near the railway station.  To my utter astonishment they gave us two Yamaha Breeze 125 scooters for $NTD500 each for the day.  They asked if we had riden a bike before and that was it.  Here's a picture of the scooters. A full 125 cc's of raw power.  

What to do?   Well why not ride up the Rift Valley and see what happens.  I quickly found a road that led us to the Eastern Rift Valley scenic area and we followed that.  About 15 kms up the road we stopped for coffee at Lake Luye.  I then formulated a plan. We would ride up the road 50 kms to Guangfu and over the mountains to Felnglin.  After that we could ride up the coast along route 11 back to Hualien.  Total trip about 150 kms.  

Off we rode sitting on speeds of about 70-80 kms an hour.  This was about the speed the traffic was going at and I did not want to get the attraction of the law.  We stoped in Guangfu for a drink and light lunch.  Kenny had sushi, I had a - actually I can't remember.  Then it was over the mountain pass. I remember thinking that every car is going to catch us and it is going to be slow going.  Boy was I wrong.

Scooters on the mountain

These scooters actually handle really well.  I found we could really throw them into corners and get through the corners pretty well. And Kenny discovered that if you put your foot down hard on the side you hare cornering into that made it even better.  He was right.  Our problem now became one that we caught every car in front of us.  So we would catch, stop and then catch up again.  The climb was about 25 kms and it was great fun.  I also thought this would be a great road to ride over on a bicycle.  

Into Fenglin we turned up the coastline. It was once again a spectacular day with beautiful scenery.  Here are some photos.

We finally got back into Hualien about 5.30 PM just after dusk.  Returned the scooters and returned to our accomodation.  Dinner was at the night markets. These are amazing places and if you ever want to see the soul of a Taiwanse city or town head to the local night markets.  I guarantee it will be an experience you will never forget.  

Tomorrow we will ride around Hualien on the bikes.  Then on Wedensday we are booked in for a Taroko Gorge Tour.