這個週末我們在埔里騎車。還有一些朋友來加入我們。維持 TCR Training Camp 一貫的傳統,我們努力騎車,努力 have fun,努力吃好吃的食物。
很高興有新的車友來加入我們,一同體驗 TCR 騎車文化。我希望這個週末辛苦的 work 能在不久的將來為大家 pay off。更重要的是,我希望我們在訓練上作的討論能釐清一些概念混淆。夥伴們,這只不過是一個開始,只不過是 scratching the surface。但如果你願意把所學到的再深入的了解和實踐,你的訓練會更有效率,你的騎車會更有成就感。
目前為止最好的 quote: If you draw your sword and then drop it, you die. ~ Ryder Hesjedal
No, there are no gifts in this race. ~ Johan Bruyneel.
Like we always said back in the day, we never gave anybody anything. ~ Lance Armstrong
We cannot expect any help in these circumstances… Of course we’d have hoped he waited more. I don’t want to create a polemic, but how many guys crashed today? Nobody helps them, nobody waited. That’s how it is. ~ Bjarne Riis
離坡頂只有三公里,the race was on,每個人都是 full gas,沒有人會等,也不應該等。
Yunlin County is one of those places that blur by as you hurl toward somewhere else, registering only as km’s to be ticked off. Oh yeah, it’s got overrated and overpriced coffee in Gukeng. Soysauce. And the controversial giant Formosa Plastic oil refinery on its coast. Impressions from my one previous visit to Yunlin – only 1 hour south of Taichung – are of desolate farm houses amid a desolate sea of rice paddies, shimmering in a desolate sun, everything quietly baking in desolate silence.
TCR all kitted up for battle. Our race kit this year is a real eye-popper. Being easy to spot in the pack is both an advantage and a disadvantage, we find. But there's no denying our Stratos are getting the most attention.
The National Club Series’ 5th and 6th races were held in Yunlin this past weekend, around the Town of Huwei (Tiger’s Tail). It’s the first time the Series has come to Yunlin, as part of the county’s tourism promotion. The crit and the road race were held on the coastal plain, meaning for both days we held nary a hill in sight. As we drove around Huwei looking for lunch I couldn’t help wondering hmmm what kind of lifestyle would I have to adopt if I lived around here. Sure after a while i’d find something to dig in the sultry central-southern (中南部) miasma. But where would I do my hill repeats? Where would I go for the shady escape into the hills? I mean, where are the shades? I started to wonder if I had to be in a place that’s garishly bright, murderously hot, mind-bendingly flat and without shades, would I rather be in a real desert or an asphalt-and-rice-paddy desert? Yeah the mind wanders when it should be taking siesta.
Tim in the lead breakaway during Sunday's RR: First in EM40 and Fifth overall.
That is not to say that I found nothing to recommend during our excursion. Huwei has a real vibrant night market (ok, that’s the obligatory tourist thing to say). And the town has some really cool Japanese-era public buildings left that I wished we had more time to explore. And you gotta respect the sun-toughened A-beis (Old Uncles) who rule the roads with their imperturbably imperious scootering — no helmets, no lookin’, no paying no mind to nobody. Dis them at your own perils. Read more…
I stole a couple of hours to ride around the Sun Moon Lake this morning. The trip around the lake is about 28km of undulating terrain, interspersed with 1~2km climbs and descents, nothing more strenuous than 5~6% grade. I’ve always thought it’d make for a classy World’s course.
From our apartment in Puli the trip to the Lake and back takes just about 2 hours. I’ve always loved cruising around the Lake during the week when there’s much fewer cars – something I haven’t been able to do much since ModusVelo opened in Taichung last year. The Lake sits about 700m above sea level, the route is mostly shaded, and the surface well-paved — super nice riding, an escape from the stifling summer heat.
With the Taiwan bike boom of the last few years, Sun Moon Lake has become a mecca of sorts for cyclists. The tour buses around the Lake are now equipped with bike racks, and there’s a shop that specializes in bike rental. The well-meaning government officials, finding themselves behind the curve as usual, try to do something for the peeps by- what else? – putting up signs. Read more…
Whodathunkit ! 有誰想到今年的 Giro 會這麼精彩!環義的主辦單位近年來花很多心思嘗試不同的路線活化賽程,讓比賽的競爭延升從頭到尾,而不是只有在幾個 key stages 才有看頭。今年他們 hit the jackpot.
環義‘傳統’是前半段賽程都很 genteel, 入山前的賽事好似用 gentlemen’s agreement 來騎,用 piano 速度。沒什麼事會在這種平路或所謂 transitional stages 發生:通常在一段廝殺後,主集團會讓”正確組合“的小組逃出去,給他們 camera time, 主集團由粉紅衫隊或對自己 sprinter 很有信心的隊配速,在後段再由 sprinter 的隊接手,終點前約 10km 把小組抓回(也不要太早)然後衝刺… 在有 radio 的賽事裡,這已變成 grand tour 的公式。
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