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…
adan 賽事記錄 Race Reports, 高阿丹 Tim's Log
今天 Ray 來單模黏管胎後說要去作 5 分鐘間歇。他要去的路線是我之前發現很適合做 5min intervals 建議他去的。所以我覺得有義務要和他去做幾趟，to make sure he’s doing it right.
五分鐘間歇, 如果做的對，可以幫助你很快達到很不錯的 fitness level. 但它也是一個 double-edged sword: 因為這種 fitness level, 如果沒有建立在更穩的基礎上 (lots of FTP-type 間歇), 通常並不能達到你的 peak 或維持很久。所以有的時候 5min 間歇會被用來做為 cram interval 惡補間歇，當你沒有時間做好札實的 build phase，五分鐘間歇可以在短時間內(4－6周)幫助你達到一定的 fitness, 但不要期望這個 fitness 可維持很久或可達到最高狀態。
Ray 今年都在穩定進步中。他現在做五分鐘間歇是在很好的基礎上再 hone 比賽的 fitness (只可惜夏天比賽又少了）。
圖一是第一個間歇我的 power。 Read more…
adan 高阿丹 Tim's Log
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…
adan 高阿丹 Tim's Log
This year we are using the new Ritchey WCS Zeta wheels for training and some races. When the races are in wet, rainy conditions and have many downhills, we go for the convenience and superior braking of aluminum wheels, instead of carbon rims.
Last Sunday we raced at Wuling, Hehuan Shan. In wet conditions and having a steep 40km downhill on the way back home after race, the Zetas were the best option. Coupled with Schwalbe Durano tires is a great combination for training and racing.
Ritchey WCS Zeta wheelset
Ritchey WCS Zeta website
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inigo 我們的器材 Team Equipment
這是我第二次騎武嶺 , 上一次是去年的第一屆 . 對我來說這比賽很特別 , 好像是每年必經之路一般 , 是充滿著挑戰的一條路 .
賽前一天埔里還下著大雨 , 一整晚雨聲滴滴答答地響著 . 我們都很擔心會像去年一樣在比賽前就已經全身溼了 , 一路在雨中騎上武嶺 , 然後縮著發抖的身子下山 . 結果呢 ? 隔天早上雨就停了 ! 還好 , 惡夢沒有成真 .
菁英組最早出發 , 也最備受大會的關注 . 大會有兩部維修車全程跟著我們 , 還有數不清的機車裁判沿路幫我們開路指揮 . 除此之外 , 沿路設有三處補給點 , 然後大會還幫我們載衣物到山頂 , 從這些細節來看真的會覺得大會實在很用心在辦這場比賽 !
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Ray 睿恆 Ray's notes, 賽事記錄 Race Reports, 隊上新聞 Team News
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。
把這公式完美化，制式化的罪魁禍首是 Armstrong/Bruyneel syndicate. Read more…
adan 高阿丹 Tim's Log
上周六南投委員會的張老師問我要不要參加縣上辦的比賽：周一早由埔里出發到草屯，回頭再騎到日月潭。Very cool. 我現在很少機會在南投騎車，而且在國道六建好後在中潭騎車應是很棒的。
Lovely day in Puli for a ride. 7am 埔里晴空，微涼。在集合點有七，八位車友來參賽。 摩托車裁判比選手還多，前面還有兩位騎 1300cc Yamaha 的警察幫我們開路！二輪館老闆輝哥也來比賽，還有酷哥，李也剛。It’s definitely a local affair! 我們南投人自己玩！
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adan 高阿丹 Tim's Log
在一天休息後環意今天是第四站團隊計時賽。有誰想到在沒有坡的前三站前面幾位 favorites 的總成績會有這麼戲劇化的差別？
And Vino in pink?!
現在的實況轉播科技讓我們可以看到很多在集團中發生的事，看到比賽的戰術運用，看到整個比賽如故事般的 unfold. 很 cool。當 Cadel Evans 在第三站最後五公里 desperately 追領先集團時，有一個 Liquigas 的選手輕輕的拍拍 Evans 把他推到前面：一個小動作，但充分的代表了當時的戰術考量 ~ 繼續工作吧，因為後面不會有人再幫你了!
我不記得有看過 Grand Tours (環法，意，西) 的 leader 像 Evans 在第三站那樣被 put on the ropes. 粉紅衫不只要 solo chase 回集團, 還被逼在前面工作 (Sastre 和 Cunego 在同一個集團為 self-interest 應該但都無法出來幫忙就知道 Evans 當時的 output 有多高，騎的有多快) — that’s just awesome and awe-inspiring.
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adan 高阿丹 Tim's Log
2010年TCR用的安全帽-LAS VICTORY是義大利知名安全帽品牌LAS HELMET所贊助. LAS VICTORY是所有LAS安全帽當中的第一級 . 擁有相當流線且出色的外型 , 共25個進風口 , 且只有230公克(g) , 很輕 !
LAS VICTORY , 以"勝利"為名
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Ray 我們的器材 Team Equipment
我這兩周在加州看奶奶，弟弟和妹妹，是開新單模店後的第一個 vacation。。。當然試著找時間騎周末的 old rect’m ride 和 nooners.
被騎 Harley 的條子開罰單，為加州經濟做出供獻。
上周六第一個 ride 和 Andrew 和 NY Bob 騎 rect’m 在 Woodside 被條子攔下，Andrew 和我都被開了一張罰單，原因是 stop sign 沒停。條子很認真的花了半小時寫單子，很認真的為破產的加州政府賺錢。一張單子大概要 US150 ~ Welcome back, dufus! Read more…
adan 高阿丹 Tim's Log
Being a 2-day race, Huadong is a special race in the calendar in Taiwan. For us is a very important race, and also a great excuse to go to the beautiful East coast, Hualien and Taitong.
Here some highlights of the race:
Rick on the attack!
Read more…
inigo Inigo's Blog, 賽事記錄 Race Reports
One more year we were at the start line in Hualien ready for the Tour of East Taiwan, 300km, 2-day race up and down between Hualien and Taidong, and back.
As usual, the route profile dictated a race in big groups, where is hard to breakaway but easy to follow. I noticed the groups were really bigger this year (basically both days it was just one big group), it seems the average level has increased, the speed was high as well, and I didn’t see dangerous riders or moves as other times.
Read more…
inigo Inigo's Blog, 賽事記錄 Race Reports
Huadong 2nd day... a hard training ride if you just look at the summary... but the 800+ watt spikes tell a different story.
今年新的分組制度下，菁英組的人數多出很多，但有沒有一兩隊可以或願意出來組織或帶頭。在這種情況下，集團中騎法變的很負面，因為只要在集團裡“精打細算”的騎，就可以到最後“再拼一拼”。
我不確定這種騎法對個人或對台灣還在成長的公路車文化是好的。 Read more…
adan 賽事記錄 Race Reports, 高阿丹 Tim's Log
今天在集團中，除了最後轉入終點被前面摔車的擔誤，整個比賽並沒有很 eventful. 前面的六七個在牛山就逃跑了，最後應是約在集團前 1~2 分鐘。今天的集團非常多人。Ray 的表現很棒，這只不過是他第二場菁英賽，他大部分時間都在集團前面，應是很好第學習。我有點氣我自己在牛山落在集團後段，然後在下坡的時後被集團甩開，後來還要花時間追回。但我看 SRM 數據是 ok 的。I realize 其實在爬坡時我花很多 energy 從集團後面追到前面 – 在牛山中段的下坡我也是一樣落在集團最後。
As I get older, 我對下坡越來越沒信心，and I pay for it during races.
Random thoughts on Huadong Day 1: Read more…
adan 高阿丹 Tim's Log
早上出發我們現在花蓮。一路由台中埔里合歡山在藍天下白雲上看到上帝造物的美麗。What a beautiful day to drive through the mountains!
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adan 賽事記錄 Race Reports, 高阿丹 Tim's Log
訂閱台灣 Team Cinelli Ritchey 車隊 
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