Off we go!
Departure for Taiwan
Perfectionist, whether it comes to
our bicycles or our trip
An auspicious day in April: With road bikes stuffed into boxes testing the limits of checked luggage allowable on international flights, our five-strong team gets past the careful inspections to check-in and almost immediately offers some prayers in the lounge for the successful completion of our ride.
The bike transport bags we used for this trip were plastic corrugated cardboard boxes with total linear dimensions of 2,030 mm as per the checked luggage standards set down in 2011 for international flights by Japanese airlines. We then put specially ordered nylon covers on the boxes. You can get them over the Internet for about ¥13,000.
Even under the new rules that All Nippon Airways set down in June 2013, they will accept as checked baggage sports equipment that falls within your allowance for free carry-on bags.
Perfectionism even when
it comes to preparations
No giving up
To prepare for troubles with a plan that calls for more than 200 km of travel, we loaded up a bus with inner tubes, tire pumps, and other gear for emergency repairs.
We received a lot of help on these advance arrangements from all the people at Sodick's Taiwan office with whom we work together on a daily basis.
Rainy Hualian
Dedicated to
going all the way.
Unbowed even by the rain and a face that was sure to experience
maximum wind resistance, Mr. Gao Quan Jian stayed up front
and played the role of leader.
The red line indicates
our course.
An April day Heavy rain
Distance traveled
82.5 km
Time elapsed
7 hr. 22min.
We were joined in Hualian by Mr.Chen of SDI, which uses Sodick products.
For our route, we got navigation assistance from the ideas of the “Fanshu Y” cycling team to which he belongs.
These robust cyclists came from Changhua County, crossing 3,200-m high mountains and traversing the cliffs of Taroko National Park.
The rain fell heavily this day from the morning, and everyone wore shower caps from the hotel on our ride.
We warmed muddied bodies chilled to the bone from the
drenching rain and pounced on the wonderful food.
In Hualian, we got a bowl of brothless,
oil-dipped noodles as well as wontons with various flavors.
In Taiwan, the meaning “wonton” is expressed using
Kanji characters meaning “imbalanced” and “eating.”
At the end of an 80-km ride in pouring rain, we reached our destination: Hongye Hot Spring. Having finished our ride without incident, we drank, laughed, and danced in the nostalgic bathing setting of a natural hot springs.
The toasts we shared were particularly special after we had to cycle through heavy rains though we had expected only blue skies before setting out.
We spent a day that felt like we could go anywhere, like we could meet good people, have a good trip, and create good memories.
