March 19, 2007

  • It's Only Mountains

    Having a lot of free time on my hands –
    given that I am now working from home – I am able to get out on the
    mountain bike more often than ever before. And so ou t I go – pretty
    much on a daily basis. With the cold weather though I have not taken
    the higher climb – Da Tun Shan – settling instead for Guanyin
    Shan, closer to the apartment. Of course, just because it is a lower
    altitude does not make it any easier – in fact it is steeper than
    the mountain across the river, and so the legs pump hard, the sweat
    drips, and the lungs are heavy, but the climb is made, the peak
    reached relatively easily. And now, being the posey bastard I am, I
    actually get to the top, go down to the bottom, and climb back up
    again.

    It was on one of these climbs where I
    started on my latest theory. All that cycling has taken a toll on my
    nads, the saddle not being the most comfortable thing in the world to
    sit on. And with this personal discomfort I began to understand why
    Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France so often. With one of his own
    nads missing, he has an advantage over the competition. Whilst his
    co-cyclists are busy moving their own meat and two veg in to a more
    comfortable position, he is able to sprint off in to the distance,
    the yellow jersey safely in his possession once more.

    As King of the Mountains myself though,
    these long treks up to the summit of Guanyin Shan are a lot of fun.
    Escaping the city pollution – which is one of the many reasons for
    me to live outside the city anyway – I have been abkle to enjoy the
    beautifulo colours of early spring. The winter has been very mild, so
    flowers have been blooming along my route up the mountain.

    One of the reasons I ride up Guanyin
    Shan is because there are 6 or 7 different ways up, each of them with
    their own characteristics. And all of them with beautiful flowers
    blooming, trees filled with pink or white or orange blossom. It is
    just a shame that the sky is always grey – the sun has not made an
    appearance for many days now, putting a slight dampener on the
    colours. In the sunshine with a backdrop of blue sky, those flowers
    would be simply stunning. One tree in particular catches the eye –
    no leaves, but a multitude of large orange flowers.

    Last week I was even lucky enough to
    see a snake – a huge 1.5 metre long one – trying to get across
    the tarmac and in to the undergrowth. Knowing how the Chinese react
    when they see snakes, I made sure it got in to the grass without
    anyonetrying to beat it to death. I needn't have worried – I was
    the only person in the area. Most people are afraid of snakes, but I
    stayed far enough away from it so as to make sure it did not feel
    threatened by me.

    The issue with riding so much is now
    that things are beginning to wear down on the bike, and so I had to
    spend no little money in repairing it. Truth is, the bike is now 8
    years old, a 1999 model bought in the autumn of 2000 when I was
    living in California. Like the kitty, the bike came back to Taiwan
    with me, but the bike is now starting to show its age, rather like
    the rider.

    When I went to my usual bike shop to
    get it repaired, Jackie (he hates it when I call him Jackie Chan)
    suggested I get a new one. At a mere US$2000, he made a suggestion
    for one bike, and it looks awesome. All I need now is to earn some
    cash.

    The bike ride up He Huan Shan later
    this year will be even better than last year's effort - I am fitter
    than I was 12 months ago, and if I can keep up the training regime,
    even during my forthcoming trips to Europe, then come autumn time, I
    will make it to Taiwan's highest road point. I'm fit, I'm lean, I'm a
    dual-nadded biking machine!