Conquering 風櫃嘴 + Fury of the Elements

After much turmoil and nearly missing the flight, me and the bike miraculously arrived in Taiwan ON TIME (much love and thanks to the China Airlines folks at JFK!). So I had the SL re-assembled as soon as I arrived.

That brings us to today, Monday the 22nd.

Thanks to the jet lag, I got up before 5:00 a.m. With nothing else to do, and a sexy bike waiting, I just decided to hop on the road with the shorts, UA base layer, jersey, and PI arm warmers, intent on taking down 風櫃嘴 (Feng Gui Zui), one of the toughest peaks around the Taipei area with pops.

As soon as we got on the road, I realized the size of the challenge in front of us: cloudy-to-drizzly weather, bit of a chill, and a first experience on the 39/53T crank (12-26 cassette). Dad had a nice triple crank T_T. lol

Without much trouble, we maneuvered the city streets, got onto the bike lanes by the river bank, and connected to the base of the mountains by the National Palace Museum. Note of interest: all 7-Elevens sport bike racks and outdoor seating for bikers in TW, and there was conveniently one right at the base.

1 Snickers bar and hot chocolate later, we took on the peak. Here's a quick feel for the mountain:

Base --> peak road length: 10km
Base --> peak elevation gain: 648m (about 2000 ft)
First 3.2km elevation gain: 203m, gradient 4~6%, occasional 12%
Remaining 6.8km elevation gain: 445m, gradient 11~13%, occasional 4~6%

Stats seemed pretty solid, and the first 3.2km served as a great warm-up on the new crank. Not too bad. However, as soon as we transitioned into the winding, hairpin-turn-filled mountain road, the gradient quickly ramped up to the challenging levels that separate men from boys.

Compounding the challenging geography was the weather. Apparently the drizzles in the city area (a basin) were simply leftover waters AFTER clouds have dumped its bulk on the peaks...and we ate the fury of wind and water by 1/2 way up the peak.

Despite the challenging slopes, we had anticipated being able to hit the peak without having to take a break. We ended up taking 3. I'd attribute the first to dealing with the quickly dropping temperatures, the second was to throw on a poncho at 1/2 way (it started raining sideways then!), and the final one...was about 30m away from the peak.

That final stop illustrates the difficulty of the climb by that point: 14% gradient, sideways rain, and we were in the cloud (< 10m visibility), and incredible gusts. The gust got so bad, the headwind blew me to a stop while power-climbing! 0.o Definitely had to stop and get off the bike at that point, and we walked the final meters.

After a little rest at the peak and meeting a fellow biker who drove up to check the peak conditions (real shocked to see we made it to the top), we decided to forego the rest of the planned route and descend the way we came up. Both of us had to ride the brakes the entire way...it was that scary maneuvering the wet, blind, and windy hairpin turns. Ran in to a solo rider on a hardtail MTB, then a group of 3 on folding bikes tryin' to take on the mountain near the bottom (they were wearing polos and khakis, btw). Gave them fair warning, but all just smiled and said thanks.

We were near hypothermia by the time we got back to the 7-Eleven and proceeded to down 2 large hot cocoas each...finally gaining control over fingers. Before we got to the 2nd cup, that lone MTB rider joined us...the mountain and its elements got to him =P

Moral of the story: taking down 風櫃嘴 & fury of the elements is definitely hard mode, and requires at least raw power and a touch of insanity.

Good thing I have plenty of both!

P.S. No pictures for this entry, since we didn't wanna harm the camera. Mebbe tomorrow though! Planned is a long coastal ride with rolling hills.

The SL is here!

After months of drooling at the TCR Advanced SL frame for a few months, the components finally arrived! And of course, Frank (awesome mechanic) made extremely quick progress on delivering the build and fit despite the busy holiday season!

Thanks to all who made this bike build possible: Grandpa for the frame and fork, mom & dad for some of the components, Joseph at Giant for the nametag decals, and Frank & Kevin @ the Cyclery for putting it all together!

This sleek stallion's gonna turn heads!
(Actually, I think it already has while having its pictures taken...)

Without further ado... LETS TAKE A LOOK!

View of the whole bike. Stealthy~
Full carbon composite ISP frame & fork. Ksyrium SL Premium wheelset. Weighs 14.75lbs (6.59kg)...need to add a few tenths of a kg to get it UCI-legal =P...Edge 705?


Drivetrain view. Full Dura-Ace 7900 components. The gear teeth and chain has been revamped this year to make shifting much faster and smoother. The trick now is to keep it all clean!


Gorgeous chainring. 53T = POWER!


Matching rear derailleur. The larger cogs on the cassette are made from Ti, iirc. saves weight!


PRO Stealth Evo carbon integrated stem & handlebar. In addition to sleek styling, it also offers an extremely ergonomic grip on the flat bar in addition to the hoods and drops.


Dura-Ace 7900 Dual-Control Levers.


Much change has been made since 7800; the levers point outwards alot more now, allowing for easy shifting via fingers (instead of having to push with the wrist). Braking is real easy too!


PRO Stealth Evo's matching cpu mounting unit. New home for the gps!


The biggest surprise of the handlebar: aesthetically matches the SL frame down to a "T"!


Front brake. Also sportin' the 7900 two-tone styling.


Beauty of ISP: the seatpost was cut according to my height, although the new saddle mount unit allowed for insertion of spacers, allowing for a good amount of height adjustment capability. On top is the 1-year-old Topeak Allay 1.0 saddle that I've been using. Highly recommend it!


This machine will definitely see a great amount of climbing in the coming weeks, months, and years. Expect tales and pictures!

Hello, world!

...I've been bitten by the cycling bug for a short while now, and the addiction just seems to worsen by the week.

At some point between browsing cyclingnews and reading tour results, I figured its about good time to start a blog to share my riding experience and thoughts. Hope you all will enjoy the reads.

Cheers!