Insomnia's back? That would totally suck. I woke up 10 a.m. Friday, worked a full-time shift that evening, couldn't sleep at all afterwards, Saturday went on a photostroll in the morning, followed by an unwise 47-mile ride. Fell asleep at 9 p.m. Saturday out of pure exhaustion, woke up 3 hours later and still can't sleep. Fuckall.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27 - Morning photostroll. Pentax ZX-5n, Ilford XP2 Super.

The Living Mall

Part of the old Songshan Taiwan Railway repair workshop.

The entire city block north of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (the curve of the roof is visible at the bottom of Taipei 101) is an empty lot.

Levels of traffic. Long zoom.

Nanjing E. Rd. MRT ongoing construction.

Neighborhood noon market.

Retail space available.

Furthermore, part of the reason I couldn't sleep was severe cold-like symptoms that immediately went away once I got outside (and which also curiously went away during morning sitting). Rehash: I had to move out of the first apartment I lived in Taipei due to a mysterious, severe allergic reaction to being in the apartment, which always went away once I went outside.

Seriously, if I were the least bit important, I would think I would be God's ball of yarn. Which makes God a cat, mind you.

I rang in Christmas by watching National Geographic's program on the recently published "Gospel of Judas." Christmas so often turns out to be a time to question the underpinnings of the Christian faith. Not that there's anything stable about the underpinnings of the Christian faith, the miracle is that the Christian faith remains, despite all contradictions and cracks in the foundations.

But the Gospel of Judas really emphasizes the repression of true Christianity to support a single orthodoxy promoted centuries later by the Romans, a regime which has as much credibility to me as George W. Bush would in establishing the Gospels.

Today's 47-mile ride really was unwise after being sick and not building up to a significant ride. But I did find a new riverside bikeway along the right bank of the Dahan River.

A year and a half ago, I ventured along the left bank of the Xindian River to its end where it flowed into the Danshui River. That's where that bikeway ended due to construction. Since then, the construction obstructing the bikeway has been completed and the bikeway has been opened and it continues along the Dahan River, which also empties into the Danshui River at the same place as the Xindian River.

Of course, I had to find out how developed the bikeway was, and it went pretty far, almost to the end of Taipei County in that direction, where I had been on the other bank of the Dahan River. So I went all the way to the end, got back on surface roads and found my way to the other bank of the Dahan River and returned to Taipei that way.

I forget where it started getting hard. My feet in my clipless shoes started to hurt on the return, which is pretty typical. I think my 10-year-old-plus shoes weren't designed for comfort. But my leg muscles started seizing just as a I reached the bridge to take me across the Danshui River back to Taipei. And then I got a flat just as I crossed the bridge.

Well, as many times as I've had to fix my rear wheel recently, I replaced the inner tube in record time, and I guess the break did my leg muscles well since I was able to sprint home, getting back at 4:59 p.m. just in time for "In Plain Sight". TV rules my life.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1:28 p.m. - Left bank of the Xindian River. All Ricoh Caplio R4.

1:36 p.m. - Dahan River right bank. Reaching the north end of the left bank of the Xindian River, the bikeway makes a 90 degree turn directly onto the right bank of the Dahan River and heads back south. Both rivers drain at this point into the Danshui River. Note the tower under construction at the right. That's across the water and I'll pass it on the way home.

2:19 p.m. - Eventually the Dahan riverside bikeway hits construction as it continues to be built, and transfer to surface roads is required.

2:39 p.m. - River at the far end of Taipei County (Yingge township?) and bird detail. 

3:05 p.m. - Even at the end of Taipei County before entering Taoyuan City, Taipei 101 is visible. Extreme Caplio R4 digital zoom for proof in case you don't believe me.

3:22 p.m. - South and north view from the Dahan River left bank bikeway. After the ordeal of finding the way from the right bank, the left bank bikeway is complete all the way to the end in Xinzhuang. My shoes were killing me by this time. At least I had the pretty light of riding north.

3:40 p.m. - Taiwan Railway tracks alongside the new High Speed Rail tracks.

4:01 p.m. - Taipei County, new bridge construction along the Erchong Ecological Park where I've ridden before.