I started my riding season as usual, gradually increasing distances on flats and then progressively tackling hills, starting with easy ones. I was determined to not be lazy about hills this year and aimed to get to harder ones in the least amount of time. Then I tried the hill on Jiuzhuang Road, Sec. 2 in Xizhi, the town sandwiched in between Taipei City and Keelung Port on Taiwan's east coast. It's not a hard hill, vertical climb only 1,148', if Google Earth is to be believed, and not incredibly steep – and I totally couldn't do it and abandoned.
After failing, I actually went back the next day because I didn't like the idea of abandoning because I couldn't do it. If I can't climb, then why ride? I completed the hill, but I went down to the granny gear at the first sign of trouble and stayed there for significant amounts of time, and even worse, I had to traverse – zigzag across the road to decrease the grade of the climb even further – to complete it.
Since then I've retreated from any big climbs. Today, I did a route I've done several times – 47 miles out to the east coast of Taiwan, going through Ruifang to the ocean and heading north to Keelung and then back to Taipei. I did finally find a complete route from Keelung to Taipei that doesn't go on Rte. 5, which is more or less a highway.
No hills, but 47 miles turns out to still be a long way for me. I was struggling at the end, but that's nothing unusual, and once I got to the riverside bikeway in Taipei, it was pretty easy going. I guess the only thing possibly notable was that my skin was a bit splotchy red by then. I don't know if that's indicative or symptomatic of anything.
I think changes in skin color may point to liver problems, but I think that's yellow. Another unusual skin occurrence recently was that I had a little zit recently and didn't think anything of it until it didn't heal after about 3 weeks. Probably infected, but I think I get infected all the time and it's never a big deal.
So then I started putting ointment on it and a band-aid for several days. Since the last time, the area where the band-aid adhesive made skin contact has also splotched up red. No irritation, but obviously some kind of reaction since the rash is in the exact shape of the band-aid adhesive. It may be an allergic reaction, but I've never had an allergic reaction last this long.
Anyway, I was pretty wasted after that ride. Took a long while to cool down and my thigh muscle seized up after I was home to the point that I put Bengay on it, and then got a Bengay burn as a result. That subsided once I washed the Bengay away. I didn't sleep very well afterwards, and I figure this is all part of general health problems that are probably mounting.
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| WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2:47 p.m. - Qing An Bridge on the way to Ruifang. I know I've posted this bridge before from a night ride. |
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| 3:00 p.m. - Ruifang township. Apparently the town roads have been changed. |
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| 3:03 p.m. - This is what the Keelung River looks like in Ruifang. A natural place to stop and rest. |
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| 3:11 p.m. - From Ruifang is a quick little downhill to the coast. I know I've posted Keelung Mountain with it's peak in the clouds from a previous ride. Can you believe I rode 47 miles on that bike?! I wouldn't either if I were you. |
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| 3:20 p.m. - Rte. 2 on the way north to Keelung city. Saddest playground ever. |
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| 3:32 p.m. |
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| 4:04 p.m. - Ugliest bridge in the world ever. Is that metal mess even functional? I don't think so. Riding out of Keelung on Rte. 5, crossing this bridge put me on the "backroads" all the way back to Taipei. There are still portions with a lot of car traffic, but definitely beats riding on a highway. |
