Both days of this weekend hit temperatures in the 70s. I don't know what that is in Celsius. Nice degrees Celsius.

Both days I took my bike out, but it being the weekend, I figured I wouldn't be able to do the 20-mile fitness sprints that I've been doing because there would be too many people crowding the riverside bikeways. I was right, so tried to think quick of an alternate ride to do. I don't know what I was thinking yesterday, but it occurred to me to start training on hills.

Last year was a bad hill year. I trained up to them like usual, but when I tried my first real climb – Jiuzhuang Street 舊莊街 in the southern hills of Xizhi 汐止, just east of Taipei – I couldn't do it. I abandoned twice before I finally struggled all the way up on my granny gear and going back and forth across the road on steeper sections. I never got comfortable with hills last year. I attribute it to alcohol.

But guldarn it if the 20-mile sprints I've been doing on any nice day through the winter weren't of great, wonderous benefit! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it's certainly better than not riding at all for 3 or 4 months.

I was able to ride a handful of days in December, with my winter riding gear comprising a long-sleeve microfiber under my cycling jersey. In January, I missed the one day that was rideable because I ... was drunk. And February has been great. I can't even count how many times I did the sprint or a variation of it.

Yesterday as I approached the first incline leading up to one of my training hills – they go up, but not steep, not long, and not high – I had an 'oh shit' moment thinking I wasn't ready for this. Training hill or not, vertical is still vertical; gravity is still gravity. As I made my way up, though, I thought I could just abandon if it got too hard. Then I realized I was having no problem with this. No granny gear.

As I approached the the top of the climb, I was mildly pleased at how unabandonable the climb was. I passed someone on a mountain bike at the crest of the climb and headed down the other side into Shenkeng 深坑 and had a snack of stinky tofu 臭豆腐, which is what Shenkeng is famous for. For good reason, too. I'm not a huge fan of 臭豆腐, but it was rilly, rilly good.

Today I went out again and did another training climb which is usually my first of the season because it's the easiest, even easier than yesterday. It goes up Chongde Street 崇德街 through Fudekeng 福德坑, where the cemeteries are concentrated. Dead people are given the best views in Chinese culture.

Again no problem going up and I went down on the Muzha side and as long as I was there, I made yet another detour to Shenkeng for stinky tofu. Shit is goooood. From there I wanted to avoid anymore hills in case my luck runs out, and stayed on the flat Jingmei riverside bikeway back into Taipei.

I passed by where I used to live and was amazed to find that on a section of the Jingmei River where there was previously a quarter mile break in the riverside bikeway, and where I had surmised couldn't be connected . . . they had connected it. It was amazing. I can't say that it was pretty, but they made the bikeways contiguous! I was amazed.

It almost makes up for the fact that the Taipei Flower Expo which started last November and lasts until April blocks off a significant portion of riverside bikeway on the south bank of the Keelung River. Pisses me off.

I think last year set a precedent that the first real climb of any season will be Jiuzhuang, section 2 in Xizhi. Not that I plan to be in Taiwan past this year. Not that I plan to be alive past next month but probably will and end up in New Jersey. I think I'll tackle it later this week if weather holds.