Last Ride of 2008

I love the fact that I was able to ride outside yesterday and today in Nebraska, in December. Really lucked out with the weather, considering how frigid it was a short week ago. It was 46 degrees today...very nice! Today I went out with Robert, my former high school shop teacher. Over 65, he rides me into the dust. I went from my house to Hwy 47, met him, then we turned left just past Thirty Mile Canal, or what we call the south route. Rode to Jim and Dee's (Jim is my former high school English teacher), chatted with them for a bit, then headed back home. We had some wind out of the East, which slowed me down, but it wasn't nearly as bad as what I rode against yesterday.

I had my camera, but didn't take any pictures. Nebraska isn't all that pretty in the winter, although the blue sky would have turned out nice. The friendly folks here more than make up for the lack of scenery. I had one jerk honk at me as I approached the interstate bridge, but he was from out of state. All the other (maybe fewer than 20) drivers were their normal friendly selves, waving and giving us plenty of room. I love riding here. I love being here. Summer is only five months away and I'll get to enjoy the riding again. This time, with both Bob and Jim, as Jim and Dee are moving back permanently after they retire from teaching in California this year.

Time to add some pictures

Here's a great sign alongside the bike path...which is once again full of construction:



I'm thinking this may be my next bike style:



Ah yes, some of the better scenery in Taipei. Wonder what property rates are in this neighborhood?



Now some real beauty...

Home For Christmas!

Although travel during the holidays borders on nightmarish, it is still wonderful to be back in my own house for Christmas. Even with temperatures ridiculously low! I'm a wuss now when it comes to driving in the winter, so I haven't even ventured out to the grocery store. I think I'll head that way sometime today, though, so I can look at all the new goodies I don't get in Taiwan.

I was hoping to get in one outdoor bike ride, but the weather looks like it's going to keep me inside. Guess I'd better dust off the rollers, trudge out to the garage for my bike, and set everything up somewhere. Maybe the basement...that way it'll be out of the way if I decide to actually get some sewing done. No tv downstairs, but my iPod Shuffle should do the job of keeping me entertained while I try to stay upright. I think I'll take the resistance band off the rollers so I can just spin. Miles no longer matter that much to me, and I'd like to be able to stay on the bike long enough to get a good sweat. We'll see how lazy I'll be today and the next week and a half.

12/14/08

This was a solo Sunday am, congratulations I am done with report cards ride. Should have stayed out longer, but it was nice to go out to the wharf and back and be able to enjoy the rest of my day. I do still need to proofread my comments one more time and probably will need to make some minor corrections. And I need to prepare information for the K-12 math task force meeting tomorrow as well, so I don't get to sit around on my keister all day long. Anyway, the ride was uneventful, the bike path wasn't even crowded with people. This looks to be my last Taipei ride for 2008, since I head to the states on Friday, and most likely won't get out before or after school before I leave.

Have I said recently how much I like my new Fuji????

It's Official

The golden handcuffs are tightly locked on my wrists and ankles. TAS gets me for one more well-paid year.

Surprising Sight

So, a few weeks ago I was biking along a road beside the bike path, when I was dumbstruck by the sight of this little piggy. There is a family of these critters who live in Tanshui, but I was miles away from there. I wonder if this little piggy lives at the horse stables and just got away?

New Fuji

Finally got out for a bike ride today on the new bike. So far I like it a lot.

New Bike November 8, 2009

Just walked my new 2009 Fuji Absolute 1.0 home in the rain. Pictures to follow another day. It feels strange to have a bike brand other than Giant, but this looks to be a very excellent bike. And James, co-owner of the bike shop with his brother, was most helpful and had much better customer service than my local Giant shop. Had I purchased this bike in the states, I'd have definitely spent much more money. Now I hope the rain goes away so I can go get it dirty with a bunch of road grime tomorrow.

November 2, 2008

Note to self...until it cools off, don't go out riding in the blazing sun at 10:30 in the morning. Had to make it a short ride because I felt every degree today. The temperature was 90 degrees, humidity 55%, so the real feel temperature was 96 freaking degrees. Dang, dang, and dang...last year at this time it was high 60's-low 70's. I did still "enjoy" being out on the bike, especially because the air was crystal clear, which made for a very pretty ride. I decided to take a few odd photos, though...mostly the undersides of a few bridges and freeways that are above the bike path.

November 1, 2008

Solo Saturday since Karen is due to take off on her Starship trip sometime this morning. The road bike decided to take me up to Four Corners via Peitou. Man, I have not done hills for a long, long time. And with God as my training partner again, it was a tough little climb for me. Going up via Peitou is about 5 miles, all a gradual to not-so-gradual uphill. I didn't stop and rest going up, although I thought about it a few times when the wind blasted me as I rounded some of the corners. It was a nice accomplishment once I arrived at Four Corners. It was also sweet, because I passed four bikers also heading up the hill. Usually I am the one getting passed.

Had a bit of a break, then went down, this time via Cherry Hill. This way has much more of an incline, plus it is a shorter distance to the bottom. I actually stopped going down to give my braking hands a break. Once I got to the bottom of the hill, I just rode around on the streets for awhile. Short ride, but a pretty good workout. Doesn't get much better than this.

October 26, 2008

Oh, what a fun morning solo ride. Wasn't sure where I wanted to go, so the newly tubed road bike led me to the bike path, over the bridge, then right toward Daijia Wharf. I just missed the end of a fun run, which was good, because there were tons of people, but not like there would have been in the middle of the run.

Got onto the smooth part of the path and over at the wharf they were setting up rental bikes and very colorful canoes. Got off to watch for awhile, realized nothing was going to happen for an hour, so I rode on. When I came back, there was just 20 minutes to wait, so I hung around. Took some pictures, chatted with a young family whose kids had not been afraid to say hello to a foreigner. Finally, the loudspeaker announced it was time for the festivities to begin. Well, I guess that's what it said.

Probably 20 people were instructed in how to use the paddles, outfitted with life vests, and proceeded to get into their canoes and paddle off down the river. Fun to watch. (especially the Fire Department guys)

October 25

Today I did the River Loop ride with Karen P. Haven't done this ride for a long time. Nice to do something different. Not so nice to change a flat back tire. Man, am I slow at that! But, got it done, so Karen and I were free to continue training with God. Headwinds made Him our training partner today. And we enjoyed it by golly!

Weather Conditions: Some fine mist, some pretty blue sky, one full rainbow, some white clouds, some gray clouds, definitely wind in all directions. Temp 84°, 70% humidity, felt like 91°. C'mon fall...I am tired of being hot here.

Today's ride was somewhere around 23 miles. Don't know for sure because my computer is still not working all the time. I've talked to the guys at the bike shop three times, each time they look at it, spin the wheel, and pronounce it good to go. Guess I need to look at it myself. And boy oh boy, do I need to clean the bikes! I just never seem to have the ambition to do that, partly because as soon as they are clean, they get mussed up again from the gunk here. And partly because I don't have a good place to clean it, although since I moved furniture around again, I may be able to use the front balcony. I think there is even a hose out there. Guess that takes care of the place issue. Now to work on the laziness issue...

October 18

Solo Saturday past the Grand to the end of the path and back. Lots of people, lots of sunshine, lots of wind. Lots of up and down emotions for me. Nearly didn't go out because it had just rained here and gray clouds kept rolling in. Changed my mind about taking the road bike and went out on the good old Freeda. Turned out to be a very good ride, even though the wind made me work. Will NOT complain about that...I'm blessed to be able to go out on two wheels. Or two feet. Not so one of my good friends who is battling cancer. She has shown some progress, though, so hopefully after the final two rounds of chemo, the one remaining tumor will have also disappeared.

Karen P., her friend Bianca, and I had a nice ride from TAS to the end of the bike path past the Grand Hotel. Had to go around a barrier to get onto the next path that just goes for a short ways. Then it was onto the road, past concrete trucks, and onto the path again. This path is definitely not my favorite because it is made of bumpy tiles instead of half-smooth blacktop.

At any rate, we took this path to the end, then came back. Thought about taking the road back into Taipei, but Bianca said it was a super busy one. I stopped at the bike shop on the way to my apartment. Got new brake shoes, a bit of adjustment, but still no satisfaction with my intermittently working computer. I'll have to play with the magnet myself and see if I can get it to work all the time.

This turned out to be a pretty nice day in which to ride, even though we had some heinous headwinds every once in awhile.

Solo Sunday

A nice sunny, solo Sunday ride this morning. Out to Dadaocheng Wharf and back. It was equal opportunity day with near misses by a car, a scooter, and a bicycle. Really close on the bicycle near miss. I don't keep count of the number of times I have to swerve to miss bikers, walkers, scooters, or dogs on the bike path. I also rarely count the number of times I have to swerve to avoid people who decide red lights don't count for them when I'm out on the streets. That's just life in Taipei.

First October Ride

Not much to say here...rather an uneventful bike ride with Karen P. out past the Grand Hotel to the end of the bike path and back. It was nice to be able to get out and not have a typhoon keeping us inside.

On another note, I just sent an email to the Larry King Live show. I started watching it when I got back this morning. There were four participants discussing the VP debate. Well, discussing is a rather loose term. Mostly there were two panelists butting in when the other two were trying to make a point, and I found it very caustic and contentious. I found it to be so annoying that I changed the channel and decided to send a letter. Sheesh, if you have people on the show, let them speak! Each of them has a voice, they should be allowed to use it. And Larry decided to just sit back and let the loudmouths speak out over the other two. But then he does that a lot of the time. I'd love to see him try to control a classroom full of enthusiastic students.

Typhoon Heading Away

Slept fairly well last night, so apparently the winds weren't bad at all. I did wake up to a good downpour, and right now we have light blowing rain. Still a good day to stay inside. I'll probably venture out this afternoon or later this morning to have a look-see, and just to get out of the apartment.

May as well add the last video

It's short as well, but the trees are blowing around more than in the other videos.

YES YES YES

No school tomorrow. Gee, what will I do with myself? Well, now that I have been given a reprieve on needing to respond to reading journals, I think I'll upload another video. See if this one will show the coverings blowing away. Yep, had I been reaching out instead of shooting the video, I think I could have grabbed the closest piece. It's funny how tame the video makes things look. I also didn't take photos when it was really pouring and blowing, it was bad enough in the doorway when it was "tame."

We should continue to get pounded by Jangmi throughout the night, and right now the rain is a torrential downpour outside. Glad I'm in a cozy place.

Super Typhoon Jangmi Continues

It is nearly 6:00 pm, and I'm waiting for the local English radio hourly typhoon update. In the past couple hours it has gotten really hairy. I don't feel threatened by any part of it, but my lights have flickered a few times, and the new coverings (that were blown off by last year's typhoon) on part of the sports complex have been ripping and blowing off. I first noticed it when I heard a loud retort, much like a gunshot. Looked across the street, and yep, there they went.

Of course, I then had to go stand in my balcony doorway to get a few snapshots. I shot a couple videos, too. I've got the clips uploaded to photobucket, but that site is running so slowly that I won't post the videos tonight. Wait, maybe I'll see if I can upload to blogger...that would be a first for me.

My day was pretty productive. Made a great pot of beef stew...so yummy and fragrant. Finished grading the math journals. Still need to respond to some reading journals, but I'll put that off for awhile. See if we have school tomorrow or not, then I'll decide when or if to respond.

Quick update from the radio station: Gusts 227 kph, wind speeds 180 kph. Waves along the coast over four stories high. Airports closed. Bus flipped on its side from strong wind. Lots of localized flooding, signs down, etc. Bridges impassable, rock slides, parts of roads washed out, etc. 86,000 households without power, according to CNN. (You know it's a bad typhoon when CNN has coverage.)

Shoot...nothing about TAS being closed. Taipei will make the decision in the next hour or so. Yeah, that's what you told me an hour ago. C'mon, we lost a second weekend due to weather, give us the day off of school tomorrow. I'm not going to sleep anyway if the winds continue to batter my windows like they are right now, so I won't be that energetic anyway.

Well, it's not the most exciting video and you can't see the coverings fly away, but you can certainly hear the noise of the wind. And you can also see that I could barely hold the camera still. Pretty shaky.

Super Typhoon Jangmi

Looks like a good day to stay in the apartment and try to get some school work done.

Taiwan tv is showing videos of flooded areas and mudslides...probably in the mountains. No idea for sure since it's all in Mandarin and I don't recognize any of the areas. I bet our bike paths will be filled with debris for awhile.

Another Weather Related No Saturday Ride

The streets are still wet after last night's downpour. That wouldn't keep us off the bikes, but the wind is howling, so we're taking a day off. Again. On a Saturday. Again. Oh yeah, and we're watching the next typhoon. Again.

Short Ride Saturday

Wow, today was a very short ride. Solo, since Karen needs a tube replaced, Gretchen's back is bad, Karen is still undergoing therapy for her wrist, and who knows what Chen Li was up to! Short ride today because it was humid as heck and I didn't feel like sweltering, plus I had had some light treatment on my face last night, and I was a bit swollen. Thought I should stay home with ice. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Typhoon Gone?

Winds howled last night for HOURS, so the tin and plastic coverings of balconies in the back of my apartment kept up a cacophony of sounds, which had me tossing and turning most of the night. Right now it's calm and the rain has stopped. From what I can tell (as best I can from the Chinese news stations) that we aren't yet finished with Typhoon Sinlaku. Some of the mountains in northern Taiwan have been pummeled with over 1,000 mm of rain. Don't know how much Taipei got, but it started raining here on Friday night and continued all day and all night Saturday. Looking at tv right now, and it looks like Taipei must have gotten over 600 mm of rain. I'm perfectly content to remain inside the rest of the day...Youtube has some decent tv shows and I've got some paperwork to do. Maybe one of the bikes will get used this week before or after school.

Well, that didn't last long. Rain is here again.

Typhoon Sinlaku

Seems to be mostly tons and tons of rain for us, not sure what it has done elsewhere in Taiwan. We'll more than likely be inside all weekend, then get to go back to school on Monday.

Short Solo Sunday

Hmmm, strange how I had lots of energy yesterday, and not so much today. I had planned on doing some hill repeats up past the National Palace Museum, but I settled for the short donut (Jianaan Road) hill climb and back into Tienmu via the bike path and Chung Shan past the ACC. I did finally stop for a picture of the National Palace Museum from the hill...it is a more striking view in person, but I'm happy enough with this shot that I'm including it here.

Finally, a September Bike Ride

When I have to set the alarm to wake up for a Saturday morning ride, I wonder if it's worth it. I actually was hoping for rain this morning. But, it turned out to be a very nice morning, and a fantastic ride with Karen P. and Chen Li. We took off from school and decided to go up a hill. Not a big one, mind you!

Did the donut hill, then descended into Neihu, and rode over to the bike paths. After deciding we needed to extend our ride, we headed for parts left, walked up the elevator bridge, crossed the river, then headed home via the other side of the river.

I finally felt good and almost strong. Still coughing from being sick last weekend, but had lots of energy and the heat didn't fry me like it did the Saturday two weeks ago. I'm so happy this was a ride I enjoyed. Now I'm pumped to get back out and push myself.


Ya know, Taiwan does have it's moments, and today was no exception. We ran across a place along the bike path with some great looking flowers, AND the fountain was on at the dog park. Best part of that? No dogs.

The photos below are of Karen and Chen Li. Found some nice flowers along the bike path today, and the fountain at the dog walking park was on. If you look closely, you can see the Grand Hotel in the background.

Don't Tease Me, Russell!

At one point in our Skype conversation this morning, Russ mentioned that I could be going back to Nebraska sooner than my original plan. Bring it on...I'm ready.

Saturday Morning Ride

We decided to leave TAS at 6:30 yesterday, instead of our more established 7:00, in order to try and beat the worst of the heat. Since I had gotten overheated last week, I thought I'd try wearing a light cotton shirt instead of my ROC'n jersey. Mistake. I was early, so after I made a quick ride around the block, I ran back up to my apartment and put on proper bike clothes.

The air was so heavy with humidity that we could barely see the buildings across the river. I wasn't hopeful for a relaxing, fun ride. However, I was quite mistaken! Before Gretchen, Karen P., and I started out, two other new members of the TAS family saw us in front of school and came over to chat. After a bit of conversation and introductions, they decided to join us so we could show them how to get to the bike path. They stayed with us just to the "t" where the bike path splits. I'm hoping they will join us again, because one of the most fun things for me to do is to introduce people to the great biking in Taipei. Guess I'd better send out an all-school email and let people know we still explore on Saturday mornings.

Once the three of us got to Dadaocheng Wharf, we decided to stop in at Dante Coffee for a bit of a refueling. I very much enjoyed a wee pastry and a large frozen mango smoothie. Gave all of us enough energy to face the sea of humanity and the grueling sun on the way back home. Nah, it wasn't that bad.

Some days we get lots of waves and smiles. Yesterday was no exception. Seems almost everybody had to give us a morning greeting along with gigantic smiles. It was a lot of fun. Karen set a nice pace...we've decided (at least I have) that when the temp and humidity make the index over 100 degrees, that we need to slow our pace down. I'm looking forward to October when the temp is more humane.

Big OOPS. I've been reorganizing my photos on my computer and inadvertently deleted the photo with Gretchen, Karen, Tina, and Dan. Sorry guys! The one lone photo remaining of Saturday's bike ride is just a shot of colorful barrels from some sort of business near the bike path.

After School Ride

Nope, I didn't get up at 4:30 to ride with the early group, but I did get out after school. I got around 13-16 miles. Not sure because my computer went wacko. I had it wired to the back wheel last winter so I could use my trainer and count miles. Found out I hated the trainer, and the stand I park my bike on messed with the sensor so it was always out of adjustment. Stopped at Giant after a laborious ride out toward Dadaocheng Wharf and one of the nice young new helpers put the sensor on the front fork. Cost...about $1.50 US. Why would I do it myself for that price???

Traffic was whizzing this afternoon...one of the bad things about riding in the afternoon instead of in the morning. But at least I don't have to rush to get home in time for a quick shower and a bite of breakfast before heading to school. I only had a couple close calls...pretty typical for Taipei.

Today was rather nice because school was dismissed at 2:00 instead of our normal 2:30. (now don't go thinking them's all the hours we work, cuz we routinely work till 5:00, get to school before 7:00 am, take work home with us and work on the weekends)

Taipei was holding an air raid drill, which means all traffic stops, and nobody is allowed out in the city streets. School buses needed to run earlier in order to get the kiddos home. I got a bit of work done, visited with a former 5th grade student who will soon be on her way to a boarding school in Switzerland, and left school at 3:30. It was nice to be on the bike by 3:50. It wasn't nice because I had a bonker of a ride...sore muscles from Jillian's workout, plus not having had much lunch (not enough time) and the heat did me in again. At least I got out, and I expect the heat will improve day by day, so I won't have that excuse to whine before too long.

Bikejournal Blog

One reason I started blogging was to chronicle my bike rides. I've been logging my rides on bikejournal.com since 2004, and now I am blogging there as well. This is a new service that Sean is providing, and since it so very easy to write and add photos, I decided it was well worth $20 a year to remain a premier member.

Some of the forum threads and posts get to be a bit testy for me, so I'm not reading nearly as many as I used to. And I post very infrequently these days. But, I remain a member because of some very nice folks I've met in person or in cyber space. They make my visits to bikejournal fun.

My "not so very exciting to anybody but me and sometimes not even me" blog can be found by clicking on the "blog."

Olympic Coverage

I'm so pleased that Taiwan has had some television coverage of Olympic events, as they had none during the last winter Olympics. I've been especially riveted on the table tennis, badminton, Taekwondo, and tonight...synchronized swimming! Can my heart take the excitement???

Looks like it's all over...I'm watching what looks to be the closing ceremony right now. (in between working on setting up OneNote notebooks for anecdotal records.)

Bloody hot ride yesterday!

Yes, I like the blue sky. No, I don't like to ride in the sun in Taipei when the temperature is 95 degrees and the humidity is 49%, which makes the heat index 105. It feels hotter than that because of all the concrete and asphalt...not like in Nebraska where I ride in wide open spaces. Yesterday was a tough ride for me. Karen P. and I took off from TAS, and met up with Chen Li at Guandu.

Keeping up a pretty good clip, we rode around the Archaeological Museum and stopped at the Giant bike shop before heading back to Bali. I started feeling the heat just before we got to the wharf, so stopping for cranberry juice and Pocari Sweat was just what I needed. Once we rested, we took off again for home, but I couldn't keep the pace that Karen was setting. Heat was just too much, so I finally stopped, Karen and Chen Li came back and I told them to go on ahead. After that I stopped in the shade occasionally, and kept a slow, steady pace home. I didn't get overheated that way, and I recovered quickly when I got home.

Other than the heat, it was a nice ride. We're going to start going out at 6:00 am next week, though, to avoid some of the worst of the heat.

Karen and I saw this dead little critter just as we were turning a corner to get onto the bike path. I had to turn around and get a picture because we rarely see these things in this kind of condition. That's my cell phone beside it.



Karen and Chen Li in action on the bike path.



When it's hot and sunny here, nobody stops right at the intersections to wait for red lights. We all stop and wait far behind, wherever there is a hint of shade.

Small Update

Well, I am back in Taipei, but still recovering from jet lag and preparing for the new school year, so updates will have to wait. I've got to unpack the boxes from my old room into my new classroom today, and since there isn't much space, it looks like I'll need to bring a lot of the stuff home. Yep, looking forward to walking to and from school a dozen times with my bag lady cart in Taipei's heat and humidity. Ugh.

Update...NOT!

I've been having too much fun to do any updates to my blog...looks like that is going to have to wait until I get back to dreary old Taipei. Gotta run, my quilting is calling my name.

Riding in the country

I really do love riding my bike in this area of Nebraska...the people are friendly, there isn't a lot of traffic, the sky is incredibly blue, and I've got miles and miles of paved country roads. I think this first picture is of the road north of Brady.



This is a shot of another open road.

Welcome Home!

Back in the USA, and loving it. Yep, it's summer, and that means a bit of freedom from work and the congestion and noise of Taipei. Looks like a good storm may be brewing in the west, along with really ferocious wind, so probably no bike ride this morning. Got the tires aired up, the chain lubed, and the tiny bit of dust wiped off the bike, though, so it is ready to roll. And right now I finally feel like hopping on the bike and going for at least a 20 mile ride. I've been fighting a bit of non-motivation these past few weeks in Taipei, so it's nice to have the desire again.

So, what shall I do today? I unpacked yesterday, organized my sewing and biking things in the the closets and furniture Russ made for me, and enjoyed a nice long nap. Oh yeah, and visited with mom and dad for just a bit. Will head over there again sometime today. It's so very nice to have them just two houses away from us. So today...maybe read and watch tv. Yep, sounds like a good plan to me.n

ROC'n Jerseys

This photo shows five of us in Taiwan wearing Randonneurs of China cycling t-shirts. They are definitely eye-catching, especially here. Yep, they even come with a rendition of the Chinese flag on the back. A guy hollered at Meredith and her group when they returned to their apartment building to NOT wear the Chinese flag. Hmmm, seems some Taiwanese folks still don't like China. I may yet cover up the flag on my t-shirt, since I'm not too fond of China's politics and policies myself. Uh oh, I mentioned Taiwan and China in the same post...will this blog now self-destruct???

Take a Kid Biking Day

A couple of guys who rode regularly with Dave Wittry decided to put together this ride as a memorial and fund-raiser for his family. It was a beautiful day in which to ride, and about 30 people showed up, including plenty of kids. Dave's wife Jody, and his two children were also in attendance. The ride went from Guandu to Tanshui and back again, not a great distance, but plenty for all the kids. The first photo is of all the riders.



The second photo is of me leading Tru back to Guandu.

Early AM...Apparently Not

I have to laugh...I set my alarm clock every night to go off at 4:30 am. And every morning before the appointed hour, I reset it to 5:30. So, that's it. I guess I am no longer an early morning rider. Why fight it?

I did leave school early yesterday...just a bit after 3:00...and enjoyed a very windy 22 mile ride. Was quite nice, I knew the wind was howling...just decided I needed to get out anyway. The only fly in the ointment was the heinous traffic on the roads once I got off the bike path to make my way to my apartment. Buses, cars, scooters...so many folks out on the roads. And so many of them breaking all manner of traffic laws.

Bring on that old highway in Nebraska where I may see half a dozen cars if I'm lucky. I can head out my door and if the traffic is really light, not have to get off my bike until I roll back into my driveway 20 miles later.

Motivation, or Lack Of

It rained a bunch here on Saturday, and I was actually glad, because I didn't feel like going out for a bike ride. Sunday was a decent day, although the relentless wind was once again howling. I could have easily ridden in it because the temp was fantastic. So what did I do? I very deliberately chose to remain indoors, except for when I walked over to school in the morning and evening to make sure the darn guinea pig had food and water.

It felt good to play hooky from the bike. It felt good to vegetate and watch far too much tv and eat too much junk food. This morning when I got up, I was ready to ride. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time before school, and I stayed too long at school this afternoon to get in a ride. Tomorrow? Who knows? I have decided to NOT ride with the gals who go at 5:00 am because they will head up to Rifle Range, and I know I'm not ready for that yet. I should get up at 4:30, head out the door by 4:45 and ride a flat route for an hour. I should do that, but I'm not sure I will.

This Sunday will be a very short riding day for me because it is "Take a Kid Biking Day" in honor of our fallen colleague, Dave W. I'll go from here to Guandu, then see what I can do to help the organizers, so mileage shouldn't be over 15 miles. This should be a good day, although I am very sorry we have a need for it.

Playing with Poetry

One friend and I have had recent conversations about the state of our psyches. These two poems (kind of) describe mine. Which one will I be tomorrow?

The View

Lenses are grey
Diffusing my soul
Frustration grows
Daily
Weekly
Year by year
Till the lenses darken
To a deadly dull
Emptiness
Hopelessness
Lifelessness
Pack it all in
Let there be
No more tomorrows
No more light
No more no more no more.


The View

Lenses are rose
Uplifting my soul
Joy grows
Daily
Weekly
Year by year
Till the lenses brighten
To amazing
Exuberance
Delight
Laughter
Open it all up
Let there be
Tomorrows
Light
More more more.

A Good Friend

One of my good teacher friends was so upset over something yesterday that she couldn't even talk about it. That's the way it is sometimes at our school. I wonder if it will be the same for me in the states in two or three years. If I am able to get a job in my area, and it ends up being half as stressful as here, I am getting out of the classroom and going to work at a factory. I'm tired of always thinking. Even during vacations, I think about what to do in the classroom. Yikes, it just never stops.

Why do we do it? For the money, of course. (all teachers will get the sarcasm) No, wait, it's not just about the salary. We do it to see the light in kids' eyes every once in awhile when they "get" a new math concept. Or when they get their hands on some Oobleck or dry ice and have a blast with experiments. Or when their writing turns out to be exemplary. Or when a formerly quiet as a mouse student has a breakthrough and starts talking loudly enough to need to be shushed. Or when ESL students soar. Or when confidence blooms. Or when they actually get my witticisms. (Third graders probably won't get my jokes)

So to my friend, I say, "I'm here when and if you are ready to talk about it."

Sleepless in Taipei

Hmph, for the third night this week, I'm wide awake far too early. One night it was 1:00 am, another 1:30, today I woke up at 2:30 am. Wide awake. Not the awake that just gets you to the bathroom and then back to sleep right away. Nope, this is a full-blown attack of stress and worries about upcoming events at school that are keeping me from my beauty sleep.

First it was sleeplessness over who was going to make the 5th grade recognition concert DVD. Once I decided that I would do it, with Greg's and Dan's help, one less stressor was out of the way. Or so I thought. I booked the projector and DVD player, but now am thinking about the actual event night. Who will run the DVD player and projector? Who will make sure the screen is down? Will the DVD run properly? Dan will burn the DVD on Monday, make copies, and I will test it on my computer. I'll ask Greg to work the projector and DVD player. I'll run up backstage and work the screen. OK, problems solved. Go back to bed. Guess not, I'm still wide awake.

This really is a big night. We have all 180 5th graders, as well as their parents, music teachers, and us 5th grade teachers together for the event, so I don't want any glitches. I'm envisioning my photos being grainy, fuzzy, or semi-out of focus on the big screen. Why? I guess because I take after my maternal grandmother, and worry about all kinds of little things. For some reason, I often imagine the worst.

But maybe that's not a bad thing, because it means I do prepare in advance for most really important things. Which is why for the first time in the five years I've been in 5th grade, the DVD will be finished four days early, instead of the day of. Or in last year's case, minutes before. (Thank you Dan and Greg!!!)

Best thing...no more worries after this year for this event, since I'll no longer be in 5th grade. Third grade, here I come!

After School Ride

In trying to ramp up my miserly miles, I've tried to get out after school a few times a week, and before school (at 5:00 am) a few times as well. One of my favorite after school places is to ride the bike path that goes in front of the Grand Hotel along the Keelung (I think) River. It's easy to get to without having to navigate too much insane traffic, and after school it's not ridiculously busy. I was riding happily along two weeks ago when I saw these kayakers out practicing. I like the colors of the kayaks and Taipei 101 in the background.


And this is an amazing photo because there is no one in it! It is not often there is a stretch of clear pavement.

Weekend Rides

Talk about a weekend of contrasts. Saturday's weather was glorious and virtually wind-free. Two brand-new people joined our regular Saturday morning bike path ride, and one old-timer joined us, which gave us six riders for the morning. The bike paths weren't even too crowded, so consequently, we had a completely enjoyable morning. This first photo was taken "on the fly" and I was able to capture the group as they were rounding a corner passing a few other riders.


We found some rowers who had finished their practice, and one happily took this group photo of us. From left to right: Adelle, Brenda, Gretchen, Karen W., Karen J., and Karen P. This was under the bridge at the Dragon Boat racing/practice area.


And imagine our surprise when we came to the end of one path, only to find this blockade "preventing" us from crossing the intersection to get onto the path that connected with the one we just got off. Karen P. ran up ahead to see if we could go around three different barriers, and she happily reported that all was clear once we cleared them. Funny part? As we were going through one area, one of the construction crew members came and held the tape for us so we could get through easier.


Sunday is my solo, usually long-distance day. However, I settled for 30 miles today due to the crowds on the roads, the wind along the coast (and everywhere else), and the hills that crushed me. I am happy to say I kept a good attitude and just enjoyed the last of the ride once I decided to pack it in. I've been eying this rice for sometime, and today was the day to capture it with the camera.

Gave up on the Metric Today

I had fully intended on getting in 62.3 miles today for my second metric century of the year, but winds, traffic, and unknown riding areas kept me from completing my task. I had started out toward the National Palace Museum, but decided to change direction and go towards the coast. For some reason, I missed the turn to go in the scooter lane toward Tanshui, so I ended up going to Bali in the traffic over the Red Bridge. Not a task for the faint of heart!

Since I wanted to avoid bike paths as much as possible, I just went where the road took me. And it took me into areas I had not been in before. It did take me to a new to me bike path as well, which I followed to the very end. Got off to follow some bikers and rode the road for awhile and marveled at the insane traffic. The bikers stopped to drink and I was able to ask where the road was going. Inge? Nope, better not go there today, but it's nice to know where the road went.

I turned around and sort of followed my same way back, but stayed more on the road than the bike path, which was far too busy for my comfort. I wasn't entirely sure where I was, so when I came to the place where I needed to carry my bike up a ramp to get on a bridge that would take me to one of my normal bike path rides, I was pretty ecstatic. I did get off the path at Dadaocheng Wharf, and after stopping at a convenience market for a much-needed snack, proceeded to take the roads home.

I complain about the traffic a lot here, but today was one of the worst days ever. Yes, I had a few too close scooters and buses, but I made it home unscathed, and thanked God for the safe trip. I had one really hairy event when I was heading up a bridge in one scooter lane, which merged with another scooter lane, and as I was looking for traffic, my front tire got caught in a gap in a metal plate in the road. Since I didn't over-react and steered in the direction of my skid (think ice) I made it out of the situation easily. And luckily, there were no scooters close to me as I was swerving.

I watched these clouds for a long while before I finally found a halfway decent spot to take a photo.



I needed to walk my bike to the convenience mart because the traffic was so heavy and thought these Chinese mushrooms and other energy enhancers looked pretty cool.

Just a bit of riding...

Karen J. and Karen P. and I normally set out each and every Saturday morning for a bike path ride. Sometimes we just stick to the old tried and true areas, but sometimes we are able to find a bit more adventure. We didn't set out to discover new things this morning, but due to thousands of walkers all over our Bali bike path, we were forced to stay on the road. Karen was leading us around the Archaeological Museum when she noticed the throng ahead, and instead followed a small group of bikers who seemed to know where they were going. We found a new bike path, unfinished, but fun anyway. Coming back the other way (because the walkers really were blocking our progress) we went to the end of the unfinished path and found this canal.


This is a photo from last week's ride in softly falling rain. Bikes were a total mess, as was the back of Karen P.'s jersey. Pretty sure mine was too, but I didn't even bother to look.


This last photo shows Karen and Karen at the end of what will be a nice addition to the bike paths in Bali.

Bikejournal

Where are you this morning? I've got some time on my hands before I need to get ready for our normal Saturday bike ride, but you aren't here. How am I going to start my day without reading new posts by cyber friends? I guess I am well and truly addicted to the site. Guess I'll go clean some of the muck off my Saturday bike, air up the tires, eat some breakfast and get ready to ride. And hope bikejournal.com is up and running by the time I get home.

Yeah, Me.

Another restless night...man, I just can't seem to sleep through the night any longer. I hit the snooze button on the alarm three times, then shut the annoying thing off. Darn near decided to just go back to sleep, but I actually crawled out of bed, got dressed, and went out for a decent little bike ride. Rode up and over Jianaan Road, a small 500 foot climb, which darn near did me in, what with the ridiculous headwind and my lack of conditioning. However, I DID make it over without stopping. From there I headed downhill around all the switchbacks to the Grand Hotel bike path, and back to Tienmu.

The wind was fierce again today, but the temperature was great and I even needed a light jacket. This was a good biking morning. Now I get to spend the day at school sans students because it is the last professional development day of the school year. What does that mean? Moronic meetings and lots of nonsense. Speaking of which, I guess I'd better get a shower and head to school.

Ramblings

I am very much behind in my miles compared to the previous three years. I'm trying to play a little bit of catch up because of my late start due to the knee injury, but have discovered that I'm lazy right now. I should be able to go out most days before school from 4:45-5:45 and get in a decent 10-12 miles. I should also be able to go out some days after school for 15-20 miles each time. So what do I usually do? Yep, I wake up, look at the clock, and reset the alarm for an hour later. And after school, I come home, take a nap, or watch really bad tv.

I'm not giving up on myself just yet, though. I did ride Tuesday morning before school, and today after school. I would have ridden this morning, but a rare thunderstorm was still in existence. Even though I managed just 15 miles after school today, I was still pleased because I fought the wind all the way out past the Grand Hotel and then some.

My knee seems to have mostly healed, but I am still bothered by either plantar fasciitis or fat pad syndrome on my right foot. That's been going on for a long time...probably half a year or more, and is a result of wearing LL Bean summer sneakers everywhere for months on end. Yes, I knew they didn't have enough support, but I liked them enough I wore them anyway. Nope, haven't seen a doctor about the foot, but have been doing some stretching and icing. I also have started wearing Birkenstock's, which seem to help a bit. I can't seem to stop walking and carrying bunches of stuff in my backpack, so until I'm able to do that, I don't think I'll have good healing.

Back to my original thought...my mileage. My goal for the year is still 5,000 miles, and if I reach that, it will be the most miles I've ever ridden in a year. And if I am to reach that goal, I had better get off my duff a lot more often.

A Break from Taipei

The EARCOS teacher conference for 2008 was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and since one of my very dear friends had moved there, I thought it prudent I go. Karen J. was kind enough to be my partner in crime, and David J. showed us a lot of places around the city. The first picture is of a little known Malaysian delicacy, KFC. Wonder if I can get that in the states this summer?


This photo is of myself, David, and Karen at an outdoor market in Mont Kiara, the suburb of KL in which David lives.


I took this shot so Karen and I would have a point of reference to find our way back to the rapid transit system. It also shows some of KL's nutso traffic.


At the Shrangri-La Hotel, one of the most interesting items for breakfast was fruit dipped in chocolate from this fountain. Nope, neither Karen nor myself had this treat for breakfast.


After the conference, I headed to Hua Hin, Thailand to a quiet hotel to spend some time with friends currently teaching at TAS, and friends who retired last year. The next two shots are of some of the goodies at the wet Thai market where we went for sublime mangoes and sticky rice.



I had a rough time looking out my second floor balcony at the sunrise over the ocean.


The hotel was a sweet little place, right on the beach, laid-back, and inexpensive.


Here are Doug and Judy, looking totally relaxed as they enjoy both their vacation and retirement.


I'm looking pretty relaxed as well, although I have to go back to work on Monday.