I hate it when I do that

It looked to be a decent riding morning when I got up and looked at the road five floors down. No rain. No wind. Excellent. By the time I got moving and out the door, the streets were wet. I figured I'd better show up at school anyway, just in case anybody else came for a ride. I was pretty sure Karen J. would snuggle back into bed, and the only other person who told me she was planning on coming was Karen P. I was a little surprised when she showed up, because by then it was raining a bit more than before. We decided to venture out anyway, and it pretty much dried out for us all the way from Tienmu to Bali.

I took it very easy on my knee, and didn't ride up any inclines. Karen, of course, with her muscles, powered up what few inclines we had. After riding around the Archaeological Museum, and back to the famous donut place, we decided we were still too early for the mango smoothie place. So, taking our fresh donuts, we bought a ticket for the ferry and headed across the river to Tanshui. At a diagonal. Instead of a straight line. Because the water was really choppy and the current was running really fast. Every once in awhile I wonder if the ferry will make it across the river. This was one of those times.

But it did, and so did we. Rode the short distance to Starbuck's where a hot latte was enjoyed by Karen and I gulped down a hot chocolate. From there, we took to the road for a bit before climbing back onto the bike path for the ride back into Tienmu. We were pummeled by some big raindrops falling sideways because of typhoonish winds. Still, we both enjoyed being outside, I was happy my knee was doing ok, and we were both laughing about the weather and the nutso drivers once we got off the path and onto the streets.

Well, laughing until one 285 bus driver decided we had no business being in front of him and blasted his horn in an annoyingly rude way.

So rude, that as he made his move to pull out alongside us, I waved him on, and then flipped him off.

I hate it when I do that.

Nice long walk this morning

Felt almost like a bike ride because I walked up just past the National Palace Museum, crossed the street to the "biker heaven" 7 Eleven, had a bit of a snack, and then walked back home. ( walked for about two hours) Was nice to see all the bikers out. The day was actually quite nice as well...the sun even peeked out just as I was about a half mile from my apartment. This picture is just off the main road to the museum, a path I used to walk regularly.

Farewell

The founder of the biking website posted this message and photo of Dave. It's a fitting farewell for a good friend.

STOP THE NOISE!

All caps in the title means I am yelling. The noise pollution in Taipei is my biggest complaint about the place. (the seemingly constant gray skies is my second biggest complaint) We just celebrated Chinese New Year, and if you know anything at all about Chinese culture, you know they shoot off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits. Most nights of the celebration found me listening to a plethora of noisy firecrackers and watching some pretty good fireworks. No problem, it's time to celebrate. What bugs me is the continuation of the firecrackers into this week, and at odd times of the day. Like 5:00 AM. Or 3:30 AM. Excuse me, but I need my beauty sleep.

I live across from a sports park. Nice place. Jogging track, trees, tennis courts, etc. And exercisers that crank up their music at 6:30 each morning. So loudly that I can hear it two blocks away when I walk to school. I woke up this morning around 5:30, and since it was Saturday, thought I could burrow back underneath my three blankets for a little extra shut-eye. Once I decided I couldn't block out the sound of the music, I decided to just get up and go walk the track at school for awhile. Needed to do that anyway.

Each evening, another group of exercisers lovingly shares their special music from about 8:30 to 9:30. Not to be outdone, there is usually a small group of folks meditating (and trying to get donations for their cult) with their music (that term is used rather loosely here) competing with the exercisers. So nice.

And most recently, the saxophonist has returned to the park. He so loves to practice each day after school, and on a good day, I don't mind the melancholy melodies. At least he departs before I go to bed.

Right now I've got the sound of bus engines straining to pick up steam after stopping to pick up or drop off passengers, scooters whose owners think the road is a highway, and the nightly firecrackers. Just a normal night around here.

I Are an Idjit

So I didn't exactly follow doctor's orders and now I can tell I got back on the bike too soon. (Stupid marble floors in Taiwan.) I will now force myself to ignore my desire to ride and instead do some brisk walking, which should lead up to some pain free jogging in the next few weeks. And, like the good doc told me, when I can jog for 15 minutes without my knee bothering me, then, and ONLY then, will I hop back on my two wheels. Yippee yay.

Went Out Anyway

Yep, the streets were wet, as were the bike paths, but the heavy rain had stopped, so I went out for a short bike ride. Just went out past the Grand Hotel a bit, then headed back in to Tienmu. Just before the baseball fields, my tire started to flat. The front, thankfully. This is the first flat I've had on the Freeda so it gave me a chance to learn how to disconnect different brakes than I am used to. Got the wheel off easy enough, tube out, tube in, then struggled with getting the tire back over the rim. Gotta get some hand strength going! At any rate, even with the little old man peering over my shoulder for awhile, I got everything situated just fine and continued on home.
Of course I had to take a photo of the bike, sans front tire!


Happy day...this is a new addition that will get us onto the bike path without having to go through one of our most heinous intersections.


I do hope the child who discarded this stuffed animal received a new one for Chinese New Year.


Uh, no, no idea what it says. Guess I should have someone translate it for me.

More of the Blasted Same

Yep, it's a week off here in Taiwan for the beloved Chinese New Year, and what has the weather brought? Rain. Rain. Oh, and more rain. Happens most every vacation. Which is why I have a bicycle trainer set up in the apartment. It's not the same as riding outside. And don't be fooled by the temperature here, either. It's cold. The dampness has a chill that goes right through. I've actually been wearing gloves and my heavy winter coat. And on the bed I've got a comforter and TWO blankets. I may have to break down next year and actually buy a heater. For this year, however, I'll just keep complaining!


Now here is what Russ has to contend with in the middle of Nebraska in the middle of the winter. Who's got the better weather???

It Can't Be True

No names just yet, but one of my favorite people suffered heart failure (at age 41) and died this morning while training in the ocean for a triathlon. We were just talking a few weeks ago about firming up plans to finally ride together before too much more time passed. Now I can ride with him in spirit only. Godspeed, my friend. My next bike ride is dedicated to you.

Looks Like Two More

At least the knee is improving, but no riding just yet. A week of 15-20 minutes brisk walking, then a week of flat surface jogging. Once I can jog for 15 minutes without my knee hollering at me, then I can ride. Got some ground to make up if I want to reach that 5,000 mile goal!

Bit of Chinese New Year Clean-Up

One of the great customs here is at different times every few weeks preceeding Chinese New Year, people are able to throw out all kinds of junk on various street corners in the city. Last week, at 5:30 am, I hauled out some electronics that no longer worked. They lasted about five minutes before they were snatched up. Good, nice to have them out of here and hopefully they went to someone who could fix them or at least use the parts.

I've been wanting to get rid of the spare room old stained carpet for about three years, but somehow Russ and I never figured out the right nights for dumping. Well, tonight I was in the front bedroom, reading the bikejournal.com forum, and watching American Idol and the Australian Open, when I heard a bunch of noise emanating from the street below. Hmmm, could it be my moment? I looked out over the balcony and saw the dumping pile growing. Yes! Tonight was it.

First, of course, I had to partially empty the room of overloaded bookcases, bicycles, and various other paraphernalia before I could roll up the carpet. Got that done. Rolled the carpet, tied it with some string, then proceeded to muscle it through my apartment, slide it down five flights of stairs, out the two entry doors, and then drag it a short distance down the street. (By my tough old broad self.) I was definitely huffing and puffing pretty good, and I can still feel the effort in my arms, but it is so nice to be rid of it. Now to put back the furniture in a less than haphazard manner. Sounds like a weekend job.

Some Winter Break Photos

These are the three gals that I met while waiting for our flight from DIA to LBF. It was eventually cancelled, so the four of us spent the night in Denver hotel rooms and then shared the shuttle and subsequent morning flight to North Platte.


Flying this leg of the trip is actually my favorite, twin prop airplane and all. Every seat is both an aisle AND a window.


Now this is first class when you can put down the back of the seat in front of you and really get a stretch on.


Early morning frost on the trees. The first picture is a view across the street from our house and the second one is a view down the street. Really, it wasn't as cold as it looks!

Nope, not yet.

Knee still demands my attention, and Dr. Hang remained adamant about me not riding yet. At least another week, but I'm betting more like two to three more. Hopefully I can get out during my week off at Chinese New Year.

On a more positive note, I'm changing grade levels for next year. While I really do enjoy the 5th graders, and the people I work with, I need a change. So for next year...3rd grade. Youngsters again. We'll see how it goes.

Geez, I really need to go on a bike ride so I have something to blog about!

Off the Bike for Two Weeks?

So, two weeks ago, I was enjoying a nap after our half day of school, and was in a deep deep slumber. The phone rang, and as I groped around trying to figure out which phone it was and where it was, I actually rolled out of bed and landed knee first on the hard marble floor. I iced it right away, and didn't think too much more about it, except for occasional bouts of severe pain on the airplane to the states whenever I accidentally bumped it. I could walk fine most of the time, so I didn't think I hurt it too badly. I discovered, however, that I could put no weight directly on it, painful enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I will always put off going to see a doctor for as long as I can, but I decided since I still couldn't put direct weight on my kneecap (yes I tried kneeling today to see what would happen.) I figured I had at least better check it out, so I headed over to a sports doctor I had seen before. I was lucky enough to get in to see him at 1:00, so I only had an hour to kill, which I did by going to Hola and B&Q.

When I got in to see Dr. Hang, I was semi-apologetic, thinking I didn't really need to be there. Turned out it was good that I went because I walked out with orders to remain off my bike for a minimum of two weeks, no walking up or down stairs, a few exercises to stretcth my hamstrings and further strengthen my quads, anti-imflammatories for a week, and an appointment for next Friday to see how things are progressing.

What's funny is that I rode this morning and dedicated my miles to the Rouge Croix riders on bikejournal.com. It's odd to see the red cross by my name on the forum, but it should be gone soon.

Overnight in...no not Denver...San Francisco

I was freshly ensonced in my hotel room when I thought I had better phone Great Lakes and give them my flight information so they could go ahead and handwrite my luggage tag to save time the next morning. Got that done and had just settled down to watch the Food Network when the phone rang. Guess who was on the line? Vickie from Great Lakes with the good news that my flight the next morning had been cancelled, but if I could get to the airport, I could take the two-hour delayed flight to Denver. Well, what could I do? I had to get to DIA so I could get my connecting flight to San Francisco by 8:23 the next morning, so I checked out of the hotel that I had enjoyed for three hours, and made my way to the airport with the off-duty shuttle driver who was nice enough to come and get me.

I had already decided to just spend the night at the Denver airport instead of a hotel so I didn't have to get my luggage and go through Denver security early the next morning, but Vickie gave me a hotel voucher anyway and told me to make sure I collected my bag. Once I convinced her that I wasn't going to do that, she took the voucher back, and changed my luggage tag back to the original.

Got to Denver and decided to see if I could fly standby on the 8:50 San Francisco flight. (I figured getting to SF that night was better than hanging out at the Denver airport all night.) Yep, got that. When I asked about my bag, I was told that it probably would be forwarded on the next morning. Probably? Probably?????

Got to San Francisco close to midnight. Nothing open. Nowhere to go. Hung around the international terminal. About 5:00 am I decided to call United and see if they could tell me where my bag was. Nope. Nothing in the system. Told to go to baggage claim and talk with an attnedant. So, took the AirTrain over to terminal 3 and told the lady there my tale of woe. She sent info to Great Lakes and United and I sat down to wait. Checked again about 45 minutes later. Nope, nothing yet.

I decided to not worry about it, and headed back to the international terminal since it was almost time for them to open up the ticket counters. Got ticketed, went through security into the terminal in search of something good to eat for breakfast. Nope, nothing open. Went to the domestic terminal, once again had to go through security, but found a decent breakfast place. Well, not decent, but Burger King was open, so I had breakfast, then went on back to the international terminal. Yes, through security once again. Checked the departure screen, nothing listed for Taipei, so I decided just to sit and wait. Pretty soon, I heard the announcement that Taipei would be leaving at Gate 93. So to Gate 93 I went. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, it was almost time to board. Even the flight crew had gotten on the airplane.

And gotten off. And had to go to gate 97. This is the first time I've seen a flight crew get on and get back off to go to a different gate. Finally, it was our turn to board. I got on, got settled, put the seat belt on and tightened it up. It loosened. I tightened it up. It loosened again. I hit the call light. Flight attendants all busy. I stood up and looked around and caught the eye of one attendant at the door. She came, tried the belt, and called a mechanic. Ten minutes later a new seat belt had been quickly installed. Much better.

I got settled in once again. Five minutes later more mechanics boarded, this time carrying a ladder. Cripes, what now? Oh, the pilot announced that they were there to get the communication system working. Good, that might just come in handy. That took about 15 minutes, then we were actually cleared to take off. The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful, although incredibly long. I napped a few times, watched a couple movies, and walked around a bit. Good thing I had seen the three half decent movies because my tv had decided to stop transmitting a picture. I forgot to tell them when I got off, so I imagine that the person who got my seat for the next morning's flight wasn't too happy!

Once through immigration, Gerry and I headed for baggage claim and the bathroom. (she had been lucky enough to fly standby from SF to Taipei. She wasn't sure if her husband had gotten the word to our local airport pick up service, so I told her if she didn't have a car waiting, she could ride along with me.) First stop, the baggage carousel. What? My bag was there. Amazing. Gerry got hers, we headed for the waiting area. No car for her. No problem. Luggage all put in mine and we set off with one of the worst drivers I've ever had in Taipei. And that is saying a lot. But...we made it back safely, and my long long long long experience of travel from Gothenburg, Nebraska to Taipei, Taiwan was finally over. I have five months to forget how bad a travel time I had this year. Moral of story? Be kind to airline personnel, and don't travel on the holidays.

Time's Up!

Say it ain't so. Say it ain't time to leave the states and head back to Taiwan. I've had a fantastic time...it's so great seeing family, spending time in my own house, sewing up a storm, and watching all kinds of home improvement shows. Even the cold weather didn't dampen my spirits...most days had sunshine and blue sky...and the three times I shoveled snow was a breeze because the snow was so light and powdery.

I head for the big city of North Platte tomorrow...lunch with Russ and his mom and brother, then he'll deliver me to the hotel so I can spend the night. My flight is at 7:15, and it's much easier to spend the night instead of traipsing to the airport in the wee hours of the morning from Gothenburg. Besides, it's actually easier to say goodbye to my folks and Russ the day before I leave.

I am NOT looking forward to the flights, but it looks like the weather should be decent, so I hope it goes more smoothly than my last flight. And in just five short months, I get to do it all over again. Next time I may take the Singapore night flight and spend the night at LAX. Doesn't that sound like fun????

Overnight in Denver. Again.

Why people think travel is glamorous is beyond me. And travel during the holidays? Stupid. But always interesting. I (along with fellow TAS teachers) left Taipei on Friday, December 21 on United's non-stop service to San Francisco. Nice flight. Somewhere around ten hours. Slept a couple times, no more than half an hour each time.

The San Francisco airport is always crowded, but they finally have enough personnel so getting through security is far smoother than it used to be. I cleared customs very quickly, and got my offical welcome "home" which is always fun. Got my suitcase, which surprisingly, wasn't the last one to arrive. Once we got rid of the suitcases, Mary and I proceeded to our next gate. Started out at gate 80, moved to gate 88, then to 82, on to 83, and back to 82. Lots of flights had been delayed because of fog in Chicago, so they kept moving us from gate to gate in hopes that they could get us out. Finally, two hours after our scheduled departure, we were ready to board. I am a premier member, so I always board in seating area 1. Handed the lady my pass, the machine beeped, and she told me I had to wait because my seat was being repaired. Great. That didn't take long, though, and once we finally got airborne, the flight was just fine.

Once we got into Denver, I still had an hour and a half before my next flight, but Mary was probably going to miss her flight to St. Louis. I don't know yet, since I deplaned before she did and I didn't wait around for her.

Off I went, through busy DIA, to Great Lakes in concourse A. Quick check of the monitors, yep, flight is on time. Checked in. Heard flights being cancelled. Mine, still on time, so I went to get something to eat. Back to the gate. Flight now delayed. Finally around 9:00 (three hours after original scheduled departure) the flight was cancelled because our crew had timed out. We were promised a special plane in the morning, so some of us opted to go to hotels, while others headed for the car rental area so they could drive 5 hours to their destination.

I think we got to the hotel around 11:30, and I got to sleep around 1:00 and slept for a good four and a half hours. Not bad. We took the 6:30 shuttle to the airport and cleared security very quickly. I barely had time to take off my shoes and get my clear bag of travel liquids out of my carry on before I was at the head of a line. From there, we headed to our gate. Told to sit down by a very gruff Great Lakes male employee. The smiling female employee told us she was trying to find us. Great. One gentleman told us they might not have the flight for us after all. Great.

I waited a bit, then asked the lady, and she said we had a plane but no crew. Great. However, after a normal amount of wait time, the crew was found, and we had a beautiful flight to North Platte, Nebraska. It was cold, but absolutely clear and beautiful. What could happen now?

Oh, no suitcase? The nice (they are all friendly as heck in North Platte) attendant emailed Denver Great Lakes, but got no response. Called Denver. No response. The normal flight would arrive in an hour and a half, and the suitcase may or may not be on it. We live half an hour from the airport, Russ had been there the night before waiting in vain for me, and we didn't want to drive home and then back, so we had some coffee (Russ) and tea (me), then made a quick trip to Walmart. Back at the airport, they were busy checking everybody in for the departing flight, so I didn't ask anyone if they had any information for me. Instead we chatted with a lady who had the most gorgeous black and tan cocker spaniel while we waited for the flight, and hopefully my suitcase, to arrive.

And it did. Amazing. Moral of the story...have patience and be kind to airline employees. And stop traveling during the holidays.

Oh yeah, why the title "Overnight in Denver. Again."??? Two years ago Russ and I had been delayed in San Francisco long enough that we missed the flight from Denver to North Platte. We were told we were booked on the next morning's flight so we headed to a hotel. At the airport the next morning, we couldn't clear security because we didn't have the proper reboarding passes, and after long discussions with Great Lakes, ended up renting a car to drive back because the flights were all full that day and the next. I did get reimbursed for all expenses, plus a little extra from United because they so royally messed up.

Moral of that story. Have patience with airline employees, write detailed letters to United. And stop traveling during the holidays.

Contrast

There have been some good storms already in Nebraska. Russ has, as he said, "gotten to know my dad's snow blower intimately." He was grousing pretty good about the cold, snow, and ice, but even he had to admit there was beauty in the ice. The top two pictures are ones he took on a morning that dawned crystal clear with a brilliant azure sky.




This is a photo I took a month or so ago. Nice contrast with the snow photos, right? Where would you rather be? In the cold of the midwest, or the warmth of Asia? Me, I'll take the snow. The cold. The ice storms. The changes of seasons. The wide open highways. The ultra-friendly neighbors who snowblow your sidewalks. (that seems to be Russ this year!) I'll get my wish soon...just three more days and I'm off to the cold clime for the Christmas holiday. Can't ask for much more than that.

Odd place, this Taiwan

Sunday, November 25 was a strange bike riding day. I was soloing, as I normally do on Sundays, so I headed out to do a River Loop ride. A nice ride that David and I used to do regularly. The route is from Tienmu to Guandu, then up and over the red bridge. Once over the bridge, I rode the bike path along the river. The first picture is of the bike path from Tienmu to Guandu, a nice stretch that can be incredibly busy.


This photo is near the end of the bike path on the Bali side, not too far from the pedestrian bridge.



This photo is taken from the same spot, just looking the opposite direction. I have always loved this bridge.




Once over the pedestrian bridge, the route then goes to Dadaocheng Wharf. On this day, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, there was a bike rally/show with hundreds of people milling around. Sometimes these crowds drive me crazy, other times, like this day, I don't really mind them.




The strangest sight on this day were these singers dressed as native Americans. Singing Mandarin songs. In front of a sign promoting bike riding. Odd place, this Taiwan.

Thanksgiving Day

As has been the custom for the past nine years, Thanksgiving lunch was enjoyed at Ralph and Joyce's, with a good circle of friends. It's a potluck, with Joyce providing the turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Carol's standby of sweet potato casserole always hits the spot, and I provided my now famous Snicker-Pineapple dessert.

This year was the first without Doug and Judy, who retired to Kansas, and Russ, who is back in the states this year. Glenn and Patricia were also unable to make this year's festivities because Glenn's 32 year old son had died suddenly of a blood infection. They were back in Colorado with family. Greg and Candace were also missing in action, Greg was home sick with a nasty flu that took his voice away for a week.

Joyce is an avid quilter and this picture showcases her recently completed journal quilt that she started a number of years ago. Each piece of fabric is different, if I remember correctly, there are about 400 different pieces. No...that sounds like way too many. She had written, in beautiful cursive, events that occured each day in one complete year, and included a ton of photographs printed on fabric. I am amazed at the amount of work she has in this quilt. One of these days I may be inspired by Joyce and start hand quilting mine again!

Karen's First Time up the Ramp!

Saturday, November 17, found Karen J., Gretchen, Carol, and me out for a sanguine Saturday ride. While waiting for people to show at TAS, this guy stopped to chat with one of our security guards. Since he had bikes in the back, I had to snap a shot. This is the pose he struck after I gestured to him that I wanted to take his picture.


We decided to head for Bali since Gretchen hadn't been there yet. Karen J. led out in fine fashion, and Gretchen, being still new to the paths, stayed close on Karen's pedals. I took up the rear with Carol. Karen and Gretchen didn't stop until they got to the old Guandu bike shop, and from there we decided to forgo the ride to Tanshui and the normal ferry ride, and instead, head directly to Bali over the Guandu Bridge. Karen J. put her gears low and made it up the ramp for the first time ever. Good going! Of course, on the other side, we had to stop for the ubiquitous celebratory photos. The first is of Carol, Karen, and Gretchen, and I got to be in the second!



While we were congratulating Karen on her climbing success, we noticed a nice young man who appeared to want to visit with us. We didn't take the time then, but after Karen (who once again rabbited ahead of all of us) stopped to wait, he and she exchanged pleasantries. Turns out he (Roger) was just finishing up a tour around the island of Taiwan, and had also recently completed five months of cycling in New Zealand. We really do meet some interesting people out on the bikes here.