環島網誌越寫越長 It's taking longer than I thought

完整版的單車環島網誌越寫越長，越寫越覺得要好好把它寫好，畢竟人一生中這樣的經驗不多... 所以，看來有可能要再多等一陣子...
The more I write in updating my round-island-ride blog article, the more I feel like I was writing a book. After all, you don't get to do things like this that often in your life time. So I think it will be a while before I publish the complete report of my ride...

環島網誌何時更新? Round-island report yet to be updated

我的支票跳票了... 一個月過去了，環島網誌還沒更新! 我今天下午就開始更新，希望12月初之前能完成... 屆時會通知大家!

I broke my promise... Give me another chance and let me extend the due date to early December. I will start updatng it this afetrnoon !

No excuse for the delay. Not really because I am that busy...well, kind of, I bought myself a new road bike one week after I returned from the round-island ride. You can imagine how much time I spent with my new love... However, my new Kuota Kredo is not really to be blamed for the delay. Actually I had an accident 2 weeks ago when I was riding my new Kredo. The injury on my thigh was bad enough for me to stop cycling for two weeks. That's plenty of time to update the blog. Yet I did not. Somehow I have been shying away from this over-due task. Two days ago, Jason, one of the two friends I made on the round-island ride, finished updating his round-island blog and passed it to me. I read his blog up to the day we met... and I couldn't continue... it all came back! I was so touched... then I realized why I have been shying away from updating my own blog... it would be like re-living the ride one more time... and this time it will be more emotional, because I won't need to pedal, nor do I need to watch where the front wheel is rolling, everything that touched my heart on the ride will have my full attention this time...

Day 9 report - dream comes true 完成九日重裝單騎環島

10月18日，兩位路上認識的"零元環島"車友決定在墾丁多待半天。清晨7:30，我自己一人在墾丁大街的Seven吃­完早餐後出發，10小時25分鐘，騎了160公里，終於在傍晚5:55抵達台南市終點，完成生平第一次的單車環島！

親愛的朋友們，這一路上有太多太多的經歷和感受，目前這個部落格上和我 Picasa網路相簿上有的文字和照片，不到我想post的內容的百分之五。我會儘快整理好文字和照片，做一個完整的記錄，與各位分享。 (可能需要2到3週)

昨天最後一天的簡要記錄，請看: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/denys.chen/CyclingIslandOfTaiwanDay9#

1200 kilometers (750 miles) around the island of Taiwan in 9 days, 2008/10/10 ~2008/10/18

Day 8 report 挑戰壽卡，重回墾丁

Some highlights of the photos from today are here: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/denys.chen/CyclingIslanDay8#
More will be posted later after I get home.

Tomorrow (Saturday, 10/18) is the last day of this ride. If the 落山風 and 東北季風 will not be going too much against me, I should get to the finish line (台南市中華西路府前路口) around 5 or 6 PM.







9:50 AM, 重裝(13公斤馬鞍袋)攻上壽卡















5:40PM, 在天黑前一分鐘趕到環島路線(也是本島地理位置)的最南端: 鵝鑾鼻燈塔





Denys in 墾丁

Day 7 report 風雨無阻，黑夜趕路

Safely arrived at Dawu at 8:06 pm last night (Day 7). It was a long ride... through down-pouring rain, up-hill roads, and 90 minutes' total darkness on a coastal road ...

Selected photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/denys.chen/CyclingIslandOfTaiwanDay7#

More photos and stories will be posted after I return to Tainan tomorrow. There are a lot of stories on the trip I would like to share. Please stay tuned.














今天(Day 8)行程: 挑戰壽卡，重回墾丁！ Yeah ！
壽卡乃環島路線最高點，10公里連續爬坡450公尺高。預計8:00AM開始爬，為我加油！

預計明天週六傍晚抵達終點，也是起始點，台南市中華西路府前路口。

Day 6 report 花東的好山好水從一個完美的花蓮清晨開始

因為天已黑又下雨，今日行程縮短20公里，在長濱過夜. Tomorrow's destination will be 大武.

See photo albums here: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/denys.chen/CyclingIslandOfTaiwanDay6#
(Sorry they are pictures only without stories, for now.)

Denys

Day 5 report - 難忘的蘇花公路!

Dear friends and family,

I made it. I am in Hualien now. I need to get enough sleep for tomorrow's ride to 台東縣成功鄉(海線, 105km) so I will delay Day 5's report to a later time. Too many things happened on Day 5. It will take me hours to write the report for Day 5... For now, you can browse my Day 5 photo album below with limited text remarks. One quick note: as you will see in the photos, 我在新澳隧道內翻車撞壁受了點輕傷，無大礙，不影響騎車。What happened? It's a combination of the following: 狹窄老舊又漏水的隧道，滿地泥濘，不願讓環島騎士的大砂石車。I am OK, not to worry. 但還好當時後面沒車，否則後果不堪設想！這次隧道內翻車給這次環島添加了一項終生難忘的回憶...

Photo album is here: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/denys.chen/CyclingIslandOfTaiwanDay5#


I want to thank many of you who sent me cell phone text messages (as far as from Switzerland), e-mails, and MSN off-line messages. For those of you who did not send I know many of you have been monitoring my progress through the GPS web page. Thank you all so much for your encouragement ! I did it my way...

Denys in Hualien

Day 4 report 結識一位正港的環島勇士 - 零元環島 !

看圖說故事比較快: http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/denys.chen/CyclingIslandOfTaiwanDay4#
Full report to be provided after the trip.

明早重裝備上蘇花公路，請為我加油！ 我一定會征服它的！

Denys in 蘇澳

Note: GPS定位圖如果看起來怪怪的，是因為中華電信在東岸訊號不良，又因離島上有發射站所造成。



在三貂角南邊附近，背景是龜山島。在這裡結識了一位零元環島的年輕人。

國境之東

在三貂角(本島最東的地理位置)，想念現在國境之南的同事,朋友,及單車同好…

Denys

Day 3 report 苦盡甘來

The ride started with a cool morning. The temperature dropped to only around 20 C. There was still some NE wind from 新豐 to 楊梅, but not as bad as yesterday. Still lot of up-hill climbing in 楊梅. The NE wind disappeared after entering 桃園 county. When entering 新莊 from 龜山, the earlier climbing got rewarded by a long dash downhill, where my highest speed reached 45km. Starting from that point, things just got better and better. Mild NE wind, even on 北濱. Starting tomorrow it's all 順風 ride! (Except the 恆春落山風 on the last day back to Tainan.. that I will worry later :)

Again this is a brief post. I will re-post a full version later with more 心得報告 and photos. 往後幾天沒有逆風，希望能有多一點時間寫我的blog. For now, here are some highlights from today:








埔心車站













苦盡甘來...
到了美麗且具有里程意義的關渡。往下的路程就沒再被東北季風給折騰了 :)










淡水捷運站















在熟悉的淡水捷運站附近逗留了一個多小時，背景是淡水河和觀音山











石門鄉, 這裡是我這次單車環島公路最北點，也是台灣公路最北點，當然也是我離台南的同事和單車同好最遠的地方。嗯，有點想大家了...




Denys in 基隆
(明天行程: 基隆 到 蘇澳)

我愛龜山!我愛關渡!

中午到了龜山要入新莊時,我才知道今早在湖口和楊梅我爬了多少坡,一路俯衝速度最高達45公里!新莊,五股一路順暢,終於看到關渡大橋!騎過橋後往左後方再看一次橋的雄姿,也看到身上黃色薄風衣迎風拍打著~~一陣感動又湧上心頭!啟程後這是第二次…

Denys在淡水捷運站

Day 2 report - 逆風爬坡，爬通宵宛如下地獄

Dear friends,

Day 2 turned out to be a tougher day than day 1. The NE wind in 通宵 was the same as or stronger than that in 雲林. What made it worse was the hills in 通宵. As a result, I am falling behind for about 20 km. I am staying at a motel in 新豐鄉 in Hsin Chu county. Today's ride started at 7:30 AM and ended at 7:47PM. Mileage was 147km. Destination for tomorrow is Keelung 基隆(台1線到新莊轉關渡，淡水，石門，金山，萬里，到基隆)。 Without the NE wind, I should have no problem making it to Keelung by 7:00PM. But I am worried about the ~15km from 淡水 to 石門. I may be fighting with the NE wind there again. In that case, it should be worse than the past 2 days, as that is a coastal road right along the ocean. So I have to get up early to launch early to catch up. As I am also very tired, so I will not post any photos today... sorry. I will make it up in the next 2 days.

Some highlights today:

1. Met several cyclists cycling the island on the road. They are all doing clock-wise. Two groups were heading home (last day) in Taoyun and one young man heading home in Taipei.

2. 經過新竹，感觸很多...

3. 今天又是我體能極限的另一次突破。Making records every day! That's one of the cool things about 單車環島

Again, I am sorry for delaying the full report. Come back to check Tuesday. (The full report will not be a new post. It will be this one with contents added. 沒加中文版，也請包含，因時間不夠.

I should really go to bed now.

Denys 品憲 at 明星花園 (a motel across the from 明星工專 on 台1線 in 新竹縣新豐鄉)

1:40pm,行至通霄

七點半才出發,路上遇到一些環島同志,多拍了一些照。到通霄後東北季風又大了起來,且艷陽高照,可能趕不到中壢。要趕路沒時間貼照片了,繼續和東北季風博鬥!

Denys 在苗栗通霄台1號上一家Seven

Day 1 report - Against the wind 環島第一天台南到彰化市152公里 -

Thanks to the northeast wind, today's ride has been the toughest I ever had. Riding against the wind is worse than riding in hot summer day or rainy day. On my one-day ride to Kenting at the end of August (same distance 155km), I was able to maintain an average speed of 25 or 26 km/h and when I got there I still had energy to play. Today my average speed for the first 120 km was probably only 13 km/h and in a break around noon, I was already so exhausted that 我整個人攤在地上. Anyway, I checked into a hotel at 7:50 pm. After getting things done (eat, washing clothese, shower, etc.), it's now already 11:00PM. So I have to make this report short for now. I will fill in more stories later, maybe after 10/18. By the way, I had a bit of problem with posting to my blog from my mobile phone. That's why nothing was posted today so far. Hopefully the problem will go away tomorrow.

Key messages for the day:

1. Don't ride against wind (東北季風), don't ever try. You will lose miserably. Today in 雲林, I decided to change course and headed west to an inland route: 省道 19. The wind on 省道 19 was about the same as that coastal road in the morning but got much milder after entering 彰化縣. To morrow I will connect to 省道1號 (縱貫公路)

2. The west coastal road 西濱 省道17 was the most boring road I ever rode on (or driven on) in Taiwan. 好荒涼! 省道19 was the same until getting near 彰化市. (The pictures below will tell you how boring it is.)

3. Today was my toughest ride ever.

4. Both my body and my bike and gears survived. My toe that was injured yesterday, surprsingly, did not hurt at all today :)

Now I will let the pictures tell the story. I will add more lines to these pictures after 10/18.

6:20AM, 出發地點

My high school buddy 吳醫師 from Hua-Lien. He got up early 來為我加油送行

The ride was launched at 6:32 AM. That's the starting line 中華西路府前路口

轉身回頭向吳醫師道別並致謝, "I am taking off now!"，突覺一股熱流往上半身衝，卻哽在喉嚨... 這時耳中的iPod也開始播放上路的第一首歌: 五月天的"憨人"

Eating lunch at a Seven

台西最有名的是什麼?

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Several more pictures in between here... I will post them later

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7:45 PM, finally found a motel

Denys in 彰化市

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歌名:憨人 填詞:阿信, 作曲:阿信, 編曲:五月天

試聽source 1
試聽source 2

我的心內感覺　人生的沈重　不敢來振動(行動)
我不是好子　嘛不是歹人　我只是愛眠夢

我不願隨浪隨風　飄浪西東　親像船無港
我不願做人　奸巧鑽縫　甘願來作憨人

我不是頭腦空空　我不是一隻米蟲
人啊人　一世人　要安怎歡喜　過春夏秋冬

我有我的路　有我的夢　夢中的那個世界　甘講伊是一場空
我走過的路　只有希望　希望你我講過的話　放在心肝內　總有一天

看到滿天全金條　要煞無半項　環境來戲弄
背景無夠強　天才無夠弄　逐項是攏輸人
只好看破這虛華　不怕路歹行　不怕大雨淋
心上一字敢　面對我的夢　甘願來作憨人

(Below is a translation attempted by Denys)

Deeply in me I feel the heaviness of life
So heavy I dare not stride wide
I am not a good kid, nor am I a bad boy
I just love dreaming

Don’t want to go with the wind, tossed by the wave, like a wandering boat without a harbor
Would rather be seen foolish than being crafty and opportunistic

I am not dump, nor am I a waste to the society
Year after year, how do I make it worth my life


My road planned, toward my dream
Would I find only emptiness when I get to my dreamland?
On the road I pedaled, I left nothing but hope
Hope what we promised each other, deeply in our hearts, will come true someday


Daydreaming is always easy, yet so hard to grasp
Eventually you learn from being fooled by reality
Without a silver spoon, nor a good talent, eventually getting used to being a loser
Glory and vanity are now history
Rugged road will not slow me down
Pouring rain will not stop me
Bearing only one word on mind
Toward my dream dare I
A fool you see get on the bike

天有不測風雲，我會小心 Accident does happen, I will be careful

出發前一天中午，在辦公室摔了一跤。右腳拇指輕微扭傷，不影響踩踏，只希望不要惡化。我會小心，也不會勉強... after 2 months' prep, been thinking "萬事皆備"... been thinking "got to be careful on the road!"... yet it happened before I take off... oh, well, learned a lesson... God just taught me I need to be careful anytime anywhere, even before I start it...　

謝謝多位朋友加油的e-mails !

(To those of you who can't read Chinese: I strained my toe yesterday noon. Not serious enough to stop me. But I will be careful... )

Six hours before taking off,

Denys at home in Tainan

我的單騎環島計劃 My plan for cycling alone around the island of Taiwan

計劃:
*出發日期與時間: 2008/10/10(星期五) , 06:00 AM (原訂10/04出發，因天氣因素延後 (10/05~10/7北部有豪大雨)
*預定完成日與時間: 2008/10/18, 5:00 PM ~ 6:00 PM 回到出發點 (全程9天)
*出發地點: 國立台南生活藝術館, 中華西路/府前路口, 隣市政府
*環島路徑: 大環島(走最外圍濱海公路，北至鼻頭角，南至鵝鑾鼻), 全程約1200公里; 順時鐘方向(由台南先往北騎)
*行程:
Day 1台南to鹿港(143km)
Day2鹿港to桃園縣觀音鄉(140km)
Day3觀音鄉to基隆(107km)
Day4基隆to蘇澳(99km)
Day5蘇澳to花蓮(100km)
Day6花蓮to成功(122km)
Day7成功 to 大武(111km)
Day8大武to 墾丁(96)
Day9墾丁to台南(154km)
[註1: 若東北季風太大，北上路線可能在苗栗後龍棄海線改走內陸縱貫公路，經新莊轉關渡至淡水再回到海線(北濱公路)到基隆。]
[註2: 第五天(10/14,星期二)的100公里蘇花公路，將是景觀最壯麗的一段路，但也是體能和安全的最大挑戰，聽說是爬不完的陡坡和很多與砂石車爭道的陝窄遂道...]
[註3: 看體能狀況及路上風景，全程可能調整成8天或10天]
*車隊成員: 自己一人(所謂"單騎")
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Plan:
*Lauch date/time: 2008/10/10(Friday) , 06:00 AM (Original plan was to launch on 10/04. It's postponed due to weather condition - heavy rain in forcast for 10/05~10/07)
*Planned completion date/time: 2008/10/18, 5:00 PM ~ 6:00 PM back to the launch location (entire trip will take me 9 days)
*Location for launch: near Tainan City Hall
*Route: Starting by heading north-bound from Tainan (i.e., clock-wise), mostly on coastal road, total mileage is about 1200 kilometers (750 miles).
*Itinerary: Day 1 Tainan to Lukan (143km), Day2 Lukan to Guanyin (140km), Day3 Guanyin to Keelung(107), Day4 Keelung to Su-Au (99km), Day5 Su-Au to Hua-Lien(100km), Day6 Hua-Lien to Tseng-Kong (122km), Day7 Tseng-Kong to Da-Wu (111km), Day8 Da-Wu to Kenting (96), Day9 Kenting toTainan(154km)
[Note 1: If the NE wind is too strong on the first 3 days, the north-bound route may be changed from coastal roads to inland.]
[Note2: The 100 km on the Su-Hua Coastal Road on Day 5 will be the most challenging yet rewarding on this 9-day ride. To cyclists, the breathtaking cliff/ocean view on the Su-Hua coastal road comes at the cost of endless uphill climbing and numerous dim and narrow tunnels with traffic of heavy trucks.]
[Note 3: Depending on my physical condition and how attractive the scenic places are, I may adjust my itinerary by one day shorter or longer.
*Team: me, one person riding alone

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如何與我保持聯絡:
*部落格: 10月10日起，環島日記及相片會每天隨時在這個部落格貼出。只要有感想或相片可分享，我會隨時(包刮途中休息時)從我的3G手機貼到這個網站。另，部落格左邊會有連結到每天的日記及更多的相片。
*MSN/hotmail: 有兩個時段我會上MSN及hotmail:睡前和白天途中休息時。 途中休息時，我會是用我的3G手機上網。我大約每一個半到兩個小時會休息一次，每次10~15分鐘。中午那次會長一點30分鐘。
*衛星及時定位系統: 部落格左邊會有一個連結，讓你透過衛星及時定位系統看到我目前在島上的位置(只在每天05:00AM to 08:00PM 提供，從10月10日開始)。那是捷安特自行車新文化基金會提供的服務。進入時系統會要你輸入我的身份證字號和一個我會帶在身邊的SIM卡號碼。這兩個號碼，我會在10/09提供给老友們。
*手機: 我會帶兩支手機，一支是我一直在用的私人手機(0911-xxx-406)，這是主要聯絡電話。另一支是衛星定位用的，但也可接電話。那支號碼10/09再公佈。
盼望在路途中收到大家為我加油的e-mail，MSN，或部落格留言。"好友與我同在"的感覺，可以給我更多的續航力！ (我的MSN帳號: denys_chen + 小老鼠 + hotmail.com)
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Staying in touch:
*Blog: Starting Friday, 10/10, I will be posting artcles and photos on this blog anytime and real-time during my ride (from my PDA phone) and before bedtime (from my laptop computer). Also, on the left-hand side of this blog you will see links to daily archives of postings and photos.
*MSN/hotmail: I will sign on to MSN via. my 3G cell phone during my breaks in the day time and also from my laptop before bed time. I plan to take a break every 1.5 to 2 hours. Each break will be 10 to 15 minutes. The break around noon will be longer, 30 minutes.
*GPS tracking: Also on the left side bar will be a link to a page where you can see my current position on the island (5:00AM to 8:00PM, starting Oct. 10). To access that page, you will need my ROC ID and a (cell phone) number that I will give you by e-mail on 10/09.
*Cell phone: Two numbers to reach me. One is my personal cell phone (+886-911-xxx-406). The other is the SIM card for GPS tracking (To be provided on 10/09.)

When on the road, I really look forward to receiving e-mails, MSN messages, or comments on this blog from you my dear friends. That will always pump me up, something I will need ! (My MSN account: denys_chen + at_sign + hotmail.com)

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行前練習:
體力，騎車技術及心情的訓練與調適是從8月16日就已經開始了。
8/16 高雄到墾丁一天100公里練長騎
8/23 從墾丁大街直攻佳鵝公路最高點，練爬坡
8/30 台南到墾丁一天155公里長騎(環島每天里程上限)
9/7 台南外環雨中夜騎，練雨中單騎
9/13 台南黃金海岸颱風天單騎，練逆風單騎: (無相片)
9/20 再次從墾丁大街直攻佳鵝公路最高點，練爬坡及黑夜無路燈騎車: (無相片)

10/4 終於征服大崗山，一路沒停踩到山頂。大崗山在高雄縣田寮鄉，上山坡道比佳鵝公路還陡: (無相片)
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Trainings to get ready for the ride:

Trainings reqired for the skills, physical strenghth, and mindset started on August 16:

8/16 A 100 km one-day ride from Kaoshiung to Kenting
8/23 A straight ride from Kenting Main Street to the peak on the road to Jialeshui, training for uphill climbing
8/30 From Tainan to Kenting, a 155 km one-day ride (also the max daily mileage I will try on the round island ride)
9/7 A 60 km night ride around the Tainan county，training for riding in heavy rain
9/13 A 40 km ride along the "Golden Coastal Road" in the south of Tainan city under a typhoon. Training for pedalling against gusty wind: (no photo)
9/20 Revisit Kening. Tried the same route as 8/23, trained for up-hill climbing and also experiencing riding in the dark, on the mountain, no street light, not even star light (it's a cloudy day): (no photo)

10/4: Finally made it to the top of Da-kan hill in Kaoshiung county. That was the deepest hill I ever cimbed on a bicycle: (no photo)





~ ~ ~ Posted by Denys on 9/21 at號稱墾丁最靠近海的民宿海洋玫瑰(Ocean Rose) , 位在香蕉灣，從墾丁大街往屏鵝公路向東約4公里 (at Banana Bay, 4 km from Kenting Main street)
~ ~ ~ Revision with postponed launch date posted on 10/03 from Tainan