One car lot = 42 Bromptons

Self-explanatory!

E-biking to Freo

My riding "kaki" (partner) here in Perth, Ken C, is really into energy efficient transportation. As a Physicist, he was experimenting with solar powered regenerative sources while at Murdoch University 10 years ago and hence, jumping into e-bikes now is as natural as a fish into water.

Since I'm on recovery mode for my right knee, I'm not supposed to cycle. Hence, it was the perfect reason to try out Ken's brand new Prodeco folding e-bike from the USA as its not really "cycling". He graciously rode his self-assembled e-MTB using Chinese components and insisted on me trying out his new toy. Our destination - to Fremantle to check a new e-transporation company, ZAP at High Street. Although the weather was a spot rainy, it didn't deter us and I was so excited to experience an e-bike on a long ride.

My first impressions were very favourable. Just press the thumb accelerator and off it goes! It felt more like a small motorcycle than a bicycle. Only its much better as we had access to all the short cuts via the excellent bike path. What really thrilled me was being able to climb hills effortlessly and 27-30kmh was not an issue at all. We also encountered strong head winds but it didn't bother us as it just meant a slightly slower cruising speed. The e-bike offered truly the best of both world - its ability to tackle hills at a push of the throttle while coasting downhill like a regular bike.



We reached Fremantle in about 30 mins with no sweat, and found ZAP. We were met with courteous and professional service and the owner Steve explained to us patiently and enthusiastically about his impressive e-bikes. It was very kind of him to allow us to test ride 2 models, a foldie and a 700c and we cruised to South Mole to soak in some fresh sea breezes. While it was nice enough to ride, I could not get used to the automatic pedal assist. Just cruising along on your own steam when suddenly, there is a surge to move you forward at the most unexpected moments. But I guess it takes getting used to and the strong sales ZAP is experiencing says a lot. I wish them every success!

Truth be told, I much prefer Ken's Prodeco e-foldie for it seems to perform better and is far more stylish, but thats just me. We stopped at Melville for a lovely Cuppacino and had time to do some grocery shopping too.

Since the Hyundai showroom was a stone's throw away, we also went to check out the new Veloster, a most stylish sports car with its unique 3 door design. Yes, it has a decent boot to take in our foldies! Tick.

The Veloster is made famous through a popular Korean action drama series City Hunter and that was when I first saw it. The missus wants one!

Coming back just 2km before reaching Ken's house, his e-bike ran out of power and it was back to pedaling for him, only this time it had another 10kg to lug! My Prodeco at 24km still showed a full tank of "gas".

The e-bike will not attract the cycling purists and would even meet with great disdain from some of my buddies but I can certainly appreciate its purposes. For mere transportation in place of the car, it is brilliant. It would also work for those who can't quite cycle due to health reasons but still enjoy being on the bike. It makes amazing financial sense too - ZAP claims 10c of electricity can go 60km and that redefines the meaning of running off the smell of an oily rag. No need to register and no insurance needed!

I think I have swallowed the e-bike poison no thanks to Ken C! Here's an excellent way of saving the earth with very little physical effort. Make my white please... Whee!!!!!

Maxxis race to Wuling Taiwan

These chaps did our recent climb in reverse ie 60km up instead of 30km in 2 days like we did and in much worse weather. I don't know how they did it! Thanks Chris for the link. So exciting...

Folding for the Storm

I was asked by my riding buddy Patrick to help contribute an article about foldies recently in the hi-society lifestyle magazine in Spore, Storm. Had fun writing and here it is! My little contribution to help get more folks on small wheels.

A very patched up tube

After some off road riding last month, my Tikit suffered a front tire puncture. It was the slowest of leaks but eventually, the tire was flat one morning. For some reason, I have used up all my 16" tubes and hence had to patch the tube.

Close inspection revealed lots of tiny prickles that have pierced through the Kojak and I had to take a tweezer to remove at least 7-8 of those nasties. When I eventually had to patch the tube, there were 3 leaks and hence required 3 patches. Anyone who first see the very patched up tube will say I'm a Cheap Charlie but I rather be known as one than not being able to ride my Tikit!

There is a reason for every season

It was rather interesting to receive an unearthly morning call from my good friend Nick (a master carpenter) yesterday. I've been thinking about him lately but to get a call at 6+ in the morning was a little more than I bargained for. The bad news was that his work van sprung a leak in one of the radiator hoses. The good news was that it happened just outside my home so he could coax his very overheated van to drive there.

So here was Nick nice and early feeling rather sheepish at his unannounced arrival at my door and being British, he never refuses a hot cup of tea. At 8am, we drove to my regular mechanic, KL Motors at Willetton, who happened to walk in 2 mins after we arrived. He took a look at it and shook his head, saying its one of those hard to access hose and he wasn't sure if he had a spare one that will fit this 20 years young Mitsubishi. But he could see we were desperate and so he kindly gave it a go. He struggled with it for a while and even managed to find a part in his backyard. So one hour later and for only $80, Nick had his van running again.

Trouble was he had cancelled all his jobs for the day not knowing how long the repair would take. Being a great friend, he asked if there was any carpentry work he could do for my home. A wonderful mate indeed and we did some fixing and repainting of my roof.

But most significantly, he put up what I always wanted for a long time - a miniature bicycle given to me, mounted on my roof displayed proudly for all to see!  Seems there is a divine reason for any kind of season we may be facing, the cold winters or the hot summers of our life when we walk with Him.

What started to be a potential bad day for Nick turned out to be a most pleasant one of great fellowship and an unexpected blessing for the both of us.

Romans 8:28

New Living Translation (NLT)

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Wet, wet, wet in Taipei

Taipei 101 tallest building in the world once    Pic - Roland

The wet view, day after day after day from our hotel room window   Pic - Roland

Pic - Roland

Pic - Nick Wong

We all LOVE Taiwoon (the guy in the pic) too!  Pic - Roland

Delicious Mochi    Pic - Roland 

Taiwanese comfort food   Pic - Roland

Pic - TW

Small gift of our big appreciation to George & Cindy for making this happen!

It rained the whole night and it rained the whole day. In fact, it kept raining for 3 days until we left for the airport. Despite the wet, cold and miserable weather, we made the best of our stay in exciting Taipei.

Pic - Roland

Our hotel was a nice 25 min walk by the river from the Danshui Train Station and that meant we could explore the city as we liked, at least the indoor attractions.

The first day our bus came to take us to a famous tourist spot - Jiufen. This is named after 9 families who used to stay in their village in the 1800s in the Qing Dynasty and they always ordered 9 portions thus the name Jiufen. It was not until a movie shot there in the 1989 made the place famous.

It was pouring when we arrived at Jiufen and and loads of tourists were there as well. Big crowds are not exactly my cup of tea but this place is fascinating enough with plenty of quaint shops selling curious, souvenirs and all types of food.

Papa Mike treated us to fantastic fried prawn balls and our mission was to try everything possible. Of course we did not succeed but we did have a taste of some very interesting food.

Pic - TW

I had grilled snails which I still can't decide if I enjoyed that. The shaved peanuts crepe with ice cream was delicious.

Pic - CW

The big bowl of soupy beef noodles was of course satisfying on a cold and rainy day and we had traditional steamed radish cakes which was mildly enjoyable.

Pic - Esther

The other thing on our agenda is to visit bike shops and we attacked 4 shops including the Bike Friday store in Taipei. They had custom made Tikit Front Derailleur hanger which we grabbed! Celia got Pearl Izumi bike shorts for only US$50 on sale and together, we must have single handedly lifted the Taiwanese economy in one evening at least in the Merida bike shop.

Pic - CW

We took a trip to see Taipei 101, once the world's tallest building but it was pointless to go up to the viewing tower as the weather was really bad. It is a huge shopping centre filled with the best upmarket stores equal to that of London and New York. I had fun window shopping.

A real treat was discovering that one section of the Taiwan International Bike Show was nearby so we went to check that out. Its easy to get all biked out with so many bikes, parts and accessories on display. My interest in e-bikes were spurred when I tried the latest pedal assist one from Europe.

It was great to discover that there is a free shuttle to the main section of the Bike Show and we went to check it out and collect our free gifts - much appreciated bike scarfs! The displays here were numerous until I was seriously sick of bicycles.

One fantastic buy was a beautiful black pannier bag from New Looxs. This is a company from Holland that had fashionable bags of all shapes, colours and sizes that can fit onto bike racks. We spent quite a bit of time looking at their products and ended up parting with our money with great delight!

Needless to say, we enjoyed the fantastic food Taipei had to offer. We had to go to Shilin Night Market and sampled the famous fried chicken steak. It was a huge portion and greedy me should have shared it. There are over 500 stalls so staying here every night for a year is just about enough time to try everything.

Joshua and I got tired of waiting for the rain to stop and did a spot of wet riding to the Fisherman's Wharf, about 4km north of our hotel. Yes, it may be cold and wet and we had great fun nevertheless. It was a pity we could not cycle more around Taipei's excellent bike network and thus, this begs for a return trip.

We stopped for a second breakfast at a local soya milk shop and were so impressed with the kindness of the owner who gave us more food. She wanted us to try another kind of local bread and gave it to us free of charge! Popping into another bike shop near our hotel saw the whole gang there. The poor owner was visibly overwhelmed by us however the constant ringing of his cash register, was something he could not complain.

Pic - CW

It was sad to finally pack and leave for the airport. But we dropped Roland and May first to the hi speed bullet train as they extended their holiday south to Kaoshing. One challenge we had was whether we could check in all our stuff as we were all overloaded due to excessive shopping. Fortunately, Desmond and Shelby had some spare and so did George (he left his Moulton for extra special modifications) and everyone managed to board properly.

Pic - CW

The 8 days we spent in Taiwan were surreal and I couldn't believe it went by so quickly. This was a cycling adventure of a lifetime, experiencing so much and for the first time, high altitude riding for me. Flying downhill at ultra high speeds with numerous hair pin curves is every cyclist's wish come through, and for a good 50km! Being claustrophobic, going through the tunnels will always be a challenge for me but it gets better with practice, so they say. Too many highlights to mention but perhaps the key one I will not forget is making new friends and sharing a special camaraderie as we suffered and enjoyed scaling Wulin and descending quickly together. Add in the fun, laughter and all the food we shared, this is what it means to be truly blessed.

Taiwan, we will be back hopefully in Dec!

Pic - TW






Update 4 Apr  - A presentation evening of the Taiwan ride will be held on 14 Apr at 7pm in Singapore. Should be fun with about 40 folks!