The wind outside was playing the imperial march while I woke up. I didn't have to look out of the window to know that the trees were all bowing down before its presence. But I did anyway, and they were. Still haven't made up my mind as to cycle or not to cycle, so I packed my gear without much haste despite it was already 7am. By the time Irma, the bike, was loaded, I was delighted to find out that the weather was better than superb. According to the ecclesiastical chauffeur, following the then coastal Expressway No.15 all the way to Taipei was without the slightest doubt so much faster than the Provincial Highway No.1, contrary to the comparison I made on the map. But I decided to have faith in the locals.
However, as time went by, my faith dwindled. Then it went through a complete crisis after I found out, about some 40 minutes later, that I was just approaching NanLiao. Only now did I finally realized why the chauffeur said it was faster: despite being the longer route, it bypassed the major towns and big cities, so thanks to that it was indeed much faster - for a motored vehicle. But I was on a pushbike you see.
When I was exchanging information with the roadside truck drivers, one of them offered to give me a lift to Taoyuan, in 2 hours you will be there. It was a very enticing offer because, first, it was around 10am already and I wasn't on the right track; and, second, it started to drizzle again. But I wasn't to give up just yet, no matter how much my legs liked the idea. So I pushed on and took the County Road No.118 to Jhubei just before Sinfong. After an idyllic 5k I was back on Provincial Hwy No.1.
It felt superb to be back on the track, but it was a short lived one. The seemingly short distance between Jhubei and Yangmei was heavily guarded by headwinds. The ambush started there, and they just kept blowing and blowing and blowing at my face till the sun went down. I was quickly worn out by their persistent blows and the pathetic little hills, which would normally pose no threat to my stamina at all. Even my downhill speed was reduced to less than 10km/h.
It was noon, the sun was high in the sky, and soared likewise was my temper. It was frustrating this ultra slow haul, and on the way up yet another hill I finally had it, mustering the strength I had left, I jumped off the bike before a crew of road construction workers.
While I sat there hiding from the sun and replacing the lots of liquids I'd lost, one of the workers, a middle-aged woman, approached me with bags of rice in her hands. Later she also brought me several bottles of water enough to fill the Shihmen Reservoir. So there I was having lunch by the side of the road with a bunch of dirty workers, but I couldn't be prouder to be side by side with my benefactor. When I was done, I was ready to confront the wind.
Reality showed that the wind was commited to take up the challenge, it was a test of wills. Slowly yet steadily I made my way towards Jhongli and then Taoyuan. I was thinking about ringing Benita, but later figured what good would it does anyway, she was in Guanyin, some 20 to 30k to the west, while it was already 1700 and my destination was still some 3 hours to the east. So I pushed on. By the time I reached Jhonghe, where my sister and brother-in-law lived, I had not a trickle of strength left in my body and I can only cruise on my smallest gear (the smallest ring in the front and the biggest ring in the rear). I was beat after 11 hours on the road.
八月八號.
當我醒來時窗外的風正大肆的吹奏著帝國進行曲，不用想也知道外面的花草樹木都屈服在它的淫威之下。我還沒決定到底要怎樣，是要坐車，還是要騎？但我其實已有坐車的打算了，所以我慢慢的整理裝備，但是當我終於整裝待發走出教堂時外面的天氣卻是萬里無雲。根據教堂御用司機之言，走濱海15號快速公路會比走台一線快到台北。雖然這跟我在地圖上計算的結果不同，但我還是決定相信當地人的話。
但是差不多40分鐘之後我對 "當地人之言" 的信心完全粉碎，因為我才剛要接近南寮！直到這時我才完全了解到為什麼御用司機會說走濱海公路比較快：因為它閃過了很多大大小小的鄉鎮和都市，所以縱使它比較長，往來的車輛卻會比較早到目的地。但問題是我騎的是自行車，這對我一點好處也沒有，只會讓我花更多時間走多餘的路。
就當我在路旁和大卡車司機討論路線時，其中一位自願讓我人和車撘他便車去桃園。只要兩個小時就到了，他說。這當時對我來說是個妙到不行的主意，因為幾乎整個早上已經被我在這裡瞎逛逛到沒了，而且現在天上又開始飄下雨來。但我還是不能接受他的好意，我要先試過在說，反正路上車這麼多，真的不行時再撘便車就好了，我不能連試都沒試就給他放棄了，我不是吃飽太閒來放棄的。所以我繼續回到車上，於經過南寮之後我右轉走縣道118號接竹北。之後在騎了5公里令人心曠神怡的小路我終於再次接上台一線。這是令人振奮的一刻！但那高昂的士氣很快的就將消失殆盡...
在竹北跟楊梅這短短一段等著我的竟然是永無止盡的逆風。那些小山丘也因逆風的關係而壯大聲勢，變的有如喜馬拉雅山似的，連下坡時我的速度竟然也超不出每小時10公里。不久(但感覺起來像是過了一輩子)，我也因此而疲憊不堪。當我在那裡緩慢地拖著我笨重的車前進時正好日正當中、艷陽高照，相對的，我的脾氣也節節提升。
就在我緩緩的攻上那一個接一個的山坡時我終於受夠了，我聚集所有剩下的力量跳下車來。而不偏不倚地，就在我停下來地方的旁邊坐了一群正在休息的修路工人。其中一個中年婦人看我坐在那裡喝水吃餅乾的樣子就爬起來，朝我走了過來。她的手中握著好幾包的白飯和一包鹹菜。之後她又帶了多到可以讓石門水庫潰堤的礦泉水來給我。所以我中午就在這一群全身是土的工人旁補充精力。雖然是坐在塵土飛楊的路旁吃那不起眼的飯，但我卻因為可以坐在那婦人旁而格外感覺驕傲。
當我再次爬起來時，我已經準備好要來跟風作面對面的對抗了。
而事實也證明了那風也是有備而來，這是一場意志力的對決，我唯一的出路就是咬牙騎到台北，因為它是不會主動退出這場競賽的。緩慢的，我一步一步地騎過中壢，接著桃園。當我下午5點在桃園時本來是想打給貝拉，但後來想說觀音離桃園還有一段距離，再者我現在離今天的終點尚有三小時的車程(就平常的速度而言是不用三小時的，但現在我已經很疲憊了，兩天下來的平均時速差不多12.2公里，所以三小時是合理的估算。兩年沒騎車，體力的差別很明顯)，所以我略俟休息後就繼續趕路。
因為天色已黑，再加上在忽然所有的房屋、商店都不見了，剩下的只有黑漆漆的山壁及昏暗的道路，所以在迴龍好幾公里的下坡時我不安的想著說如果走錯路要調回頭的話我就真的要騎到12點才會到。好險事後證明這是庸人自擾。當我騎到中和時我體內已經沒有任何力量，我只是撐著用最輕檔(齒盤前面放最小，後面放最大)一路雙腳慢慢地旋轉(spin) 到我姐和姐夫住的地方。在經過了今天的11小時之後我已經精疲力竭。
However, as time went by, my faith dwindled. Then it went through a complete crisis after I found out, about some 40 minutes later, that I was just approaching NanLiao. Only now did I finally realized why the chauffeur said it was faster: despite being the longer route, it bypassed the major towns and big cities, so thanks to that it was indeed much faster - for a motored vehicle. But I was on a pushbike you see.
When I was exchanging information with the roadside truck drivers, one of them offered to give me a lift to Taoyuan, in 2 hours you will be there. It was a very enticing offer because, first, it was around 10am already and I wasn't on the right track; and, second, it started to drizzle again. But I wasn't to give up just yet, no matter how much my legs liked the idea. So I pushed on and took the County Road No.118 to Jhubei just before Sinfong. After an idyllic 5k I was back on Provincial Hwy No.1.
It felt superb to be back on the track, but it was a short lived one. The seemingly short distance between Jhubei and Yangmei was heavily guarded by headwinds. The ambush started there, and they just kept blowing and blowing and blowing at my face till the sun went down. I was quickly worn out by their persistent blows and the pathetic little hills, which would normally pose no threat to my stamina at all. Even my downhill speed was reduced to less than 10km/h.
It was noon, the sun was high in the sky, and soared likewise was my temper. It was frustrating this ultra slow haul, and on the way up yet another hill I finally had it, mustering the strength I had left, I jumped off the bike before a crew of road construction workers.
While I sat there hiding from the sun and replacing the lots of liquids I'd lost, one of the workers, a middle-aged woman, approached me with bags of rice in her hands. Later she also brought me several bottles of water enough to fill the Shihmen Reservoir. So there I was having lunch by the side of the road with a bunch of dirty workers, but I couldn't be prouder to be side by side with my benefactor. When I was done, I was ready to confront the wind.
Reality showed that the wind was commited to take up the challenge, it was a test of wills. Slowly yet steadily I made my way towards Jhongli and then Taoyuan. I was thinking about ringing Benita, but later figured what good would it does anyway, she was in Guanyin, some 20 to 30k to the west, while it was already 1700 and my destination was still some 3 hours to the east. So I pushed on. By the time I reached Jhonghe, where my sister and brother-in-law lived, I had not a trickle of strength left in my body and I can only cruise on my smallest gear (the smallest ring in the front and the biggest ring in the rear). I was beat after 11 hours on the road.
***
八月八號.
當我醒來時窗外的風正大肆的吹奏著帝國進行曲，不用想也知道外面的花草樹木都屈服在它的淫威之下。我還沒決定到底要怎樣，是要坐車，還是要騎？但我其實已有坐車的打算了，所以我慢慢的整理裝備，但是當我終於整裝待發走出教堂時外面的天氣卻是萬里無雲。根據教堂御用司機之言，走濱海15號快速公路會比走台一線快到台北。雖然這跟我在地圖上計算的結果不同，但我還是決定相信當地人的話。
但是差不多40分鐘之後我對 "當地人之言" 的信心完全粉碎，因為我才剛要接近南寮！直到這時我才完全了解到為什麼御用司機會說走濱海公路比較快：因為它閃過了很多大大小小的鄉鎮和都市，所以縱使它比較長，往來的車輛卻會比較早到目的地。但問題是我騎的是自行車，這對我一點好處也沒有，只會讓我花更多時間走多餘的路。
就當我在路旁和大卡車司機討論路線時，其中一位自願讓我人和車撘他便車去桃園。只要兩個小時就到了，他說。這當時對我來說是個妙到不行的主意，因為幾乎整個早上已經被我在這裡瞎逛逛到沒了，而且現在天上又開始飄下雨來。但我還是不能接受他的好意，我要先試過在說，反正路上車這麼多，真的不行時再撘便車就好了，我不能連試都沒試就給他放棄了，我不是吃飽太閒來放棄的。所以我繼續回到車上，於經過南寮之後我右轉走縣道118號接竹北。之後在騎了5公里令人心曠神怡的小路我終於再次接上台一線。這是令人振奮的一刻！但那高昂的士氣很快的就將消失殆盡...
在竹北跟楊梅這短短一段等著我的竟然是永無止盡的逆風。那些小山丘也因逆風的關係而壯大聲勢，變的有如喜馬拉雅山似的，連下坡時我的速度竟然也超不出每小時10公里。不久(但感覺起來像是過了一輩子)，我也因此而疲憊不堪。當我在那裡緩慢地拖著我笨重的車前進時正好日正當中、艷陽高照，相對的，我的脾氣也節節提升。
就在我緩緩的攻上那一個接一個的山坡時我終於受夠了，我聚集所有剩下的力量跳下車來。而不偏不倚地，就在我停下來地方的旁邊坐了一群正在休息的修路工人。其中一個中年婦人看我坐在那裡喝水吃餅乾的樣子就爬起來，朝我走了過來。她的手中握著好幾包的白飯和一包鹹菜。之後她又帶了多到可以讓石門水庫潰堤的礦泉水來給我。所以我中午就在這一群全身是土的工人旁補充精力。雖然是坐在塵土飛楊的路旁吃那不起眼的飯，但我卻因為可以坐在那婦人旁而格外感覺驕傲。
當我再次爬起來時，我已經準備好要來跟風作面對面的對抗了。
而事實也證明了那風也是有備而來，這是一場意志力的對決，我唯一的出路就是咬牙騎到台北，因為它是不會主動退出這場競賽的。緩慢的，我一步一步地騎過中壢，接著桃園。當我下午5點在桃園時本來是想打給貝拉，但後來想說觀音離桃園還有一段距離，再者我現在離今天的終點尚有三小時的車程(就平常的速度而言是不用三小時的，但現在我已經很疲憊了，兩天下來的平均時速差不多12.2公里，所以三小時是合理的估算。兩年沒騎車，體力的差別很明顯)，所以我略俟休息後就繼續趕路。
因為天色已黑，再加上在忽然所有的房屋、商店都不見了，剩下的只有黑漆漆的山壁及昏暗的道路，所以在迴龍好幾公里的下坡時我不安的想著說如果走錯路要調回頭的話我就真的要騎到12點才會到。好險事後證明這是庸人自擾。當我騎到中和時我體內已經沒有任何力量，我只是撐著用最輕檔(齒盤前面放最小，後面放最大)一路雙腳慢慢地旋轉(spin) 到我姐和姐夫住的地方。在經過了今天的11小時之後我已經精疲力竭。
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