Biking in Taiwan

Just as we had decided to go to the gym, we realized that it was a great day and that it really should be spent on the bikes instead of in a stuffy gym, so we decided to go out to Danshui for a late lunch/ early dinner at our new Danshui favorite, the Waterfront, on the Danshui water front. The weather was perfect for it, and I even remembered to put on the heart rate monitor so I could see how bent out of shape I was after the ride.

Going out there was a breeze. Actually, it was more than a breeze, but it came in over the tail, so it made for a smooth, fast ride. Great, since there are so few people in the river park on the week days. I was able to just push on at a pace that was pretty good for me at this stage. I noticed that the balls of my feet went numb some times. I'm not sure if that means that I push down on the pedals more than I pull up, but it probably does, because when I think about it and try to even it out so I work with both legs at an even load, or as even as I can get it, that numbness disappears.

It's also a great feeling to just feel the rubber on the hoods against the skin, and the FSA cork-infused handle bar tape that I use also has a nice texture to it. I just don't like to wear bike gloves, I love that feeling of the handle bar against my hands, the flat top, the handlebar tape, the hoods, switching gears, all that. The ride back was a different thing. Thirty km against a fairly strong and gusty head wind slows you down and since we tried to push it a bit and get the training we had been aiming for if we had gone to the gym, I thought I worked quite hard, and toward the end, I was pooped. But that's just as it should be if I'm to get in shape again after over a year without almost any biking and virtually no visits to the gym.