Where is that second image of yours, the bike path/bridge thingie?
My ride + run last weekend. Back to back. Strava added 300m to my run. The cycling was lame, I know, but I wanted to spin and it takes some work to get to the path before I can get some speed.
Guandu Temple
You’ve done something not many of us can do in this subforum…run.
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Confirmed, I am also unable to run. Send help.
Well, of course, that’s just code for “I hate running”! I can understand since I was a former hater of the sport. I just wanted to do a triathlon by myself and so started heading to the track. Fast forward a few years and I’m not sure I really like the sport even now. But there are aspects of running I like, such as the simplicity of the sport, and the very different sense of satisfaction that comes after completing a run within your goal.
Yeah I know what you mean. I exaggerated a bit, I actually did do quite a bit of running a couple years ago. But, minor knee foot & shin issues started to give me an ominous feeling that I would A) never be a very good runner, and B) probably get a lot of injuries over the years if I stuck with. So I went back to the bike.
And swimming I really can’t do. I can’t even do the breathing part. And I’m scared of water. Fuck swimming!
But what’s interesting to me is that, unlike biking, swimming and running are both “natural” sports that humans have been doing for probably millions of years. Biking is invented and really quite artificial if you think about it.
I love running and if I could physically, mostly mentally, get over my fear of getting injured or further injuring my knees/ankle, I would be out there logging in miles and doing half marathons or marathons.
The simplicity of changing and then strapping on your runners and heading out the door beats putting on my kit for cycling and having to prep the bike is so much more convenient.
Runners.
Disrespecting the wheel.
The end. 
Yeah, but in two hours of running you’re still stuck sucking fumes downtown, whereas two hours of cycling can see you dip your foot in ocean on both east and west coasts, or climb a chunk of mountains…
and having to prep the bike means you’re too Rapha. Maybe you should be a bit less Rapha, and be OK to ride with uneven pressure in your tires. or one less chain lube.
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Made me laugh. I have been a bit “too Rapha” at times.
There are huge advantages to each sport. Ideally, you would do both, especially in Taiwan where the weather isn’t always cooperative. I ran a quick 5k this morning. I was out and back before my daughter even woke for school. And now I feel great as I start my work day.
That was when I was in shape, in my previous life.
Gotta lay off that Rapha sense of mind. Next thing you know I’ll be wearing pink, gray and sporting that Giro Synthe 
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I’d pay good money for a ticket to see this.
The weather has been so good recently. Snuck in a couple of short post-work and pre-work rides in the last few days after several weeks off the bike due to annoying issues with my eye.
Yesterday I rode Xiwan Rd from Xizhi up to Wuzhishan, then over the back descending down Fengguizui and then the quick up-and-over Jiannan Rd to get back to Neihu/Taipei. I absolutely love the Xiwan Rd climb, every time I do it I like it more. Missed my PR by 2 seconds this time so it was a very good workout. Smooth tarmac, no stupid grades, incredible views, and virtually no traffic. In 40 minutes I was passed by maybe 3 scooters and 2 cars. I don’t think you can ask for much more than this in terms of climbs accessible from a major city.
It was my first ride from the new apartment near Daan Station that the wife & I just moved to (used to live near Zhongshan Station), so it was nice to try out the new roads I’ll be using to get in and out of the city to Yangmingshan.
Going from Daan out to Xizhi is tricky, I don’t think there are any really good routes, but there are a handful of not bad ones.
Coming back from the Neihu descents into Daan, it’s really easy to go up over the Dazhi Bridge, swing around the airport on Binjiang St, and then bomb down Fuxing Rd under the brown line. Great tarmac most of the way and not much traffic (aka pollution), so I’d rate this much better than my old commute back to Zhongshan Station.
Another upside to living in Daan is it puts you very close to the start of the Graveyard climb in Liuzhangli. This is a short climb at only 150m over 4km, but it’s enough to get a workout especially if you repeat, and from the top you can drop down to the zoo and do any of the Maokong climbs with little traffic in between. Coming back, you can take the riverside into Gongguan and shoot up to Daan on wide, well-paved Xinsheng Rd. Great 25km for before or after work.
Overall I’d give Daan an 8/10 for cyclists. It can’t touch Tianmu or Neihu for the truly dedicated, but if you’re a working stiff who needs to be in the city, it serves.
I live in Xizhi and I love the Xiwan Road ride. I plan on going up that a few times this spring and summer. It can get a bit busy on the weekends with motorcyclists and cars racing up the road, though. But you can usually avoid that by going early. There’s also a nice outdoor swimming spot at the bottom of Xiwan. Very enjoyable to take a dip after your ride in the summer.
I lived near ZhongXiao/FuXing for five years. There is great access to many good areas around the city, of course, as you’re smack in the middle.
Coming back from Jianan try using the Fuxing Tunnel under the airport… you can hit 60-70 km/h, and then tailgate a truck coming back up the grade, so you’re not in much danger from cars (except those open-mouthed at being passed by a bike).
and that graveyard climb is awesome. i used to ride that every day to work at Academia Sinica, PB just under 9 minutes… best times were on a single speed (42-15, i think it was). But be careful at the blind corners, as the few cars there don’t tend to stay on their side of the road at all. and I don’t need to tell you to beware the packs of sleeping dogs at night.
I do miss the Taipei climbs.
Have not tried the tunnel yet, bit scared of that.
9 minutes is really, really fast. You some kind of tryhard?
When you do exactly the same climb everyday, in all weathers, on the exact same gearing, then you learn to count pedal strokes for each effort section, and make your effort accordingly. “74 pedals on this bit”, and you can count down to the relax point, and can judge your effort to the max. I like hillclimbing, I even managed some hill-climb podium places in Taiwan club racing, but I’m not a pro.
IIRC, my start point was immediately after the last alley branches off to the right at the bottom of the climb, and the last part was as you cross a line in the road at the fork at the top (where i would go left to Sinica).
maybe that’s not the whole graveyard road, just the climb. I’m sure it’s on Strava, but that was after my time…
That sounds like roughly the current Strava segment, yes. With 9 mins you’d be in the top 5 all time:
https://www.strava.com/segments/638886?filter=overall
These things matter.