Average summer meet up time is 6AM. So I am usually up between 5-530AM as meet ups tend not to be further than 40mins away.
Have you considered looking into UV protection arm warmers and lightweight caps to block out the sun?
I used to carry a spray on suntan, but I stopped as my arms and legs would get dirty from the spit up of grime that I did not want to rub that all over my skin.
A few of my cycling buddies do cover up year round, they’re just used to it and can bear the heat in the summer. They use these the Frontier arm/leg covers.
If you burn, arm/leg sleeves could help, but if you’re just concerned about getting dark, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Same with your bib short tan line, it’s a mark of a warrior.
The 15 is no joke, I rode up 95% of the way but the two hills totally owned my soul and I had to walk.
My ride time according to my Bryton was 1hr 6mins. It does pause when I stop though and walk so I’ll have to check the race website for my official time.
You’re a beast for doing the 101 and 15 in one day.
Coming back down I was too close to the slippery bs on the road (should of always rode in the middle) and slipped going slowly, less than 10kph.
Bounced my head off the road and bruised my hip. Pinky finger knuckle hurts too but it’s all functional. My first fall
I just realized this is right near Elephant mountain. How is this road in terms of traffic and gradient? I never knew Elephant mountain could be biked up. I’ve only hiked there. The street view looks inviting.
Started at the Tamsui carrefour and the peeps I rode with took a warmup detour to the start of the 101. Next time I will start my bike gps when I get to balaka road.
Is paying for Strava with it? Does it auto time certain routes you travel on?
A lot of bike computers have this functionality built-in - my Garmin shows favorited segments as soon as you approach one and you can compare against your PB as you go up.
Very hard. It’s one switchback after another. Balaka is a walk in the park by comparison. It’s not very long though (less than 2.5k), but you climb over 200 meters in that distance. The grade is at least 10%, maybe 15%. Like I said earlier in this thread, you will suffer (at least the first couple times), but when you reach the summit, it’s all worth it.