early Taichung Bike Week IndustryRide

Quick and dirty could be the theme of this one. During Taichung Bike Week i joined the industry ride to get in touch with some industry people. More of industry pro´s as i would call them.

During the fall, Taichung Bike Week, an important bicycle OEM show in Taiwan, took place as usual. Our distributor, Sunstar, who handles Pinarello, had a Dogma ready for me, and I used it for my morning rides before the show. This time, I joined a ride with industry people, typically split into two groups: pro and regular cyclists. Naturally, I chose the pro group, meeting them at 5:30 am in front of the hotel. However, I didn’t realize this was the "pro-pro" group.
We started with what seemed like a warm-up ride heading west, a new direction for me since I had always ridden east toward the mountains. I assumed it would be a flatter route, especially since the weather was cloudy in the east. I tried to engage with the group, but soon realized this ride was race-oriented.
The first small climb, still within the city, revealed the intensity of the ride. About 50% of the group struggled here, and we had an early split into two parts. I managed to follow but knew it would be tough to maintain that pace. The first climb had an average gradient of 6%, with some sections hitting 11%. After that, we had a fast descent down to the Wanxing Industrial Area, which gave us a brief flat section.
The second climb came soon after, with an average gradient of 5%. This time, the pace set by our guides—many of whom were US-based cyclists working in the industry—was too fast for me to keep up. By the end, it was an aggressive start to the day, but I enjoyed the group and would definitely join them again next time.

bike: Pinarello Dogma
starring: Gerry Samer