taiwan cup press conference to race headquaters

friday, 11.04.11 we bussed to the banqiao train station for the taiwan cup press conference. all the major players were introduced including sponsors, government and ttb officials. all of the international teams were brought on stage and the riders and managers introduced. there were media from all over the world.

that's me with king lui, chairman and ceo of giant bicycles and janice lai, president of the taiwan tourist board, our sponsor. both exceptionally nice people. i asked liu if he wants to ride down the california coast with me.

after watching the vips and teams board a special train for hualien race headquaters, i found a rotisserie chicken place and we all took out bags of chicken for lunch on the train. problem - they forgot to give us plates. ever eat a hot, juicy chicken out of a bag on your lap on a moving train? it's chicken fat up to your elbows. yes, they forgot napkins, too!

3 hours later we arrived in hulien, stopped at giant bike store for a minute, then checked into the race headquarters, park view hotel. nice room with view of pool, mtns, golf course and ocean. went into town for dinner at old germany! yes, a german expat married to taiwanese woman run a german restaurant. lilly picked the place for us. i had roast beef with sauerkraut, protein needed for tomorrow's big ride.

after dinner we walked around the nite market and i bought a fanny pack and saw some even more interesting food than we had for dinner. back to hotel, up very early for 6 am start of Taiwan Cup Self Challenge