no riding today, raining, raining, raining + wind

today is 11.09.11, going back to the earlier part of the trip is not easy. we've done so much, who can remember everything. so i'll just cover some of the highlights.

tues, 11.02.11 we left the novotel on our bus heading for taichung, where the giant factory is located. along the way we stopped at the original bubble tea company. bubble tea is cold flavored tea made with those little tapioca balls that squiggle around in your mouth. i first had it san francisco a few years ago and loved it.  there are some places in la that make it, mostly around korea town and downtown. the drinks are great, flavored with mango or other fruit. try it, you'll like it.

after making our own bubble tea we got back on the bus and headed for giant. we had an hour long interview with king liu, the 77 year old founder, chairman and ceo. you can read my article about him here  http://www.lasplash.com/publish/International_151/king-to-rule-over-cycling-paradise-in-taiwan.php

touring the factory was really interesting as we got to see how they make the cheapest to most expensive bikes. we had a no holds bar view of the actually manufacturing, up-close and personal with many of the workers. they were mostly young and waved and smiled back at us. couldn't expect much more when they were working huge press or extremely hot welding eqpt.

giant is the world leader in carbon fiber technology and there were frames with names you would be surprised to discover are produced by giant. i saw cf frames with an italian brand name being fitted with di2 all lined up for completion to go to bike shops in the us, where they will sell for $8,000 or more! that was enlightening, there is nothing italian about them, except the name. the entire bike is built and assembled in Taiwan.

i road-tested the same frame with the giant name on it a couple of days later and was mightily impressed, especially at a cost of many, many thousands of dollars less. if i didn't already have my fantastic davidson i would buy one of these bikes in a bike messenger minute. they are even cheaper here because of conversion you can save around 25%.

after leaving giant we boarded our bus for a long twisty mountain road ride up to cinjing, where we stayed at a rustic resort. but first we stopped at a nite market. here's a taste! more tomorrow.