Taichung Taiwan - Bicycle Factories

Miss Megi rerouted our group to the middle of the island.
Throughout our travel, I had been pursuing cycling industry connections for help to extend the trip, to visit bicycle frame and accessory factories after our set itinerary. Unfortunately we could not find any seats on China Airlines for us to return any other day than originally planned. Just when a few of us were giving up hope to see where our lovely bikes are built, the "mandatory Typhoon Megi reroute" brought us to the west side of the island, very near the factory laden, industrial city of Taichung! Heading out of Taipei our guide wanted our wish of factory visits to come true, so of course, started making phone calls. Quickly he set up visits via Giant, and then SASO contacts, (thanks to my friend and colleague Kevin Wren of The Bicycle Cooperative).  Since we had only a couple hours, we were very lucky to walk through two very different factories. Nothing like instant wish granting! Again, John our guide and the Tourism Bureau, continued to feed our growing VIP persona's. 

Shortly after the phone calls, and barely off  the direct route to Sun Moon Lake, we were at the Giant factory. Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer, making the majority of  their bikes on mainland China. However, they produce high-end bikes in their headquarters of Taiwan. Further, multiple brands that many of us own and ride, use Giant for their manufacturing as well. There is nothing like seeing an operation of assembly lines!  It's an infrastructure made up of a labyrinth of conveyor belts, grey-green colors mixed with steel and cement, with sky lights providing natural lighting to balance the fluorescents. The monochrome and dated feel were accented by bright splashes of yellow painted directions for compartmentalizing, and for safety, on the floors. Having grown up with a family business of a machine shop and manufacturing, it smelled and looked familiar, despite it being an exponentially larger scale of building, and automated machines. I could have spent all day there! 


Employees were in comfortable uniforms; pink for women, blue for men. The showroom and design office headquarters was staged like a typical business: products showcased, pro-team PR back drops for photo-ops, and even a small store (that didn't seem open while we were there). We were assigned a PR tour guide, Zack.  He had a headset so we could hear him in the louder areas, and a well-practiced tour ready for us. Only certain locations were acceptable for us to photograph, understandable in the competitive world of products. 

Areas where we couldn't snap some shots were near the painting and decal area.  There we saw a dry-cleaning style track with every bike frame and brand you can imagine slowly sliding by like your favorite vice - say candy - for us bicycle geeks and gadget collectors. I saw Scott, Trek, and Giant next to each other on the meat hook-style rack sliding by. How sweet I thought, look how they come from the same building, and get along so well before they end up in the marketing dog-eat-dog world or, better yet, side-by-side in a race.


We were taken to a wheel building and frame finishing area. Here ladies and gentlemen quickly drilled water bottle cage fasteners on, or zip-tied wheels onto the frames for packing. We watched employees snap spokes into place and tires and tubes on wheels in a zippy,  enthusiastic - and clearly timed and quota'd - speed. Impressive is just a word, but seeing this, efficiency made you gasp. If you could safely steal their attention you'd get a beautiful smile like most, if not all, Taiwanese we encountered. My mind wandered; "were these folks worked to the bone, unhappy in a sweat shop"?  It didn't appear so. Then again, they were showing us their high-end factory, via a tour guide. 

As we exited, a bell rang. Slowly and methodically, each and every employee put away their tools and migrated outside for break time. Similar to industrial areas here in Silicon Valley, some went to "roach coaches", while brown-baggers gathered their lunch break food items in the picnic areas. Others left on scooters. Seemed fairly normal but hard work, blue collar, but hey, they were building bikes... so we thought it was beyond cool!

SASO Factory - Taichung

Pressing carbon into die for bicycle bottle cages

Our gracious host Tony Wang, explaining details of carbon fibers

The next factory we visited was SASO (of Mekkem Industrial) - who build carbon accessories. Expensive bottle cages, carbon forks, mini-tools, to other products like bags and purses. Here they produce beautiful high-end products. It was a much smaller operation, more like what I was used to as a kid in local industrial parks. SASO operated in two different warehouse / factory buildings, as they had outgrown the single original building. Small groups of women sat at tables carefully stuffing carbon fiber straw-looking pieces into dies shaped for water bottle ribs. Hubs, forks, all being molded to fit in their metal counterparts. Tony Wang and David Chang gave us an intimate tour of their facilities. They were so hospitable; I thought we'd end up at their homes for dinner!

Actual carbon fibers before becoming sheets, then as building material.

Thought I'd model a stunning feather light silver number. I didn't ask how much it sells for.

After touring the newer facility, we were offered espresso in their conference room that seconded as a show room. Enamored with the shiny objects of carbon forks, cages and bike frames lent to a giddy group of cycling geeks and tourism media. Snapping pictures right and left, posing with carbon purses, we could only imagine if this were a store in the U.S., the value of the merchandise we were surrounded by, would be quite high. After some charades and laughs with our language barriers, we were invited to see the old facility. It was much more dark and stereotypical factory building, yet clean like the previous building.  Again, small groups of assemblers mixed with large areas of ovens for the carbon, and huge pieces of equipment we knew next to nothing about.

We all have a new appreciation for what goes into, and who is assembling our  toys. 

Like all our experiences in Taiwan, we wanted more. We wanted to meet more manufacturers, see more cities, and see what the west side of Taiwan had to offer. However our bus was ready to take us to our next hotel, our next adventure, and soon we'd see something we'd seen nowhere else in Taiwan.
Next entry; our road trip from Taipei to Sun-Moon, including lunch between factory visits near a temple, and the bustle of a busy working town.  (I want to thank X-Fusion Shox for making the effort to try and line up a day tour, if I had stayed, but we couldn't get scheduled. I promise to be back and spend some time there!)

First Impressions

What do you get when a total of 5 people, 2 have met before, go into an airport bar?

I already have nick-names started. Seeing as the 2 guys on the trip are both MARKS. Niamh from Canada - a travel specialists if you will - with an adorable Canadian accent mixed with Irish tones and beauty - was in the window seat next to me. Her fear of not being a cyclist at all brings out the "Coach Bevco" in me, and I look forward to seeing her enjoy some of the riding! Instantly we were sharing stories like we were sisters, dropping inappropriate comments, and mutually shocked at the rudeness of our flight attendant. In the 3ft space in which we had to share for 15 hours, it's a good thing we are sisters that get along great! Kate is energetic and beautiful and fit with an "Oh I decided I wanted to do a triathlon, so I did an Ironman" innocently intimidating adventurous attitude. Rooms, or houses or places to call home are scattered about the world, and I want to do more with, and ride her coat tails as she lives life fully! The Marks! Mark Blacknell I'm calling "Wireless Mark", as this DC blogging cyclist lawyer by day seems wicked smart. I repeat questions to him in disbelief, as even though he knows that there really isn't any freeWiFi - I question it constantly - in hopes his answer will change. He has that "I could be an actor" look, calm confidence and sweet traveling companion attitude. Last to join our group at the airport bar was "Cola Mark", or Bike Hugger Mark, or "@originalmarkv" for you Twitter followers. First impression, total bike messenger cliche japan-ation character turned human. Adorable, energetic, constantly wired on Coke, straight Coca Cola- or with Jack to add some spice. Whispy hair jutting out from what looks like a russian military hat with flaps folded up to look like a guinea pigs ears. Dropping gear head specs like "changed by bike to a 34 yada yada with a 22 yida yappa". Yes, brought his own bike, and I get the feeling we all get to learn some bike skills from this agile wired, world traveling character. This, my friends, is going to be a fun trip!

See how this Taiwan Airport picture almost makes you feel like you are on a moving sidewalk going backwards? Well maybe it's just how I feel when I see it, as after being curled up in a middle seat made for 'umpa lumpas' for 15 hours, not hydrating or eating enough, no sleep in last 24hrs, my vanishing point started moving. My first impression of Taiwan was SHINY! How could they keep these floors so reflective?!

WORD OF THE DAY: HOWARD

We were kindly bussed over by our tour guide "Joe" - to the HOTEL HOWARD. My word of the day is HOWARD, as it's my brother's name, and made me feel at home here in my sleep deprived if not what felt like I'd been drugged space I was in. The best part about the Howard... was this morning as I looked out and came back to life, the view of Taipei with all its' densely packed buildings that I could see through... are you ready?... a window that OPENS!

FRUIT OF THE DAY: Apple, Pear, and green looking orange.

Thank goodness for this at the hotel room, or I think I'd be found in a sugarless coma today.

New adventure deserves a new blog! Metamorphosis

You can dig back to the 80's and 90's for my cycling history, and know that it's always been a central part of my life. Commuting to school, work or to chase boys - every pedal stroke meant I was going somewhere. I'm about to embark on another journey with bikes being central.

Being chosen to fill the reputable shoes (or plane and bus seat) of Cyclelicious on a blogging tour of Taiwan during their "Taiwan Cycling Festival" is not only an honor, but a perfect next step as I come out of a full year of immobility.

TWITTER MADE ME DO IT

Deciding to go was easy, the randomness in which the opportunity knocked is full of sweetness and quirky moments that make you ponder "is it coincidence?" or "did I make this happen" kind of moments. The surprise is that suddenly, with one week's notice, I am flying to a part of the World that I now realize I know NOTHING about! What is a familiar addiction to Social Media (especially in this valley of silicon and technology geeks that can't walk down the street without checking our iPhones only to notice Steve Jobs just drove by) it's no surprise this happened. A moment of pause in my life, I look at twitter to see if anybody has anything entertaining or new to share, and there it was... "I can't make the Taiwan Blogger trip, if you have a passport - ping me in the next 30 minutes"-- Cyclelicio.us.

YOUR BIKE IS (STILL) SHOWING

Things were moving for me. This is only a couple weeks after returning from the annual gathering of manufacturers, dealers and a gazillion skinny boys dressed like little jockey's with oversized messenger bags, many with shaved legs, and tons of beautiful shiny bikes and bike parts and wicking clothing, I was in the "bike zone" you could say. It had been 2 years since I attended Interbike. People showing bikes, bikes showing their shiny new hubs and lugs. *sigh* a gadgety dream.

I went to not only support two clients I did collateral and booth graphics for - but to network and let all my "old" cycling colleagues know I was still around, still designing beautiful catalogs (www.beverlygarritydesign.com) for bicycle's and accessories, still around to coach beginners the basics of mountain biking and other cycling skills, still around to share a tequila shooter in the Vegas bars post all the business card swapping. Why was this significant? Well you could say it's been a while since I felt up for this.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS PLEASE

About 2 years ago my mobility had been so impaired that even orthotics and taping from the best physical therapist nurturing my "holy" ankle with a large cyst trying to fill said hole - was not working. All from a decade ago sprain that cause a microfracture in my Talus. So the end of August, 13+ months ago, I went under the knife. I had no idea what "Major Surgery" meant. Heck - ladies at my gym are pacing the lap pool weeks after knee replacement, how bad could stealing a couple bone & cartilage plugs from my knee and stuffing them into the ankle's talus hole be? What... you have to break my leg to get there? 2 titanium screws?! "Whatever" I said, "I can't walk now, so let's do it!"

What does absolutely no weight bearing for 10 weeks mean? Questions like this start haunting you at about 6 months into a recovery. When does one actually walk again? Is that huge black heavy "walking cast" ever going to come off? I lost the crutches, what if cane is becoming part of me? Can I let go of this new crippled identity? One year later, I ditch the monkey on my back, and decide, yes I DECIDE to not be cripple anymore.

WORLD'S BIGGEST SMILE

Wheelchairs are awesome for helping you get water from the sink and get back to the couch. I borrowed a handcycle attachment from my client RioMobility. Once my leg's swelling finally went down from double the size, allowing it to bend I could roam my street 1x a day with the handcycle. While those gadgets were nice to have, they were cumbersome and got me only yards away from the house. That's why accomplishing a 1-2 ride with moments of actually getting out of the saddle, are major wins, and make me smile like a child. Make me yell out with a WOO HOO! Exclaim that my life is so good, and I never take for granted the luxury of self mobility. Of my legs. Of a freedom of riding a bike.

I LOVE MAPS!

I needed to draw a map to try and get the concept of "other side of the world/Asia" meant. Ironically I live in a predominantly Chinese/Japanese/Indian area of California, signs are in Mandarin before English - and frankly just don't have a clue how to even say hello! After doing this sketch I am embarrassed to admit I didn't know that coastline at all. I had know idea how close I'd be to Korea, Hong Kong, heck... Sumatra for that perhaps a cup of coffee! Well "Close" is relative after the 15 hour flight.

OCTOBER 13-25, 2010

Follow along with me as I learn about Taiwan, it's lovely East Coast, and chase the Taiwan Cycling Festival with fellow cycling evangelists and adventure travelers. I'll try to post items of interest - trivia - beauty and fun! Thanks to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau for sponsoring the trip - and for this incredible opportunity. I'm lucky I am a contractor, and lucky I have a husband that who's steady job allows me to be a contractor - and lucky to be at the right place at the right time.