I presented "Bike fitting and Performance Testing" to the Panther Cycling Club last Thursday. It's really nice to have the opportunity to present my enthusiasm to people. Also, while preparing my slides, I added a section of my bibliography, which allowed me to looked into the past and saw the future.
I had never thought I would embrace cycling as a lifestyle until I got a meniscus rupture at 1998, which limited my physical activities to non-weight bearing exercises. Before that, my favorite pastime was playing PC games. Now when I look back at that period, I really wish I was riding bikes instead of sitting in front of computers all day. But then, if it wasn't my knee injuries, I probably wouldn't have picked up cycling at all. So, I guess I have to be grateful of my knee injuries.
I was luck enough to have a bicycle club in my school during my undergrad. I learned to love cycling as a lifestyle through the influence of the club members, especially in terms of using bicycles as means of traveling. I did a 12-day 750-mile bicycle tour around Taiwan in my second year of undergrad, and it still remains as one of my fondest memory.
As fun as bicycle touring was, something seemed missing when I compared it with playing PC games. Playing PC games gave me a measurable goal and exhilaration when I attained it, especially when I was feeling frustrated with my "primary" duty - schoolwork. I realized I had to get a replacement for this aspect of my life. The solution was given to me during my summer session at Berkeley at 2002. I brought my bike with me to ride with the Berkeley cycling team - as you can see, I already felt the need to be with my bikes wherever I went. Under their encouragement, I joined the first race in my life, and crashed! But I started to love racing and training.
After I went back to Taiwan, I started doing as many races as I can, with some success. Several of my friends and I also started a racing team called "EUAQ", which I am really proud to be one of them.
2003 Race of North Coast
2004 Mt. Ba-Tur Race
2006 Race of North Coast
2006 Tour of Eastern Taiwan
2006 Mt. Ta-Tun race
No comments:
Post a Comment