I’m just going to go ahead and lift the entirety of Krugman’s post, because I want you to read the whole thing. What else should we do in these waning days of socialism, right?
So, we’re already getting the expected punditry: Obama needs to end his leftist policies, which consist of … well, there weren’t any, but he should stop them anyway.
What actually happened, of course, was that Obama failed to do enough to boost the economy, plus totally failing to tap into populist outrage at Wall Street. And now we’re in the trap I worried about from the beginning: by failing to do enough when he had political capital, he lost that capital, and now we’re stuck.
But he did have help in getting it wrong: at every stage there was a faction of Democrats standing in the way of strong action, demanding that Obama do less, avoid spending money, and so on. In so doing, they shot themselves in the face: half of the Blue Dogs lost their seats.
And what are those who are left demanding? Why, that Obama move to the center.
One of my favorite quotes involving travel comes from William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition, describing a character who has just arrived in London, after a transatlantic flight:
“Her mortal soul is leagues behind her, being reeled in on some ghostly umbilical down the vanished wake of the plane that brought her here. Â Souls can’t move that quickly, and are left behind, and must be awaited, upon arrival, like lost luggage.”
For me, this is the perfect way to to describe that empty and displaced feeling I get when I’ve just made a long flight, feeling very much out of my own time and space. Â Usually alone, often at night, and frequently in a city new to me, I just go for a walk. Â There’s never a particular plan to it. Â Just a wander around, trying to absorb the general sense of a place.
So that’s what I did when, having arrived late at night in Taipei and checked into the Howard, I found myself with the energy to move. Â I did this despite the fact that I’d not slept a bit on the plane, and – in a first for me – found I’d have some company on this walk. Â Niamh and Mark, also in Taiwan for the Cycling Festival, found themselves a bit restless, too. Â So off we went. Â And this is what we found:
It would be foolish, indeed, to think you know a city through a single late night walk. Â But it does start to sketch a map of sorts. Â Not just ordinal, but of expectations. Â Some things you get wrong – I’d soon learn that all those wide bike lanes were going to be filled with buzzing scooters in the morning, with barely a bike to be seen. Â But others turn out quite right – I felt incredibly safe, and there was an easiness to the people around me. Â That’s a theme that – while not particularly related to the purpose of my trip – certainly helped me focus on that purpose. Â Taiwan, despite the challenges of language (and weather), turned out to be a rather easy place.
What is rarely easy, in any place 12 time zones away from your own, is getting yourself keyed into the local rhythms. Â So it was with no small amount of effort that I hauled myself out of bed early the next morning for a second look at Taipei, this time in daylight:
Click here for same slideshow, but bigger and with captions.
After a lovely breakfast, it was off for a bit of quick sight-seeing before heading to the airport for a flight to Taitung (TTT).  This included a stop at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (国立ä¸æ£çºªå¿µå ‚):
I suppose that now is as good a time as any to introduce the cast. Â From left to right: Niamh (of Adventures Abroad), John (our guide/magician/miracle worker), Kate (of GlobalSoulAdventures), Mark (of Bikehugger.com), and Beverly (of Beverly Garrity Design). Â You’ll be seeing more of them later. Â For now, this is their best side.
Other reasons to check out the CKS Memorial:
and
and
It’s an interesting memorial, and undoubtedly could have been the kick-off of many an interesting political discussion (I find Taiwan’s political landscape fascinating, despite possessing just a glancing understanding of it), but this was not to be that kind of trip. Â Rather, it would be the kind of trip where we found things like this hilarious:
Yes, that’s a robot construction flag waver, and for the remainder of the trip, it never failed to excite and make us laugh. Â What can I say? Â We’re a simple people.
On the way to the airport, we saw an advertisement for one of the most useful pieces of Taiwan’s new push for improved cycletouring infrastructure – bike cars on trains:
To get to Taitung (TTT), however, we flew on Uni Air. Â We departed from Taipei’s domestic airport, Songshan (TSA). Â For domestic travel, this is far more convenient to downtown Taipei than TPE. Â The flight was short and uneventful, taking us from this:
to this:
Well, except for one thing. Â This fellow sat directly behind us:
I found it hilarious, though my seatmate was less sanguine. Â Alas, we all got along just fine, and now I’m sitting comfortably at home. Â And that fellow probably isn’t. Â And we were off!
Taitung County (the county/state/province surrounding Taitung, the city) was completely different than Taipei. Â Green, spacious, green, gorgeous, and green, we’d clearly arrived in a very different part of Taiwan, despite the sub-60 minute flight. Â From there, we headed north for another bit of tourism – an aboriginal demonstration site that offered traditional rafting. Â A picture of tranquility, I think:
And it looks simple enough:
So off we went, anticipating a bit of lazy time on the water:
Just look that. Â Beautiful, no?
Well. Â Just to the right of this photo? Â Is the rock I decided to land on, and make an ironic colonial claim. Â Joke was on me, though, as the rock tossed me off, camera in pocket, for a swim in the water. Â Which was really quite pleasant, until I’d been treading water for a minute or so and realized that the camera was, in fact, in pocket. Â So I’m a little short of photos for this day, after this. Â We ended up at the Hotel Royal Chihpen, where I obtained a magic bag of rice that made much of what follows possible . . .
Tomorrow: The 2010 Taiwan Cycling Festival kicks off! Â Also: Taitung International Triathlon, with a guest appearance from the Taiwan Air Force.
Has anyone even heard of Stephen Yelverton’s (write-in) candidacy for Virginia’s 8th District before this week? Â I’m just back from my polling station (where I voted for Rep. Jim Moran), and was rather surprised to see three people wearing t-shirts promoting the write-in candidacy of a Stephen Thomas Yelverton. Â Until a few days ago, I’d never seen that name in Arlington, nevermind any campaign coverage. Â No debates, no campaigning – nothing. Â Yet there were three people working the poll, with printed t-shirts, and scads of quality yard signs. Â All for an out-of-nowhere candidate? Â So I had to look a few things up:
His website. Â See it for yourself. Â Convincing? Â Not particularly. Â The URL was registered in March 2010.
Contributions. Â According to Open Secrets, he’s an exclusively Republican giver. Â Mostly the RNC and George W. Bush until the mid 00s (and folks like Lauch Faircloth and Jesse Helms in the 90s).
Finances. Â I’m a bit hesitant to mention this, but 1) he’s running for Congress (apparently) and 2) it’s one of the few relevant results that come up when you search his name, but this guy is still dealing with a personal bankruptcy. Â The proceedings appear to involve substantial amounts, but you have to wonder where he’s getting the money to pay poll workers and print t-shirts/signs. Â His candidate site says that he only accepts contributions from individuals of less than $200 (mere coincidence that that’s the reporting threshold, I’m sure), so we don’t have any fundraising records available.
So I called the contact number on his website, which turns out to connect me to his cellphone. Â Apparently catching him on his way out of the Metro and heading into court. Â He tells me that he’s a genuine candidate and self-funding. Â He also said that he’s been advertising for the past couple of weeks, but has been “laying the groundwork for 6 months.” Â He gave me the short pitch on his positions (reform Congress, transparency, etc.), but I told him that I was mostly interested in verifying whether he was a genuine candidate, and not someone just designed to peel off votes. Â He responded by telling me that yes, he was a real candidate, and that he was running against both the Republican and Democratic candidates. Â He also told me that he’s never been particularly involved in Arlington or Alexandria politics. Â He then said that he had to head into the courthouse, suggested that I call back in the afternoon if I’d like, and we concluded the call.
He was polite enough, and I don’t have any personal reason to doubt the man. Â Yet, in light of the circumstances, I’m still wondering if it’s a bid to peel off enough voters to give Murray (the GOP candidate) a shot. Â Now, I could very well be wrong – the 8th District race isn’t interesting to me, and I’ve not kept my ear to the ground for every detail. Â Jim Moran’s imperfect, but he’s orders of magnitude better than Murray (who thinks a winning strategy in the 8th is going on the G. Gordon Liddy radio show, or accusing his GOP primary opponent of supporting gay marriage (horrors)). As a result, I’m confident Jim Moran is going to beat Murray handily. Â But this whole thing gives me a nagging feeling that maybe someone, somewhere, thinks that – with a write-in candidate who can peel off the votes of those who are tired of Jim Moran, but won’t vote GOP (a group which includes a fair number of Democrats) – Murray just might have a shot. Â And maybe they’re betting on it.
Update: The Sun-Gazette did have a brief note late last week on Yelverton’s self-announced entrance into the race, and I’ve been told that he’s also placed some advertising in the Falls Church News Press. Â It’s also my understanding that he tried – and failed – to secure enough signatures to qualify for the ballot as an independent earlier this year. Â That helps tilt the balance in favor of an actual, if still ill-executed, candidacy.
So, as detailed earlier, I was invited to attend the the 2010 Taiwan Cycling Festival, which officially took place from October 16 to October 24th. Â Taiwan’s government, with support from its cycling industry, has been working hard to promote itself as a bike-friendly tourist destination. Over the course of two weeks, I had a chance to see the results of these efforts first hand, and now that I’m (finally) back, it’s time to tell you about it.
Wait, Taiwan?
Taiwan, for those living in the United States, isn’t a short flight away. Â For me, it was a five hour flight from Washington to Los Angeles, and then another 14 hour flight from LAX to Taipei (TPE). Â From a US-based traveller’s standpoint, there’s a pretty steep initial cost to any trip to Taiwan: aside from the ticket itself, the 14 hours in a plane (minimum) and the resulting jetlag means that the destination has to be worth all that trouble. Â And Taiwan? Â Absolutely was. Â I was blown away by it. Â But speaking of blown away . . .
The Plan Meets Typhoon Megi
The original plan for this trip was constructed, in large part, around the inaugural Taiwan Cup.  The Taiwan Cup was designed to be a professional road race highlighting the and headlining a week of amateur racing and organized rides.  Unfortunately, Typhoon Megi changed these plans, not only forcing the cancellation of the Taiwan Cup, but also resulting in a number of casualties along the eastern coast of Taiwan.
We made an initial effort at sticking to the plan, before the severity of the typhoon was apparent, but ultimately had to retreat back to Taipei and the western side of Taiwan. Â This was the resulting itinerary:
I’ll be posting pieces that roughly follow the chronology of the trip. Â So, to sketch out what lies ahead:
Thurs – Taipei. Â Straight from TPE to the hotel. Â There was, however, time for a walk.
Friday – Taitung/Chihpen Hot Springs. Â Flew from Taipei to Taitung, toured some local markets, and maybe someone fell into the river while rafting . . .
Saturday – Chihshang.  The opening ceremony for the Taiwan Cycling Festival, and our first day of cycling.  It started with a short ride with Dr. Mao Chi-Kuo (毛治國), Taiwan’s Minister of Transportation and Communications. After that, we headed over to Taiwan’s first purpose-built recreational cyclepath in Guanshan, and then rode from there up to our hotel.  Bonus: portaging was involved.  Second bonus: an unexpected jazz concert.
Sunday – Hualian. Â Knocked out a metric century (and then some) in the morning with an out-and-back along Highway 9, turning around at one of the markers for the Tropic of Cancer. Â Finished up the day in Hualian, where we got the first real hints of Typhoon Megi.
Monday – Taroko Gorge. Â Another AM ride, this time along the coastline in Hualian, in driving – but wonderfully warm – rain. Â We then headed back south to finish the day in one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I’ve ever been.
Tuesday – Taroko Gorge. Â With a constant chorus of oh-my-god-look-at-that in my head, the day’s – and trip’s – highlight is climbing and descending through Taroko Gorge. Â Words will not suffice to describe this day.
Wednesday – Taipei. Â Fly back to Taipei, hit some local bike stores, and end up at the one of the team hotels for the Taiwan Cup.
Thursday – Taipei. Â Attend the kickoff press conference for the Taiwan Cup, interview three-time world champ Oscar Friere, and – by the end of the day – find out that the Taiwan Cup is almost certain to be cancelled. Â Instead of heading to Haulian to cover the race, we decide to head south. Â But not before visiting Taipei 101.
Friday – Sun Moon Lake. Â While passing through Taichung, we visit factories for Giant and Mekkem. Â The day ends at Sun Moon Lake, a popular tourist destination (and, it turns out, where most of the pro racers end up).
Saturday – Sun Moon Lake.  Start the day with a ride around Sun Moon Lake with pros like Amets Txurruka.  Enjoy a good chat on the road withVicky Liu (劉麗ç ), president of the Cycling Lifestyle Foundation, about the challenges of cycling advocacy in Taiwan.
Sunday – Taipei. Late start to the day, which is mostly a road trip back to Taipei, where we reconnect with the rain. Â Did I mention the rain? Â End the day with a trip through an amazing night market.
Monday – China Airlines Flight 8 to LAX. Â The longest Monday in my life (35 hours, I think). Â The day’s plan to go for a ride in Danshuei is foiled by more rain, so we end up on a lazy tour of the waterfront and local markets before heading back to TPE for the trip back to LAX. Â I leave behind new friends but take back a strong desire to return and share Taiwan with others.
Sound interesting? Â Then check back daily. Â There will be words, photos, and even the occasional video. Â All of which I hope will show you what a wonderful place Taiwan turned out to be, and why I’ll definitely be heading back with my bike.
Note: I’ve added a Taiwan category (see sidebar), so all of my posts related to Taiwan will be available here.
I’ve ridden in some amazing places – Nova Scotia’s windswept coast, Shenandoah ridge lines, Hawaii’s North Shore, and Utah’s Zion National Park. Â But nothing left me in awe the way Taiwan’s Taroko Gorge did:
I’ve finally returned home, and look forward to sharing more of this soon. Â In the interim, go check out Beverly Garrity’s take on our time there. Â (Reminder: you can click on the photo for a larger version.)
Great video of some real hardman cyclocross action going on in the 50s/60s (narrated by someone who was there – and apparently responsible for the chest-deep stream crossing around 1:30):
I feel like I’ve been on my way home all week. Â Oh, wait, I have been. Â Stuck in Memphis due to the big Midwest/East Coast storm. Â Took a little over 5000 photos in Taiwan, and since my external hard drive died somewhere along the way, they’ve ended up filling my laptop. Â Which is now running only slightly faster than I can walk.
That I’ve been utterly unable to stick to my plan to post daily about Taiwan isn’t just a testament to my ever present ability to overestimate myself, but also to the incredible amount of things we were able to see and do in Taiwan. I’m now in an LAX hotel (this would be hotel #14 in 15 days for me, I believe) and just beginning to sort out a plan for relaying what turned out to be one of the most incredible trips I’ve ever undertaken. From cycling through the natural beauty of Taroko Gorge to seeing the human faces behind the cycling industry, Taiwan blew right past my expectations. Stick around, if you’re interested in hearing more about it.
I’m going to try to share all of my GPS tracks while I’m here, with basic descriptions. Then, as time permits, I’ll head back and expand the descriptions for each, with the idea that they may be useful to someone travelling here in the future.
Today was our first ride: a very easy, flat, but beautiful loop along the Guanshan Round-the-Town Bike Path, then tick-tacking through the rice fields as a shortcut to our accomodations at the Papago Resort Hotel. As a result of an unplanned trip into the water yesterday, I did this ride without a camera, so this short tourism video will have to suffice to give you an idea of the scenery. It’s not long enough to be a destination in and of itself for a touring cyclist, but it’s absolutely worth a stopover or diversion.
