John's future Bed and Breakfast

I was introduced to John and Shelly Lamorie by David LaBolle after we cycled out to their house in LeeGang on Tuesday. John has a cram school in LeeGang but has a house on a good sized plot in the country near-by. David and I helped him set up a horse-shoe pit in preparation for a tour group to come on Thursday.

John has built everything on the property, from a lake with a couple of piers, to a schoolhouse with a couple of bedrooms and a bathroom. They are in the process of building a Gazebo type structure that will have a kitchen for making pizza. Eventually he will have cabins for overnight stays.

David took me out on a convoluted route that I would have no chance of remembering, but he also gave me the route on Google maps and showed me how to make my own. I took the details of where I was going and where my house is and made my own route. Next time I will take it a step farther and print it out. I rode out again on Thursday to help out with the tour, and it took me an hour and a half to go 25K to get there. Don’t ever stop at a Police Station to ask directions. In YenPu I couldn’t find the street where I was supposed to turn so rode around awhile before stopping to ask directions. They sent me in the opposite direction, told me to go 300 meters, turn right; go 600 meters and the elementary school would be on my left where I should turn right again. When I got to the Elementary school, it was on my right and there was no place to turn right. Remembering that I had been on the road before, I went back to the Police Department and turned left (opposite the way they sent me) and rode off in the correct direction. My memory of where to make my next right turn was a bit off, and I made a few early turns, taking the “scenic route” before I finally found my way to where I was going.

I arrived too late for French toast, but before the tour arrived. When they did arrive,
they had a brief orientation
and then broke into groups to see what was going on. The buildings are built with a brick and plaster system made of cement, water and newspaper. It is strong and very very light.

One group went to watch the making of bricks, one went fishing,
one went on raft rides,
and one group learned how to play horse-shoes. I was at the horse-shoe pit. Everyone had a try with four tosses and all realized two things: horse-shoes are heavier than they look, and getting a ringer, or even a point, is harder than it looks. But it seemed that they all had fun.


After they left John made omelets that were just delicious, maybe more so since I had missed the French toast. When lunch was over I headed back with a little help on the initial route back to YenPu. It took me 40 minutes and 15K to get home, amazing what you can do when you know where you are going. I pushed it little, and on Friday my legs suffered for it. No pain no gain some say, preferably I like no pain no pain.

Taipei Bike Show

Taipei hosted the annual bike show last week and this year I attended. Like a kid in a candy store, not so much for the bikes, there are just so many and one can only ride a few. So many choices, so little money.

But the accessories, now, one can never can have enough. Along with the bikes there was everything imaginable one could put on the bike as well: racks, bags, lights, mirrors, better brakes, better cranks, better everything. Twenty or more ways to change every aspect of your bike. Gosh, what to buy?

I went first to the Surly display, being a Surly rider and all, met Tom Krueger, and got to see most of what Surly had to offer. They had the Long Haul Trucker (my ride), Salsa Pistola and La Cruz, Pugsley, Steamroller, Crosscheck, Pacer, and I will have to look at my pictures to see what else, I have slept since then. But no Big Dummy (not me, the bike).











There were a million different kinds of wheels hubs and spokes making at least a trillion different combinations, especially when you add on the different tire choices. I wanted a Son 28 Dynohub, they retail for over US$200, but didn’t find the company there. I did find a Sanyo hub and found that it wholesaled for about US$25, but talked the rep into selling me one for NT$500, the equivalent of about US$15. So as much as I wanted a Son, guess which one I am going to use. It even came with a light so now I can put off buying the other two I wanted.

I did pick up a tail light with wireless control turn signals. I already had a brake light….. I also met the owner of Cool Stop brake pads, Gene Smith, and picked up a set of pads. It turns out we lived in near-by cities in California, both in northern and in southern California. Small world it is. I saw several different double legged kickstands, which would be good while touring with a load but didn’t see Pletscher’s and the others were nothing to get excited about.

But then, as much as I like Surlys, I may be convinced to buy a Fuji, I would first have to make sure they are accessorized…….