NETT Travelogue: Taiwan

Frank and Tina recently took a trip to Taiwan and were gracious enough to provide us with a review of their trip!

Tina and I just returned from a trip to Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore so I wanted to share a few photos with you. This time I borrowed a mountain bike and thus was able to venture a bit further up into the Yangmingshan mountains. I have created the route I took up here it is 8.4M all uphill for a total of 2500 ft and an average grade of roughly 5.5% (very similar to the Kanc) but with some very steep sections that it was nearly impossible to ride.

This was taken about halfway up with Mt Datun (1077m in the background

Folks practicing tai chi at sunrise.

These are the sulfur pits at Mt Cising (seven star mountain) – it is still an active volcano!


As I crested the top I can see the clouds on the other side below me rolling in from the Pacific Ocean.

The view from Mt Datun towards the sulfur pits and with “Bamboo Lake” in the foreground. It used to be a lake long time ago but it is now dried up and very fertile because of the lava soil.

Refueling at the local 7-Eleven.

There are no moose in Taiwan but apparently I need to watch out for low flying owls! Good to know.

We spent 3 days at a resort on Bintan Island in Indonesia. It is located right above the Equator so the temperature was a solid 90F when I went for a run around the resort.

Tina chose to ride the elephant instead of a bike this time!

Last stop was Singapore where I went out for a run in the morning and swung by Raffles Hotel.

JD speaks to WBUR about Haiti

In an effort to remind people that the devasation in Haiti will take years, not days, to rebuild, Jean Dany spoke with WBUR this morning. It's something we all can keep in mind in the months ahead.

NETT ladies take bronze at Hyannis

Fresh off Canada's winning the gold in hockey, a downright giddy Eminem sends her report from Hyannis, where the NETT ladies' relay team took home the bronze, and a host of other NETTers posted some top-notch results.

"Now that the pandemonium at my household has subsided momentarily, I'm ready to write about the OTHER important athletic event today--the NETT women's relay. Our team of me, Chrissy, Mary and Karen ran very strong this year, beating our last year's time by a little over 3 minutes (we finished in 3:16) (official results here). The field was very strong this year though, and that time (good enough for first last year) landed us the bronze medal this year. Everyone ran very well and the weather cooperated beautifully. Have to crack open a few beers and light a cigar now like a true female Canadian hockey player!"

But it wasn't just all about the women down in Hyannis. There were a few of the NETT men out there putting in their best efforts as well. For more on that we go to Frank KJ for a report:

"Yeah - Go Canada!!! What? Oh yes Hyannis. We were there. It was pretty good day for NETT. With Youngstah going easy on us in the 10K, I was fortunate enough to take 1st place in the Masters and 4th overall in 38:45. Paul took 2nd and 6th in 39:19. Martin (1:19), Ali and Dima all had solid 1/2M races. Karyn, thanks again for driving the team van."

For the record, Martin ran a 1:19:33 in the half, good for 5th in his age group and Ali was just 20 seconds back in 1:19:56 good for 4th master. "Dimo" Feinhaus as he's referred to in the results was 1:22.

Congrats to all! Even those with the Maple Leaf on their sweaters. (And in case no one noticed, our poll on Meetup actually predicted Canada's gold medal!)