I recently found a Lomo Supersampler in my closet and have no idea how it got there.  Cathy is on a business trip at the moment so I have no way of ascertaining how this plastic camera came into our possession.  The Supersampler is a 35mm camera with four lenses which shoot in a sequence [4 pictures in 2 seconds or .2 seconds].  I’ve seen Lomo cameras on sale at bookstores in Taiwan as well as plenty hanging around the necks of hip college students.  I’ve never been tempted to purchase one because I could never justify spending over $2,000NT on a camera with a build quality only slightly better than a disposable.

Rolling past the Lu-mei Bridge [綠美橋]

I decided to give the camera a try so I loaded it with a roll of Fujicolor Superia 200 I had lying around and took it with me for a quick trip up and down Baguashan [八卦山].

Pineapples

I haven’t been taking a camera with me lately for a couple of reasons – The first is that most of the routes I’ve been riding lately have been close to home on roads I’ve been on dozens of times.  The second is that the cameras I own aren’t really good as ride along cameras:

• Nikon D90 – Takes fantastic photographs.  Was fine when I was sitting upright on my old MTB but awkward to carry in its shoulder bag while riding my road bike and obviously requires two hands to operate.
• Panasonic LX3 – Also takes great pictures and shoots RAW.  However, due to its lens cap requires two hands to operate.  Doesn’t fit well in my jersey pocket and barely fits in my saddlebag.  It’s also technically my sister-in-law’s and she would probably get mad if I broke it.
• Nikon FM2 – Indestructible film camera.  Also requires two hands to operate.

Tea

The Supersampler may be filling a void here – It’s lightweight, fits in my jersey pocket, and can be operated using one hand [if I pull the ripcord to advance the film using my teeth].  What its images lack in quality they make up for in quirkiness.  This is fine for my familiar routes.  I’ll save taking the LX3 with me for climbing adventures deep into the mountains on routes I’ve never been on before.

Heading home on the 14丁

I learned a lot from the first roll.  The ripcord is very finicky and the rewind lever jammed when I tried to remove the film after I got home.  Some shots turned out fine and others not so fine.  Regardless, I’m looking forward to taking it along with me next time.

Looking Down

I had a few unused vacation days left so I enjoyed a rare midweek ride last week.  I originally planned a shorter route closer to home but the all-you-can-eat kimchee hot pot had worked its way through my digestive system much better than I had anticipated.  It was a nice, clear day and I rode along Provincial HWY 14 at a leisurely pace toward Local HWY 136 which bridges Nantou’s Guoxing [國姓] with Taichung’s Taiping [太平].

On the Guoxing-side

I crawled up the 136 at a snail’s pace and stopped a couple of times for water breaks and to stretch my legs out.  The weather was scheduled to be scorching hot and I had no intention of passing out from exhaustion or dehydration on the flats on the way back to Nantou.

The Lookout

There’s a lookout spot on the Taiping-side which serves as a resting area for cyclists and motorists.  I didn’t spend long there as the only other people there on Wednesday morning was a couple who arrived in a van.  Also, the truck selling cold drinks wasn’t around.

I made my way down the 136 at a nice clip and stopped in Wufeng [霧峰] for lunch and coffee.  Despite the heat I felt pretty energized when I got back to Nantou, so I decided to take a quick ride up Baguashan [八卦山].  I worked my way up Local HWY 148 which connects Caotun [草屯] with Yuanlin [員林].  The 148 is a lovely route and a favorite among cyclists in Nantou.  It has easy grades and is mostly shaded [if traveling on it in the morning].

Cool place to rest in the summer-heat

So long as I refilled my water often and kept a slow pace I figured I had enough energy to ride the ridge all the way to Songboling [松柏嶺]. Unfortunately, I ran out of sunscreen during the climb up the 148 and didn’t think any of the mom and pop stores on the ridge would stock any sweat-proof SPF50.  Fearing being burnt to a crisp, I headed down Fengshan Road [鳳山路] into Caotun.

Fengshan Road – Looking towards Nantou City

Fengshan Road [投80] is steep, narrow, and has plenty of sharp corners – A lot of my descent was spent squeezing the brakes.  Twice I hopped off the bike to enjoy the unobstructed view the road offers of Caotun, Jhongsing Village, and Nantou City.  The only time I really got any speed was on the second half right before a truck pulled out in front of me.  After that I had to keep my hands on the brakes again to avoid kissing his rear bumper.

Going Down on the 投80

The ride was a great way to spend a hot and sunny weekday.  Total distance was 88km and a total vertical climb of 1150 m.  An interactive map of the ride can be found at Bikemap.net.

Being a little tired of going up Bagua Mountain I thought I would go around it.  Last Sunday’s route followed Provincial HWY 14 to Changhua City followed by Provincial HWY 1 to Yuanlin.  After that I rode along County Road 141 to Ershui and 152 to Mingjian before taking Provincial HWY 3 back home.  With the exception of a short climb on the 152, the route is almost completely flat.  A map of the route is available on Bikemap.net.  Here’s a small collection of photographs from the ride:

Changhua City’s Nanyao Temple [南瑤宮]

Yuanlin Welcomes You!

The Lion Dance

I wasn’t the only one spinning in Ershui

Ershui Train Station

Baguashan

The Jiji Tourist Railway

This gentleman was working at Yuancyuan Station, he happily agreed to have his photo taken

The Babao Canal irrigates the Changhua Plain with water from the Zhuoshui River

The only shaded road on the route – the 152 to Mingjian

Cathy approves the chocolate/milk combo flavor

Above: there’s a small pen full of baby calves near the entrance, this was the only one not sleeping through the heat.   Below: an adult cow takes a break from eating.

Directions: If coming from Changhua, travel along 74 jia [74甲] and turn left at Line 139 [139線].  You’ll see a sign pointing up to Yinghangshan.  Here’s its location on Google Maps.

Here’s a map of the area.  It’s easily accessible from Changhua City or Nantou City via County Road 139:

View Larger Map