Type of Trail: Downhill course
Length: 3-4 Minutes!
Terrain: Steep, Fast, Rocky, Technical
Location: ChungHua, approximately 45 minutes southeast
of TaiChung
"We can't put John in the back", I
noted abruptly. "He'll be fine, the CO2 will put him
to sleep in no time" came the response from the FFTA
driver. As promised, John quickly fell asleep in the back
but it had more to do with a rather large Friday night than
anything to do with automotive emissions
thankfully.
And so the long hot drive from Taipei began,
as we headed toward the Asian Mountain Biking Championships,
held in the mountains near ChungHua (also written ChungHwa)
east of TaiChung. After consulting the race agenda we decided
early in the piece to avoid the cross-country section of the
weekends events and head straight for the speed and carnage
the downhill race surely promised. We weren't disappointed
Racers from Taiwan (or the politically and ridiculously
correct Chinese Taipei), Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong
Kong etc all descended (sorry) on Taiwan for this race and
judging by the beautiful BIG bikes loaded into the shuttle
trucks we were hopeful for a fast, eventful day!
As we hiked up the mountain to secure a decent
vantage point closer to the start of the race, we were surprised
by the difficulty level of the course. Sharp descents, Big
BIG technical drops snaking through tight twisty switchbacks,
all cutting through the forest in a truly wondrous mountain
bikers playground. This in Taiwan?? Hell yeah! We spoke to
the organizers and apparently the course is to be kept open
to the public
FFTA will be back.
First up were the junior racers, but there was
nothing minor league about the skill level. These kids ripped
through the course putting smiles on the faces of the growing
crowds. Aside from MTB enthusiasts, a rather large contingent
of local farmers were gathering to witness the madness and
seemed completely perplexed why on earth these people choose
to descend a mountain without rubber boots and bamboo hats.
Nonetheless, by the end of the juniors they were pretty psyched
for the upcoming men and women's events.
There were some lovely bikes on display throughout
the day but it was difficult keeping track of each of the
riders, as they pumped past, weaving through the trees with
ease and finesse. It was a surprisingly high level race, putting
the macho FFTA flame out pronto. At the end of that day Taiwan
was triumphant in the women's race!
Post race we managed to sneak back down the
course sussing it out for a future FFTA trip. As suspected
the course is super gnarly and in sections is not for the
faint of heart. There are plentiful and severe drops and tight
turns, with very little padding around the course. FFTA advises
riders to proceed with extreme caution on this course. It
will be interesting to see if the organizers maintain the
safety element, and here is hoping they do, as this little
gem in ChungHua could provide solace to those riders in Taiwan
seeking some downhill madness once in a while.
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