King and I in Taiwan

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p> Greetings to all from Taiwan!

I’m here to participate in the Taiwan Cycling Festival 2010, sponsored by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. It’s well-known that Taiwan produces a huge number of bicycles, not just for Taiwan brands such as Giant, but in fact the island nation is home to the factories of many if not most of the quality big brands of Europe and North America. However, Taiwan has not been high on the list of tourist destinations for cyclists, and the government is determined to change that. Over the last few years Taiwan has been creating infrastructure to make cycling safer and more accessible. The tourism bureau brought me and four others from North America to participate in the festival.

This year the Cycling Festival includes the established Taitung Triathlon (ironman, half-ironman, and sprint lengths held over 3 consecutive days) as well as the inaugural Taiwan Cup road race which will draw pro teams from Asia as well as the Pro Tour team Rabobank. The opening ceremony began in Taitung, with a presentation from the Taitung magistrate, the Taiwan minister of trasportation, and the director general of the tourism bureau. Also present was King Liu, the 79yr-old founder of Giant Bicycles. the king and i.jpg

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