Monday, December 29, 2008

Bicycle relay

Kayla will be arriving in taitung tonight. way to go kayla! i will meet her there and finish the last 180kms back to kaohsiung.

unfortunate trip interuption

Hello all, some unfortunate news. i was unable to continue my ride down the east coast back to kaohsiung. I had headed out from taipei on the 26th and spent the first day climbing a mountain that separates the east and west coast. made it to the top and somehow ended up riding back down the same side of the mountain. this mistake would have cost me at least one extra day if not 2 and my money was not enough to be able to keep riding for one or two extra days. In hindsight poor planning on my part cost me some time and i did spend too much time in taipei over the holidays.
I apologize to everyone who supported this ride and will be returning the money to those who donated. all is i can say is my intentions were full hearted and they still are. wombbloc still needs help and is still doing many good things that we all can benefit from.
The good news is Kayla is still riding. she was to meet me in Taipei and ride back with me. she arrived a day later and is riding back down to kaohsiung. so the trip will be completed and i will continue to post her story on the blog.
thanks to all who are with us as people who want to to make kaohsiung a more culturally rich place to live.
love, john


因為我個人不甚嚴謹的計畫疏失,這次的環島計畫我將無法以個人之力獨自完成。

本人原定在12月26號從台北出發,預計越過北部一座縱貫於台灣東西岸之間的山脈,繼而由台灣東岸的路線騎回高雄。不料我在下山的路程中,陰錯陽差地騎回來時路,嚴重的延誤了原先預定之行程。在這延誤之下,我沒有足夠剩餘的旅費來準時完成剩下的路程。因次,我決定中止我個人本次的環島計畫。在此向所有關心以及支持這個計畫的朋友,至上我個人最誠摯的歉意!

在此,我將陸續退回所有在此環島計畫中募得的款項。(募款機制也將立即關閉,再次致上最高歉意!)

另外,原定將與我一起從台北、經由東岸回到高雄的友人Kayla,目前正從台北向東南下當中。我將會持續地於此報告她的行程與經過。

在此,再次的感謝所有關心這份計劃的朋友們!

子宮藝文也將會持續的努力,為高雄的藝文環境,帶來更多的貢獻。

John O'Meara.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

excuse for not leaving on the 25th ha!

some you that heard me say i was going to leave on the 25th and then the day of decided to wait a day. Due to poor planning on my part y sleeping bag and tent which i had left at a friends, so as not to have to carry around with me during my stay in taipei, was unavailable the morning i was to leave. granted i should have picked it up the day before but i didn't so i had to wait an extra day. 5 days turns into 4. (the amount of time i would have had and will have to get to kaohsiung)

back on the road tomorrow

hello all, finally i will be heading out again tomorrow morning for the last leg of my trip. 600 klms to go down the east coast and up the west to kaohsiung. fortunately the mountains that run up the middle for pretty much the entire length of the island prevent me from hanging a right a little ways after taitung right over to kaohsiung :) i must go all the way down south and back up the west coast to kaohsiung. so be it. the weather forecast is a little grim. rain and cooler tempreatures for the next week. it wiil be quite windy. the east coast being exposed to the the ocean is always quite windy. especially in winter. anyways that is my bleak but dtermined report. fill you in on the first day tomorrow. :)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Pics on www.lofi.url.com.tw/womb

Some pictures on the wombbloc site. many more to come. www.lofi.url.com.tw/womb

Monday, December 22, 2008

lay over in taipei

hello everyone, still in taipei. i hop noone begrudges me a couple days rest inbetween. :) will be heading back out soon. having a bit of a problem figuring out the camera a borrowed for the trip. that is how to transfer the pictures to the stick and then to the computer but i will get it figured out soon. anyway i am still riding a couple hours each day so as not to loose my edge. another 600 or so klms to go. looking forward to the east coast. my favorite part of the island. many aboriginal villages and have some good friends live along the west coast. i will take lost of pictures.

Friday, December 19, 2008

another donation

thanks to sister cathy for her generous donation :)

end of day 4 ai yoo :0

made it throught the 4th day. how the terrain changes when you get north of taichung. mountains and tunnels as far as the eye can see. i am really glad i had 3 days to warm up for this leg of the journey. it definately was brutal. i am in shijuan now. a town in taipei county. i alomst as far north as i will go but only 2/3 of the way through my trip as i still have to head north around the top and back down the east side of the island and back up the west coast to kaohsiung. i am getting the hang of this finding my rythym thing. really makes such a big difference. getting to know the bike as well. the gears. all 29 of them and how they can make taking a hill so much easier once you get to know them. i have a some pictures that will be posted soon. i really do suck at stopping to take pictures. hard to bring myself out of the moments so i am able to capture them. i will try to take more :) looking forward to the east coast. ocean side ride. :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

another donation/day 4

thanks to Egan Michael for his donation. morning of day 4. decided to make a late start today. wait for the sun to warm things up a little. will ride to hsinchu today and maybe taipei city. depending on how i feel after the first leg. :) later

end of day 3

hello all, arrived in taitung at around 3pm. made good time today. pretty uneventful day. beautiful weather . really tired. :) i decided that i will post all the pics when i arrive in taipei. i will spend some time there and have more time to update this blog in full. take care everyone

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Morning of day 3

morning of day 3. had a great sleep. thank somebody ha i feel renewed. the last couple days have been a struggle; with hardly any sleep and feeling the reality of this ride but i think i have finally emersed myself into it. today i will attempt another 100ks. hit the giant store last night and had my bike tuned up. repacked my gear( it was a mess). sorry i haven't posted any pictures yet. i have a few. just the required stop over verifacation. today i will attempt to have a look around as i ride and snap a few more. I am chaiyi by the way. a small city. I will check in at the end of the day. :)

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Thanks to Kevin

Thanks to Kevib O'Niel for his contribition. yipee ai yea :)

First day

hello all, I have begun! well not the start i was hoping for but i start none the less. I have arrived in Tainan about 30 klms short of where i had hoped to have made my first stop. I began tuesday afternoon at 12 after sleeping a total of about 3 hours. I guess the excitement of leaving the next day kept me up most of the night going over my trip and plans. My friends Magnus and Linzhi have put me up for the night. nice to be around friends after a not so impressive start.
Tomorrow is a new day and i will begin my day as early as possible so as to get as much daylight riding time. I hope to make it to Taichung be the end of the day. I will make it to taichung by the end of the day :)

Friday, December 5, 2008

some of you may be wondering about check points to prove that i actually cycled the entire trip and didn't just head to the beach and show up 2 weeks later with water and mud splashed on my face yelling "I made it" well i will be taking a video cam and still cam to monitor the trip as well as collecting receipts at every stop. each place that i stay i will take a photo at the city entrance sign along with a copy of the daily newspaper. all the evidence of my trip will be posted on the blog for all to see. any other concerns or suggestion that any of you may have, please feel free to voice them here. 

Thursday, December 4, 2008

GOOD NEWS!  Giant bicycle has a greed to sponser us for the cost of renting the bicycles and some bicycle clothing. Thanks Giant for your support :)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanks to Sister act Catering for their pledge. yahooo!  
some of you maybe wondering if you should give in the form of a pledge or a donation. sorry for the confusion. I thought it would be easier and less confusing if those of you who wanted to pledge could decide on your pledge amount and do the math yourself and then just donate that amount. you can do it prior to the ride or wait until the ride is completed.