The Wuling climbing club
Here at Café du Cycliste we have a tradition of riding our highest mountain, the Bonette, every year. More than halfway around the world our retail partners, Ares Studio, have a similar habit. And in terms of pure elevation, they win. Their mountain is higher, and certainly more than high enough for pretty much every cyclist on the planet.
It is, of course, Wuling Pass. It looms near the centre of the island taunting riders each year to take on the 55km challenge.
At Ares a group of friends and customers has formed and each year they come together to conquer Wuling. SZ Chen and Stephen Chen are an extreme example. Last year they rode through torrential rain to reach the summit for the first time. This year they had their first baby daughter in June but despite that life-changing event, they couldn't say no to another day on Wuling's slopes.
At the other end of the scale, Maggie Tai and Hsien-Chin Chiu have done the parenting but not the mountain. With the freedom of a daughter fresh from university and starting her own career, Maggie Tai and Hsien-Chin find themselves with time to cycle together. Both in misty rose Fleurettes, bien sûr. Maggie is new to cycling so Wuling is a baptism of fire.
The benefit of this group is the shared experience. Sure, everyone has different levels but that means advice can be shared by the more experienced climbers before each rider finds their place on the road, which also happens to allow space to enjoy the sunshine and mountain vistas.
And as things get above 2,000m, the riders exit from the trees and enter into what is known locally as the 'road to heaven'. It's the final 10km stretch when legs are already showing signs of cramping from the previous 45km of uphill. The gradient increases and the oxygen thins.
A bit like Ventoux, in the last 5km they have a view of the summit to tease out the final effort. Cloud swirls over the top of the mountain to make things more challenging. Friends, Jasper Huang and Stone Laio encourage each other to the top.
Everybody in the group, without exception, makes it. SZ Chen was solo on the 'road to heaven' but she was not alone. She carried the baby-grow of their new-born daughter to motivate her along the way. The baby-grow is adorned with a print of a Wuling emblem made by Ares Studio and is both testament to the impact of this mountain on the Taiwanese people and a suggestion that they will be cycling it for generations to come.
Photography : Long Chang for Ares Studio, Taiwan.