Twenty-eight-year-old Taiwanese Wu Shih-chang (吳時暢), who embarked on an around-the-world bicycle tour as a way to celebrate his 30th birthday, has recently reached Vancouver, Canada after starting his tour in Alaska on June 1.
A tanned Wu on Tuesday had his first good meal in 70 days at a Japanese restaurant at the invitation of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the city.
Wu says the most frightening experience on his ride from Alaska to Vancouver was the eight bears he encountered on his way through the Yukon, which straddles the Arctic Circle, and British Columbia. Although the bears didn’t seem hostile and didn’t follow him, he has taken some friendly advice and bought anti-bear spray.
PHOTO: CHANG LING-CHU, TAIPEI TIMES
Wu said the bears heard him coming from far away, but that he just kept on riding as if nothing had happened.
A story about him in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) led a reporter from the German DPA news agency to find him, and it was only because this German reporter later sent an e-mail to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office that the office was made aware of Wu’s arrival in Vancouver.
Wu said he first thought that riding around the world on a bicycle was a romantic thing to do. After setting out, however, Wu said he came to realize there was nothing romantic about it, as he instead had to deal with loneliness and learn to survive.
Every day, he was busy thinking about how to make his food last until the next food stop 100km down the road and about where he would set up his tent that evening.
Wu said that during the first few days of his ride in Alaska, he miscalculated and didn’t bring enough food. With the next shop more than 100km away, his blood sugar levels dropped and he started feeling dizzy, as all the trees seemed to be white. After that experience, he said he never dared set out again on an empty stomach.
Every day he slept in a tent, and bathed and washed his clothes in rivers. He said the water in Alaska in June was only about 5ºC, so every time he washed his hair, it felt as if it would explode.
Wu said he hoped he would be able to ride around the world in 1,000 days. So far, he has only spent US$8 per day, which is within his budget of US$8,000.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS