A group of 10 visually impaired cyclists, each accompanied by a sighted coach, began an 11-day bike trip around the nation early yesterday.
Amid loud cheers from spectators, the cyclists, dubbed the “Knights in the Darkness,” departed from the plaza in front of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, to start the journey around the island on tandem bicycles.
“We would like to encourage everyone, especially those with disabilities, to push their limits and not hold back,” said David Chang (張文彥), a 48-year-old, blind athlete and chairman of Taiwan Ah Gan Spiritual Development Association, which organized the event.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Although it is the seventh time that Chang has either run or ridden around the country, it is the first time for the other athletes, who are challenging themselves to accomplish a “seemingly impossible task,” Chang said.
After two months of training to develop mutual trust with his coach, Jack Lai (賴智傑), 45, said he was very confident of completing the challenge.
“I want to prove that even a visually impaired person can do this,” said Lai, who has participated in many sporting events, including marathons and swimming competitions.
Lai also asked his wife to bring their two-month-old on the journey, saying the trip would be full of memories he could cherish forever.
Meanwhile, Zano Huang, 31, one of the four female participants, expressed her excitement about the trip, saying she was looking forward to trying different local delicacies on her first trip around the island.
“I’m ready and I’m not nervous at all,” she said, adding that she would do her best to endure the physical discomfort of cycling for long periods of time.
A total of 48 staff members will accompany the riders during the journey, including a team that will document the whole experience via social networks and video posts.
Daily updates and scheduled itineraries will be posted online and members of the public are invited to cheer the riders on either online or in person, the organizers said.
The first leg of the journey will take the group to Hsinchu City, after which the riders will head to Greater Taichung today. They are scheduled to return to Taipei on Nov. 29, after completing the 1,050km trip.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS