環島行程期末考

　　在母親節這一天，A-Team環島活動也進入了第八天，在鋐光公司員工的陪騎下，由台東成功出發，中午在石梯坪用餐後，則由花蓮捷安特的店老闆、車友們和自由車教練狄懋昌接手陪騎至花蓮市，全長117公里；由於環島行程已近尾聲，且後面三天已沒有困難的路段，因此會長將本日行程形容為A-Team環島車隊成員們的期末考。

　　雖然前一天晚上持續下雨，讓大家都很擔心天氣狀況，但沒想到早上太陽卻奇蹟似地從雲層中露臉，大家終於得以見識到花東海岸背山面海的美麗風光；早晨柔和的陽光加上連續幾個起伏與寬闊景觀，還有像是三仙台、石雨傘、八仙洞、北迴歸線標誌，長虹橋和石梯坪等數個著名景點，除了讓大家連連發出驚呼與讚嘆聲，也忍不住拿起相機猛拍照。像是極點董事長莊士文就說，經過這一趟單車環台行程，他才真正見識、體會到台灣之美，也深刻感受到最美、最好的東西往往就在身邊。

　　直到近中午，烏雲再度遮蔽天空，此後一整天都是陰陰的天氣。雖然很幸運的並沒有下雨，但強勁的東北風迎面撲來，仍讓車隊的行進速度大幅減緩。受到逆風嚴重影響的車隊，時速剩下不到20公里，使得抵達中午用餐地點的時間，比預訂計畫晚了一小時，也使得在石梯坪的休息時間被迫減短。

　　下午的路線依舊沿著海邊的台11線前進，風景一樣優美，有平直的濱海公路，有遼闊無邊的大海，有層巒疊翠的高山，也有綠油油的梯田；不過仍是一路上上下下，並不輕鬆，尤其是芭崎遊憩區前後，大約有5公里的連續陡坡，讓每個人坡踩得氣喘噓噓。維樂董事長余彩雲是當日唯一騎車的女性，也在Bob的陪伴下騎上芭琦，實屬相當不容易，也獲得在場所有人的熱烈掌聲歡迎；余董事長抵達當日終點後也說道，她一直以為是登壽卡最累，但其實今天才是最辛苦的一天。

　　當天行程共117公里，加上坡度起伏與強勁逆風，對所有成員來說都是一段十分嚴苛的考驗；鑫元鴻總經理游國棟和政伸總經理洪文樂不約而同的表示，花東海岸的風景真的很棒，不過上坡路段踩得很辛苦，也就讓人無心看風景了。而會長羅祥安則說，接下來三天的行程都較容易，所以這第八天的行程可說是大家的期末考，很高興看到大家全力以赴，通過了今天的考驗，完成環島的目標也就不遠了。

　　由於當天是母親節，因此在午餐時，輪彥公司董事長阮素琴也特別準備了花束，獻給在場的三位女性，分別為維樂董事長余彩雲、天心董事長王琇治和會長羅祥安的太太。而晚餐時，A-Team也特別為在場的四位母親們準備了一個花蓮知名的提拉米蘇，讓大家一起歡渡一個不一樣的母親節。

The Final Task For The A-Team Round-island Trip

The eighth-day of the tour was Mother’s Day, with a planned 117-kilometer ride. The VP Components staff joined the ride from Taitong Cheng Gong. After lunch at a Shihtiping restaurant, the Hualien Giant bike shop owner, cycling friends and the Taiwan national team coach, Tim Ti accompanied A-Team riders at Hualien for part of the journey. It was close to the end of the round-island trip. With no tough roads over the following three days, the A-Team riders described today’s route as the final examination of the tour.

Everyone was worried about today’s weather conditions because it rained continually last night. To the surprise of everyone the sun came out from the clouds in the morning. Everyone had the chance to see the beautiful scenery along the east coastline. Under the gentle morning sunshine every rider expressed their exuberance and appreciation towards the vast and undulating sights such as Sanhsientai, Shihyusan, Basiiandong, the Tropic of Cancer landmark, Changhong Bridge, Shihtiping, and several other famous scenic spots. Lots of photos were taken here. Topeak President Louis Chuang said that he really experienced the beauty of Taiwan through this round-island cycling trip. He also felt that the most beautiful and precious thing was always just beside you.

Nearly noon and the sky was again covered with black clouds that remained all day long. Luckily it did not rain but the strong head winds made the pace of the team riders much slower with a speed of less than 20 kph. They were an hour late behind schedule for lunch. It forced the group to shorten their rest time at Shihtiping.

We left for the final leg along the Provincial Highway No. 11. There was the straight sea-front road, vast ocean, natural green mountains and farms. It was not easy to ride on the up-and-down roads, especially with a 5 km climb over a tough mountain pass. Everyone was breathlessly pedaling the uphill climbs. Velo President Stella Yu was the only female rider today and with Bob’s company she managed to reach up to Baci. When she approached the finish, the other riders were on hand cheering for her. Yu said that she originally thought reaching the highest point, Shouka, was the most tiring ride for her but she was wrong. In fact, it was the toughest ride today.

The 117-kilometer ride in total, together with undulating roads and strong head winds made it the toughest ride for every rider. Formula Engineering General Manager Mark Yu and Transart General Manager Hung both thought that the view along the east coastline was totally breathtaking, but hard pedaling on the uphill climbs made them too tired to really enjoy the sights. Chairman Tony Lo said, “The eighth-day of the tour was everyone’s final test due to the easy ride over the following three days”. He was so happy to see everyone’s efforts on the ride. After accomplishing today’s task they are much nearer to achieving the goal of cycling around Taiwan.

Owing to Mother’s Day, at lunch, Wheel Giant President Grace Ruan presented bundles of beautiful flowers to three females: Velo President Stella Yu, Tien Hsin President Yudi Wang and Chairman Tony Lo’s wife. A famous Hualien Tiramisu cake was also specially served by A-Team at dinner, to celebrate Mother’s Day.