Taipei was not at all what I expected but in a good way. From walking the market streets, to climbing and descending the surrounding mountain ranges, we had a rad time in Taiwan. Check out this video Adventure Refugee made for Mission Workshop during our stay. Vimeo is blocked here in China so I haven’t seen the final edit but the rough cut looked pretty damn good.
Killing two birds with one stone, we got in a little bit of riding today as, we knocked out some filming for the forthcoming Mission Workshop Acre line. We already had video and photos from urban riding and I had a hankering for some elevation. The hardest part about traveling is falling out of your riding routine. It had been a few days since I had even ridden my bike and I wanted to keep my legs loose and my fitness up, so we found a short and sweet climb to ride.
I threw my Mamiya 7ii in my musette and shot some, then at the halfway point, I switched to the 5D and the 40mm pancake, which these photos were taken with. Climbing in the horrible air quality and intense humidity was no easy feat. My lungs feel sore and my sinuses are in pain but it felt great to get the blood moving…
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
Ok, I know I’m going against the category of A Day in 10 Photos but I couldn’t narrow it down to less than 20. Plus, the galleries look nice with two rows of photos.
We were all pretty tired come Wednesday and the last place I wanted to go was a tradeshow but the allure of the Taipei cycle show was enticing. A quick walk of the aisles and I had seen everything worth seeing. The juxtaposition of an international company’s booth like Mavic right next to a Taiwanese bootleg version was quite comical. Most of the products I had seen at Interbike and the show was smaller than NAHBS this year. We were done seeing everything in under two hours.
From there, we made it out for some food before heading to the Mission Workshop and Voyager party at Werd Magazine where some of the many locals rolled through and had a few drinks. What happened afterwards is the reason why I didn’t make a post yesterday. We were all up too late, partying too hard and feeling like crap the next day. At least I’m over my jetlag and reenergized now, ready for a busy day ahead…
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
Once you’ve settled into a new town, it’s always nice to go for a quick spin to loosen the legs up. Sometimes a short ride along the river, turns into exploring roads that shoot off into the mountain’s foothills. Taipei has some incredible riding in these neighboring mountains, just 8 miles from the central banking district.
My hope is that we get to spend an afternoon scaling some switchbacks but even tonight’s little jaunt was exactly what we needed. Well, minus the Chinese Tree Viper that I almost ran over. Yikes!
Ok, I know I’m going against the category of A Day in 10 Photos but I couldn’t narrow it down to less than 20. Plus, the galleries look nice with two rows of photos.
Today was awesome. All we had on our agenda was to visit a camera store to pick up some batteries and storage cards. For a majority of the day, we ended up walking around the various discricts in town, stopping when something caught our eye and dipping into some of the insane storefronts that line the streets of Taipei. Immediately, I was drawn to the camera stores, where I attempted to haggle an owner out of a lens until I began to asses the financial implications of said purchase. Maybe another day.
While a majority of the stores are filled with useless garbage, there’s a nice collage-like effect they have on the city. Flashing lights, bootleg merchandise, food carts, people in shopping frenzies and crowded sidewalks are just some of the sights you’ll see on foot in Taipei.
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.
Since the primary goal for me on this trip is to pull together some photos from my film cameras, I dumbed down my 5D setup with ease in mind. The day before I left, I picked up the Canon f2.8 40mm pancake lens and took off the battery grip. It’s amazing how much of a difference in bulkiness and weight it makes. I’m more likely to stuff it into a musette or a bag and focus on the film shots.
For the past 24 hours, I’ve been in airplanes and airports, making my way to Taiwan. The guys from Mission Workshop arrived tonight and we took a stroll around our neighborhood in search of a bite to eat. After a day of traveling, the last thing I feel like doing is narrating any kind of story, so enjoy nine more photos in the gallery. Don’t worry, there’s more to come from Taipei this week!
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