#ridingistheanswer

Translated by Chandler Liu Instagram @chand_evillaughter Reading in original text https://bit.ly/3wL6Oq0

Cycling is a continuous process, but the after-ride memories are discrete fragments. A corner, a climb, an inconspicuous intersection could very well be the remaining highlight. From one ride to another, capturing fragment by fragment, it gradually accumulated to become a complete cycling experience. While watching Fai take apart the materials in his hands, he speaked about why he started to become a reconstruction artist. Perhaps this is the natural outcome of him being a cycling enthusiast.

At the end of spring, we came to Kaohsiung's Gangshan (岡山). Unlike the north, which is still a bit cool, the southern morning was already a bit hot. Fai was waiting for us at home in a light undershirt, he was quite happy having rare visitors after moving from Taipei. He couldn’t wait to take us into his studio, which is actually just a spare room in his house, with a simple table and a few cabinets. After all, the focus is on his skillful hands that can weave a new life out of the disintegrated pieces.

Room40A, Fai’s brand of reconstruction craft. The name came from the place where he met his passion for cycling - Room 40A in the Ximen Shinjuku Plaza (西門新宿大樓). Back then, he used to run his own brand of apparel. As a result, he received a fixed gear single speed bike from a Japanese customer. Even though fixed gear was not popular in 2008, his once halted passion for bikes, due to an injury caused by riding a BMX bike, was quietly reignited. From fixed gear to road bike, bikes have never been absent from his life ever again. Because of bikes, he has made quite some friends, furthermore, it brought him a new life of reconstruction craft.

As time approaching noon, Fai said it’s time for the ride because the southern sun could be very unbearable. So we set out, and he led us to his go-to riding route. After a few intersections, passing through railways and underground roads, we were out of the city shortly after. Soon we reached Agongdian Reservoir (阿公店水庫). Fai’s favorite route is a lap around the reservoir. For one, there are not many cars passing. Also, the ups and downs makes it really interesting to ride on. The length of one lap is just about right, so as long as there is an hour or two to spare, you can get some air or stretch out your body.

Today Fai rode his fixed gear bike with us because his road bike was still pending to be fixed. Unlike the road bike with multiple gear shifting, he can only pedal harder when going uphill. On the downhill, he showed off his restless footwork by controlling the speed with his RPMs. The occasional skidding is a style exclusive for fixed gear riders. Nevertheless, we watched him sweat more than usual, even when he took another detour to show us more scenery. On a steeper hill, he accidentally came to a halt and had to walk the bike. But whether it's a smooth downhill or a hard uphill, it's a part of every cyclist's experience.

Even though it was four years ago moving to Gangshan, Fai still misses the Taipei he used to live in. Whether it's cycling up the hills or commuting, the distance is much shorter and more convenient than in the south. However, the relatively slow pace and open roads in the south make people feel more relaxed and comfortable. Fai said that cycling is always the best way to explore a region. “Although it's been four years, I still get lost, but that's why I can still find something refreshing.”

Back to the reconstruction craft work, Fai said his initial motivation was that he likes to work with his own hands and he wanted to have his own unique bicycle cap. So he disassembled an existing cap for reference. During the process, he realized rather than looking for a suitable fabric on the market, he might as well use the already high functioning outdoor sports fabric. Not only the fabric itself that is useful, but the details of the design of different brands could be the highlights to embellish the finished product.

With a background of apparel design, he is well versed in fabric matching, color selection, and detailed arrangement. The reconstructed products had a very high integrity and uniqueness. Although he has only been working for less than three years, his work already has a lot of supporters, some famous brands even have reached out for collaboration. Regardless, he laughed and said that often deconstructing is even more time consuming than reconstructing. For one thing, many high-end brands are complicated to process and have to be disassembled layer by layer. In addition, in order to preserve the largest amount of disassembled material, it is often necessary to carefully pick apart stitch by stitch, instead of directly cutting and destroying. Afterall, it helped understanding more about all the hardworks many brands in the production and design. Every deconstruction is a learning experience.

The conversation came to an end, and we went around the reservoir and returned to the outskirts of Gangshan city. It was around lunch time, so we had to taste the famous Gangshan lamb. We found a restaurant, sat down to eat, and continued the conversation. We talked about how he chose to move from Hong Kong to Taiwan, and then from Taipei to Kaohsiung. Being constantly on the move has always been what it’s about riding a bike. From BMX, to fixed gear, to road bikes. The time or distance ridden may have been trivial, but it was an important part of his trivial time. During this time, he can think alone, converse with himself, find inspiration, and piece together his cycling experience, which is also an important nutrient that allows him to deconstruct and reconstruct an outcome that he can call a masterpiece.

〜走り初めいなべ〜 憧れのいなべを @t_taku8 さんと part 2！ ツアーオブジャパンいなべステージ のルート（通称 #イナベルグ )や #いなべサイクルターミナル にも連れて行ってもらいました! 険しさが全く伝わ .. #ロードバイクJP

@anna.241e この投稿をInstagramで見る Anna(@anna.241e)がシェアした投稿 〜走り初めいなべ〜 憧れのいなべを @t_taku8 さんと part 2！ ツアーオブジャパンいなべステージ のルート（通称 #イナベルグ )や #いなべサイクルターミナル にも連れて行ってもらいました! 険しさが全く伝わらない🥺 そして金井神社で初詣、初花手水。ありがたや〜 走り初めも走り納めも案内していただきありがとうございました‼️ First ride of the year! Not as cold as it seems. Can’t wait to go again! Pictures of me by…

〜走り初めいなべ〜 明けましておめでとうございます🎍⛩🎍 走り初めはいつも写真で見てる憧れのいなべを @t_taku8 さんと 雪ですよ、雪！！ クリートに雪が詰まって石でがしがしするって…(爆笑) 程よくアップダウン .. #ロードバイクJP

@anna.241e この投稿をInstagramで見る Anna(@anna.241e)がシェアした投稿 〜走り初めいなべ〜 明けましておめでとうございます🎍⛩🎍 走り初めはいつも写真で見てる憧れのいなべを @t_taku8 さんと 雪ですよ、雪！！ クリートに雪が詰まって石でがしがしするって…(爆笑) 程よくアップダウンが続き、景色が目まぐるしく変わるワンダーランドいなべ✨ コースも盛り沢山なうえにピクチャータイムがいっぱい設けられて大大満足な1日でした❤︎ Thank you~ 満喫しすぎたので今回は２部構成でお送りいたします😂 First ride of the year! Not as cold as it seems. Can’t wait to go…