It rained all night last night. The weather report has forecasted a severe storm coming to the east coast. Heavy rain and strong wind were expected to hit every part of this area for the next several days. This morning the rain finally stopped but the overcast sky looked very grey and the air felt cool but very muggy too.
There are two routes to go up north. One is Highway 9 (台9) - the mountain route that goes through many hilly areas with densely populated townships. The other route is Highway 11 (台11) - the coastal route that goes alongside the Pacific with a sparse population.
The other three cyclists got up early to get ready for the trip. We discussed the course of the action for today. Given heavy rain and strong wind were looming on the horizon, we decided to take the mountain route to avoid the frontal assault of rain and wind coming from the Pacific. We gave a thumb up to ourselves before the trip. Left to right: Joe, Mr. Chang, Mr. Peng, and Mr. Tsao.
The hostel provided a minimum breakfast with soymilk and a steamed bun with a scrambled egg. As soon as we left the hostel, we went to a nearby 7-11 for a real breakfast (coffee, milk, juice, and more bread).
Mr. Peng was the only one with a road bike, which was very old and was made of the old-fashioned steel tube, instead of the new material carbon fiber. But he was able to ride for about 200 kilometers a day. The rest of us rode a mountain bike and weren’t in the same league with him. Mr. Tsao was so impressed with the bike, he insisted to have a picture taken with the magic bike.
Another view of Rudy riding the magic bike. The billboard on the right was for the hostel we stayed in last night.
A big incline was awaiting us right outside the village. Thank goodness we’ve nourished ourselves enough at 7-11 that we biked up to the top of the hill in no time. The overcast was so grey that it was almost indistinguishable from the sky, the ocean, and the horizon.
And the only thing distinguishable was a brave cyclist having a time of his life.
This bridge sat in a small town called Tai-ma-li (太麻里). In a storm surge caused by Typhoon Morakot last year, the seawater rushed upward and wiped out an inhibited area next to this bridge. Mr. Chang stood on the bridge and was in awe of the devastation.
There used to exist several houses on this empty land. All were destroyed in the storm surge.
This famous beef noodle place was destroyed in the storm surge but has since been rebuilt. The owners of this beef noodle place were four bachelorette sisters, who found selling beef noodle soup was a far more profitable endeavor than holding a desk job with a college degree. Their down-to-earth and practical approach to living was inspirational to many. The name of the beef noodle place is “Four Bachelorettes” (四學士).
A long-term relief center for the devastation by Typhoon Morakot was set up by The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. In the picture were Mr. Tsao, Mr. Peng, and the magic road bike.
This section of Highway 9 ran next to the Pacific. The view was spectacular but I was in no mood to enjoy the scenery. Instead, I kept my eyes on the changing cloud patterns and watched for any sign of the imminent rainfall.
No less than two hours later, I was hungry again. I found a 7-11 near the fork of Highway 9 (mountain route) and Highway 11 (coastal route). 7-11 stores in Taiwan are different from ones in the US. Here you can buy a boxed lunch, let the store clerk heat it up in a microwave, and then have it brought to you. The store usually has a sitting area alongside a tall glass window in the front of the store. For cyclists, this is a convenient setup. You can park your bike in front of the store, quickly find food, sit by the window, eat your meal, and watch your bike at the same time. For this visit, I think I had curry chicken over rice.
Before I lost sight of the other three cyclists (they were younger and faster), they had talked about going to a Giant Bicycle store for some needed maintenance. This is the street leading to the city of Taidong. I decided to meet up with them to plot the next move.
On the side of the road were rice paddy fields. Rice used to be the main crop of farming in Taiwan, and rice paddy was a common sight in the countryside. In past decades, farming has gone diversification on a big scale and growing rice is no longer as widespread. I think this is the first rice paddy I’ve seen on this trip.
In the past two years, Taiwan has suffered from two major flood disasters. Tall trees from the mountains were uprooted and carried by the floodwater to the ocean. These massive driftwoods then landed on the sandy beach and created a horrible sight of calamity. The beach has since been cleaned up and the driftwoods were collected at designated areas.
A commercial street in the city of Taidong.
A Giant Bicycle store in Taidong. Giant is the largest bicycle manufacturer in Taiwan. Its numerous branch stores throughout major cities and townships of Taiwan provide basic technical services to all Giant bicycles for free.
In the store, I found my partners and some more. Four persons on the right were someone we just met at the store. They too were cycling around the island but in the opposite direction. The second person from the right was an Australian doing a solo ride and had just met up with the other three the day before.
It was already past noon when we exited out of the Giant store. I decided to take an easy break and call it a day for today. My partners from this morning decided to press on. We bid farewell and went our separate ways. Three of them would reach a city 42 kilometers away before the nightfall, while I easily found a hotel not far from the Giant store. The hotel was Taidong Public Workers and Teachers Guest House (台東公教會館). The cost for a room with a bed, bath, and breakfast was NTD $1100 (about USD $37). The hotel has an onsite coin laundry with free detergent so it was convenient.
Dinner was at a Japanese all-you-can-ORDER place not far from the hotel. It was different from an all-you-can-eat place, where you helped yourself to some pre-cooked food. Here you ordered from a menu and they prepared the food and brought them to your table. You could order as much as you like for a fixed price of NTD $388 (about USD $13). Oh, the bottle of sake was extra.
The first map shows the full island of Taiwan. My bike ride for the day is from 5 o’clock position to 4 o’clock position. The second map gives a closer view of my ride.
Vertical profile of today’s ride. The initial 4 kilometers were steep but bearable.
Summary of today’s ride. Today was a short ride of only 39 kilometers. Felt a bit guilty of burning only 1241 calories but eating an all-you-can-order dinner.
-Joe
Next: 20101020 Day 04 - Joe's Cycling around Taiwan (Taidong 台東 to Antong 安通)
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