Cycling from Chiayi to Tainan

On Friday I took a bus down to Chiayi along with my friend Ian who was visiting from Australia. I took my own bike down on the bus, while Ian hired a touring bike from the Giant store. The hire service offered by Giant is very good with quality bikes at a reasonable price (more details  here). The only problem was the CRX-1 model Ian hired didn’t have a good selection of gears for hill climbing. In the afternoon we went on easy ride out to the Solar Exploration Center (北回歸線太陽館) in Chiayi County, which sits on the Tropic of Cancer.

We headed out of town on Saturday morning and once we got outside the city the roads were pretty free of traffic. The original plan was to cycle up to the Zengwen Reservoir, however this was changed to a shorter and easier route to the hot springs town of Guanziling (關子嶺).

After arriving in Guanziling it didn’t take long to find a place to soak in the hot springs. It was a very nice way to relax after a climb up some steep hills. The water in the hot springs in Guanziling is grey and muddy unlike other places in Taiwan where it is clear. Anyway I am pictured above in the cold pool with clear water.

Just outside Guanziling is an interesting geological phenomenon, the Fire Water Cave (火水洞). Here a large flame burns continuously on the rocks. It is a result of methane being released from the water.

After leaving Guanziling we cycled down to the plains again and reached the town of Baihe (白河). It soon started pouring rain and we took shelter in a tea shop. The ladies there were very friendly. Their new business selling traditional style tea and tofu dessert (古早味紅茶與豆花) was set to officially open the next day. If you ever visit the town make sure you visit the shop.

After a few hours the rain eased and we cycled on to Xinying (新營) where we found a place to stay for the night. The television news showed that the downpour had caused floods in parts of Tainan County. We had been lucky to avoid the worst of it.

The next day we set out to cycle through the farmlands of Tainan County. We discovered a man with his buffalo working on a paddy field. It was quite a wonderful sight. The roads took us through flat country with small towns and lots of agricultural activity. It wasn’t the most beautiful country in Taiwan to cycle through, but easy going without any hills. The weather was pretty hot and I got a bit of sunburn, although not too serious.

As we got closer to Tainan we reached Qigu (七股), which has a salt mountain.

Next we went to visit the Black-faced Spoonbill Research Centre. The spoonbills only visit Taiwan in the winter time, so we didn’t see any. The center has quite an extensive display and interpretive information about the birds and the wetland ecology.

When we reached Tainan City we stopped at this place for some good Australian beef in Taiwan style beef noodles. We spent a bit more time in Tainan visiting various places before heading back to Taipei via the HSR on Monday.

Cycling in Miaoli County

 

The weekend of cycling began on Saturday when I rode down from Taipei to Hukou for the Blogtoberfest. The next morning I got up early to ride down to Miaoli where I planned to meet a group from the Thousand Mile Island Trail (千里步道). I was familiar with the roads in this area after a motorbike trip I made here last year. However, I underestimated the distance and it took me a bit longer than I expected.

 

Turning off Highway 3 onto Route 126 I had almost caught up to the group. I eased off the pace and enjoyed the incredible scenery on this road. I finally caught up with the group at Ecological Garden (綠色生態家園) on the banks of the Mingde Reservoir (明德水庫).

I found myself in some illustrious cycling company. There were two boys who had ridden around Taiwan three times and they are still in junior high school! Another man had ridden around Taiwan nine times. However, the focus of the Thousand Mile Island Trail is not who can ride the furtherest or the fastest, but appreciating the beauty and culture of Formosa. The group was on a four day tour of the area, but I only joined the ride for one day.

 

The ride took us on some of the minor roads of Miaoli County. At lunchtime we stopped in Hegang (鶴岡社區) in Gongguan where there were two sacred trees. The one on the left is a 500 year old Bishop wood and on the right is an 800 year old camphor tree. At Xinglong Primary School (興隆過小) we also saw a camphor tree (樟樹) that was over 800 years old.

A little way down the road from there we discovered a beautiful old courtyard style home. I was quite excited to see this building as its design, which incorporated a fishpond into the front courtyard, was similar to buildings I had seen in Tufang (塗坊) in Changting County, Fujian Province.

Travelling along the small country roads there was a lot to see. We stopped at a couple of small farms including one which grew a grass (香茅草) that was used to make a perfume essence. Near the end of the day we came to the Sanyi Hakka Museum (三義客家書院). From there it was a short ride to Chun Tian Yao (春田窯) where the ride ended for the day.

Cycling the Northern Cross Island Highway

I set off at six o’clock on Monday morning to ride across the Northern Cross Island Highway. This road, which Taiwanese call the Bei Heng (北橫), begins at Daxi in Taoyuan County and goes across the mountains to Yilan. I stopped to eat breakfast somewhere on the road between Xindian and Sanxia. Once I rode through Sanxia the worst of the traffic and urban ugliness was behind me. The scenery on Route 7乙 between Sanxia consisted of small farms with bigger mountains off in the distance.

At Sanmin I joined the Route 7 proper passing by Fuxing and the Xiao Wulai waterfall which I had visited before. I stopped on the Luofu Bridge to take a few photos.

Beyond Luofu the road narrowed and you really had the sense of being in the mountains as the road travelled along the side of a steep valley. The next stop was in Ronghua at an altitude of 510 metres. The Leaf Cafe (葉子咖啡) was a perfect refuelling stop. I made fairly good time and not long after midday I rolled in to the small town of Baling where I had lunch. Baling has hot springs and several hotels and would make a good spot for an overnight stop if you are cycling at a more sedate pace.

Beyond Baling the road headed further upward. You are really in the mountains here and there is very little traffic on the road. At the higher elevations there are cypress trees. The road kept going up beyond the sign in the photo above. I believe the high point of the road is around 1,200 metres. At this altitude the temperature is also noticeably cooler especially when the clouds started rolling in the afternoon.

Around mid-afternoon I reached Mingchi. I arrived there at the same time as two other cyclists and they asked me if I would like to share a room with them. I was grateful for their kindness and company. They were also riding the Bei Heng, but at a slower pace having taken two days to get to Mingchi from Taipei. Mingchi has a beautiful resort set amongst the giant trees of the Ma-kau Ecological Park (馬告生態公園). After taking a shower there was still enough daylight to walk around the lake at Mingchi and enjoy the beautiful forest.

The next morning I was on the road before seven. The road was fairly level for a while before the long descent down to Yilan began. On the narrow mountain roads people generally drive slowly and carefully. It is amazing how two vehicles can pass each other when it seems so narrow. Many people also shouted out encouragement to me as they drove past.

The road descends to the valley of the Lanyang River and follows its banks until it reaches the Yilan Plain. When I got to Yilan there was an ominous looking black cloud to the north and shortly before I reached Jiaoxi it started raining. I took shelter and waited until the rain stopped. I rode through Jiaoxi and started to head along Route 9 to Pinglin. It started raining again. I stopped for a while, but then decided to push on rain, hail or shine. The “nine turns and eighteen bends” afforded some wonderfully dramatic views of Toucheng and the ocean.

When I rolled into Pinglin for a late lunch the roads were finally dry even if I wasn’t. After a hearty lunch I started on the home stretch along a familiar road. A large golden statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva stands guard over the road on the climb up from Pinglin. It was still a bit further to the top of the hill but then it was a nice easy downhill run home.

The two day ride was a great experience and the forest and mountain scenery was especially beautiful. I should add that it is possible to take your bikes back to Taipei on the Capital Bus (首都客運) from Jiaoxi or Yilan if you don’t want to ride over Route 9 or one of the other routes.

中文：跨越北橫的單車日記