There are some roads that may not look like much on a map, but they are begging to be ridden.
Several weeks ago I decided to climb the 頭49 to Sanlinxi and it gave me ample time to study some of the smaller roads in the hills around Lugu. There were several loose strings, a few promises... and then there was the 頭56.
As soon as I realized what I was looking at, I knew I needed to make an attempt on it while the dry winter weather was still dry and wintery. This past Saturday I threw myself into the unknown and experienced the most significant new road (to me) in a very long time.
I took off a bit later than I had hoped, and I slept on auto-pilot all the way to Mingjian, where I plodded my way along the Highway 16 to Jiji. At the 131 bridge, I started to wake up and take notice of my surroundings. I didn't want to miss my turn into the unknown.
The 頭101 is the first deviation I made from my regular route, and I soon realised I had been on the same road several years earlier.
For a Saturday on Lugu it was amazingly quiet. I may have encountered only one car on the entire stretch of road.
The 頭101 is one of those foothill roads that clings to a sandy riverbank and meanders past bare clay walls where chunks of hillside have fallen away.
I was soon on the 頭56 where I took the left along a strange trout pond.
The whole area around Fonghu Shan is littered with tourist resorts and hostels for the weekend getaway. Tackiness stacked on top of tackiness on top of the faux-brow aesthetic. I was worried.
A couple kilometres further toward a bird sanctuary, the touristville evaporates and the mood is suddenly silent.
After a tricky right hand hook past the ticket gate of Birdland, it is as if the road enters a parallel universe of ultimate tranquility. It is like plunging a thousand feet below to the Land of the Lost.
I was wide awake. The 頭56 whips and wends through the narrowest cliffs this side of Taroko.
There is little room for anything else but the relatively broad width of a two lane highway. And that was the thing about it. It looked like an actual highway... except it was almost completely abandoned, save for a few red pepper farms and an earth god shrine. It is otherworldly.
I missed the right hook and arrived at a dead end. The highway had quite literally died. It appears the road had formerly been a much busier highway, until an earthquake or some other calamity cleaved a chunk of rock the size of a small town from the side of the mountain.
From this point on the broad two lane highway became a rough trod trail of chunky concrete that cut through jungle and bamboos.
The climb was demanding, but doable and the jolt of adrenaline from the view helped make it all the easier.
The climb was over as soon as it started and I was quickly cruising toward Xinyi Township.
I kept getting peeks at the river valley below from gaps in the trees.
The final descent rips right through the middle of a plum field with the white blossoms looking like fresh snowfall.
I made an initial attempt at the 頭59, but the steady line of VW Transporter vans encouraged my hasty retreat.
The 頭56 is an extremely significant road as it provides a corridor from the Highway 21 behind Alishan to Lugu. This is huge as it can connect Lugu and Sanlinxi to larger trips around Alishan without being an unnecessary diversion. Imagine planning a trip through the mountains of Taiwan and coming up the 頭49, 頭51-1 to Sanlinxi, then simply taking the 頭56 out to the Highway 21 before assailing Tatajia. The 頭56 is not a very long stretch and it isn't a monument of physical endurance, but it provides the vital link between some other excellent routes.
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