This past Saturday I took off to criss-cross the forested hills of Miaoli County on a bid to tick off a couple of those thirty-something numbered roads that lace between the Highway 13 and the coast. I had seen the Route 48 from the Highway 13, and it looked like a total gem as it opens with a squiggle between two cliffs.
I figured I would make a day of it and get some climbing done in the process.
I cut through Fengyuan on the usual route toward Sanyi, and stayed o the Highway 13 all the way up that wretched viaduct that is too often the substitute for much nicer offerings. I was not ready for style points, so I just plodded into the wind in a northward direction.
After cutting through Sanyi and the whole woodcarving shenanigans and a temple procession, I was on the lookout for the Route 48, which appears beneath the bridge on the northern edge of Sanyi.
The road teased out a few opening climbs and easily slithered into the wooded hills above the Sanyi valley.
None of the climbs were too terribly demanding with little traffic and plenty of rural Taiwanese sights between the occasional B&B.
This is road is really more indicative of how spoiled we are in central Taiwan. It was a gorgeous, well manicured road with a couple stiff, yet enjoyable climbs over an eddy of hills below.
It was okay.
I really don't see the Miaoli Route 48 as a main attraction, but rather as an additional puzzle piece to complete a longer, better ride. It could easily connect to the grinding climbs of the Route 38 as an easier companion in the return trip, or some other more challenging route.
I blasted off the hilltop on a seemingly endless descent toward the wasteland along the Highway 1 with the intention of going further northward for another interesting road.
I was in a difficult spot. The weather was hinting at rain and in Miaoli anything is possible with the weather. Moreover, I was getting a little hungry and was in the rare location with out quick eats. Lastly, I was feeling a bit tired from an overenthusiastic mid-week training ride and just didn't have it in me. I turned tail into the wind, which had flipped direction while I was climbing that hill, and fought my way back along the Highway 1.
The really cool thing that happened, which really saved this ride, was running into a couple of employees from Rikulau, the titanium and steel bike maker that works in conjunction with ORA to create some locally made custom bicycles. The two women were happy to talk about their bikes and were very knowledgeable regarding their frames and equipment.
From the look of things, Rikulau has been fine tuning their design and have tamed their graphic schemes somewhat to produce some great looking bikes.
One bike was stainless steel, the other was titanium.
Enjoy!
The rest of the way home was crap. I felt crap. I rode like crap. It happens. I was happy to return home after only 120km. Some days are like that.
