Gas Giants?: A Crude Ride Along Taiwan's Petroleum Parkway (中油專用道路)

Cycling and fossil fuels seem to go together like oil and... er....

Anyway, for my first ride of the Lunar New Year holiday I decided to take my quest for the little road northward into Miaoli County for a chance to bisect the range of hills between the Highway 3 and the coast.

I have taken most of the major and minor routes that traverse these ridges-- the 130, the 60, 24, 26, and the others.... But I wanted to see if it was possible to climb to the top and follow the ridge line for the length of the hills. It looked like a project. Now that I have completed this ride and reported on it, I have saved any of you curious souls out there from having to unnecessarily tempt fate. If you have ever chugged up the Highway 3 between Jhuolan and Dahu, and wondered what kind of roads might be etched along those emerald peaks... look no further for I have come down the mountain with such knowledge.



The day started out clear and promising, but Miaoli is the meteorological gateway to Taipei and can quickly transition from sunny and clear to gloomy, cold and wet.



As I passed Dahu, I saw a road that might provide an early ascent to the ridge I was gunning for. I crossed the Bi'an Bridge and immediately launched myself upward along never-ending ramp of high percentage pain. The ramps never seemed to end.

Eventually I slumped over my handlebars at the top, only to find a monastery and a walking path in the direction I had hoped to take. Sometimes Google Maps is too optimistic and Apple Maps too pessimistic. It can be a coin toss as to whether a road is actually passable by road bike or merely a hiking trail.



I had wasted a tremendous amount of glycogen on a gamble that didn't pay off and I did;t need any more dead ends complicating my ride. I was about to enter the unknown and I needed a little more assurance that I was not about to commit precious time and fuel on discovering Taiwan's best, lost dead end.



My hope was that the CPC Industrial Road (中油專用道路) would be my ticket to a hilltop tour of Miaoli County and a rendezvous with the Route 60 that would lead me out to a number of familiar roads that I could use to get home with the wind at my back.

The CPC Industrial Road starts just off the Highway 6 past Dahu at the point where the 72 Expressway disappears into the mountain below Gong Guan.

The road follows a terrestrial vein of liquid oil for the entire length of the hills between the Houlong and Da-an Rivers.

Oil was first discovered at the site in the 1860's and later exploited by the Japanese colonial administration. Today, Taiwan pumps 22,000 barrels of oil per day and refines its crude oil in four different refineries. This explains the refineries and petrochemical plants I have seen between Gong-guan and Toufen.



I knew I needed to be mindful of the road and there could be several service roads that lead to oil wells or other industrial sites. This kept me busy at my phone GPS and put a real drain on my battery life.



This really started out as a strange road. Aside from the hissing and steaming trees that had been rigged with misting nozzles to create an otherworldly effect similar to Tim the Enchanter, there were massive luxury properties with massive gates, a few imposing hostels, tiny farming shacks and several fenced off oil wells quietly littering the roadside.

I wondered if this road might be a total dud.



I nervously checked and rechecked my location and at the top of the hill I made the fateful decision to continue southward... just as a thick blanket of fog doused the area in a quiet, swirling chill.



The feeling was otherworldly as I slowly rolled forward into the clouds. The landscape seemed to have closed in on me and the forest ebbed and floated in and out of focus. I tried to stay glued to the road and not mistake the void for a rare patch of smooth tarmac.



Visibility was between 6 to 10 meters at most times. At one point I almost ran straight into a line of four ghosts hovering in a patch of brightly lit fog-- ghosts that turned out to be men from a work crew who had lost their truck in the fog. I was surprised a d relieved to see other human beings up there in those conditions and they were all so silent. I finally broke the eerie quiet with a question about the road conditions and was informed that the roads ahead are technically passable to Tongluo, but not recommended.

I have heard that before and found beautiful roads and brushed off the comment as something from a person who underestimates the powers of a bicycle.



Even more fog sifted through the tangled canopy above as I disappeared into a chunky path of fragmented cement, mud and ground cover. I dismounted a few timed to walk down descents that were too steep and degraded to ride safely. The last thing I needed was a broken collarbone in an area like that.



Somewhere in the tunnel of shadow and light, I surprised a true of macaques that woofed at me as I passed. It was enough to make me start whistling in the dark to ward off any more surprises. To make matters worse, my constant GPS checks had sucked my battery life down to 20% and I was still a long way from the familiar Route 60.



As soon as I turned a corner and thought I was getting somewhere, I found I was on the wrong road. My GPS was unstable in the terrain and I had plotted the wrong road. That led to a hike  through some orchard or another and up another road. I soon found I my road was blocked by a pack of angry dogs. Being true to Taiwan, the most aggressive of the bunch were a chihuahua that wanted a piece of my heel, and an ill tempered corgi. I was in no position to turn back and had to face off with a pack of unruly hounds. The owner came out and simply ignored the situation as he got into his truck. 

I was soon dropping off down the back of the hill in zero visibility with the hope that any more dogs would not come charging through the orchards to rip me apart in an area so desolate nobody would hear my screams. 

I saw an arrow spray painted on the road and followed it in the direction of the bigger road. It led me deeper and deeper into an eroding creek bed that I hoped would not be the only way out. After sparingly checking my GPS, I concluded that I had missed the real road and had to hike back up into the fogged-in orchard if I was going to have any hope of escaping before dark. 



I emerged from the forest and back out into orchard land. I could hear a chainsaw somewhere in the whiteout and felt some relief before a hellhound burst out of a hidden driveway to send me into a panicked sprint toward the unknown up ahead. 

Boom! I rolled across the path of the rest stop at the top on the Route 60. I knew where I was. Just as the fog became a wet fog, I was in familiar territory. 

I slid down the hill toward the Route 119 and the Route 49 until I was limping along through Sanyi on the Highway 13 toward home. 

I am sure there were some fantastic views from up there. The roads were horrendous and a complete safety hazard. A road bike does not belong up there at all... and it was a hell of an adventure... in retrospect. 

And now I know what is up on that hilltop. 

Sima Xian Shan: The Alternate Route

I started out my morning unsure of where I would be riding. A few factors were in play and with a later start, iffy weather and even less predictable legs, I headed north at a good clip. I felt amazing. I chopped wood all the way to Dongshih and managed to continue at a good clip without leaving the big ring all the way through Dongqi Rd. 

As I crested the hill above the Da-an River, I felt the allure of the road up Sima Xian Shan; a nasty climb between Zhuolan and Dahu. 

A section of the main road was completely wiped out last year, and the word was that passage was impossible. I thought I might see if the situation had improved over the past year, and if not... I would just get a shorter ride and enjoy the afternoon. 



I blazed along and caught up with a couple riding road bikes. I stopped to ask if they had any info on a road crossing the mountain. They both thought the road was closed and were just going up the river, only to return the same way. 

I passed another group of riders all kitted out on expensive road bikes. When I hollered to see if they had come over the mountain they stopped and looked at me as if I had my hair on fire. 

Motioning like he might offer me a chocolate bar and a shiny trinket.... "You speak Chinese?"

Of course I had just shouted at him in Chinese, so my answer was a resounding "no" while I asked again in Chinese if they had come from the Dahu side. 

"Where are you going?" one of the guys asked.

" I'm going to Dahu fro this side", I replied. 

"No, you're going the wrong way. You need to turn around. You need to take the Highway 3", he explained. 

" The road past Tian Gou, do you know if it is open?", I asked again. 

*look of confusion*

"You know, the road that goes past Tian Gou down the other side to Dahu... is that road open. I know it was closed this year..." I continued. 

"Dahu.... from here.... but that is climbing....", he said with a perplexed tone. 

I waved them off and found the last police station on the river. 

The cop, told me the 中像道路 was open and goes from Xiangbi Village to Dahu over the mountain. 



I was rapidly on my way and eating some serious bitterness on the opening ramps. 



It is not as majestic or scenic as the old road, but it offers some spectacular ramps and a few vistas worthy of the effort. 



The Miaoli fog came sweeping in from offstage and the temperatures plummeted. 



I finally met a few riders coming over the hill and we exchanged info on the road conditions each side could expect. 



I dropped down some incredible concrete chutes, carful not to pinch flat on the drainage grates that spit the roads every 50 meters.  


Suddenly I was spit back out onto the river of the Miaoli 61-- as awesome a road as there has ever been or ever will be. 



After a fuel stop in Dahu, I was again plugging back to Taichung at as high a speed as I could will into my legs. 

It is one of those days where the accomplishment is the reward. 

THE ROAD IS OPEN!

Route 2,846,529 - powered by www.bikemap.net

Meditation in Miaoli: Miaoli Route 60（苗60）

Here is a little meditation through the foothills of Miaoli on the Route 60 between Dahu and Tongluo. 

I hadn't been on this road in a while and I thought I might have another look. I felt pretty good on the bike and the ride just turned into a meditation of sorts with my thoughts keeping me company as the machinery whirled away. 



The road looks like a dead end, but a smaller road juts out to the side and immediately introduced a nasty little hill that had me gasping for air. 



I made the climb and continued on the Miaoli Route 119 and 119-4 to Sanyi. It is a quiet little road, but I was in serious need of water and food. Just at the end of the Route 119-4 I went to a closet of a store and had the coldest bottle of water I have ever tasted. 

I raided the calories stored at a convenience store in Sanyi and then trudged on home. 



Just a simple day on the bike. 

Backwards Day: Sanyi Saddle Sore

On Saturday I took some time to share some cycling moments with my buddy Chris, and in doing so, I was inspired to go out Sunday morning with the odd notion that I would go out and inflict a heavy amount of pain upon myself, then return home all the better for it. That was the plan.

I took off with a rough idea of what I wanted to do. It involved mixing a couple previous routes through southern Miaoli County into one route for climbing and distance.

I was deep in the drops before ever leaving the front door. Everything felt great. I was humming along feeling great. My speed was encouraging and at times I felt motorized.

The question I had in the back of my mind, was how long I could sustain this pace.

I left the door prepared for an entirely different ride.

I left prepared for a winter ride with breakfast, a few stops and a tailwind on the return trip.

Route 49

As I cut through Fengyuan, I noticed they had changed my regular viaduct to the Highway 3 and had neglected to post any signage at the location.

I thought I'd have a go of it, and chose the middle lane for scooters.

The next thing I knew, I was on the Highway 13 in Houli.

Today was to be Backwards Day.

As the visionary landscape artist, Bob Ross, used to always say, "There are no mistakes... only happy little accidents."

I decided to work this error into my plan for the day and approach the route backwards. This meant hammering up to Sanyi on the Highway 13 and then traversing over to the Miaoli Route 130 via the Route 49.

This is a beautifully forested route, which pitches and dives through the foothills of Miaoli.

I incidentally cut through the Sheng Shing Tourist Station and dodged the meandering tourists as I tried to escape as quickly as possible.

Sheng Shing Station

There were several recreational cycling clubs out enjoying the weather.

I was also pleased to see the Route 130 included as an official part of the Miaoli Bikeway.

The morning haze had burned off by mod-morning. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I hadn't brought my sunscreen.

In Taiwan, it seems we have the first "hot ride" of the year at about this point. This is when the weather transitions from winter chills to blazing heat.

The transition is hard on the body.

After a good ride is oppressive heat, the summer riding becomes much easier... but oh the getting used to it....

Here I was, stuck at the bottom of a stiff climb, the sun beating down... wearing a jacket. I hadn't eaten enough and I wasn't carrying as much water, having gotten used to sipping my supplies in the cooler weather I was expecting.

I mounted my attack on the back of the Route 130 up Guan-dao Shan. It was nice to take my time to enjoy the views going up. I usually reserve this stretch of pavement for the screaming descent it offers, but this time I was learning all about what this mountain is made of.

While the front side of Guan-dao Shan is a hot, quick spin to the top, the back side is a slow burning grind. It is much less fun than the opposite way.

I was passed by numerous riders who already knew what I was thinking and took the descent from the front rather than heaving up the side I was on.

The Climb

There were a couple riders joining me from the Sanyi side.

I came upon one old guy in coaching pants, who had managed to eat the whole climb out of the saddle on his mountain bike.

He wasn't carrying any water, but instead he had a soaked rag stuffed into a jury rigged container made from a plastic bottle.

I was soon slicing down the opposite side of the hill, pivoting on axis as the inertia made steering as easy as a little shift in weight.

By the time I got to the Highway 3, I knew I was pretty tired. So, I turned left onto the Highway 3 and went out to Dahu to continue my ride up the Route 55 on Pinglin Road.

Pinglin Rd. is another of those roads I have only ridden from Jhuolan and it seems far more forgiving coming from the southern end.

By this time my jacket was caked with the chalky white dust from the salt that had been distilled from my body, baked out by the unrelenting sun.

The part of Pinglin Rd. near Dahu has three or for good climbs that were just killing me.

I felt a cramp in my quad and eased off the bike for a stretch.

Just at that moment a yokel in a blue truck comes by and shouts out the window that I should be riding up the hill and not resting.

It was like the guy wanted to be punched in the face.

First of all, this is the first real climbing I have done since November.

Second: I had just hauled my ass up several nasty little climbs and one major hill.

Third: After losing so much to overuse injuries, the last thing I want to do is to mess my leg up again, and therefore, I take every sensation in my leg seriously.

And therein lies the big question.... How does one come back from an injury of this nature without re-injuring oneself while increasing stress on the muscles? You only know when too much is too much after the fact.

I suffered through the remaining hills with the assurance that with a steady wind from the north, it would be gravy all the way to Jhuolan. I imagined sliding out of the hills and into downtown Jhuolan with a steady wind at my back to mask my lack of conditioning.

I was sorely mistaken.

From other corroborating reports I have heard, Taiwan experienced the most inexplicable steady wind from the south... just for a couple hours yesterday about mid-day.

It made the whole route a pugilistic fight for ground and headway. What a pisser!

Pinglin Rd.

I arrived for a rest stop in Jhuolan and then headed toward Taichung. Before long, a breeze was pushing me from behind. I was charging forward in a deep tuck at 45kph toward home.

I am sure I am a better person for all of this... but it was admittedly a pretty hard day in the saddle.

Bike route 1440174 - powered by Bikemap