Suffering on Sundays: Feng-kong Rd.

Now that I am back on the bike, I can now fully devote my spare moments to suffering on the saddle of a bicycle all in the name of health, sanity and fun. 

This past Sunday I started out early to get a jump on the heat in the hopes of returning in the early afternoon with enough kilometers to feel like I did something to improve my lowly, lowly state. I set my sights on the foothills between Jhuolan and Dahu in Miaoli County. 

Specifically, I wanted to carve into some of the side roads that mesh their way around the areas off the fantastic Pinglin Rd. 



Just a few kilometers into my ride I could feel it was going to be a rough day. It was simply one of those off-days when your legs never seem to arrive, no matter how much caffeine you throw down along the ride. 

I approached my target, which was the Feng-kong Rd. a.k.a. Local Route 18. If you are coming up Pinglin Rd. counter clockwise from Jhuolan, the road starts in the village after the first hill. If you get to the sign for Pinglin Elementary School, you've gone too far. 



As soon as I turned up the road I felt the dampness of the jungle. The Feng-kong Rd. zags along tree covered ravines toward the top of a ridge where plots of fruit farms are scattered about in the flatter areas. 



I paused for a while to take in the openness along the ridge to try to get my bearings. I had left my phone at home and therefore I was exploring new roads with nothing but experience and intuition. 

As I gazed out into the haze, I caught the glimpse of a Formosan Crested Serpent Eagle as it unfolded its wings just above my head. It rode the thermals above the hill just over my head for several minutes, making low and measured glides just beyond my reach. It was a magnificent experience to have a front row seat to a sight we city dwellers are too often denied. 



I continued down the road, passing the road I really wish I had taken (and had intended to take). 


One panorama after another and then I was again bombing through narrow gullies with no real idea where I might end up. 




Despite the views, I felt a pang of disappointment that my only remaining options led back down to Jhuolan on the 54-1. 



My energy was simply absent. A chill had blown in with a low pressure front and I was struggling against a nasty headwind. I decided to take Dongchi Rd. through the hills to Dongshih to avoid moving at a snail's pace out in full public view. The indignity of having strangers see me like that was more than I could bear.  


As I grimaced my way up an incline I used to eat in the big ring, I ran into Michael Turton and Scott E. They were also returning from a shorter ride in the area and I needed to company. We ate lunch in Dongshih before going our separate ways home. I tried climbing Hsin She to embarrass myself on another "easy" hill. I finally made it home feeling cooked and well-done. It was the longest ride I have done in a very long while at 120km, but I paid dearly.

Hopefully next time my legs will show up for the party. 

Taking The Typhoon's Tail to Dongqi Rd.

Saturday morning started off a little slower than normal. I had made up my mind to ride, but even as I rolled along Gongyi Rd. I still hadn't decided where I was going exactly. This is a bad. You should never set out for a ride without knowing what you would like to accomplish. This is the road to heartache.

The only thing I really wanted to accomplish was to get on my bike and ride it.

I finally settled on the foothills between Taichung and Jhuolan Township in Miaoli County.



With a passing typhoon still lurking nearby, the winds were mixing it up every which way. The only real plan I had on the day was to go into the headwind on the way out and coast on a tailwind for the return. No more than three blocks from my door, I determined there was no possible way to tell which way the wind was blowing and so I figured the safe bet might be to head for the hills. At least with a hill you have the satisfaction of climbing something as opposed to just battling the wind to a draw between gusts.

As I lurched along, my face pummeled by a barrage of cold licks to the chops, I bore down on my crank to make it to the edge of town. My lips were already in a noticeable snarl. Funny how close the grimace of anger and pain looks to a full smile. I am sure I looked like the happiest cyclist in town.




I figured a climb up to Hsinshe would be fun and steadily made my way over the top as I watched in half amusement as other riders gingerly negotiated the crosswinds on the way down.



I took a coffee break in Dongshih. Alone on a windy day, my coffee break meandered from being a short rest, into a full vacation. It is too easy to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and watch life pass by a decorated window. Compared to the alternative of chopping my way through a thicket of crosswind, a 7-11 counter wasn't at all half bad.



Eventually the fighting spirit returned and I threw myself into the hills on Dongqi Rd. behind Dongshih.  The Route 47 meanders through orchards and along deep gullies on a little used road to Da An River.



Made pretty good time and started to lose myself in my thoughts and in my headphones.
The sudden and unexpected arrival of a city bus brought me back to the road.






Dongqi Rd. eventually empties out in on of the Atayal villages the Japanese used to keep a closer eye on the populace. The first mark that I had entered the village was a brand new rainbow gate. No, it is not an LGBT event. The rainbow symbolizes the Rainbow Bridge in Atayal folklore. Atayal tradition holds that when an Atayal dies, he must walk across the Rainbow Bridge to his ancestors. Of course, to show the utux, or spirit, that he has lived a fulfilling life as an Atayal man, he must raise his hand and it will be dyed black from the blood of those whose heads he has taken. A woman must also show her hand that has been blackened by the dyes of weaving. The old symbols have become a major tourist attraction in Taiwan.



I finally spilled out into the riverbed and hammered for home with a healthy tailwind.



The ride was only 100km, but it felt like 160km. Dongqi Rd. is still a wonderful ride despite the wind.

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