Connecting to Bigger Things: Linking the Small Roads of Sanyi

Each ride and each route had its own start. A ride often has its inception in the space between the map and our imagination. Other times it can be as simple as the kind of "happy accident" frequented in a Bob Ross sort of way, where a wrong turn turned out much more right. 

This road started with telephone poles. 



Two weeks ago I had been out on a late-starter and chose a route I knew with an added wrinkle along a farm road. 

As I scanned the hillside across the valley, I saw a pattern of telephone poles zig-zagging up the hill and beyond. I really wanted to explore, but I couldn't guarantee a decent return time and left it. 

This past weekend I recruited Michael Turton to go exploring with me and together we disappeared into the Miaoli Route 51. 



The Route 51 starts off with an impressive staircase out of the river valley off the Highway 13 in Da She. Several of these roads are popular with cyclists. The Route 49 is especially used as a cycling route. The Route 51 was surprisingly devoid of cyclists. 

After capping the initial climb, which majestically overlooks the area and a famous railroad bridge, the Route 51 flattens out in a twisting avenue through an ecological forest preserve. 





The road is not glass smooth, but rather quite rough for traction against slick moss. The quietness of the shade along with the clicking and squeaking bamboos is simply relaxing. 

The Route 51 will surely be on the map as an alternate to some larger, busier roads. 



Near the Sanyi Station I bid my farewells to Michael and continued alone to see about connecting this network of incredible paved tracks that hide beneath the shadow of Guandao Shan. 



My first experiment was a failure as a promising connection to the Route 56 ended at a sketchy little farm that, apparently, raised vicious dogs. Google Maps seems to include former roads and streams in its mapping software. Still, the ride through these little marshlands is so unique. 



I eventually made my peace with the roads and retreated up the Route 49 to the Route 56. 

The Miaoli Route 56 is a hidden little gem that rises up to Guandao Shan.. but it does so with some compassion. Lots of little climbs, but noting that would restrict the road for climbers only. 



The Route 56 eventually opens up high over the landscape for about a hundred meters before being again devoured by the mountain. 



After another climb, the Route 56 ends at a strange intersection of tiny roads under a low canopy of trees. Each road leads off the hill, so I went down the hill to the Liyu Reservoir. 



I brushed along the orchards and graves lining the roadway until I was on the 53-1... roads I was more familiar with as ascents than descents. 



We need more water! 

I kept the chain on the large ring and jammed for home through Zhuolan and Dongshih. I was feeling good. 



Moreover, I was able to put the final piece of a puzzle together--a puzzle that will make for a remarkable summer route under the shade of the jungle. This one's gonna' be great. 

Route 2,869,597 - powered by www.bikemap.net

Guan Dao Shan: Death Climb In-Sanyi-ty!

This time of year is a great time to teach the legs how to climb. With the northern monsoon pushing a steady wind from the north, the hills offer some respite in putting out a strong effort and actually accomplishing something. 

I had been eyeing a road for some time, but I never really had a great opportunity to follow it. I had been down the lower section several times, and each descent I always thought I wouldn't want to try climbing up that very hill. I wouldn't want to try it... until I actually did try it: The Fuxing Agricultural Road. 



The ride out of Taichung was a bit of a sleepwalker, with a group of cyclists rolling out for some mass event or another. 



I hoped to take a bit of a shortcut through the Houfeng Bike Trail, but it was blocked off by a marathon (the current sport dejure of Taiwan). I had to take a couple farm roads back to the Highway 3. 



Eventually I was back up on the Miaoli Route 52-2 along the southern end of the Liyutan Reservoir. This was where the ride really started. 

At the section beneath the dam where the 52-2, Miaoli 49 and 52-3 meet, I launched up the 52-3. Launch it the appropriate word as the road is a single lane of vertical abuse. It is one of those roads where you clip in and then hang about a mile out over the handlebars to keep the front wheel down. 

I bit and spit my way to the top and then, surprisingly, kept going. I did have to dismount once to let a car pass, but I was feeling great. 



The road dishes out a few more bumps before settling down high above a shady wetland that completely transforms the mood into something resembling tranquility. 



After another long, straight climb, I took a breather to orient myself on the GPS as I was heading into new territory. 



I was giddy and the road took an unmerciful leap along a carved out hillside. The whole space seemed ridiculous for a bike ride. I revelled in the obvious absurdity of the image I must have cast to passing farmers as I stomped and shifted my way between the occasional stair step in the paving. 



The higher I hot the more ridiculous the ramps became. I must have hit a dozen or more comically nasty sections. They never lasted too long, but the sense I was getting was that I would eventually be biking up a quarter pipe. 



I hooked into a corner and passed a derelict cemetery eerily blanketed in a soupy grey fog. The fog cleared for just a moment to reveal the reservoir below. 



I was in absolute heaven. Then the landscape shifted on me as rapidly as the click of a Viewmaster. A sloppy string of pavement slid along the side of a persimmon orchard. I couldn't figure out how they lifted so much flat road up the mountain. 



I was again enveloped by the chill of a wet fog that covered me until I was spit out in the middle of a parking area next to a haunted commode at the base of a hiking trail. 



I took the right hand turn and blazed along the dirty concrete path. Suddenly, a large eagle swooped out of the trees above the road just in front of me and swept the road with its talons. It did this two more times before flying off to Salisbury Hill or some other locale. 



I was having more fun on the bike than I had had in a very long time. There was adventure, wonder, absurdity, mystery and silence. 



I finally nailed a steady beat back to Taichung. But not before stopping to take a picture from the warm sunlight of the mountain I had just taken a bite out of. 

A highly recommended road for the local rider looking for something that will surprise. There are several more roads back there that I will be looking into in the near future. 

Route 2,841,737 - powered by www.bikemap.net

Around Liyu Reservoir (Route 52-3): Back To The Drawing Board

The View From The Top


A few months ago I could see the riding forecast and it looked poor. Our daughter was born in December and I took about a month to let my legs recover. Then my mother arrived for two weeks to see the baby. Just as I started to come back from about three weeks off I got sick, and then the weather went bad... and then I had a ride or two.... and then the weather went bad... and then my dad arrived for two weeks... and then the weather went bad... and then I got sick... and then the weather went bad... and then I did the Northern Cross Island Highway... and then the the weather went bad... and then a typhoon swept through Taiwan...  and before I knew it, I was a couple months out of shape. 



Crossing Into Dongshih


The weather this past weekend looked excellent for riding and I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to throw a leg over the top tube and start clawing my way back into shape. 


I worked out an plan with Dom A. with the understanding that I would be using the ride as an easy warm-up to begin my training to get back to my former level of fitness; a level of fitness that once allowed me to chew up climbs and distance with relative ease.   



Fight


Dom seemed to have other plans. He delighted in showing off his superior fitness and form as I struggled to find any form... of my previous...form. 


I was sapped from the get-go. Dom was riding circles around me. Ouch!


Aside from the obvious lack of exercise, I hadn't really had much for dinner and my last serious ride occurred before the heat and humidity of summer had fully taken hold. Those conditions combined with a hilly route and a return headwind all converged on the day in a perfect storm of ego popping cycling madness. 


Dom seemed to relish the opportunity to launch up ahead at will and completely disappear into the horizon. I quit trying to play catch-up and just tried to play "turn the pedals". 





Typhoon Damage


Dom was feeling so much better, that he overshot the turn to the Route 52-3 (Xinli Agricultural Rd.)


The road was in rough shape after the typhoon, and was littered with all sorts of mud and debris for some technical riding. I didn't mind the fact that it kept the pace to something I could manage.  





The road dips and curves along the northern edge of the Liyu Reservoir in a pleasant mix of short climbs, easy flats and a couple good dives through some picturesque orchards. 







Aside from the typhoon slurry that was spread all over the tarmac, the road is pretty smooth... until is reaches a steep gradient that starts to look like someone's insanely steep private driveway. The road is rough and in desperate need of local construction funds. At times my rear wheel spun out on some type of road hazard or another. 







Then things got really nasty. 


The entire climb pitches up at over 20% and on a couple of occasions my front wheel lost contact with the ground.



Steepness


I dug in with a full tank of Everything I Had Left and chugged to the top.


The drop down the other side took concentration and careful attention to a good line. It seemed that each corner had become a slippery mud bog, more for the likes of a 4x4 or a swamp buggy. To take one of those corners with anything less than a straight line would have spelled a crash in an instant.


Despite the technical challenges, much of the road is a thrilling ride of undulating blacktop along forested ridge lines, above deep gullies, through low tunnels of uncut yellow bamboo. 


Being forced to slow down forces you to take in the stunning spectacle that otherwise would be missed. 








The road ends at the foot of the Liyu dam. As we rolled out onto the flats, I could feel my inner quads beginning to cramp. Each pedal stroke aroused the synapses into prompting another round of acute cramping. 


Dom just rolled away out of sight into the headwind and there was little I could do to catch up. I finally waved him home and plodded along in agony as I fought cramps and a very stiff headwind all the way back into Taichung. 








Not Only Is Dom's Patience Wearing Thin


By the time I threw my mud caked bike into the elevator of my apartment, I was still horribly cramping and just completely destroyed. I had nothing left except the notion that this was just the beginning of my campaign to get back into top form.... The first day of my comeback. Now I just need to remember to keep it purposeful and methodical to avoid any stupid injuries. 



Maybe I'd Be Faster On This?




Also:

Check out Michael Turton's great ride over Yangming Shan.

Tourng The Liyu Reservoir: Route 52 and Route 52-3

New Citizen Talking To A Cop

After waking up late for another scheduled ride, I slept in and then debated the weather before reaching the conclusion that anything could happen and pushed my luck on the saddle.

My legs were feeling... better... but the plan was for a more leisurely, exploratory ride into the hills over the Liyu Reservoir. I have ridden the gorgeous Miaoli Route 52 dozens of times as it starts high above Juolan where the Highway 3 bends toward the Liyu Reservoir and makes for an easy and accessible weekend route.

I had never tried the Route 52-3 at the northern end of the reservoir... mainly because it was not far enough away to make it worth the adventure. Now I was more than curious to try that road.

"Morning Ride and Smoke With My Best Gal"

I steadily rolled on up onto the Hou-Feng Bike Trail, which was filled with riders squeezed together cheek by jowl into the narrow path. The experience is really stressful as riders brake, swerve, smoke (see picture) and veer into the oncoming lanes. It feels just like morning traffic.

View?

Visibility was horrible all day. It seemed like the clouds were just sitting on my back the whole day driving the humidity through the roof. A coffee and couple punchy climbs later, I was perched over the Liyu Reservoir.

Haze Over Reservoir

Not long after I committed to the northern route a light drizzle had begun to fall. It was actually quite refreshing.

Bridge To Route 52-3

I approached the bridge where the Route 52-3 starts and stopped for a few minutes to watch a couple of fishermen balance along the edge of the bridge as they tried to reel in some type of fish.

Signs

Something To See

Looking Down On Reservoir

Soon I was speeding over short climbs and dipping into dark valleys. The road was an absolute gem until about 3/4 of the way to the top when it suddenly becomes a narrow scribble of amateur paving. The punchy climbs became sustained grinds on 12% grades through bamboo groves.

Road?

Farmhouse

Suddenly the bottom drops out of the climb and the road skates along ridges past lonely farmhouses and deep, foliage covered valleys.

Dam!

The descent is such a wonderful thrill ride on what is essentially paved singletrack, I felt a little disappointed when it was all over at the bottom of the Liyu dam.

I sat there for a few minutes to decide which way to go. Would it be to Houli on the busy Highway 13, or would it be another climb over the Route 52 along the southern ridge of the reservoir?

I chose the climb. My legs actually started feeling great the more I climbed. I then upped the pace back to Taichung as the spray and grit from the wet roads covered my face at speed.

It was rainy, humid and I had a late start, but it was a fantastic ride.

Score:

Distance: 110km

Elevation Gain: 3192ft

Max Speed: 66kph

Manly Day On The 52-3