A Ride Where There Was None: Miaoli County Route 26-2

Friday morning I had a plan to ride from Ching-jing to Wuling to watch the KOM riders start arriving from the Hualien side. By Friday afternoon I was informed that my plans would be changing and I would be going to Taipei instead. All of a sudden I didn't have a clue what I was going to do for a weekend ride.

I decided to kit up and head into Miaoli with only the vaguest idea for what I might do.

This was like a mid-life crisis of rides. I had no clue what I really wanted to do with my ride or if it was even a good idea. I was listless, directionless and apathetic. Not the best recipe for a great ride. I would have been better off buying a sports car.



I woke up late and was in no hurry to get out of Taichung. I put no real thought into my breakfast or preparation.



This is the peak of Taiwan Bike season. Taichung Bike Week is in full swing. The Taiwan International Bike Festival with the Maxxis KOM Challenge. Lots of organized bike activities in play, and I was out in the middle of the city deciding road by road which direction I would go.

A steady wind blowing from the north was enough to convince me to tuck my shoulder down and bear into the wind.



Adding to my malaise was a layer of cloud cover that made the entire day feel like I should have still been in bed. It was that muted, saturated grey that took all the life out of the landscape and all but killed my desire to take pictures.

After a long, long coffee break, I decided I would head up to the ethno-entertainment tourist town of Tai-an.

I first discovered Tai-an on one of my earliest motorcycle trips about fifteen years ago. I think, at the time, I was under the notion that I was headed toward the Central Mountain Range near Gu-guan. Only much later did I realize Tai-an was in Miaoli. At the time it was all such a big adventure of discovery.



The area near Dahu had once been a stronghold of Atayal speakers, but now produces strawberries and sunflowers. There is also a healthy ethnic tourism business centering around Taiwanese hot spring culture.



I launched up the ramp to Tai-an and was soon disappointed that the gradient was so shallow.



Until Tai-an, the roads had been nearly vacant. It seemed everyone had stayed home for the weekend. I was passing through near ghost towns on my way along the Highway 3 through Miaoli.



Tai-an's Tofu Street tourist trap had a handful of Chinese tourists, and had been glosses up since the last time I passed through. It was all the same snacks and "ethnic" trinkets that litter the parking lots and manufactured spots of "interest" all over Taiwan.

It was all just really dumb.

My ride was being wasted on a dump truck load of dumb dumped in the mountains of Miaoli.

There was almost nothing to write about.

I couldn't see any reliable roads to take that might give me a sense of discovery or even a little "wow" to sate my need to mix things up.



I cruised back to the 7-11 at the bottom of the hill, bought another coffee and contemplated my next move.

I contemplated returning on the Highway 3. The Highway 6 just up ahead and that would have sent me back home. I did see a little road that disappeared into the mountains between Dahu and Tongluo.

Or... I could keep on the Highway 3 and make the ride into a century.

I rolled onto the road still unsure if I would turn on the Highway 6 or keep going....

.... I rolled past the Highway 6 and didn't swerve across the lanes to head home. I had, in an instant, chosen to make my boring, meandering ride into a real ride.

This is where things became interesting.

My body reacted positively to an environment lacking indecision and my pedal stroke became purposeful. I was beginning to feel glimmers of my old self. Moreover, the road was almost all mine. I was out of the saddle pulling my lazy ass along behind.


Rare: A Firefly custom titanium 007. A New England cousin to my Seven. Firefly is an offshoot of Independent Fabrications after Independent skipped town to a new location.

I decided to stop at the Family Mart in ShihTan below the Route 124 for another pack of instant noodles.

Normally I take the northern route through the Shitan Reservoir. The waters of the reservoir are so inviting I have never taken the Route 26-2 on the southern route.



This was my day to try it. Finally, at long last...... adventure.



One reason I have avoided this route is for the fact that it looks like it would be tantamount to jumping into a wall. The hills rise up like pillars on all sides.

For a century ride the fewer hills the better. I had somehow chosen to deliberately burn up valuable calories on an unnecessary hill climb.

The route up zig-zagged between the hills while forcing me into a diesel powered cadence to lift me higher above the valley floor.



I was pleasantly surprised to find a tunnel through the mountain.


Route 26-2

The road on the other side was incredible. It followed wide, banked turns along deep ravines through a labyrinth of vertical cliffs. All politics aside, Miaoli did a marvelous job on turning these roads into a usable bikeway.

I was absolutely elates by the descent.

The road ended on the Highway 6 in Miaoli City and I followed it to Gongguan.

As I followed the road I kept seeing signs for towns to the north of Miaoli. I was totally confused. I knew where the hills were that I had come out of. I looked around at the landscape and felt the wind. I was even more confused when I looked off to my right and saw a ramp indicating East. On my left was another indicating West. I wondered if I had somehow gotten turned around in the Twilight Zone of Taiwanese roadways.

I slowly rolled into Gongguan and the signs reversed themselves. I was confident I was on the right track.

I tacked right to the Miaoli Route 128, which, once it clears the townships, becomes a pretty series of hills and dips. The descent into Tongxiao is purely intoxicating.

The tailwind allowed me to cruise at 40kph for long stretches and make up some seriously lost time. I was blasting through township after township.

I climbed up the Highway 12 on Taichung Harbor Rd. for one final test of my endurance.

Everything clicked into place for 3/4 of the climb... and then I was done. My speed slowed and my cadence dropped. I had just enough energy to roll down the hill and back home.

I had turned the ride into A RIDE.... Boom!

That felt really good. For the first time in a long time I was challenging myself.


Taiwan Rock tiger. A type of wild cat around these parts. I just love actual wildlife in Taiwan. 

Bike route 1903998 - powered by Bikemap 

Also:

• Michael Turton tours some amazing country in Kaohsiung County. 

• Peter, Taiwan's Rando-man, rides Tainan to Alishan and back in a day  . I always keep a warm spot in my heart for these incredible day rides. 

• Congratulations to CCN's John Ebsen for claiming the coveted Wuling KOM championship prize   . Ebsen rode from sea level to 3275m in 3h. 37min. defeating some serious talent from the Pro tour. This is one of the world's toughest climbs. Too bad it is best ridden in the cycling off-season. It would really be an excellent new monument in cycling. 

Don't Forget: Taichung Bike Week in on. There are rides every morning out of the Evergreen Hotel.

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Fighting The Foothills of Nantou

It had been too long since I felt I could seek out a little adventure on a mystery road I had only vaguely imagined from a Google map and hazy recollections of regional topography. Sunday provided just the opportunity I was looking for.




With no desire to spend a gorgeous day fighting wind, I had my eye on exploring a section of Nantou foothills that was far too vacant on my riding map. I etched out a vague ride plan and memorized a few of the details and the names of a few of the communities scattered around the Nantou side of Jiufen Er Shan. I aimed to take a route out of Caotun and into the hills near the Longfeng waterfall. This is the same route that goes up to the 921 Earthquake epicenter, but I hoped to continue into some new areas.



As I ambled along at a lazy pace to Wufeng, I met up with Michael Turton on the road and we made small talk all the way to Nantou. I changed my original plan and decided to start my climb on the Nantou Route 22 (Dongshan Rd.). This was a fortuitous decision as I had forgotten to grab my food and emergency cash as I hurried out the door. Three weeks off the bike is enough to forget the usual routines and precautions. I am surprised I brought my own ass with me.



The initial climbing was quite tame. 2-4% grades. I passed through a few towns that showed signs of being rebuilt after the massive 7.6 magnitude quake that rocked the area in 1999.



Before long I started to recognize the Route 22 as the road Todd A. had taken us up on the way to the earthquake epicenter. The road is a designated bike road with plenty of signage to drive the point home.



The stretch of road that leads to the Longfeng waterfall has some light traffic and tour busses. I passed the commotion at the falls and continued ahead on a deserted ribbon of asphalt.



The only real company on the road were a few butterflies and a large locust that was content enough to sit out on the median sunning itself.



A few kilometers past the waterfall the road split into the 58, 56, and 54. These all looked like farm trails and I debated which would be best for this ride. I didn't recall seeing any of them on the map, so I went with my intuition and headed down the 58. I could look out at a sea of hills eddying out into the distance. I knew it was the way to Jiji or somewhere, but I couldn't see any sign of human existence save for the occasional red and white power pylon.



My stomach wasn't feeling real great and I was looking at a long, uncomfortable day on the bike. So I turned tail and chose another road that looked like it would head back home.



The thought of adding another two hours between myself and a 7-11 restroom was too much to bear.
I dropped through one of those narrow chutes that exits off the mountain and I found myself back at the village where the Hakka singing competition was taking place.



I decided to take the Nantou Route 17 to Caotun rather than retrace my steps any more than I already had.

The Route 17 was a quiet little road that snakes an invisible line through the forest before climbing up to a cemetery over Caotun.



The view was incredible.

I realized I had been there several years before as I was looking into some local history.



I eventually cruised off the mountain at top speed and landed on the Highway 14 back through a nasty crosswind home.

A nice way to spend 100k.



This map is as close as I could draw. Not all the roads are listed.

Bike route 1898541 - powered by Bikemap 

Taiwan's Booze Hounds Embrace The EBike

Last year a middle aged Taiwanese man that I know was given a brand new EBike, or electricity assisted bicycle, for New Year. It was thought that this would be an ideal gift for a man who, according to his family, isn't an alcoholic, but just loves to drink.

His love of drink had gotten him a couple of large tickets and his family felt that an EBike would be a perfect way to skirt the current laws, which outlaw driving under the influence of alcohol. An EBike would allow him to freely drink and drive.

I thought this might have been an isolated case of one family's pluck and determination in shielding a family member from embarrassment and trouble. I was wrong.

The Liberty Times reports on one Taichung resident who has been stopped multiple times for Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

When the police finally followed the fumes and caught up with Mr. Li, who had run numerous stop lights and reeked of skunky Japanese whiskey, the man refused the officer's request to conduct a field sobriety test. Mr. Li was given a compulsory NT$60,000 fine for refusing the sobriety test and released.

With no laws covering Ebikes and other electric vehicles that are unregistered, Mr. Li was able to fight the ticked and have his fine reduced to NT$500.

The police complain that the use of Ebikes by alcoholics has rapidly increased as a method to evade sobriety checkpoints while continuing to put themselves and others at risk on the road.

In Taiwan the bike is not always for leisure and recreation, but it is also a further evolution in the public's long, passive aggressive history of flouting the laws designed to promote public safety.

I guess when you see an EBike coming, it might be best to give him a wide berth.

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Taiwan's Future In Cycles: China Post Calls For Government To Get Serious About Cycling

Today's China Post has done a brave and commendable job in using its editorial page to focus on some of the core issues at stake in the development of Taiwan's bicycle policy. 

I use the word "brave" because it certainly can not be easy for a major publication to run against the grain of the government's steady flow of cheerleading over its own cycling policies that emphasize keeping the bicycle exiled to the Peach Blossom Spring of leisure and recreation. It is also brave of the editorial staff to question these policies that are tailor made to most benefit the bottom lines of some of Taiwan's largest companies. 

If you believe what the government says, this has been a brilliant year for cycling in Taiwan. Sun Moon Lake's biking path “won” some publicity on the CNN GO travel website, and there was another successful Tour de Taiwan. More bikes and locations were added to Taipei's YouBike rental system, and the Taipei Cycle trade show was just as big as ever. But these achievements — just like the doping scandal — are distractions. If our country is to take cycling up a gear from just a leisure-time activity to an integral part of our culture, we need to give serious thought about making commuting by bike safe, convenient and most of all popular.

The China Post rightly identifies that the future of Taiwan as a cycling success story will, at least in the short term, be invisible on the positive side of the balance sheet. It will require some tough choices, long term strategies, and some serious investment without a corporate sponsor. 

Let's face the biggest problem straight off the bat — the central and local governments like cycling because of cash and self-promotion.

The China Post is right on the money. Cycling infrastructure projects provide plenty of political capital for politicians who are eager to ride on the coattails of cycling's popularity while handing out inflated government contracts to other local and regional powers. For these politicians the beauty of these leisure projects is that they do not actually have to upset any apple carts.

If Taiwan's central and local governments actually took cycling's integration into the transportation grid seriously, it would involve deeper, result oriented investment in reorganizing the modern Taiwanese city and risk having to make some unpopular choices that might alienate some of the political actors that enjoy the fruits of the current state of roadway chaos. What I am coyly implying is that there is a lot of money and power at stake in the enterprise of routing of people through the urban landscape. Cycling decentralizes a lot of the transportation infrastructure that has already been negotiated. Embracing urban cycling would provide some opportunities, but it would also upset a lot of apple carts.

Again the constant feeling that local governments are far too focused on the meager profits of tourism and recreation is present here. Indeed, every level of government has failed to truly capitalize on the popularity of riding.

The disparity between Taiwan's leisure and utility cycling was made embarrassingly clear in the faint praise Taiwan's cycling investment received from Jack Becker, a Canadian bicycle advocate who was brought to Taiwan to, presumably, be feted into writing a gushing assessment of some cherry picked selections of the northern bike trail network. Becker rightly ignored the pressures of patronage to write a bit of reality for the government to think about. 

Becker noted:

While the Mayor is a former cycling racer, his past enthusiasm for cycling has not been reflected in cycling infrastructure on the street. The city is very proud of its 17 kilometres bike path along the seashore. The bike path attracts recreational cyclists from cities two and three hours away. They rent a motor coach and come in droves. This very expensive bike path winds its way on stilts over wetlands and along sand dunes. On streets, there are very few separated lanes that could be mistaken for bike lanes, since droves of motorcyclists ride in these lanes.

The China Post echoes this sentiment and what others, including myself, have been saying for a very long time. 

The biggest obstacle is getting bike paths constructed to make commuting safe. Dedicated bicycle lanes are not and will never be sufficient, given the local driving habits and amount of traffic. Taipei's YouBike system is admirable but is not built for commuting and the capital needs a systematic overhaul of its roadways and road rules. Unfortunately other attempts at cycling paths are not encouraging, like ones in which motorists unflinchingly dive in and out of the lane and others with uncomfortable, tiled surfaces.

If Taiwan is to realize its self-declared title as a "Bicycle Paradise", it will take long-term investment that will probably not show dividends until an election cycle far beyond the current political horizon. The government will have to resist playing to large corporate interests and their advisors. 

Not every government project needs to serve a partner in business. Some projects should just be completed to serve the citizen. 

I commend the China Post for their willingness to advocate a balanced investment in Taiwanese cycling. 

Read the entire editorial HERE

The View from Taiwan adds to the discussion HERE

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EVENT INVITE: Help Me Celebrate My Birthday Over Alishan (Nov. 24-25)

This November I'll be celebrating another middle age birthday on the bike and I'd like to put the call out to invite my friends and TiC readers to join me in a two day ride over Alishan. 

Instead of doing the ride in a 250km 4000m single day effort, we hope to make this a more manageable, friendly ride by breaking it up into two days. Two days leaves time for a little beer somewhere along the route. 

This ride should be suitable for most regular riders. The route is incredible and unforgettable.  It is challenging, but not devastating. 

Info: Nov 24-25th, Alishan. First day from Taichung to Tsaoling on the 149, then second day leave early and head up to Fenchihu on the 169 or 149. Reaching Fenchihu in the early afternoon, we'll take the 159A out of Shijhuo, one of Taiwan's loveliest roads, down to Chiayi city and catch the train or ride back home. Come one, come all!

Contact: ackymouse@gmail.com

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Action Speaks Louder Than Words: Kaohsiung's Cycling To Success Away From The Spotlight

This past weekend I was unable to ride. I had other commitments that took me to Taiwan's southern metropolis in the port city of Kaohsiung.

Despite being off the bike, I used part of my trip to look deeper into Kaohsiung's bicycle culture, which has received international recognition outside the usual channels of CNN-Pay-For-Play articles.

I find it surprising that almost every internationally syndicated article of Taiwanese cycling fails to mention Kaohsiung while piling the plaudits on Taipei's leisure bike trails and Sun Moon Lake.

It may be that in Taiwan's politico-economic climate, the leadership in Kaohsiung and Taipei remain poles apart in their vision of Taiwan as a center or a periphery, and therefore Kaohsiung will not receive any government help in raising her profile as a model for other cities in Taiwan or around the world for promoting the bicycle as a form of urban transport.

Kaohsiung is a very different city than any other in Taiwan. It has wide boulevards and less traffic. The  slow lane is large enough for scooters and bikes, while the crosswalks separate cyclists from pedestrians.

I saw many casual riders out enjoying the day.




Although Kaohsiung is not perfect, I thought riders had plenty of options for roads and rides within the city. There were regular bike racks located around town and near gathering places for city residents. I particularly enjoyed seeing bikes parked near Kaohsiung's thriving cafe scene. Kaohsiung cafes seem to be filled with retirees who can barely hear each other as they shout in lively banter over the din. A very different vibe. It feels a bit like Tainan's food culture... in a cafe.



What really stood out were the bike rental stations located at various hubs around the city. I was surprised to see how many green and white rental bikes could be seen floating about the city.

Residents were actually using these bikes beyond simple recreation.

I saw numerous people approach the bike station, rent a bike, and take off into the city. It wasn't just at purely tourist oriented areas, but all over.

The bike rental program in Kaohsiung has actually provided a viable way to cleanly navigate the city.

The biggest problem I see is the lack of helmets, which increases the risk of serious injury... even on a slow city bike.

I have to admit, seeing all those bikes rented out made me feel the excitement of possibility.

Taipei and Taichung still have a long way to go to better organize the city infrastructure to accommodate the bicycle.

Let's hope other cities in Taiwan look to Kaohsiung for leadership in integrating the bike into our daily lives.

LINK:

 Be sure to check out another one of Michael Turton's Northern Cross Island bike trips . Like a pilgrimage to Mecca, Taiwan riders must do this journey with michael at least once in their lives.

Rabobank Leaves Giant At The Altar: Rabobank Pulls Sponsorship

Days after announcing an agreement in which Giant would hold exclusive rights to marketing Rabobank branded cycling gear as well as picking up the apparel tab for the Rabobank team, Rabobank has announced it will pull its sponsorship from professional cycling in the wake of the doping revelation uncovered in the Lance Armstrong investigation. 

“Great partners”The extension of the existing sponsor contract includes all Rabobank pro cycling teams. These consists of the Rabobank men’s road and cyclocross team, the Rabobank-Giant Off-Road team and, with its Liv/giant women’s brand, the Rabobank women’s team led by Olympic and World Champion Marianne Vos. 

“Rabobank and Giant have been great partners since 2009,” said Giant CEO Tony Lo. “We build bikes that help them win world championships, and their feedback pushes us to develop world-leading technologies. We’re excited to now extend that partnership into apparel.”

Taiwan's largest bicycle maker may be scrambling to fill the void left by one of the peloton's oldest sponsors and one of Giant's best marketing streams for high-end bikes. 

With great partners like these, who needs enemies?

It appears Giant may be stepping up as the title sponsor.