August 17, 2014: A first visit to Taiwan's Miaoli regions with my Bike Cam

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/566818574
123km, 5h34, 1429km

After almost ten days in Taiwan and several cycling related setbacks (the worst one being the instant and sudden end of my hard-earned carbon clincher), I wanted to seriously hit the road today. It was about time to check out the Zipp alloy wheelset I bought yesterday and to explore some more remote areas of this island. After some reading on cycling blogs the past few days, I felt Miaoli 苗栗 should be my target area. I created a series of waypoints from recommended routes and copied them to my Garmin GPS.

This morning I got up at somewhere around 4:53 a.m. and I prepared everything for today's trip (GPS, camera, spare kit, etc.). At around a quarter to six I hit the road. I decided to avoid Taichung's urban areas by heading out to Daya 大雅 and treat myself to an instant ascent. From there I took Taiwan' 10 台10線 in the direction of Fengyuan 豐原. This usually very populated road was relatively tranquil at daybreak. Perfect for not losing too much time! The road carried on to Houli 后里, where I changed to nr. 13. These are some snapshots from my Bike Cam

I met another guy who was going the same direction. He invited me to join his cycling club, I joined him to their meeting place but they were only gonna go for a 60km spin, not quite enough to satisfy my cycling craving for the day. I told him I really wanted to do my own trip but that I would join him next time. I met him again a few hours later, how small the world can be. So I carried on to Zhoulan 卓蘭, which would actually be the starting point for my Tour de Miaoli. There was a very nice cycling path that went across a green bridge and then even in a tunnel. That was really cool as it probably saved me around 700m of climbing.

In Zhuolan I visited a 7-11 for breakfast, and of course there were other cyclists as well. One of them had a very cool Specialized Venge. Pointless to say I made a few more friends. Even funnier: He took a picture with me and the shop owner in Fengyuan also appears to know him.

After breakfast I started my tour. Right after I cruised through the Zhuolan city center I was faced with a first climb. According to my GPS it was around 12%. A very good way to pump up the volume. Luckily the wetter was a bit more chilly than yesterday. Although the climb was though, I did get to see some very lovely sceneries, such as a bridge on the left side over the landscape, the forest through which I cycled, a few stray dogs and some desolate mountain creeks. The road was of poor quality so I was happy to ride my Roubaix. This road (The 54 out of Taichung towards Miaoli) continued like that for some eleven km until there was a descent. Unfortunately it didn't take long before it went up again.

I passed some temples here and there and I got to see the countryside: Extensive vegetation, agriculture, and a lot of small houses and one big central road that bounced up and down. A few of the ascents were really intrusive and I did walk some of the more steeper sections. This will obviously change when I get used to longer ascents again. But for now I have no intention of dying on my bike like one of the participants of the Wuling race yesterday. This up and down pattern carried on for quite some time, until I reached the absolute top. That was a lovely view over the entire area. And then it went down with a road full of twists and turns and some occasional constructions. I could feel the wind blowing through my clothes, an excellent way to cool down since it had been raining. Not from the skies, but from my body that is. I can't remember the last time I sweat like this, like there is no tomorrow. But I won't complain: it means my physical condition is improving and that's what we are aiming at.

Eventually the road took me to the Taiwan 3 intersection. A lot of cyclists here, from all ages and even directions. If I had a buck for every time I heard jiayou... The 3 intersection continued for a few dozen kilometer, with a few pinchy ascents to keep me awake. But altogether, it's a nice road as you get to see many different things. The road went south and brought me back to the Taichung area. From there I went back home. Today's trip of approximately 122km and 1500 height was nice, but it would have been even better if I covered some more area in Miaoli itself. I'll have next weekend for that!