March 3, 2015: Rounding up a perfect central cross-island crusade, from Hualien to Shalu

Garmin Activity (Day 2): https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/710198200

March 3, 2015: 216km, 9h57, elevation 3869m

When I arrived in the hostel yesterday, I took a quick meal and a shower and hit the sack. Few hours later, I woke up in the middle of the night and I decided it was time to hit the road. The descent from Wuling to Hualien left an incredibly deep impression. That section was long and stretched out beyond imagination. If I wanted to make it to Shalu in one day, I would have to start now!  I took a small breakfast at the hostel, jumped on my bike and restocked on provisions at the only 711 there was. I bought quite a few bottles of water and my backpack was heady. It was completely dark outside, dark and quiet. I had never experienced anything like it.

Going for Taroko Gorge in the middle of the night on Tuesday 3rd of March 2015

A crazy mission: engaging Taroko gorge in the complete darkness of the night. Luckily I had this 5000 NT light ready to guide me through

But nevertheless, doing this still labels as "lunatic"

Not only did I have to cycle in the dark, I also feared the risk of a rainfall like yesterday. To say the least, I was uncertain about the mission that lay ahead of me.

But attitude is all that counts, so I will do this thing with my head held high

Have you ever witnessed complete darkness and solitude, without even the smallest of sounds? This was exactly what the Taroko Gorge had to offer me. If I did not have this big-ass light, I would have truly been in trouble here. Cycling through this darkness gorge did fill me with fear. I was afraid that there might be wild animals running around at night. I was thinking: Why am I doing this? Do I have to be so exaggerated in these things? But slowly I kept making progress.

A tunnel ahead of me in the early morning. This is the setion between Xincheng and Tianxiang, with quite a few tunnels. These tunnels made me feel at ease because they were illuminated.

I guess my camera's lens had a little "tunnel vision" there. Somehow these tunnels offered me with mental strength to just carry on and to not be intimidated by the conditions I was facing.

Riding PRO style in the Taroko gorge! Not one living soul out here except for myself. Glad I had this insanely illuminated vehicle guiding me through.

Might not be clear from this picture, but the Taroko Gorge was the background setting.

Only downside is: impossible to enjoy to beautiful views of this gorge. But I had a crazy ride ahead of me,  with more than 200km and 3400 meters of altitude gain.

Steadily and slowly, the night became day and I could slightly see the profile of the Taroko Gorge. I had been cycling one full hour before I started to see the essence of light.

Slightly the daylight was peeping and greeting me.

Approaching Tianxiang, I had already plowed through a lot of tunnels.

Tianxiang ahead! When the darkness started to fade away, I started to feel more self assured about this ride.

Lüshui, the green water, elevation 450m

Right after the Tianxiang tunnel. Day had fallen upon me and I had completed somewhere around 20km of the climb. This spot was the 169km mark, which meant 57km + 10km left.

A warning sign that the only way to Taichung is Hwy 14 (Hwy 8 is interrupted in several sections)

Then I saw the sunrise, which was absolutely beautiful. Sure, I had to climb all the way and I was only at 900m (2200m left), but these views were just fabulous.

Xibao, elevation 900+

A golden morning in Xibao, it was only 6 am at this point. Progress was really good. I stopped every 10-15km for a break so I could refill on water and have a snack. I had to prevent being drained.

And obviously, for me first ever attempt at Wuling from Hualien, lots of pictures!

Taiwanese people would quote in English: "Fighting"

Some stretches of this cross-island highway were very narrow, like this tunnel.

About the halfway point of the climb: 150km. I took a break here and noticed two things: 1) I was making very good progress, to the extent that I would not have to stress about making it to Shalu on this day. 2) After a few breaks and drinking water, my backpack was feeling lighter, which made me feel better about the next part of the ride. So far, so good!

Road construction works, proceed with care. A flat would tremendously ruin my time schedule. Although I must say my 28mm all condition tires are genuine champs

Xinbaiyang, 142km mark, elevation 1640m. This could be considered as 50% of the climb.

What's that liquid substance on my face? Sweat!

The sometimes narrow stretches of Hwy 8. I believe this is somewhere around 138k, progress was continuous and steady.

Bartman riding his bike in Taiwan's central mountain range, and he is having a blast!

Step by step, mile by mile, I was conquering this giant mission

Just doing this trip is pure joy! One of the virtues of being alive!

Ci'en, elevation more than 2000m, means I am gradually growing closer to my goal...

Cute little red bridges. There is a pillar that explains how these bridges were US built sponsoring to Taiwan in the late 50's. However, due to improvements in construction techniques, these bridges are being replaced by more reliable ones. But a few relics of these red bridges do linger.

Gradually gaining altitude and time was on my hands

March,  spring is rising and the plants are flourishing

All of the sudden after a tunnel, there was a descent. I did not understand how that could be possible, I was not at 3275m yet. The road descended for a full 4km and 200m. It was a nice break and an opportunity to gasp for air, but it did not make sense in my geographical understanding of this mountain. After 4km, the road went up again. From there I started counting down to 112km, the ending section of this part.

Guanyuan, I was nearing the 112km mark of Hwy 8 fast now, only a few miles left before the grand finale

The big T-split of Hwy 8: left (Hwy 14-2) to Wuling, Puli, Taichung. Right (Hwy 8) to Lishan, Deji, Datong, Yilan. I was obviously going left. I had read in people's blogs that from here, there were about 10km left and looking at my GPS, I still needed to complete 800 meters of elevation gain. In these blogs people described how intense and harsh these last km were. I had to get myself prepared for the Grand Finale of my Eastern Approach to Wuling.

Dayuling, elevation 2565m, now the fun begins...

Mentally preparing myself for "attack mode"

The tunnel straight ahead runs to Lishan

Hehuan Mountain, Taiwan's high soaring diamond.

The last ten km were extremely difficult. I was really delighted to be riding with a 32t cog. Otherwise I would not have been able to keep my bike moving at all. The first two miles were 14% and steeper. I could literally feel altitude increasing.

The last few miles were hard work! But the cliche applies again: tremendously beautiful scenes!

Not long before I completed to entire attack on Wuling from Hualien, a historic prestige for me.

Elevation more than 3000m

At 34km there was another mysterious descent, but it was only around 900 meters. Another chance for a good gasp of fresh cold mountainous air. Then I saw this sign: Wushe and Puli to the right. I knew it was less than 3km from here.

I made it up to Wuling and I was still alive. I felt great about this accomplishment. I saw the skies were growing darker and fog was rising fast, so I did not waste any time going to the Wuling sign. I descended straight away. The more altitude I could lose, the safer I would be. Now let's start the count down from 3275!

One more quick snapshot at Kunyang, now seriously, get down!

I stopped at the Cuifeng Police station and they still remembered me. I told them about my journey and they praised my courage. They invited me for lunch, which was very welcome. It meant I could descend with more energy and I did not have to hunger it out until Puli; Thank you for looking after me Cuifeng Police Station! You contributed tremendously to this cycling adventure.

The rest of the climb went smooth, although traffic was more intense at the western part of the mountain (due to Qingjing Farm). I made it to Puli safe and sound. Then I realized I still had an 80km ordeal before I would make it to Shalu. I took out my jackets because it was warm enough on the plains. I felt fatigue during this last 80km, I needed to stretch my legs more often and my position on the bike was not as comfortable as I would have liked.

 

I went from Puli to Guoxing and from Guoxing to Caotun, all via Hwy 14. I saw another foreigner who was heading the opposite direction. Not long after that, he was behind me. He introduced himself and we had a nice chat. His name was Nathan Miller and he was teaching English at Asia University in Wufeng. I told him about my double Wuling crusade and he was impressed. He joined me to Wufeng and he even showed me some small roads which were lovely. Not only did I have a fabulous ride, I also made a cool new friend. Truly a ride worthy of remembrance.

 

 After saying goodbye to Nathan, I indicated "navigate home" on my GPS and I was sent somewhat differently, through the Wuri and Nantun areas of Taichung. Eventually I connected to Taiwan Boulevard. During the ascent I started calculating and I noticed that I could complete this ride in less than ten hours, but then I was have to race a little. I accepted this final challenge of the day and I raced uphill and downhill again to Shalu. When I entered my block, I had been cycling for a modest 9 hours and 57 minutes. Mission accomplished! What a fantastic two-day ride! Really outdid myself!

End of Day 2

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