July 14, 2015: Reliving the dream of cycling around Taiwan, stage 4: Hualien - Wuling - Lishan

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/835577721
130km, 7h29, 4132m

Day four would be very different from the previous three days. I decided that instead of doing Suhua road to Yilan, I would take Hwy 8 to Lishan and then descent from Hwy 7 to Yilan. This is the cross central island highway up to Hehuan mountain and back over the central mountain range to northeast Taiwan. I had never done this before and previous plans to cycle to Lishan had never been a success. Today, I could spend the night in Lishan, with a friend of Liao Shi-jie. Besides that, I would be riding the KOM race on July 25th so an extra practice session would come in handy. Perfect arrangements for an epic ride!

When I did the double Wuling rides, I always had to leave very early. Today I could be more relaxed and leave with the daylight already bright.

I stopped at the only 7-11 of Hwy 8 in Xincheng for water and snacks. It would be my first-ever Wuling ride with my flatbar road bike

Hwy 8 with Tianxiang indicated. This is the road that leads to the Taroko Gorge, Taiwan's most stunning sight. I had come here the first time in 2011 by scooter. That is a long past era where I did not even cycle yet. 

Today I will write history! Not by mileage, but by going places I've never been before

Sounds funny but the previous two rides were both in the dark. It was the first time I saw this in clear day light.

One of the most mythical places in Taiwan for me, the start for adventures and legends, the escapade from reality and society, my hidden paradise!

Going through that little tunnel on the left

The famous Taroko Gorge of Hualien, this time in broad daylight

Narrow stretches, mostly annoying for tour buses

If you like cycling then days and weeks can be spent in this setting.

I surely was very visible

I had to respect the speed limit of 40, quite a challenge for the downhill stretches

Xipan, altitude 115m. This area reminds of me of 2011, when I came here with a Korean guy on a moped.

The gorge at its finest

A lot of tunnels in this section, always results in incorrect GPS tracking

With Lishan as my destination for today, I could take things really calmly and enjoy the sceneries. Acting like a genuine tourist was fun.

Lushui, Chinese for green water, altitude over 450. This was very close to Tianxiang.

Parking lots for cars

I had seen this sign various times, but this time I was baffled by Lishan, only 87km. It seemed so close. Nevertheless, a good sixty km would be uphill here.

Tianxiang suspension bridge

This is actually a hiking trail. I had some students who told me about this one. I will probably never do it, as I could not imagine coming to this place without a bike.

Wenshan, 575 meters... There were some steeper parts on this section

Another trail for hikers...

It was a tranquil and enchanting Tuesday morning. The French were celebrating Bastille day, and I was enjoying the absolute star of cycling routes.

Guyuan, 615 meters

Xibao farm, this was new, never saw it on previous rides

Xibao 915 meters, almost making it into the realm of four-digit-elevations

It sounds unbelievable but yes, Xibao elementary school, brought to you a well 30km inside of Hwy 8

The last couple of times I came here it was super early. This is the 160km mark, a special place to me forever...

This shrine was also new! It is a great spot for taking pictures that's right

Taiwan's central mountain range

The next segment would be less steep

How do we read this chart? Current elevation 1000, without 11km that will be 1100. So we climb 500 meters on 11km. Within 25km we will be at elevation 2000, so we climb 1000 on 21km. As for gradient, that would be around 5%.

This section was no 5% though

Luoshao, elevation 1117m

Another hiking trail, there are quite a few here

Suddenly I was suffering from tunnel vision

When I first came here, they were working on this road. Now there was a whole new bridge and the red was just beside it. I read the info on the stone. Apparently these red bridges are somewhat outdated and are being replaced, but they are keeping them as a reminder. Can't blame them, these red bridges are part of Hwy 8. Even in Guguan there is red bridges all over the place.

It was time for a little break, I stopped under that shrine and had some snacks.

Ciyun Bridge, the merciful clouds bridge

These red bridges were a sponsorship of early US-ROC relations back in the fifties. Read all about it here

I was in no position to complain about the weather. It could have been A LOT worse!

How does that song go again? One of the best days of my life? This one could qualify!

Nothing to see behind that gap, just a remarkable geological feature

Hualüxi, elevation 1380m. There is a small shop that sells drinks and tonic eggs here.

The first time I rode here I was intimidated by the distance, but after a few rides I had everything clear in my head and I was confident on this ride.

We reach elevation 2500 in 31km. That would refer to Dayuling

Xinbaiyang 1644m. This could be considered as 50% of the climb

Never thought I would come here on this bike, pretty darn nice!

I will never get sick of these views, never! It may sound as a cliche, but stress seems non existant over here.

God I love the central cross island highway

Ci'en, elevation 2000. In English that could be the "merciful gratitude"

Gaining altitude

This bike looks great with that background

Epic times at a moment that seemed timeless

Just another good spot for a pick nick

When I made it to this spot, I decided to have a break. There is a small restaurant here were you can have a meal for 250 NT. Not super cheap, but I am not sure if there would be anything else before Lishan. It was also the only spot with Wifi, so I made usage of this to share my developments with my friends online.

The Divine Sacred Green Tree, the 128km mark. 

More cute little red bridges, see what I mean?

Obviously my speed could not be compared with the previous two rides, but that was not the point today.

Guanyuan elevation 2374m. I was close to the T-split between Wuling and Lishan.

The Hehuan mountain police station. If I could work here and have my room in Tianxiang, that would be the killer life!

Construction at the 116km mark. Luckily traffic was low.

I saw the name of Luoshao on this sign

A new update on elevation: Yes, 500m in just 6km, that's gotta be steep!

Dayuling, I made it. Now I had to go to Lishan, but since I had a lot of time and I just had to do this thing called climbing up Wuling with my flatbar, i first did the 11km super-steep section to Wuling and then I descended again to continue my journey to Wuling. Yes, I am a crazy fuck.

Dayuling, elevation 2565m

The sign warns about sharp twists and steep roads. Proceed with moderated speed

That last section was steep as always haha, got me sweating nicely

Only a few more km until I would make it

Mount Hehuan, one of the highest of Taiwan

Elevation 3000, not many places in the world offer this

Time to gasp for some air...

So strange, there was a thick mist on the western part of this mountain. It was all perfect in the east. Luckily that's where I was heading back to.

This was it, one the most glorious moments of my trip around Taiwan. Standing on top of Wuling with my flatbar, great!!

That was some serious fog for the western part of Wuling

OK, time to head back because I still had a logn way to go to Lishan

Hehuan mountain national park

I made some friends here. They happened to also be heading to Lishan and they invited me to join them at the Lishan Guesthouse. Too bad I never found them...

Today my flatbar increased in value! The super steep descent on discs was a walk in the park

I would be there in just a few hundred meters, says enough about this crazy gradient, right?

One of my favorite pictures, really love this illuminated foreground under the darkening sky

My traveler's heart was also illuminated

I would love to check out this path but I was not riding the right bike for it

Back at the T-split, this time finally to Lishan

Finally going through this Hehuan tunnel made me feel excited! 

To my surprise, it was still a good 30km to Lishan. I thought it would have been less

Upon seeing this sign I kinda worried about the road not being open. Good thing I was wrong in my assumptions.

If traffic was low from Hualien to Wuling, then it was zero from Wuling to Lishan. The roads were mine!

Making it to Lishan was one of the items that were on my parking lot for a very long time

Once again I found myself in the Taroko national park

Wuling's elevation is 3275, Dayuling is 2565 and Lishan is 2000. That means that from Dayuling to Lishan, it was all downhill. Well, most of it was, but there were some minor climbs as well.

Almost nothing to see here, I mean of houses etc. This was a genuine rural area.

I was putting pieces of a puzzle together when i saw this. I saw this same sign in Changhua, in Miaoli and in Guguan. Guguan is Hwy 8 just like here, actually not that far at all. It was the triple mountain area, with one in Miaoli (Sanwan), Changhua (Baguashan) and Taichung (Lishan). After all, where i was, was Taichung county.

A manifestation of how dangerous mountain roads can be. If that roads erodes with you on it, you're history! May I point out that this is not very safely indicated. Could be better...

I was so focused by this that the 18% hill knocked me off my bike. I was not able to shift back fast enough. Looking back at that erosion, seriously dangerous! Makes me understand better why the section between Guguan and Deji is closed off. 

Lishan coming closer... The other indications were Hwy 7

Narrow roads can lead to frustrations among drivers

There was also a Hehuan river, good to know...

As I came closer to Lishan, I saw more cultivated stretches of land up the hills. Liao Shi-jie's friend where I am staying, also works here, cultivating tea and crops.

Triple eight is pure luck in Chinese mythology

This view really changes your perspective on a mountain road. You don't even see it on that mountain slope.

When I arrived here, I could not pass. There were construction works and we had to wait until 5pm. Luckily that was only 21min. I had a chat with some locals here, that also cycled. It was a fun conversation. 

I could not believe it, I had finally made it to Lishan! Mission accomplished! 

Lishan village is a part of Heping township, which is at its turn part of Taichung county. 

The late afternoon at elevation 2000m in the middle of Taiwan

Lishan Christ Church

Lishan, official elevation 1956m

The Lishan guest house. Lishan was Chang-Kai Shek's favorite holiday spot. That's the reason he had the cross central island highway built.. One of the few positive things he did for Taiwan.

The roads running from Lishan, basically only Hwy 8 and 7 and not to forget: Nantou-89 aka Lixing road.

Before the 921 earthquake, Lishan connected to Dongshi. But those days are long gone. 

To Yilan... That would be my mission for the next day 

In Lishan, Liao Shi-jie's buddy was waiting for me. He was kind enough to buy me dinner. I spent the night at his place. I noticed that at night things could get quite chilly at this elevation. Nevertheless, I had a good night's rest. It was another fantastic ride. Did not do 200km, but I made that up in elevation and adventuring. Tomorrow: Yilan via Hwy 7. That would also be a whole new part of Taiwan for me.