Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/906692786 (erroneous file)
Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/906692830 (correct file)
176km, 6h50, elevation 915m
Early in the morning I said goodbye to Al and hit the road. I had to meet my friends of the cycling 3490 club at 7am. That was an appointment I could not miss! From Hongshulin I took the bicycle lanes through Zhuwei and Guandu.
Hongshulin bike lanes in the early morning. This area was my daily habitat in 2011.
Really looking forward to meeting my friends of the Taipei cycling club. It had been so long
Between Zhuwei and Guandu
I used to cycle to work through this lane, in 2012
Already some people moving here early in the morning
Bali was peacefully located on the other side of the river
On crowded days, this path is too narrow
I went to the Guandu bridge and crossed it. I remember that on Fridays and Tuesdays, they would gather at another place.
I put my bike here and waited for them, but no one came. I got a call from Sky saying that today they met up at the other place, near Guandu. So I headed back to Guandu bridge, and went in the direction of Shilin.
It was such a delight seeing each other, hugs were even exchanged. We had a long chat about which way life took us.
Obviously there were many pictures. The last time I was able to join them was in August 2013, exactly two years ago.
I told them about my life in Taichung and my trip around the island.
Somewhat later, Sky and his wife came as well. They drove their car out just to see me. That was nice.
A picture taken with my mobile phone
More pictures and laughter during breakfast
It delayed my departure for day 2 quite a bit, but it was so worth it. I would have felt terrible not coming here
Apparently someone took this picture while I was having a chat with Sky and his wife.
Then the journey went on. I still had to cycle all the way to Yilan. I started heading north to Tamsui again. A quick snapshot of this epic location first though...
Today's ride would actually grosso modo be repeating the first day of my 2013 tour de Taiwan. Back then I departed from Tamsui and I cycled Hwy 2 to Su'ao.
Still some Typhoon damage visible
A map of the Tamsui river, with Bali and Tamsui each covering one of the two banks
It seems this cycle path was under construction. I could still pass.
Serious wreckage by the August Typhoon
Milestones along the bike ways
This area makes me very nostalgic, I think back of those moments I spent here in 2011 and 2012. Hard to believe it is already so long ago.
In Guandu I decided to exit the bicycle paths and take the normal roads. That way the connection to Tamsui would be easier
After climbing up a short but steep hill, I arrived here. Left was the road to Tamsui. Right would be back into the city center of Taipei
The only time I went through that road was with John in September 2014.
Tamsui straight ahead of me
Tamsui, the location of my ancestors on Formosa, 400 years ago
I did not enter the busy Tamsui city center, but used the road right next to it. It all ends up in the same though. This sign showed me my assignments for the day: Sanzhi and Shimen were close enough. Keelong was a full 50km.
Pardon me for being nostalgic in this particular post. It is truly a walk through my personal past. I remember this St John's university from my Sunday rides with Al and John. We would sometimes come here when returning to Tamsui.
Manyou Sanzhi, a relaxing journey in Sanzhi. That is exactly what I intended to do
I had left the crowded Tamsui region behind me and tranquility surrounded this initial section of Hwy 2.
The ocean was nearby
Although this is a coastal road, there are several ups and downs, short and less short hills to conquer.
I stopped here for some sight seeing. Some people were down at the beach. I also made a small video report.
Some folks enjoying there Friday morning at this beach
This ride was relaxing so far, listening to some music and just whiling away at this Hwy 2.
I saw some signs indicating a Travel-around-Taiwan bike trail. I decided to go for it and check it out. I first entered the side road, called Taipei-14.
The north coast cycling path. Sounded nice!
If Hwy 2 was tranquil then this area was dead. This was truly my kingdom
A lot could be done here...
Some info on Taiwan Power corporations process flow
I had a premonition that I would be getting very wet soon, about the time my bike would crash into the ocean after following this road. But still, uphill towards the sea haha
More side roads
Here you can see how this northern coast bicycle path runs
A close up. This section was about 5km.
The portal of the winds...
Clear blue water under a crystal blue sky
Coming here was a good idea, I saw some beautiful sceneries that I would not see from Hwy 2.
The ocean on one side, the mountains on the other side. That is what Taiwan stands for.
This setting was just like a fairy tale
Getting a million bucks snapshot of my precious ride
It was starting to get warm
From there I went back to the main road. A quick pic of the 2-22 mark
A wedding gallery. I can imagine this place being sold out at certain times
I would seriously consider having my wedding banquet here as well
Not far after that, I saw the sign that indicated Fugui Cape Tower. This is the northernmost point of the Island Taiwan. I had checked it out in 2013 and I had set my mind on doing it again.
Perfect spot for escaping reality
I had to follow this trail for almost a km before arriving at the tower. I met a girl who was backpacking here.
The story of Fugui Cape is actually a Dutch sailor who called it "hoek". Read all about it here
It was getting very warm, near to 40 degrees.
There it is, Fuguei Cape, the northernmost point of the island. I made a video report here. At this moment the temperature had risen to 43 degrees. Super hot!
This is such a mythical place
Nothing but ocean here, just one vast ocean
It was almost noon when I was here. I decided I should not slack too much. After all, I still had to go all the way to Yilan.
Bye-bye Fuguei cape! I cannot say when we will meet again, but someday we will!
The Shimen whole in the wall, a famous spot
From Tamsui I had passed through Sanzhi, Jinshan and Shimen. Next in line was Wanhua area.
I have once cycled this route, again very long ago in 2012. It is one of the ways to go to Yangmingshan. If I had more time, I would check it out.
From Wanhua, the journey went on. I crossed the Yeliu geographic area. Not long after that I made it to Keelung city.
The sun was shining so brightly and it was hot in the morning, but now I could see the skies growing very dark.
It would definitely be raining later...
Hwy 2 leads through Keelung city. I don't like the fact that it runs through the heart of the city, but I had no choice. It was almost ten km through the city, with some hills as well.
Dark skies...
I am gonna be soaked in 35 minutes
Hwy 2 also runs next to the Keelung harbor
The second harbor on my path, after the Taichung harbor one day earlier
Indications for Hwy 2 to Yilan, the coastal highway. With Keelung behind me, there would be some beautiful areas.
Then I suffered my first shower of the day. Good thing I brought a rain coat. I was hiding under a small rooftop because this downpour was intense.
In the next section I cut down on photos because of the rain. Have to be careful with my camera. Speaking of memories, it did not survive my first spin around Taiwan in 2013, when a sudden downpour in Chiayi destroyed it completely. Good thing I got a new one from the warranty.
By this time I had learnt that the rest of the day would be wet with occasional showers. Good thing this was warm water, it made things a lot more bearable for me.
I hid here for a while, there was another intense downpour and this bus stop offered me a safe haven.
Bad weather along Hwy 2...
One of the downsides of doing this ride in August: the rainy season. It was exactly the same two years ago.
On the map I was slightly moving east and somewhat south. First Keelung and now Gongliao.
This was an area with relatively low traffic.
Another small road... I was paying attention to these smaller roads for later cycling purposes
Yeah I got soaked but that's fine. I was riding the ride and that's what matters
I was nearing the Fulong area.
That magnificent purple attire was my rain coat. Not fashionable but functional!
That little sign indicates the 1st Travel-Around-Taiwan bike trail.
Fulong, I spent a nice afternoon here with Bruce Kuo in 2011. Back then there was a sand castle festival
A shitty weather, true, but whatcha gonna do?
There were a few longer climbs along this coastal hwy 2 as well. This section had a bicycle lane that was isolated from ordinary traffic. Nice, but at times it would be interrupted too abruptly, forcing you to slow down. To the extent that I decided to skip it.
Spending another lovely afternoon along highway 2
When I stopped here, there was another cyclist, riding an ordinary bike, spending about two weeks on his trips. Today he would go to Toucheng.
The mysteries that surround my trips in Taiwan, hard to explain...
It looked like downpours were over for the day
At some point, this bicycle path was on the left side of the road. Suddenly there was a descent and the road turned left. I thought it was the way it was supposed to go, so I followed. Then I discovered something nice...
I stopped here for a picture and to eat some power snacks
There was an old tunnel, called "Old Caoling Tunnel". I had read in a cycling magazine that a lot of the old train tracks were turned into cycling lanes. This was one of them. I entered to check it out.
Who knows where that tunnel could lead. Only one way to find out!
Into the black hole
This tunnel was actually quite long, some two km. Obviously my GPS lost signal insde.
On the other side of that tunnel, I noticed I was on the wrong way, because I returned to a spot on Hwy 2 where I had already been. I went back into the tunnel and connected to the highway again. Later at home I saw what I did on that map. Basically I cut off a corner and went north again. I was supposed to go south
Then I saw Toucheng township, meant I was almost there... The journey along Hwy 2 was a very long one today
More minor ascents and descents
Whenever you see that islet, you can be sure that you are approaching Yilan. Guishan island is visible from almost the entire Yilan region.
This building was still there. I heard some Taiwanese guy went to Saudi Arabia, made a lot of money and had this built upon his return.
I also passed by Gengfang and Waiao. I also saw that crab museum. Unfortunately I did not have the time to stop at Candy's Rising surf.
I was supposed to meet Kevin Huang at his DK Cycling club that night. I chose to cycle Route 191 because he told me that it would run to his DK Cafe. Right then I felt that my rear tire was becoming resistant. I stopped to check and uh-oh a flat tire! Did my 30m tire flat on me? How could that be possible? Pressure was running out of it slowly, so I pulled it as far as I could. I still did a few km like that. Almost at the end of 191 there was a small shop, called 191 where I stopped. When I tried using my little pump for pumping up the spare tire, it ripped of the ventile. Conclusion: I was fucked! I called Kevin and asked him to come and pick me up, Good thing that happened so close to Yilan.
Waiting for Kevin's arrival
It was getting dark in Yilan. Beautiful view though
Route 191, where I had a flat
Later that night I went to DK Cafe where I had a nice meal and we chatted a lot. That's when I met Xu Zihuai. I would spending the next few days with him and he later became a very good friend. For now my Tour de Taiwan would take a two-day pause and I would continue on Monday.
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