Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/807618900
102km, 4h30, elevation 1135m
My classes were in the evening, so there was time for cycling during the day. Today, I wanted to go riding in Taiping again and go from there to Xinshe, on to Fengyuan and then to Taichung for the school.
Early in the morning I went to Taichung via Taiwan Boulevard (Hwy 12) and 136. I went to the Hi-Life in Taiping and then I started going the little roads. Obviously; since it was a school day, I was riding my flatbar.
On 136, I deviated to Taichung-100, which would be going north through the hills on to Xinshe.
A lot to do here. The upper sign indicates the Maopu road which is actually Taichung-100. The second sign indicated Xinshe area. Along these narrow roads, there was quite a lot to do.
An important spot after a few km on Taichung-100. From this perspective, Taichung-100 was the road that runs behind me on this picture. The road from whence I came was right. Today, I rode the Ziqiang nonglu in Chinese; a narrow mountain road called after a Chinese concept: Zi-Qiang, Self-strong.
That Ziqiang road has an ascent of about 5km with very steep sections, around 13%. A lot of altitude was won on this short piece. On top of that, the roads were in a rather poor state, with the stones giving a bumpy feeling all the time. There is even one little house here where there are loose dogs. One of them even chased me once. These are the hinterlands of Taichung.
Chilling outside with my flatbar, the weather is great and this climb made me sweat big time
Amazing views on the top of the hill. These are the hills of Xinshe.
The road will lead to Xinshe's Zhonghe village and that one will connect to Hwy 8 that can lead to Guguan. Hence this sign.
It was hot today, I was already almost through my drinks
I just came from the right, which is Taichung city's Taiping area. Left would be to Xinshe.
This was not my ride, it was only a small side road. Pretty steep though. Difficult for cycling, unless you could attack with a certain speed already.
The roads were not in a perfect state, riding here was rather bumpy. A genuine mountain path.
I entered the section that plays a little with elevation, descending a little, climbing back up. The general trend was descending though...
I can't really describe this feeling of being out here in words, but it is close to freedom and extreme relaxation. Getting up early in the morning for this is definitely worth the trouble.
A last climb before it will go down all the way. There are a few small houses after the next turn.
It maybe hard to imagine, but Taichung city and Fengyuan are really not that far from here. Yet, it is a place where you would encounter no cyclists or other people.
This is where the descent goes all the way. I was going left, to Xinshe. I never checked out what was on the right, what was this place Shiyan? Was it a dead end alley with some homes, or was it another path connecting to somewhere? I will only be able to tell you the next time I make it back to Taiwan.
The descent eventually connects to Taichung-95. From here, it was easy to get back to the cities
A small path climbs over another hill and connects to the eastern part of Xinshe, to where the Yong'an bridge is. That is the one I took today. The green sign right above my bike indicates Guguan and Dongshi.
That short climb is very steep, ranging 10-14%. On the top of that climb there is a writing on the sidewalls that indicates Tougui Mountain. It is one of the routes I still have to explore.
From the top you can see the Dajia river, which is dry here. On the other edge you will see Dongshi townshup and Hwy 8.
This descent is also very steep, I believe 16%. I connected to the other side of the bridge, to Hwy 8 and from there I went to Fengyuan, where I had afternoon tea and chats with my friends.
It was seriously hot today, 43 degrees! Not your ideal temperature for climbing like I have been doing today. Luckily it was only a short ride. In the late afternoon I went to Taichung city for my classes. After that, I went back home with more than 100km done. Nice ride!
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