June 24, 2015: A Nankeng in full construction is still very steep but the view at the top is worthwile

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/814142656

106km, 4h28, elevation 1122m

Another day with classes in the late afternoon, so obviously some cycling in the morning. After my breakfast in Shalu, I took that small path from Qingshui to Haifengli again. From there it went over the Dajia river and then some small paths through the Waipu and Houli areas; I often cycle there lately because it is a tranquil way of going to Fengyuan

Farming activity along these fields and therefore some tractors will pop up now and then

I went through Waipu and Houli, through that Jiushe area. From there I connected to Hwy 13 which ran again over the Dajia river. Check it on the map. Eventually I made it to Fengyuan. In the afternoon I decided to do some cycling. Originally I had planned to do Beikeng but I somehow took the wrong road and ended up cycling Nnakeng (the southern slope)

The first km of that road are doable, but then there is a very steep section that leads to Xinshe. Every time I came here, there were construction works and today was no different. It meant getting off the bike here.

Admittedly, these road construction works were progressing and maybe next time there would be concrete/

This would be a nightmare on a road bike, but with my wider tires it could be done. Hooray!

Mind the writing on the wall. Apparently some locals were frustrated that it is taking too long to have this road normally connecting. 

I may be agile on the bike but here I was walking. Right after this there is a very steep ascent, with gradients of 22%. Out of the saddle and on the 32T cog it is doable.

Fengyuan's Nankeng alley. The first time I went uphill here. I came down here a lot of times. It was kinda terrifying on my road bike. With disc brakes it is doable.

Nankeng alley leads to Xinshe. When I got here I saw that it would be raining soon. So I decided to go back to Fengyuan.

This is around 500 meters of elevation. The views are nice though.

I think I am about to experience a downpour here!

I took Taichung-88, Wanli Changcheng back to Fengyuan. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my friends and then I went to Taichung city for my classes.

After the classes I spent quite some time chatting with a student. When I got back in Shalu it was already past 11 pm. But I did more than 100km!

July 24, 2015: Meeting new friends on the day before the KOM race

Garmin Activity: No Garmin Activity

The day before the big KOM race in Hualien, I travelled there by train. I did my preparations in Shalu, looking up where the venue was. I got a train ticket from Fengyuan to Hualien and I got a bike bag for my transport.

Early in the morning I cycled to Fengyuan and caught the train. This train was going north to Taipei and then on to Hualien. 

Looking up the venue in Hualien city.

I also saved this waypoint to my GPS for easy navigation

My bicycle bag, ready for a big journey

I had to bring a lot of stuff for this race

Fengyuan railway station, going north to Miaoli from here.

In the train I met some friends who were also racing at the KOM race. There was one German guy and the others were locals. We started chatting a lot about cycling.

These pictures were taken in the section between Yilan and Hualien, the so called Suhua road.

I rode this section in 2013, when I was cycling around the island

It was quite a bunch of them and we got along great. One remarkable thing occurred: When I saw the list of participants my name was not there. Luckily I was able to call the organization and have everything fixed before my arrival.

Everybody was feeling for an epic KOM adventure

In Hualien we first had something to eat and then we went to the hotel for registration.

After registration I suggested we go check where the starting point of the race is. That spot was called Qixingtan and was way on the coast.

My Roubaix with the Great Pacific right behind it. It was a fantastic weather day

Relaxing before the big showdown.

The Qixingtan bicycle path

We made some pictures here

This would be a nice option when cycling around the island.

Hualien, sea and mountains

Hualien is such a beautiful place. I cannot describe the immense feelings I have every time I come here.

We stopped here for some Mango Ice

Jummy mhmmm

One of the guys was riding a Pinarello bike, just the one my Fengyuan friend Shu-wei wanted. Obviously I had to show off with it.

In your face Shuwei haha

Mango ice in the summer sun of eastern coast Hualien, beyond doubt the best July 24th I ever had.

On our way back to Hualien city, Qixingtan is located along Route 193.

The presentation at the hotel was quite fun.

This medallion only goes to those who actually finish the race

Great! I could feel the passion burn inside me when I saw this height profile

I won a little gadget during the pop quiz section

My participant number. This picture was taken in Nita Lin's hostel. 

The beautiful morning sun of Qixingtan. Let the games begin!!!

July 29, 2015: Riding around at Zhongkeng, Touping & Wanli Changcheng + the mystery of Shanshou Lane

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/848155154

90km, 3h51, elevation 1299m

Lately I have been riding a lot in the hills between Fengyuan and Xinshe. I originally started riding here because my friends in Fengyuan ride Gonglaoping a lot. Then I learned from Lin Maodi, that there are several other nice lanes to cycle as well: Beikeng, Zhongkeng, Nankeng, Wanli Changcheng; Touping, etc. There is a lot to do and by linking these roads, you could assemble a nice work out. That was exactly my mission for today.

I left Shalu and I went to Fengyuan. However, I decided to cycle a little alternatively compared to what I normally do. I cycled down Taiwan Boulevard and first went to the Qingshui area. There, I made use of this Aofengshan cycling trail which would run behind the Qingquangang airport. From there, I road Taichung-70 which led me to the Fengzhou area. Then I took Fengzhou road to Fengyuan, where I first visited my friends and then hit the road again.

I went to the 921 Zhongzheng Park, which is where all of these tracks link together. Instead of doing Gonglaoping, I went for Zhongkeng, which could be considered the toughest climb of the area. It provides the most elevation, it has the steepest gradient and it has got the longest distance. It even climbs to sea level 500! Among local cyclists, this trail is referred to as "Little Wuling", because there is one particular view that looks like Wuling.

This Zhongkeng road (Chinese for Central Hill), has got some steep gradients, it keeps on climbing until sea level 500, which is not bad at all for a hill in Fengyuan!

From this picture you can see that the elevation is pretty good. That road down there was just two turns ago.

This picture was not a genuine success because of the gloomy weather. However, this is the top of the hill. From here, the road will make a little but steep descent and eventually connect to Taichung-90, the road of Gonglaoping.

I had only done a mere 35km from Shalu, but already more than 600 meters of elevation. For a shorter ride, those are good numbers.

This is the view you would get after completing Gonglaoping. I just got here via a little detour. The road that runs down here is Taichung-90 and leads to Shigang. I went down here today, because I wanted to connect to Tou'erping, another steep climb from Shigang to Xinshe.

So what I did was taking Taichung-90 all the way down, before connecting to Hwy 3 I went into a small lane on the right, which is where I took this picture. It is the starting point of Tou'erping. This is a continous climb of several kilometers that often has 16-17% gradients. One point even exceeds 20%.

If you just continue all the way along Tou'erping, you will make it to Taichung-93, one of the bigger roads that runs through Xinshe. This picture is the view on top of that road.

Orientating from Taichung-93, I went to Shuijing. Next phase of my mission would be to take Wanli Changcheng (Taichung-88) down. I saw this writing which says A-cheng. My Chinese name is Kuo Ruei-cheng and my friends call me A-Cheng sometimes. Even though it is a different character, I had to have this picture! 

Xinshe is renowned for the flowers they grow here. Every year in November there is a big flower exposition. As you can see, they are already making preparations for it.

And then the rollercoaster ride down Wanli Changcheng commenced... The next picture is a view of the hills along this road. Enchanting, isn't it?

Before going back to Fengyuan, I did one more thing. There is a small road at the T-section at the end of Taichung-88. I went to the right to check it out. I had heard people saying that that road would also lead to Xinshe. It was a lot of climbing and the road got smaller and smaller. In the end it did not lead anywhere. So I headed back to Fengyuan. However, looking at the Garmin map, it does appear to connect. This lane is described as "Shanshou Lane" and should connect to somewhere on Tou'erping. It is something I will have to investigate on a future ride.

August 10, 2014: The story of my Central Taiwanese very first ride, the beginning of a wonderful chapter

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/563227949

91km, 3h47, elevation 429m

This is a very special report for me, as it is my very first ride in central Taiwan. The only thing I regret about this ride is not taking more pictures. I did not have that traveling, photography mindset at the time. Luckily I did have my Garmin GPS with me so I am able to track the roads I cycled. I arrived in Taiwan on August 8th 2014 and the first two days were filled up with getting installed: a room to stay, a mobile phone number etc. On Sunday, the 10th of August, I had a day for myself and this would be my first cycling trip in Central Taiwan.

I set up my bike, which was looking nice with new carbon wheels and an S-Works frame. I had some top-notch gear! I did not know the central Taiwanese roads so I just relied on my GPS to calculate me a round trip of 160km. Of the three options given, I chose the one going south, which ran through Changhua and Yunlin county. I headed out dressed in yellow shoes, yellow helmet, yellow socks,  yellow jersey, completely in yellow.

The road led me to the Taichung Industrial Park. The first climb of the day was already very tough on me and I had to switch back to the lowest gear, which was a 30T cog. On top of that for me exhausting climb I went downhill. I missed a left turn so I had to go back a little. Then I was guided through the Taichung Industrial Park to Route 125. From there I went through Nantun and Wuri, eventually crossing the Dadu bridge. Hwy 1 took me into Changhua city.

In Changhua city, I saw the sign of Bagua mountain. I had read about Bagua mountain in a Taiwanese literature work. I was guided through some very small lanes and therefore average speed was not very high at all. I saw a mixe of roads, by looking on the map I know those roads where 148 and 144. Eventually I was on Hwy 19. I started raining when I was here. Great, rain on my first ride, that sucked! I was hiding under rooftop for some time to wait it out. When it did stop, I carried on. But there were more downpours...

All of the sudden it started raining very hard and intensively. I hid under this rooftop and stood here for quite some time. That was when I decided to aboard that whole ride I had planned. I calculated how for it would be to Xiluo, where there is a Specialized store. It was less than 30km , so that was my plan B

Again I was led by a mix of small roads, but I did remember route 145 which ran across over the beautiful red Xiluo Bridge. When I crossed that bridge, I was thinking what a narrow road. Please do not get a flat tire here! In Xiluo I asked people for directions on how to find the Specialized store. Eventually I found it and I met Duke Lu and his wife. We had a nice chat and I even saw the bike I ordered online. Also,  he explained to me how to go back home via train. Which was very nice of him. We had some food in a nearby store and when it was dark, I decided to go back home.

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/563227907
23km, 58min, elevation 11m

I went to the Yuanlin train station via Hwy 1. There, I took a train that brought me back to Shalu. It was my first ride in Taiwan and I had various impressions. Obviously, there would be a lot more cycling ahead!