Spring Ride in Taiwan Day 3 - Jiaoxi to Hualien 70km. An easy train-ing ride.

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy

Pic Rasamalaysia.com

I am one person that does not like repeats, especially food wise. However the breakfast at Douai Hotel in Jiaoxi somehow tasted even better than yesterday and I couldn't figure out why. Perhaps it was my growing love for Taiwanese Porridge, piping hot rice soup eaten with all sorts of delightful condiments that makes it so easy to down. We were all somewhat relaxed this morning. After fueling up however, it was like a scene in the market where panniers of different colors, shapes and sizes were strewn everywhere outside the restaurant.

Having ridden naked yesterday, the weight of panniers on our bicycles today made the bike seem extra heavy and it didn't help that Ben and I were on mule duties. But then again, not all mules are the same in ability!

Hualien was our target and it is a hard 135km distance, and a bit more to our hotel. Fortunately Ying Chang had planned it well - we only have to hit Suao Station in Yilan, an easy 30km then train our way to Hualien. Which explained the bright smiles and happy mood. We rode across the beautiful Jiaoxi countryside, crossing many green rice fields through quiet country roads. This truly is as good as it gets with the good Lord granting us such superb cool, cloudy weather.

Ying Chang and I took the lead and had fun trying to tire out Carolen at 35km/h as she seemed to have so much energy to spent. She has after all, trained over 2000km before coming and was the fittest of us all. The rest of the team were just enjoying the ride, and soaking in everything that we could see, hear and smell. The fresh air seemed to have just been washed by the rain, and it was especially fragrant.

The 30km ride ended all too quickly and we were soon at Suao City. Time check 11am - way before the 1123am train departed. We had done well and we could breathe easy as we had already pre-booked our tickets thanks to YC's forward planning. Touring and training at the same time is truly a wonderful way to see any country. I have always been very impressed by Taiwan Railways as they are ever so bike friendly. True to their reputation, they opened a separate check in gate for our motley crew of 17 MAMILS & MAWILS.

The train ride was just over an hr and we all killed time creatively and fruitfully. Roland one of the resident mechanics was helping CK adjust his Dahon TR and teaching him how to tune a SRAM system. Legend Mike Khor was imparting his wisdom to his #1 fan, just with one index finger. I think it was about the intricacies of touring bike set up, gear ratios as well as Topography 101.

On the creative front, designer par excellent Joeel was keeping his camera busy exploring various angles and perspectives. If ever there is a genius and a design legend, it has to be good ole Joeel. 

When we disembarked from the train in Hualien, our stomachs were growling embarrassingly. This always seem to be the case when we are touring and satisfying the stomachs without guilt is certainly one of the joys in every one of our trips. Hualien has a plethora of amazing restaurants and for lunch, we all rode to a very renown dumpling restaurant. It was chokers with the usual lunch crowd but our patience paid off deliciously. We actually got seating for all of us and the feasting started. The dumplings were absolutely fantastic and I dare not count how many we had in total. Easily 3 figures I reckon!

Like an ancient religious tradition, we have to make offerings at the local bike shop whenever we enter a new city. Our excuse this time was to get Giant brand raincoats. The owner was pleased as punch as the locusts in lycra descended upon him and nearly cleared out his raincoat stock. Here, a poor soul left her iPhone behind but was fortunate enough to recover it later, kudos to the honesty of the Taiwanese.

Getting out of Hualien City was easy enough and traffic was very respectful to us cyclists. Still, it was a challenge for such a big group to stick together as there were traffic lights and intersections to cross. Our abode the Kanazawa House was in the country and a 10km + ride but we didn't mind it one bit. It was pleasant especially to ride through the bike scenic routes that ran parallel to the lovely gurgling river.

The scenery here was so stunning that it literally stopped us in our tracks. At least I stopped Mike Khor so that I could capture this portrait of him. We were all lost in wonder as we glided over this beautiful part of the bike path.

If we thought Daoai Hotel was great, we were blown away with the Kanazawa House. Set among rice fields and veggie farms, this splendid boutique hotel with only 8 exclusive rooms really got us excited. Designed by its architect owner, it reeks class. Our large group meant we took all the rooms too and had the whole place to ourselves! YC came here on his last trip and he and his family absolutely fell in love with the place. Serene, green, avant garde architecture, landscaping, cosy and spacious rooms, views to die for ...  Though it is quite a distance from Hualien City, we didn't mind that one bit as we had our own set of wheels. I will let the pictures do the talking...

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon just lazing around and enjoying the comfortable offerings of our boutique hotel. Hualien is also famous for sushi and we rode all the way to town to sample it for dinner. Putting the faster riders behind and the easy riders in front, we managed to stay tightly bunched up and arrived in the city in no time. 

The Sushi restaurant unfortunately was packed, as expected of all good eateries, and we had to wait for nearly an hour before getting a seat. But needless to say, it was worth every minute of waiting as the sashimi came in the thickest slabs I have ever seen and is fresh as fresh can be. You can say we were all sushied out that night!

Pic fm Foodswol.com

There happened to be some TV show filming in the restaurant as well and some of the more illumined members of our team - show biz wise, took the opportunity to snap some pics with the main star. As the night was still young and our energy level still high, we went to a local amusement park to check it out and ended up playing baseball! Roland, Carolen, Celia, Benny, Oreo and CK had a go and the champion scorer was CK. We later learned that he is a very active competitive badminton player which explains his amazing hand eye co-ordination.

The ride back to Kanazawa House through the coolness of the night was most pleasant. We felt like kids who were not supposed to be out this late, but did so anyway.  This is one training ride that was easy enough and so memorable. Taroko Gorge tomorrow. It keeps getting better!

Spring Ride in Taiwan Day 2 - Jiaoxi to Juifen & back 40km

As Jiufen is a mountain town, the roads that lead there are mostly steep, curving, narrow, and possibly dangerous. Wiki  

Umm, too much soaking in Hot Springs?

Today was to be an optional ride especially for those who needed a good rest after yesterday's gruelling 110km start. It was one heck of an adventure and some of us were still recovering and still aching. The plan was to catch a train to Fulong, then cycle north along the beautiful East Coast and make the steep climb to Juifen, one of the must do's in Taipei. Then for those with a bit more stamina, head for the ridgeline before cycling/training back to Jiaoxi.

Only trouble was that yesterday's storm continued on, though it was more a light drizzle in the morning. I wondered how many would show up as yesterday's ride really was tough and many were well and truly buggered. Hence, it was a nice surprise to see a full house at breakfast. The night's sleep had done its job magically, judging from all the bright smiles and high spirits! The More Love Hotel put up a great spread and we gobbled our way happily through each course of superb Taiwanese porridge.

After riding through the storm, our bikes really took a bashing. Chains were getting rusty, squeaks started from nowhere, brakes needed adjustments etc. We all checked our bikes making sure all bolts were tighten, tires pumped, rims cleaned and chain lubed. With our raincoats on, all 16 of us cycled to Jiaoxi Train station just 5 mins away. Due to restrictions, some of us had to fold up our bikes and bagged them. I was so touched by the generous spirit of Siew Ling and so many who volunteered to do so. Folding for commuting is where our Bike Fridays did not excel compared to the KHS and Dahons.

The 35km train ride to Fulong took about half an hour. We had lots of fun just chatting and laughing away, much to the amusement of the other passengers. Upon arrival, it was assembly time and the versatility of traveling with foldies really is a big plus in touring.

A quick check into 7-11 was necessary to load up on supplies and it was here that I discovered a new favourite snack - Taiwanese Tea Eggs (hard boiled). Absolutely delicious boiled in all sorts of spices such as anise, cinnamon, fennel, Szechuan peppercorns and soy sauce of course.

Ying Chang was getting a little annoyed, just a little, as we took more time than usual eating and shopping for goodies. The tone of his fatherly voice got all of us scurrying to our bikes and we were soon gliding down the beautiful bike paths of Fulong. Our wheels were spinning smoothly on wet roads, splashing away at times, making for a very pleasant experience and I was very glad I had my mudguards on. Somehow, all of us were just filled with joy and the magnificent coastal scenery before us just lifted us to the heavens, despite the light rains.

We passed by the rocky and rugged coastline with big grins and it was special to see the waves coming up and splashing everything clean. A toilet stop in a small fishing village was in order and it was fascinating to see the fish farms. The overcast weather did not dampen our bright spirits as we waited for everyone to arrive. Though the rain started to get heavier, we pressed on another 10km before the left turn off to Juifen. This part of the route saw us traverse through some tunnels and that was a little scary especially for first timers.

While waiting for the others at the turn off, we took this opportunity to rest and refuel. Oreo kindly braved the rain and acted as marker. His spirit typified the strong camaraderie we enjoyed and I was very grateful. I scooted off with a small team of eager beavers once the main team gathered and our first target was the amazing Golden Waterfalls, just 2-3km away. But the steep climbs saw many pushing their bikes in the rain uphill, but tough as it may be, bright smiles were aplenty.

There were hordes of tourists there despite the rains and for good reason, it was beautiful. We hung around there longer than we wanted and managed to actually take a picture without tourists.

The 8km climb up Jiufen was tough and demanding. This was where the team was really stretched out and it got us who were in front really worried. Turned out that the more adventurous side tracked to see a beautiful Pavilion with a view half way up. Really admire their spirit and energy. So nice to be young! Here is Esther, alway the fashionable one, seen "blending" with the background!

We were soon getting really hungry as it was cold, wet and getting really smashed from lots of climbing. Finding an eatery up in the mountains was futile and we had no choice but to press on to the touristy centre of Juifen. What made it worse was the long wait for the others and after what felt like eternity, our group decided to wait for them in Juifen itself. 

A bit of fascinating history here... Juifen as the name implies, meant 9 portions. History has it that 9 families originally settled there and ordered 9 portions of shopping. In 1893, gold was discovered there and development came under the Japanese rule. It was intriguing to know that British POWs from Singapore during the war were put to work in the mines. They were housed in the Kinkaseki camp. After the war, gold mining declined and all the mines were shut down in 1971. Juifen was once again forgotten until a movie A City of Sadness was made in 1989 about the infamous 228 incident. This led to hordes of tourists flocking to Juifen and now, it is a bustling attraction with Jishan Street literally littered with all sorts of quaint shops and eateries. 

Pic fm Weibo

We wasted no time to wolf down the well known beef noodles, located at the first right hand corner of the entrance. This tasted exceptionally good and I supposed it has everything to do with our famished condition. Served in hot beefy broth and al dente noodles, with succulent pieces of stewed beef, we were in heaven.

Pic fm taiwanholidays.com.au

We were certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to food here and we finished off our meal with an amazing Taiwanese bean dessert. What makes Taiwan really amazing is the value pricing for food where a complete meal can be enjoyed for US$3 only.

When the troops finally arrived, we broke into 3 teams. The first one was Ying Chang and Oreo, who decided that the riding was too easy, and went on up the ridge line. None of us followed. Amazingly after that, they rode 40km all the way back to Jiaoxi in the rain! Hats off to these 2. The rest of us preferred to just enjoy Jiufen and stay out of the rain, shopping and eating all sorts of goodies. One went off earlier and my team later, to the train station at Ruifang.

It was no point waiting for the rain to stop and it was fun descending the steep curves down to catch the train. Downhills are the reward for the hard climbs and we savored every second. Our foldies were required to be bagged and trust Mike Khor, who rode on his full sized Surly, for a first class camouflage job with 2 plastic bags. Presto, his Surly became a Dahon! Well, sort off...

To my horror, I discovered that I had no black plastic bag to cover my BF for the train ride back to Jiaoxi. Quick thinking by the Prof saw my yellow raincoat becoming a bike bag. Necessity truly is the mother of all inventions!

We all got back safely to Jiaoxi and after a quick shower, proceeded to a very special baked chicken restaurant some 3km away from our hotel. They use traditional clay jars to cook the chooks and the result spoke for themselves. Juicy, soft chicken meat with crispy skin! 

Special thanks must be given to Papa Mike for bringing along his surgical gloves and demonstrating the proper way to pull apart a chicken. His medical training and skill earned him the coverted "Chicken Doctor" award, best not to translate literally to Chinese.

After dinner, we had fun just soaking our tired feet into the hot spring canals near our hotel. Jiaoxi is truly a beautiful place where natural spas abound everywhere. It was truly a very special day and though we were all exhausted physically, our spirits remained high and excited at what is to come tomorrow. Touring with such a fun bunch of folks is simply priceless!