Ride Reports | RandoTips

Ride Up Asia’s Highest Road

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-FNUnIez8V0w/Ue4uZRt6hmI/AAAAAAAALqo/b-yJalpjYUI/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_110914.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707173316888162″ caption=”Big Mountains” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_110914.jpg” ]

Last weekend, as sometimes happens, things started to fall into place. My sister-in-law invited my son to go to Hsinchu for the weekend. That meant one kid was out the house. I relied on the hospitality of my parents-in-law to keep a watch on my daughter and so I was left with some time to do some riding.

The challenge of Taiwan’s highest road has been something on the backburner for a while. I think about it occasionally, but that’s about it. I’ve read about a number of people who have done this ride and I was keen to try sometime.

With this big block of time available I decided the time was right to tackle this beast.

I say beast only in hindsight as I grossly underestimated what a huge climb it would be.

My last ride to a high peak was my ride up Alishan. In comparison Alishan is a piece of cake. The route up the mountain is longer and more gradual. It’s quite possible to just pick a good gear and spin all the way to the top of Alishan. Although I have been up there, I really enjoyed it and might go again if the opportunity arises.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-Cbdz1LKiiwg/Ue4uSfqsAhI/AAAAAAAALoQ/C8Q6QsALbk0/s144-c-o/IMG_20130720_233223.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707056802365970″ caption=”Tropic of Cancer Marker” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130720_233223.jpg” ]

In fact, it was my friend Paul Sharpe who was partly responsible for this ride. It had been on my mind and when I was chatting to him the other day I mentioned it. This was enough to bring it from the backburner list to the todo next list.

As with all my previous rides, my preference is to ride the whole way. The “commute” to a ride is just a part of the adventure and I’ve come to embrace that as part of what needs to be done for a good ride. I see many people take other transport to the starting point and then do the ride and commute back. Although I understand this I stubbornly want to do it all by bike. I savour the journey, making the ride more difficult than it needs to be doesn’t detract from the ride, but adds to it. Riding 100km to the start is a hundred kilometers of warm up and build up to the treat ahead. It does require more time, so that needs to be built into the preparation.

So I mapped out the route. (route map here: Jiali to Wuling on bikemap.net)

Bikemap seems to give much better routes than Google Maps, so I mapped it out on Bikemap then uploaded the data to Maps. I did not choose the absolutely most direct route to get there.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-Z_eBVBF1yjE/Ue4uTt5SKRI/AAAAAAAALow/rUrPO5iCJQ8/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_004600.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707077801552146″ caption=”My bike taking a rest in the early morning” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_004600.jpg” ]

The most direct route does not often take into account the state of small roads. Saving 5% distance on a crappy road tends to even out over distance, due to many small factors. So I chose the big roads. The number 1 in the night on the weekends is very empty, and extremely well paved and flat. I can make good time by just tucking in and cruising at a speed that fits. It also feels comfortable at night because of the enormous motorbike and sometimes bicycle lane at the side, giving plenty of room between me and any other vehicles.

I’ve taken to packing food for the journey. Eating at the 7-11 is really convenient, but has its limitations. This is part of a scientific breakdown of my ride. I estimate that I burn around 500 Calories per hour and for really long rides this needs to be replaced. A three hour ride can be done while simply depleting my glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, but after that time I experience a huge drop in energy. It’s possible to come back from that energy drop, but it takes a lot of food to make up that deficit. Better to just keep topping up from the start for a much more controlled effort. Another thing that I’m moving away from is chocolate as an energy source. Large amounts of chocolate simply give me a headache, and I can eat a lot of chocolate when I ride. So instead of controlling my intake I’m switching to alternate sources of energy.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-ZmqJKRV3Po0/Ue4uTmgy2hI/AAAAAAAALo0/s7GTLCcWLEY/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_035645.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707075819788818″ caption=”Puncture” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_035645.jpg” ]

Peanut butter sandwiches make up the bulk of my prepared food. Although boring, they pack a fair number of calories and are very palatable. I tend to make them with four slices of bread, with peanut butter on two layers, in essence, two sandwiches on top of each other. The other advantage is that I can squash the whole concoction very small. The other thing I’m going for is Jelly Babies. These chewy sweets have always been a favorite of mine. Getting big packs of them from the supermarket is the best way and I can split a pack into two so the little packets simply need to be finished for a set number of calories.

Enough about food.

At around 11:30 I set out. No surprises. Miles and miles of just keeping the pedals turning. Sucking in the cooler night air, watching the landmarks pass by. The first few kilometers go quite slowly, but before I know it I’m slipping into mindless mode and simply enjoying the outdoors.

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-HZyeJ8sY8lI/Ue4uUr194nI/AAAAAAAALo8/rfi53bt1bdI/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_035700.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707094430638706″ caption=”Sign” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_035700.jpg” ]

Somewhere around Douliu I lost my shirt.

I don’t wear a shirt when it’s really hot. This is hugely beneficial for my sanity as the humidity can really start to bear down even at night. The cooling effect of wind over an exposed upper body is awesome.

Stupidly I just tucked my jersey under the netting on my bag. I checked around and it was gone. Dammit, my favorite jersey. Go back and search or press on? The answer was obvious, I stopped at a 7-11, bought an undershirt for when I venture into public and went on. Besides, I had no intention of wearing my shirt unless it got extremely cold.

On the number 3 I took a slight detour along the 152 that I’ve taken before. It follows a much smaller, quieter road near the train line. It’s pleasant and shorter than the main line. Unfortunately my lights had run out of juice and as I was to find out, there are no lights on that section. I rode slowly, riding in only the moonlight. My reward, however, was the fireflies. Little glowing lights flittering across the road while I passed by, it was too dark for my camera so I just had to enjoy it as I went, something that, although I cannot share, I can still remember.

After getting back to the number 3 it was clear sailing again and I pressed on to Caotun. No complications and after skirting the edge of town I was on the road to the summit, the only road I would see for next 12 hours, the number 14.

Bikemap was slightly deceptive (more likely my own idiocy, but I’ll blame bikemap) and the ride up to Puli was a little more difficult than expected, but all good. The sun was out and the birds were ushering in the start of another beautiful Taiwan day.

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-qBEVTiFreMw/Ue4uUu4BvAI/AAAAAAAALpU/wuW40zDZ9TU/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_045452.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707095244585986″ caption=”Tunnel” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_045452.jpg” ]

At around 6:00 I got to Puli. Much later than I thought. This pleasant village at 500m is the starting point for many people on this venture up the highest road in the country, but for me it was the 165km mark. The 7-11 I stopped at had plenty of bananas so I had some of those and some other junk to mark the start of the real climb… or so I thought.

The first part of the journey going out from Puli starts off gently enough. The rising hills are not too much to deal with and flow in a general upwards direction. There are very few downhills on the way up, almost purely uphill with relief in the form of not-so-steep sections only.

At this point I realized that I had pushed a little too hard on my commute as I was already quite tired. I had not expected the stretch up to Puli to be quite so tough. It wasn’t tough, but was harder than I expected.

But pressing on there was no way that I wasn’t going to get to the top of the mountain. There are extremely few reasons for not completing the ride, but one that I most despise is running out of time. For this reason I always plan a lot more time than I need, because things almost never work out quite as expected.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-RAEIA9rv1OI/Ue4uV8pOaJI/AAAAAAAALpg/FDvHjnLYUvU/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_070827.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707116120467602″ caption=”The lower valleys” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_070827.jpg” ]

The lower part of the ride was much like what I had seen when trying to do the Southern cross island road. The road runs along the lower valley occasionally crossing the river. However, after a stretch it started to push through those lower valleys and up towards the peaks. This happened rather quickly and I was down into my lower gears for much of the ride from here on out.

When the going gets tough, sensible plans tend to fall apart. My meal timing was one of those things. For the long stretches on the way to mountains I had been regular about taking in food every hour and drinking water all the way. On the long climbs, the slow speed worked against my good eating habits. Times between food intakes got stretched, but at the same time I was putting in less than the required calories. Being regular makes everything easier and I made things harder than they should be by not sticking to feeding times. It also complicates the matter of how much the altitude was playing with me, the climb was difficult, but I can’t pinpoint the hardest element. For now, it’s just a tough climb.

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-lm09SjrUsdI/Ue4uV8wkG7I/AAAAAAAALpo/vAG8eNAueh4/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_071947.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707116151249842″ caption=”Roads carved between steep cliffs” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_071947.jpg” ]

The elevation markers came slower and slower.

Most towns in the mountains mark on the town sign how high the altitude is. This can be either a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective. Once I was at a 1000m or so I thought I had already put in a good effort. By the time I got to 2500m I thought I was done.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-Rg0b8GS_Yio/Ue4uWksuiSI/AAAAAAAALp4/ruj_Km_OtAI/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_080512.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707126872574242″ caption=”Deep valley and big lake” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_080512.jpg” ]

At the 2500m I took a rest by two other guys who were on their way to the top. They were lucky enough to have their friend on a scooter as a support guy. He also helped them take pictures and give encouragement along the way. I decided that we were probably all going about the same pace, and having company along the rest of the way would get me to the top just that little bit easier. The elevation marker also marked 14km to the summit. I thought that would be 2 hours, but they said more like 3 hours. They were right, from this point the road points straight up.

[pe2-image src=”//lh5.ggpht.com/-558G7dWCUhE/Ue4uXYfhJQI/AAAAAAAALqA/ZFCqYEibo_0/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_083426.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707140775814402″ caption=”Tea fields on the steep slopes” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_083426.jpg” ]

The unrelenting climbing over the last 1000m of elevation was torture. My energy levels were drained and I was getting very painful rashes from my ill-fitting cycling shorts. Leg pain I can tolerate, but the pain of a rash is not so easily tolerated.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-ZT1gc2T0XYY/Ue4uYI18M1I/AAAAAAAALqg/OUt-DGL19nc/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_095423.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707153754764114″ caption=”Always things to buy at the roadside” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_095423.jpg” ]

Finally I made it to the top, having plenty of time and breaks to take in the spectacular views all along the way. Despite being at such a high altitude I managed to break a sweat the entire way, despite being shirtless and having a freshly shaved head. The temperatures at the top were cool and refreshing and I took a break to get a picture or two and then have a nap.

Needless to say the ride down was fast. I was faster than many cars but with the traffic thick I just kept my distance from the cars up front and let the ones behind me pass by when I thought they were getting ready to drive up my ass. It’s still amazing how stupid drivers really are, passing each other on blind corners on the way down. What’s the rush? Do you want to die young?

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-M2C-Hv-fThA/Ue4uY4984aI/AAAAAAAALqk/K4vwj_LO8x0/s144-c-o/IMG_20130721_104100.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/RideToWuling#5903707166673265058″ caption=”Car drove over the cliff” type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130721_104100.jpg” ]

Speaking of bad driving, I passed an accident where someone had driven off the side of the road and then 100m or something down the steep slope, one was killed. Sad, but not uncommon.

When we got to Qingjing recreation farm, my two companions got in their car. It turns out they had driven up the day before, in preparation. I tried to bum a lift back, but they had no room in their car. So off I went for the fast and furious trip down.

Once the road flattened out I was so tired that I decided the bus would be the best to get home, and even if it took longer it would get me home without effort. I found the terminus in Puli, headed to Taichung, then found the only bus that would go near my home, the magical Ubus. Although there was a queue, I sat on the floor and just shuffled up when the line moved, I was exhausted. Once on the bus I fell straight asleep.

Many hours later I got home, gobbled down who knows what food and went straight to sleep.

It was a fantastic ride. And one I’d do again. My biggest complaint would be the traffic with a constant flow of traffic all the way up. I’d love to do this ride on a weekday. The views near the top are breathtaking as all of Taiwan’s mountains are. I’m very grateful for the two companions that I picked up on the way to the summit. It made the whole thing so much easier.

Bakfiets Daytrip

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Since building up the cargo bike I’ve been keen to give it a longer test.

There are two reasons in particular.

Firstly, I wanted to see how comfortable it was for a longer trip. Scooting around town is one thing, with limited distances and limited speeds meaning that I don’t get an accurate measure of how it does in the long term. How much more effort does it require and is the general setup comfortable for a few hours in the saddle?

Secondly, I wanted to see how comfortable it was for the kids. They are not doing any riding so I can rule out tiredness for exertion. But can they sit down in there for so long without getting edgy? To make it clear, this is not kid torture, rather gauging how much is too much. To further defend myself against accusations of putting my kids in harms way, I’m discovering what people who have cars already know, and that’s how long they can go between stops with kids on board.

I’ll uncover my findings at the end.

On Saturday evening the kids and I agreed to a bike trip on Sunday. I tend to get objections when I don’t warn them ahead, so this time we planned it and set out the general schedule for the day.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-DPCgS4G7mjo/UdpiAhZ6BQI/AAAAAAAALkc/mxfQ7PVjiJA/s144-c-o/IMAG1828.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134423101637890″ caption=”Christopher having breakfast” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1828.jpg” ]

Sunday morning started a little late as usual, we rolled out of bed and went for breakfast at the same place the kids always like to eat on Sundays.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-MZbm2JyVRH4/UdpiDuIf1oI/AAAAAAAALkk/SFiK_JIYLxQ/s144-c-o/IMAG1829.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134478057887362″ caption=”Christina having breakfast” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1829.jpg” ]

Sidenote on safety: I’ve had comments from people along the lines of “is the bike safe for the kids”? Personally I think the question is insane, and let me explain why. In my little town I regularly see a single parent carrying two kids on a scooter. Typically one child will stand on the spot where your feet rest (as the guy in the picture above is doing), and one behind the parent. Nobody asks, “is your petrol-powered, 40km/h – 50km/h scooter with two children, one holding on for dear life and one balancing precariously at the front, safe?” or “is riding down the wrong side of the road, weaving through red lights, often not taking a glimpse at the traffic, safe?” or “is this adult who wobbles around like an old fogey, but has actually been riding for their whole life, safe?” I barely hit 20km/h most of the time, I stop at reds (always when the kids are on board), double-check for people running the lights when its green for me, glance ahead at every intersection and slow down rather than weave, I am vigilant at all times. YES, it’s bloody safe, and NO they are not going to fall out of the damn box. END.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-kGOueL1nttU/UdpiKImQTzI/AAAAAAAALk8/0W-eTnDhG-4/s144-c-o/IMAG1832.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134588241235762″ caption=”Comfy” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1832.jpg” ]

I put in two cushions from the couch for the days ride. Christopher can completely recline in the box, while Christina is slightly more constricted. This box is longer than most typical designs I see online. This makes the bike more cumbersome than shorter models, which is not great for urban settings. For my uses, the length is not a big issue as I don’t have to deal with masses of cars or any traffic jams, so no weaving in and out of small spots. We packed umbrellas for the sun as I have not created a sun cover for this monster yet (on my todo list).

It was a rather windy day, with something I’ve become unaccustomed to, wind from the South. This provided my first lesson: big, flat panels kill in the wind. It was a constant battle all the way to Anping. The journey is only 21km or so, but took over an hour and a half. The journey back was much easier.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-vwBBlELu7uM/UdpiPtgS7RI/AAAAAAAALlM/AfmchT48nhk/s144-c-o/IMAG1834.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134684047699218″ caption=”Wide and open with the wind in my face” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1834.jpg” ]

The most astonishing thing, which in hindsight is really to be expected, is that the kids were quite content in their resting area. As we went along they put their hands out to feel the wind and were peaceful most of the time. That is bliss. I feel completely at one with the world when I’m enjoying myself on the bike, and now it’s possible for me to do it while dragging my two little beloveds along. Yay!

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-IM9P9iu1OCo/UdpiNCLtNFI/AAAAAAAALlE/xv-2feRM1yw/s144-c-o/IMAG1833.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134638058878034″ caption=”Side view (yes, it’s only half-painted, I’ll get to it)” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1833.jpg” ]

So after quite some time we were heading down the last, long stretch to Anping to a spot I was so looking forward to seeing.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-PLwvByzJWnQ/UdpiUt4D6LI/AAAAAAAALlc/PbFHLcr8m64/s144-c-o/IMAG1836.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134770046724274″ caption=”Anping Bridge facing South” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1836.jpg” ]

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-kVp1NMXAOE0/UdpiWw3aCAI/AAAAAAAALlk/O2TTp9T-NDo/s144-c-o/IMAG1837.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134805209024514″ caption=”Anping Bridge facing North” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1837.jpg” ]

The view from this bridge is one that I could enjoy for the whole day. I guess it’s the same feeling as when I’m up in the hills, and I could just sit about and enjoy the scenery for the whole day.

We walked slowly across the bridge, enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air off the sea.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-jz7Yssq3J9I/UdpiecEM0ZI/AAAAAAAALl8/42I1jH7jL6Q/s144-c-o/IMAG1840.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134937064493458″ caption=”Tree Climbers” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1840.jpg” ]

Ice creams were on the menu as well as a fresh stock of water as we had already polished off the two liters we brought with us. We went to explore the area near Fort Zeelandia where Christopher started to climb trees and Christina started asking to use my cellphone to play games.

Our friends Corné and Elmari just had their son and we planned to visit them at Chimei Hospital in Yongkang City, approximately 7km away.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/–b3USMQpDJQ/Udpigjwil3I/AAAAAAAALmE/628IXu4EgXA/s144-c-o/IMAG1841.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898134973489256306″ caption=”Chimei Hospital” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1841.jpg” ]

The cruise over to the hospital was quick and uneventful. Unfortunately, the information counter staff were all off, and I got no answer from my friends’ cellphones so I gave up on locating them. We guzzled down some more water, ate some chips and headed home.

[pe2-image src=”//lh5.ggpht.com/-TjSiV3K5urs/UdpiioO0OTI/AAAAAAAALmM/kGKLtUZHm2A/s144-c-o/IMAG1842.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/BakfietsToAnping#5898135009049721138″ caption=”Huh?” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1842.jpg” ]

We got home before dark ready to eat a whole ton of food. After gobbling down we took a much needed shower then headed to bed.

So, back to the two things I mentioned at the beginning.

Firstly, the bike is comfortable for distance. The setup is really just a normal bike with different handling. Even with the shocking components it was a decent ride. One change I’d make is to have bent-back handlebars, the MTB handlebars are not ideal for distance and even barends would have given some much needed hand relief.

Secondly, the kids were great. They were comfy and seemed quite at ease in their box. They do, however, need a sunshade for such sunny days. I’m a little more worried about the sun than the rain as I would likely just pull over and find shade if it started raining. With that said, a sunshade would provide some mild rain cover, which would prove handy for commuting where the ride has to be done, but the cover just needs to keep the majority of the rain off them for a short stretch.

It was a fantastic day, with the whole lot of us enjoying being out on the bike. Bliss.

Dongshan Exploring Again

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-csUwE37KvNo/UYip1ooUmEI/AAAAAAAALF4/G4fQ5pyURro/s144-c-o/IMAG1634.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132452809513026″ caption=”Small and Quiet” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1634.jpg” ]

Sunday saw the rest of my family head off to the dream mall in Kaohsiung.

I headed off into the hills to do some more exploring of those foothills that beckon me when time permits.

The start was as usual, with a quick flat spin up towards the hills.

Over the past few months I’ve mastered the avoidance of busy roads in the neighborhood. What that means, in essence, is that I’m doing a fair amount of cruising through farm roads. These are not nearly as well maintained as the main road, but allow me to avoid the evil, metal beasts that threaten to disturb the sanctity of my ride at every turn.

There was one final stretch left to conquer that would plop me down right at the end of the stretch I want to avoid. With a fair amount of double-checking the route on my phone I managed to get to just where I had wanted. The detour adds roughly ten minutes to my journey, but is more than worth it.

Pressing on, I munched up the rest of the flats like the pancake they are.

And then the hills.

[pe2-image src=”//lh5.ggpht.com/-JU19gUXZyIY/UYip4rii9pI/AAAAAAAALGA/zqNwd0QerrE/s144-c-o/IMAG1635.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132505130202770″ caption=”View From the Small Road” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1635.jpg” ]

My new alternate route to get to the main road at the foot of the big hills is a nice, winding road, almost two cars wide in places, but only a lane and a half in others. It’s a fairly quick, although fairly steep, climb that’s over before you know it and gives you the first taste of the thick, humid air in the hills.

The single, thin cycling top I was wearing was drenched from sweat once the paths headed upward.

The last ride into the hills I had made the mistake of doing so after a long period without food and was also short on water.

This time I finished off two Zefal Magnum bottles of water before I stopped off at the 7-11. Two sandwiches and two liters of water and it was time to head on to the good stuff.

The main route of choice that heads straight to near the entrance to “the big temple” is steep, brutally so. Despite a brave effort to push it in the middle chainring, I was in granny ring and by the time I was halfway up was searching for gears beyond the teeny weeny ones my bike is sporting.

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-Mbu3YUTJFiM/UYip7i2_H-I/AAAAAAAALGI/TKj7U4xJzyw/s144-c-o/IMAG1636.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132554339622882″ caption=”On the Coffee Road” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1636.jpg” ]

Finally, I hit the no.175 coffee road and headed toward what Google Maps promised to be a good little, hopefully long, climb from about 300m to 800m.

It needs to be stated that Google Maps is great for most roads. However, the tiny roads mapped on this route are completely wrong. That just adds to the adventure.

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-ESdpE8SCd2U/UYip-lo_UwI/AAAAAAAALGQ/axkDvFB4dFU/s144-c-o/IMAG1639.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132606625829634″ caption=”Fancy Sign on Coffee Road” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1639.jpg” ]

Straight into the baby chainring and up towards the clouds.

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-7Xkc_Vq1MX8/UYiqCg4_OyI/AAAAAAAALGY/k8XPNlsyCRc/s144-c-o/IMAG1640.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132674070231842″ caption=”The Rock Sign at the Start of the Big Climb” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1640.jpg” ]

The thick clouds sitting on the top of the hills were threatening to pour bucketloads of water on my head, but had been kind in providing me a moisture-free ride so far. The atmosphere that the looming mists added were well worth the humidity that they were pressing directly onto me.

[pe2-image src=”//lh3.ggpht.com/-FzjkzhnwWzk/UYiqIsFo4hI/AAAAAAAALGg/3dG3GkKxsFw/s144-c-o/IMAG1641.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132780155298322″ caption=”Trail Marker” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1641.jpg” ]

After passing what appeared to be an abandoned Buddhist center, I hit the first trail marker. I was in two minds as to whether to follow it’s advice on where to go or to blaze my own trail with my phone as my navigator. I chose the latter and headed off in the other direction to the trail that was most likely to take me close to the peak and into the clouds.

The roads were getting more and more patchy, but were still quite rideable. I pushed on and up, still able to keep the pedals turning around despite the pitch of the climb and having to fight to keep my bike from pulling an easy wheelie.

Riding the steepest hills provides a great challenge to both your skill and endurance. Once you’ve exhausted your gears, at speeds around 4-6km/h it becomes increasingly hard to keep your bike on track. The front wheel becomes light and in order to not go so slowly that you just topple over you need to keep pushing to keep the speed up a bit. This becomes even more difficult when the paving falls away and you’re wrestling for traction. In addition, at these speeds the cadence drops, there’s no choice but to “mash” the pedals. At the top sections I had to stop at every second switchback to catch my breath. The humidity plus the huge effort was just completely draining and I was heaving like I’d just finished an all-out training interval.

[pe2-image src=”//lh5.ggpht.com/-YEdoXBYw-_U/UYiqLHj0-8I/AAAAAAAALGo/gMVtA4RZLJw/s144-c-o/IMAG1642.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132821889416130″ caption=”Up to the Clouds” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1642.jpg” ]

And then another sign. The virtual world and the physical world were showing no convergence whatsoever. The signpost pointed me to an unpaved road that looked like it would head me in the wrong direction so headed the other way.

Upwards, then dirt.

I was not prepared for this.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-K6m59NpkNDE/UYiqOeXKQoI/AAAAAAAALGw/qP-rF-UD438/s144-c-o/IMAG1643.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132879549907586″ caption=”Bamboo” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1643.jpg” ]

When the trail started to fade it was a sign that I read as needing to turn back. Perhaps the sign was right.

So I headed back down to the signpost and with a minimum of confidence in the direction it was heading and then pushed on.

The dirt on the signposted section quickly changed to old cement road, which gave me a slight confidence in the road ahead. Unsurprisingly that changed as all paving gave way to dirt roads.

The roads were getting steeper and there were no plantations of betelnut trees, or anything to suggest that any human had been by recently. There were beehives, however, artificial ones that were just erected at the side of the road. At least it was something.

Then came the rain.

It started as a light drizzle, nothing that wouldn’t make me wetter than I already was. And then it started to rain harder. There was no point in heading back, just push on upward.

Up, up, up until finally I arrived at the end of the trail.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-TAR_KkXVzK4/UYiqTGIPzCI/AAAAAAAALG8/cYXhFRYvmNk/s144-c-o/IMAG1645.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875132958944250914″ caption=”Shelter for Bees” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1645.jpg” ]

It started pouring down and I took a slight refuge in the shelter of a tree. The covered area was home to two big beehives and preferred to just leave them alone.

It was a tad cooler and the air was fresh. The pitter patter of raindrops in the peace and quiet of the hills. Nothing better.

My shelter was not providing much protection from the rain, so I headed back down.

Mountain biking is one thing, but I’ve learned from experience that slicks don’t provide much grip. The chainring scar on my left thigh is testament to this.

So feathering the brakes I headed down the steep, and now wet, path. I was starting to remember why I always loved mountain biking so much and why I’ve been reluctant to switch to a full-on road bike for all my riding.

With butt over the back of my saddle and my eyes peeled for the best route around or over obstacles, avoiding slippery patches of concrete with their slimey coating of moss waiting to drop me on my ass.

[pe2-image src=”//lh6.ggpht.com/-sVibdRrzOe8/UYiqVvanNkI/AAAAAAAALHE/jcQxOd83DJU/s144-c-o/IMAG1646.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875133004386874946″ caption=”Mountain Biking” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1646.jpg” ]

All went well and before long I was back to navigable roads. My perceived exertion on the way up had me thinking I was much further away than I really was.

And I set on my cruise back home. Cracked 60km/h freewheeling down the big hill I had come up on, then stopped at the 7-11 again to sit down and get some nourishment.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-QgexT-4z69Y/UYiqZ-MAPdI/AAAAAAAALHU/0i3XvKD7K0M/s144-c-o/IMAG1648.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875133077071609298″ caption=”Rest Stop” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1648.jpg” ]

The hills coming back were as expected, it’s amazing how familiarity makes hills seem a little less daunting.

On passing through Liujia a group of roadies passed me by. They were going a tad faster than me so I seized the opportunity to suck some wind and make some quick progress through this final segment.

As it turns out, they were from the same town as me, so I got to suck wind all the way back.

[pe2-image src=”//lh4.ggpht.com/-DZ-ngUn7knc/UYiqcGeHD8I/AAAAAAAALHc/yytU0ALI8Qw/s144-c-o/IMAG1649.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/110249026098208712655/DongshanExploring#5875133113654775746″ caption=”Roadies Hauling Me Home” type=”image” alt=”IMAG1649.jpg” ]

On the final, long stretch into town I tried to see who would take the bait and pick up the pace for the last section. Head down, I picked up the lead pace to 40km/h with the front guy holding his spot behind me.

At least that’s what I thought. When I got to the traffic lights they were all some way back.

My favorite part about road races, when I used to do them, was the group sprint to the line. At least in those local races, I found almost everyone did a lot of training, but that was limited to long miles in the saddle. My rides were long, with intermittent sprints all the way through, it was the greatest feeling to look at the person who I was riding with, see the slight nod, and then both head into a frenzied sprint to some arbritrary location on the road ahead. When in Taipei, “The Fly” gave a me a good run for my money, we need to have a challenge again.

The sprint was not without pain however. My legs were starting to cramp, and although I maintained all the way to the line, my hamstrings and quads were both giving me warning messages to ease up on the pace. Since moving my saddle forward about 4cm my hamstrings are getting a little more work done. Bliss.

Another trip into the hills is in order, and hopefully I’ll find a way to the summit at around 1000m.

But that’s for another day.