Taiwan's Super Cross Island Highway Adventure

[Dajianshan]

Dates: 10/24/2009 to 10/25/2009
Location: Taiwan, Taroko Gorge in Hualien to Taichung City (Highways 8, 14, and 3)
Conditions: Clear and Dry, light fog.
Temperature: 80 degrees to 40 degrees
Total Distance Covered: 127 miles.
Altitude and Distance Day-1: 46 miles from 199ft above sea level to 8000ft above sea level.
Day-2: 81 miles from 8000ft to 10,744ft over 9 miles and then a descent to 250ft over 72 miles.
Bike Specs: Compact Crank (34/50 to 12-27) Disc Brakes


The Troubled Start:
This has been one of my "dream rides" for a long time and I never had the time to do it. Finally I received an invite from a group of other expats of varying levels of cycling fitness and I jumped at the chance. I had just gotten my bike back from 5 weeks in the shop with a wrecked front rim, and so I was not in condition to do a very safe and successful trip. I had five weeks to prepare and my builder had alerted me to the slight bend in my rear rim. I took three hard training weeks, brought my bike in when he got the new rim, and the bike was up for two weeks in the shop. Giant is having a major race and the spokes I needed were on back order due to the influx in builds. In the mean time, a nasty typhoon was headed our way, threatening to smash into the Philippines and reports indicated a strong likelihood of severe flooding and winds in Taiwan. I spent the last week watching the news reports and waiting for my bike. At long last my bike was done and by friday noon out trip was cancelled. Then at about 4:00pm the meteorologists declared the typhoon was moving back out to sea and we pulled the trigger on out trip. I hopped the 6:15 train and made it to the other side of Taiwan by midnight.

Day 1:
We started out early and made out way into Taroko Gorge and within shouting distance from the Pacific Ocean. I should never have tried to take pictures of it as they utterly fail to capture any of the awe inspiring magnitude of the granite and marble cliffs, some being 3000 ft. vertical slabs of rock. A narrow road snakes through the confines of the gorge, often, tunnels cut right through the rock to make room for vehicular traffic. For those not entirely familiar with Taiwan, the topography is a true wonder. As a long, narrow island, Taiwan has several ecological regions from subtropical to temperate to alpine. The Central Mountain Range pushes up against the ocean in the East as 6000ft. seaside cliffs catch moisture and create a rainforest. The jungle gives way to coniferous trees at the higher elevations and above the 3000 meter mark the small alpine grasses and small trees grow. We passes through all of these regions on our way over the mountains. Taiwan's mountains are the highest east of the Himalayas and several mountains range between 12,000 to 14,000 ft. The Cross Island Highway passes at nearly 11,000ft. At one point we were delayed 45min. for construction as crews attempted to clear away debris from a giant landslide caused by typhoon Morakot.

The climbing was steady and at times rough, but the people were pleasant and when we met a car we were always greeted with a thumbs up. At one rest point a couple handed us a bag of apples they had just bought and we all shared them while we waited.

Trouble:
As I mentioned earlier, some riders were in better shape than others and our waits for the slower group were getting longer and longer. We took turns going back to encourage them and spur them on. Finally, we sent one rider ahead to clear up the room at the hostel and arrange dinner plans while the rest of us rallied around one particular rider who was having extreme difficulty pressing on. With 15km to go he was walking with an occasional spurt of riding. Soon it was completely dark and we were out on the mountain roads. I took the lead to ride ahead and scope the road ahead and the report was always that it was getting flatter. At one point I looked into the bushes and saw what looked like glowing eyes. We had seen a couple troops of monkeys earlier, but I had no idea what I was looking at... until the eyes parted ways and it was clear I was watching fireflies. The forest was filled with them. I was out, alone on a stretch of road in the middle of the blackness on a mountain, surrounded by swirling, glowing insects. Beautiful! We got the weary rider to the hostel and he set a foul mood. He was planning on going back the next day, but it would have been longer and more dangerous. Someone would have to go with him, so he opted to sleep on it. A day of eating "road food" made for a room of men with rotten stomachs. It sounded like a room full of bagpipers all night.

Day 2:

We woke up a bit later and had Taiwanese breakfast. Taiwanese are great with lunch and dinner, but breakfast isn't a specialty. It was sunny and about 40 degrees. By that point the rider who was lagging had decided to go along the planned low route at about 8000ft, while another guy wanted to cut it short a day early, but do the summit. I opted to do the summit with him on the buddy system and then meet the rest of the group at a designated meeting place. After more apples at a roadside stand, the two groups parted ways. My riding partner and I made good time up the mountain and covered 2700 ft quick enough to feel good about it. I took my time taking pictures to show the folks at RBR and then headed down the mountain into freezing fog. A few riders from Taiwanese groups were making their ascent from the other side. They normally drive up on weekends and do the final 30km to the summit. Not long after I started my descent, I got a call from the suffering rider from the day before. He had called for a taxi to pluck him off the mountain and drive him home. The other rider who was in their group was exhausted and headed down the mountain too, leaving only one guy from their group and myself... if I opted to stay. I didn't.

Racing home:

With a bunch of valuable time lost and a day spent riding as if it would be a short day, I went into race mode as I was 72 miles from home and it was already the afternoon. My riding partner and I took advantage of gravity and when we hit the flats we took turns pulling to keep a steady 20-22mph. My riding partner had three flats on the way. Each flat just sucked the momentum out of our pace and it was getting more and more difficult to get back up to speed. We finally pulled into Taichung and parted at the train station.
I hope this qualifies as an "epic" ride.

This is a world class route. I highly recommend it.

[Dajianshan]

Here are a few more.

[Dajianshan]

And...a couple more.

[JohnHenry]

wow. That looksamazing.

btw, that is epic.

[jd3]

You got my vote for epic!!!!

[rodar y rodar]

I`d say it falls under "epic", too. You`ve got some really nice reports, but I think this one tops them. You guys sure travel light.

[team_sheepshead]

Great report. I spent a week in Taiwan a couple of years ago and found it to be a very beautiful, hospitable country. The residents I met were incredibly kind.

Although I do agree with you about the breakfasts. I seem to recall a lot of toasted ham-and-cheese sandwiches.

[ridenfish39]

Wow!!!! Great pics and story!

[Dajianshan]

Thanks all for the kind comments!

We travel pretty light I guess. I brought lightweight thermal gear for three days and the possibility of torrential rain and cold wind, along with enough dry noodles, peanuts, cranberries and the like. Luckily, there are a few little roadside fruit stands and shops to pick up extras if we needed them. My two big mistakes: (1) I left my camelbak bag in the fridge at home and had to stuff bottles of water in my pack and jersey. (2) I mislaid my money at the first place I stayed. I arrived late and put everything down. Because I arrived late I hadn't had the time to get everything ready, so as soon as I got up I was rushing to catch up with everyone and left the money on a shelf. oops!

[longhorn31]

EPIC. Thanks for the pictures! Been to Taiwan twice and ached to ride, but it was for business only.

[Mr. Versatile]

"This is a world class route. I highly recommend it."

Maybe not with the same guys though? What a beautiful country. The only pics are of polluted cities with lots of mopeds. Super pics - definitely an epic ride.

[oarsman]

Wonderful pictures and a true epic cycle. Haven't made it to Taiwan yet (except the airport). The riding looks more interesting than I expected, but that is probably because I tend to think of Taiwan as synonymous with Taipei, which of course it is not. I have placed it on the list of locations where I want to ride (that is now a very long list indeed)

[Dajianshan]

The only pics are of polluted cities with lots of mopeds

Right! 70% of the country is mountains, but the cities are filled with clouds of scooters. Maybe all for the better. I'd hate it if they started covering the place with suburbs.

If anyone wants to come here for a ride, I would gladly help out with the arrangements and maybe even join in.

[oarsman]

Originally Posted by Dajianshan

the cities are filled with clouds of scooters. ...

If anyone wants to come here for a ride, I would gladly help out with the arrangements and maybe even join in.

Ah yes, the joys of Asian cities, scooters upon scooters, all following a traffic pattern that is a complete mystery to any North American: sort of like schools of very noisy fish. I usually give up and walk straight across the street in a predictable, steady fashion (always with a few locals in my immediate vicinity) as the school of scooters weaves and separates around us....

I might consider taking you up on your offer sometime. We have some really cheap flights to Taipei from Vancouver right now on both EVA and China Airlines.

[longhorn31]

Originally Posted by oarsman

all following a traffic pattern that is a complete mystery to any North American: sort of like schools of very noisy fish.

Yes! I've used the fish analogy too. It's very hard to describe.

[Dajianshan]

A few more pictures trickled in and a some details from the B group:

This report comes from a member of the B Group after he got separated from the lead.

"Saw a couple of drunk but cheerful (Aborigine) guys smiling at me from a vinyl couch in the main road (a rutted track at this point) through their village, and stopped to ask if any other laowai (White guys) had been through on bikes. Didn't pay attention to the group of 7 or 8 drinking at a table on the other side of the road. They got up and swarmed me, all smiles and mijiu-spiked milk tea in filthy plastic cups which I was supposed to drink from. Arms all over me and the bike, and one guy trying to prise the panniers off. Several had cuts and grazes on their faces, including the one young woman among them. I hope this comment doesn't offend but it was like something out of Zombie. The sun was beaming down, late Sunday afternoon, and these folk were so pissed they could barely form a sentence. But they were unanimous I couldn't go on without a drink. I must have pushed those plastic cups away from my lips about 17 times. After a while a 4-wheel drive came by and the driver slowed to watch. Most of the party melted away, leaving the two men who were in probably the most pitiful condition. Drunk A, who had originally been the most aggressive campaigner for me to stay and respect the laws of yuanzhumin hospitality (sic), now became my "defender" against Drunk B, who had given up on the pannier buckles and was angrily hugging my front wheel and bars like a drowning man clinging to a block of styrofoam. These two were getting more and more mad at each other than interested in me -- some history there obviously -- and the moment the arms were prised off my handlebars I was off down the slope, leaving the two of them to wrestle it out in the middle of main street."

[rodar y rodar]

Originally Posted by Dajianshan

"Saw a couple of drunk but cheerful (Aborigine) guys smiling at me from a vinyl couch....

....I was off down the slope, leaving the two of them to wrestle it out in the middle of main street."[/i]

HA! That`s hilarious! If it weren`t for that 4WD passing through it would only have been a matter of time before that poor lost rider was squeeling like a pig on that old vinyl couch!

[milkbaby]

Wow, that looks beautiful from the photos... I visited Taroko Gorge and Hualien 25 years ago the summer after my freshman year in high school. Had a blast with my grandfather riding around there, but our riding was done in a taxi!

Awesome epic ride and report...

[Ridgetop]

What an astounding range of climate zones and environments. Wow! That definitely is an epic ride.

[acckids]

Thanks for a different perspective on Taiwan. My legs/lungs are exhausted looking at the pics.

[philippec]

This report kicks ass - thanks!

[creekchub]

thanks for sharing, looks awsome........

[Dajianshan]

Thanks guys!

The following Saturday I did a solo "mountain century", so my legs wouldn't forget what they learned the week before. That'll show 'em! Maybe I'll try to get to the white sandy beaches later this winter.