Happy New Year! The New Year arrived a day earlier than at home, which is always a fun mind bender. The beautiful east coast was packed with tourists taking advantage of a long weekend. We were warned ahead of time that things book up so we booked early.
December 30th, 2023 – Daren – Taitung – 65 Kms – Home Rest Hotel
The ride to Taitung along the coast was beautiful but the traffic and noise were exhausting. Wherever we have travelled in the world there has, alas, been an inverse correlation between consideration and the price tags of the vehicles driven. Lamborghinis, Maseratis, and Ferraris take the lead in being the worst assholes.
December 31, 2023 -Taitung – Haiduan – 58kms – Jin Ping Homestay
January 1, 2024 – Haiduan – Ruisui – 58kms – Happy Forest Homestay
January 2, 2024 – Ruisui – Chenggong – 66 kms – Taitung Xingang B&B
From Taitung we turned inland to ride up the Rift Valley. Gord and I have been trying to decide whether to continue north or turn south and head back to the west where the weather is a lot better. It’s not been bad so far, but it’s been windy and rain is a frequent feature of the long term forecast.
For the first few days in this area the mountains were mostly hidden in the clouds, but today we had sun and beautiful views. We took advantage of the day and climbed up out of the valley and returned to the coast. The crossing involved a 2.7 km downhill tunnel. It was well lit with a bike lane and very safe.
Today was decision day and we are now heading south to retrace some of our route and also do some bits we missed
Ruth, The first photo shows you cycling on a narrow road which has absolutely no shoulders and the concrete barriers on the sides would prevent cyclist or vehicle operators from going off road to prevent an accident. Also, the photo appears to show cyclists coming from the opposite direction, thereby narrowing the travelling portion of the road ever so much more so. Combined with the fog or mist, this appears to be a roadway that could present a lot of anxiety to a cyclist. I see you’re dressed in black and while you’re wearing what appears to be one of those illuminated cross pattern safety vests, the trailer unit behind the bike and the bike itself don’t appear to have much in the way of illumination or flashing lights. Be safe my friends! Hope these aren’t the roads where those in overpowered sports cars like to rally, like the 1A west of Cochrane, Ab.
Best regards,
Hu thanks for your concern, but that image is of me on a bike path. The nearby highway has broad shoulders and no luxury vehicles came near me. We feel safer here than in Canada, especially since the long weekend is over.
I realize my generalizations about certain drivers may have been unkind to responsible ones.
More pictures!
Love that you included the map. Saved me looking it up! I’d be interested to know more about your accommodations, esp in the Home Stay places.
We will try to write a bit more about accommodation soon Wendy.