Day #4 - Sanxing to Xiulin

We left the prison bright and early to the laundromat to dry some of our gear. If you remember from the movie Jurassic Park II, nothing dries in the humidity. But today is a big day because we got three huge hills. 

We biked 81.83 km (50.84 miles) today! Check out the speeds I got on those downhills!

The three headed monster.

I can grind out hills all day, though. But carrying the bean makes it tough. The downhill is the best because then the bean pays me back dividends and I go so fast. The second hill I somehow made it down without crashing because my spokes were starting to get really loose and I was very wobbly. The rest of the day was spent dealing with spoke issues and finding someone to help us fix them. It sure has been nice having Measticks here to speak Mandarin to everyone (Holly speaks Cantonese). 

I remember an old poem about sleeping when the wind blows. The bean is good at that.

Love the Buddhist temples.

Far in the disance we saw these huge crayons. I wonder if this is where they're made. Check the box of your crayons and see if it says "Made in Taiwan". Then return and report.

That helmet we featured in a previous post was too big to bring for the bean so we got this fitted padded one for her to wear 24/7. Now I'm a real helicopter parent!

Grinding up the first hill.

Our reward after coming all the way back down before we have to go climb up another hill all over again. I asked Meatsticks, "Couldn't they have just built a bridge?" He chortled.

Hey look, monkeys. We saw one after this sign so they weren't lying.

The scenary is pretty neat on the eastern side of Taiwan. Such steep mountain sides.

And unlimited tunnels!!! Although some we're not allowed to ride in 😑

Reward after the second hill! This was a baked bun. So good.

It's neat to see the cut-out from the road far out in the vegetation but when you're looking up at it from below and realize there are more climbs, you get depressed.

We had this part of the highway all to ourselves. It was the best. Before this it was so crowded with huge semi-trucks that I struggled to stay on the road.

I like how here and Japan they do these half tunnels.

I was wondering if there were any movies filmed in Taiwan that you know of. I can't think of any. Why hasn't that market been tapped into yet?

Look at that neat valley with the huge drainage for when the flash floods come.

And our reward after the third hill. See you need rewards in life otherwise you'll be depressed.

We decided to make camp at this park but lots of kids showed up.

They asked us a bunch of questions using Google Translate.

Meatsticks says he's not an extrovert and I suppose I'll believe him this time.

Look how sweet she is. There's nothing you can do about it either.

Day #3 - Gongliao District to Sanxing

Well, there's been a few hiccups but that's OK and it's expected. Now we just need to mitigate them. The main issue is spokes. I'm no stranger to broken spokes as I've had to repair dozens of them on the sides of roads hundreds of thousands of times. It's nothing to write home about but it gets the job done. The bike rental place gave us basic tools none of which included a spoke wrench (or any wrench). So we depend on going to rural shops to hopefully them or least get us limping along to the next town. But I digress...

We biked 61.63 km (37.33 miles) today! Easy peasy. We should do this everyday! Yeah!... 

Bean helping mama roll up sleeping bags and pads.

Onigiri to the rescue. Look at my dorky helmet. 

Blurry photo for all you Gen Zers!

Loved this bike tunnel and it was only for bikes, too. 

The Buddhist temples are pretty different looking than the ones in Japan. I like how each region gives their own flair and artistic touch.

Everyone asks me if Holly is Buddhist. 

And for the curious minds, the bean does really well in her trailer. Rarely cries. She plays with her toys and looks around while make cute noises saying "wow!!" or eats her snacks and sleeps,

Foot baths! What a gem to find after a day of riding. Also, a good stop to change the bean's huge poopy diaper that went up her back and through two layers of clothes. Wished I had taken a pic for you guys. 

Meatsticks found us some pineapple to feast on!

Excellent bike path.

Sometimes the trailer doesn't always fit so we have to be selective with our bike paths.

These rich houses along the river were so fun to oogle at. Somehow these fat cats are allowed to build these houses if they don't live in them. Otherwise it's illegal so they're all empty. 

Love the Gates. Why don't we have this in America?

Heading to our Warmshowers host for the evening.

...which is at a prison!!

Look at all this good food they made for us. Great hosts, Joy and Wen-Wei!

Questions you may have:

What is Warmshowers? It is an organization that is similar to couch surfing but soley for bicycle tourists. My dad hosted a lot of cyclist when I was growing up. We met a lot of fun people, including the son of Einstein. So I use Warmshowers when I do my rides. In fact, that's how Holly and I met! Makes you think huh?

Did we really stay in a prison? Yes! That's where our host lives because he works at the gate. 

What others questions do you got? Comment below! 👇

Day #1 and 2 - Taipei to Gongliao District

 We're in Taiwan!!

We're lucky that Lily Rose (The Bean) is such a good flyer otherwise the entire trip would have been ruined.

Holly and I arrived on Saturday evening, the 30th. We took the train from the airport to the bike shop with our luggage and trailer (that I featured in my previous post) where we're renting our bicycles for the next few weeks. Along the way we met up with my college buddy, Jamison Jones, who we affectionately call Meatsticks. He'll be accompanying us during the trip!

Assembling our gear and trailer on the bicycle rentals.

And we're finally off! 10:30PM and riding through the streets of Taipei. And a blurry pic in true, terrible Gen Z fashion.

First campsite!

We biked 4.56 km (2.78 miles) today!

We rode a few kilometers up a really steep hill to get to this church that appeared to be half under construction. Even late at night the traffic was constant and very loud with noisy mopeds and motorcycles passing by. It also kept the bean up which in turn kept me up resulting in a horrible night's sleep. 

She's the sweetest, though.

Mutual adoration.

The next morning on the 31st, we rode through the city along a really nice bike path by the river. Taiwan has many great bike paths, although with our huge double-wide trailer it can be tricky fitting it on to said bike path. So far we've been able to manage. 🤞 

See that? Tricky Ricky.

We found a church on the 9th floor to worship the Almighty.

Bean made some friends!

Lots of members doted on her, too.

This nice lady particularly liked holding the bean while we had a quick lunch and used the facilities.

The rest of the day we spent trying to get as far as possible due to late start and taking many breathers. It rained a tad but wasn't miserable. We did find a neat waterfall towards the end and a delicious place to eat!

Look at Bean Pie's eyes 😍

Look at the sky and you can see the lanterns they let off for the impending New Year.

Shifen Waterfall.

Beef bowls. That brown kimchee stuff in the metal bowl along with the red chili was so spicy. I had heartburn for about an hour after, especially going up the hills.

The tent is great for having Lily Rose stretch out her legs and crawl around after being in the trailer for hours.

"Goodnight Neverland!!!!"

I realized this trip is going to be tricky. The weight of the bean and trailer really slow us down plus having to make more stops for feedings and changing diapers. We'll be lucky if we get 50-60 miles a day (normally I log more during these adventures). Also, this is my first time doing a tour in the winter so we have limited daylight (about 11 hours) despite being closer to the Equator. So time is of the essence. But we're loving it and all of us are in good spirits. 

We biked 72.94 km (45.19 miles) today! To quote Michael Scott, "Ladies, not your best effort." I hummed and hawed all day about the decisions that were made today.

New Bike Trailer!

Holly and I are +1 since our last cycling trip in Iceland. We've had to invest in a trailer to carry our bean. And invest we did. It cost more than our car! (Which isn't saying much because cars are cheap AF in Japan but you get the point.)

After months of research we went with Thule because 1) it easily converts into a good stroller 2) the seats recline for long hours of riding 3) it has suspension, also good for long hours of riding and 4) lots of storage. We got the dual seater in hopes of someday filling that with a sleeping dragon. 🤞💤🐉

The bean can look out at the passing landscape with the side windows.

She likes to eat the straps.

And when she's not eating the straps she's clutching it while sleeping. 

Lots of space for her to stretch out those pinchy legs of hers.

We bought the attachment for Holly's bike, too, so she can take the bean for a spin as well.

We did an overnighter up north to prep for our Taiwan trip.

Such a good bean pie! This gave us a boost of confidence for next week's adventure.

She loves it!!

 

Placeholder: Iceland/Taiwan Tours

 

I like having these scrolling memes as a bookmark or placeholder between biking adventures. I find them at the exact opportune moment I need them. Love our meme culture. I used the Balrog in between the America trip and Japan. I used the knight resting by the fire gif in between Japan and Iceland. And now I'm using this anime thing in between Iceland and Taiwan. 

So take a break, grab your お茶 (ocha), and get ready for another fun adventure on bicycles with us. This time we have the bean and special guest Meatsticks.

Iceland - Epilogue

Since I started doing cross-country trips by bicycle over 20 years ago, I’ve had thousands of people come up to me inquiring various topics of how, where, when, and why of my journeys. In case someone wants to know how to bike around Iceland, I’ll give you the Director’s Cut.

What did you have to do to make this trip happen?

    Since this wasn't our first rodeo, we didn't panic and stress as much as previous trips. Simply put, our     travel plan was such: We talked about biking on the Ring Road and had various stops we wanted to        make on the way that I had starred on my maps (one stop I was particularly with was be at Akureyri        on Saturday the 9th so we could worship the next day as there are few chapels in Iceland, I needed to     be strategic with where I would be at on weekends so I planned accordingly); Purchase two plane        tickets from EZ Jet airlines for less than $200 gold each I believe, departing from Luton Airport north     of London; bring desired food, gear, and rent bikes (see below);Turn on Holly's roaming for her            phone

What was your Gear List?

    2 panniers each (the bags that go over the back tires, we didn't bring our front panniers since this trip     was short)

    2 small handlebar bags

    2 packpacks plus Holly's little camelback she'd wear which is like half a packpack.

    4 bungee cords

    1/2 roll of Duck Tape (didn't use)

    1 laptop

    1 journal

    6 power banks. Wasn't sure how often I could charge my devices plus my phone is 4 years old and        has lost some of its charge.

    2 sleeping bags

    2 sleeping pads

    1 crappy tent that had a broken pole starting the first night which then tore a hole in our rain fly. I            told Holly that I'm getting her a new tent.

    1 stove (and two different sized pots) to cook with and 1 can of butane. We only used about half of it.     I don't remember the size of the can because we left it at the airport since you can't fly with it. Butane     is easy to purchase abroad. Our stove also allows for a hookup with a canister that takes regular            gasoline, too, for when we do our Asia/Africa trip. 

    1 fork, 1 spoon, 2 fold-abowls, 1 small insulated mug for hot chocolate or Holly's hot water.

    Toiletries

    (The rest of the gear list is what I brought for clothing and can't always speak for what Holly brought     or used. All I know is she packs lighter than me.) I brought two extra pairs of clothes. I think Holly        only brought one extra pair. Since she is Asian and doesn't sweat, she doesn't need as much clothes as     I do. 

    Raincoat and rain pants. The pants didn't always keep me dry. There's a micron rating that rain gear        has. Be familiar with what number works best for you if you plan to do excursions in rainy weather.1     pair of thermal top and bottoms. I used these only a few times when my clothes' were wet and I            needed something dry. (Check out Day #1 blog post of me wearing them!)

    1 light jacket

    1 pair of biking gloves. My fingers are still numb, though.

    1 pair of warmer cold weather gloves. I used this one day when it was really cold and rainy in the        north.

    1 neck scarf thing. Used it a few times and it was nice to cover my neck and face while riding.

    1 beanie. This is very useful at night while you sleep because you lose a lot of warmth from your            head. 

    1 eye mask. This was necessary for the Eternal Daylight here in summer.

What did you do for your bikes?

    We thought about bringing our Montague bikes that we used in Japan but decided to not pay the extra     fees to check them in on the plane and struggle to find a bike box for the way back. So we contacted     Reykjavik Bike Tours and rented two mountain bikes for $1,161.20 (at the time of today's exchange     rate) for 17 days. They were very accommodating and we stored our luggage and everything we            didn't take with us with them while we toured.

What food did you eat?

    Holly packed about a week and a half worth of food from England which saved us a fortune because     everything is expensive in Iceland especially the delicacies. 

    For breakfast we'd consume oatmeal with nuts or dried fruit.

    Snacked on sandwiches, chips, candy, or fruit.

    Dinner we feasted on ramen, dried meals where you add boiling water, or wed' scavenge the                    campsites for abandoned food like one place had a bag of rice and three potatoes! We ate like Kings     and Queens that night. We didn't have as much success dumpster diving like we did in Japan.

    We went out to eat 4-5 times I think.

    Bought a lot of Nocco and other fun drinks. We'd also sample the abundance of black licorice                flavored candies which are deliciousssssssssssssssssssss.

How much did everything cost?

    Holly added it up and it was around 3,000 gold coins we spent together.