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.