Cycle tours offer a great way to explore the island
’
s scenery, history, and culture.
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ၾɛ˖ࠬΈf
It’s mid-afternoon on the second day of
a 10-day tour and my guests are
missing. We’d begun the ride together,
climbing the steep southern slope of
Yangming Mountain, stopping for a rest
on the fog-shrouded peak before racing
north for a picnic lunch on the coast.
We head south by bullet train and van to
ride the 100km from a temple on the
outskirts of Pingtung to Kenting. My
co-guide Jeff, a faster rider than myself,
speeds ahead with the Danes, while the
others, wanting to mix culture with
cycling, hang back with me. We wind
down the coast, stopping at a temple
made of driftwood, where we are given
local fruits, magnificently costly
Oriental Beauty tea, and a Buddhism-
themed pep talk.
We rejoin the others — already
making a dent in the beer supply — just
before sunset at the hotel in Kenting.
Making no pretense at a unified start,
the speed demons sleep late while the
culturally inclined leave early for a
leisurely ride to Hengchun to explore
one of Taiwan’s last remaining chunks
of Qing-era city wall.
DAY THREE
DAYS ONE & TWO
DAY FOUR
Taking time off from writing for
Lonely Planet, I recently led a group of
cyclists on one such Taiwan package
journey, which lasted for a total of 10 days.
The riders had arrived the day before,
all newcomers to Taiwan with the
exception of a gentleman from America
who’d last visited as a soldier on R&R
from Vietnam in ’72. Other riders included
a couple from Denmark and a retired
former missionary.
The first day had hardly been a
serious cycling day. The group spent just a
few hours exploring the cycling path from
Neihu to Tamsui, drinking fresh sugarcane
Tamsui
૱˥
Kenting
ኤɕ
Chiben
͉ٝ
juice on Old Street before heading back to
the hotel. The second day was to be the
first real challenge, both to the riders and
to myself as a guide and Taiwan expert.
We meet midway up Route 199,
which cuts diagonally along southern
Taiwan’s tailbone through mountainous
tribal villages.
The morning ends with a long
descent down Route 9 and a lunch of
fresh fruit and rice triangles at the feet
of a statue of Matsu, goddess of the sea.
The afternoon’s ride up the coast is
beautiful, cliffs to the west and endless
sea to the east. The Pacific is turbulent
today, churned by powerful wind. Even
the mighty Danes seem tired as we pull
into our spa hotel in Chiben an hour
before sunset.
Following a soak in the area’s
famous mineral waters, the group heads
for an aboriginal feast. Given the tenor
of the day, this feels appropriate.
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