Author: Rob Ainsley

We finished our Taiwan End to End at 11am today, greeted by crowds of paparazzi – or perhaps holidaymakers taking selfies – and heavy rain. But there was a real feeling of achievement. And that was just getting to the end of the walkway to the southernmost point through the holiday crowds. The final leg…

The most pleasant day of cycling so far, ending with a long downhill into the old town of Hengchun, just a few miles from the southernmost point. Our usual morning routine is breakfast at a 7-Eleven. There are branches everywhere in Taiwan, so you don’t even have to deviate from the cycle route (pic). This…

Today’s blog is a CUSTARD APPLE special. It’s CUSTARD APPLE season right now in Taiwan, which is why I’m smiling, and they grow them big here (pic). It’s one of my top three favourite fruits, along with honey mangoes and persimmons. Nobody in Hull has ever seen a CUSTARD APPLE, even if it is the…

Yet more bike problems for Tim, on an otherwise straightforward day of sun, cycling, more coast views, buns and night market grub. It’s New Year’s Day today, and this display of figures in a little village evidently celebrates the new Year of the Helicopter (pic). The holiday was being celebrated domestically in just about every…

Tim’s run of bad luck with the bike plumbed new depths. The back axle failed a few k outside Hualien, and he had to get a taxi back to a bike shop to sort it. I therefore rode by myself to our hostel down the coast in Zhuwu, and enjoyed a fabulous day of coast…

A lovely day of coastal scenery, lots of mildly scary tunnels, the awesome Taroko Gorge, and the unusual experience of sunburn taking over from trenchfoot as the most likely health hazard. It was all smooth, level cycling along Highway 9 today, the first half alongside lovely ocean views in the sun (pic). Lots of cars…

The biggest climbs of the trip today (1500m in total), along ‘one of the world’s most dangerous roads’, more equipment disasters, plus a statue made of jade, some scary tunnels, and many awesome coastal views. We squelched out of Luodong through heavy rain, weaving between local cyclists who have perfected the art of one-handed riding,…

A day of on-and-off drizzle that wasn’t too bad until the last hour. Then it was bad. But with a friendly tailwind and smooth fast roads all day, it was plain sailing. (Rather too literally in that torrential last hour.) Anyway, the upshot was we got to our hostel in the lively town of Luodong…

The first day of the trip proper involved unseen ospreys, acid-trip molluscs, severe mechanicals, some excellent streetfood, and Taiwan’s northernmost point. We left Taipei along a series of excellent riverside tracks (pic). Yup, this a cycle track, not a road. Even my most ardent campaigning friends might grudgingly admit this is just about wide enough….

A lovely day of cycling along the Xindian River today, on one of Taipei’s many fabulous riverside cycle paths. First though we dropped in on Longshan Temple (pic), a splendid ‘folk temple’ that was busy with worshippers praying in the run-up to Chinese New Year next week, with locals getting meticulous horoscopes cast, and cycle…