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…
Author: Rob Ainsley
Taiwan 3: Luodong to Heping
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,…
Taiwan 2: Keelung to Luodong
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…
Taiwan 1: (Taipei to) Fuguei to Keelung
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….
Taiwan 0: Taipei
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…
Taiwan -1: Taipei
We’re in Taipei for the weekend before setting off on the End to End proper on Monday. Our hire bikes are proving useful for exploring the city that the tourist rarely gets to see, such as the tailors that repaired Tim’s trousers and the coin-op that did his laundry. And, indeed, for the five-mile trip…
Taiwan -2: Taipei
I rendezvoused with Tim here in Taipei last night, and we picked up our hire bikes today from a branch of Giant Cycles at lunchtime. Or, as my body clock thought it was, 4am. Taipei is a very bike-friendly city. You can cycle on the pavement, and many people do. This seems to cause no…
Dolgellau: Prints of Wales
Just finished three excellent days of researching routes in West Wales around Dolgellau.
Lakes 4: Getting coached
Final fabulous day of research in the northern Lakes.
Lakes 3: Skiddaw House
Cycled to Skiddaw House, an extremely isolated hostel halfway up Skiddaw. Superb views from the top. No wifi, mobile signal or electricity… but there was a piano and guitar, and a wine list ranging from Viognier to Shiraz, so entertainment was not a problem.