[Warning: long post...]
Last weekend we (JK, Pt, Janice, Nic, Vicky and I) headed off to Taiwan for a bit of a jaunt in Taipei and a block of three days training across Taiwan's Central Alps. We would be cycling approx. 300km through Taiwan's mighty Central Cordillera, starting with the undulating terrain around Sun Moon Lake then tackling the epic Central Cross Island, taking us up to the highest road point in NE Asia at 3275m(!), before sweeping down into the Cilan Valley towards Yilan and the (well deserved by this point) hot springs of Jiaoxi. The whole trip was organised and supported by Cam (who also joined us on the bike), from the excellent In Motion Asia.
The trip was the first big block of training for all of us this year and a great opportunity to get three big consecutive days in the saddle in preparation for what awaited us in the French Alps. For most, it was also the first real taste of riding long alpine climbs too. People were nervous.... in fact Nic and Vicky had a pretty big wobble on whether or not they wanted to even head out on the trip at all which, in fairness, wasn't entirely unreasonable given neither had ever clipped into and ridden a road bike and would only be doing the final, pan flat, day into Paris on the Tour de Force - three days climbing through the Taiwanese Alps was overkill on the training front! A call was made to Cam to ensure that he had no concerns with having two complete novices on the trip - he didn't - although it wasn't entirely clear that he fully appreciated that they had neverridden a road bike before. Thankfully Nic and Vicky were eventually talked into joining us - it turns out both were total stars and needn't have worried.
Day(s) 0 – Hitting Taipei
On landing in Taipei, and being met by Cam, we took over a section of the airport and chaotically assembled our bikes before being driven to our hotel (Park Taipei) in downtown Taipei. What had become very clear to us all within minutes of our arrival was that none of us had really packed appropriately for the weather (and in Janice's case civilised society in Taipei). Rather optimistically we had all anticipated good weather. What we were met with was cold temperatures and rain. Vicky would be wearing the same red jeans and hoodie combo for the whole trip....
Once checked-in at the hotel we quickly sought out the nearest Din Tai Fung and gorged ourselves on Xiaolongbao and beer. After a short disco nap we headed out to see what Taipei offered in terms of nightlife on a Wednesday night. What we found was (i) a huge German style beer hall (346) attached to the side of a brewery with an eight song ABBA soundtrack on loop and an unnecessary token paying system, (ii) a couple of cool lounge bars (although the disgusting chilli cocktails should really have been avoided), (iii) it was ladies nights at the clubs Myst and Spark 101 (which basically involved free entry for the girls and some ropey alcoholic drinks and paid entry for Pt and me and some equally ropey free drinks), and (iv) a huge metal 'LOVE' sign ideal for climbing all over in the rain to get cool photos (who even has these photos btw?!).
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| We almost ended up being beer from a supermarket.... |
The morning after the night before was a little bit painful and all except JK and Vicky (who made it to the top of Taipei 101) struggled out of bed to be transferred to our hotel at Sun Moon Lake. We would have had an afternoon enjoying the tranquil lakeside scenery were it not for the fact that it was still raining and the mist had rolled in too. Some card games and more beer kept us amused though as we all readied ourselves for the first day of cycling the next morning.
Day 1 – Freezing Ice Rain
Unfortunately the weather hadn't miraculous changed over night and on waking we were met with grey skies and a light drizzle. Amongst the group there was none of the excitement you would usually expect at the beginning of a trip like this and enthusiasm was at a relatively low ebb. Nic and Vicky being particularly apprehensive as they still needed to have their first 'clip in clip out' lesson before we set off.
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| Team Brown with Sun Moon Lake in the background |
Despite the limited enthusiasm we headed off on a 30km rolling loop around Sun Moon Lake (this had been sold to us as a flat start, it wasn't really and definitely involved some ups and downs....). Quickly though we were whizzing along with everyone perking up relatively quickly as we took in some of the scenic views (as best we could given the mist) and let Pt point out every temple he saw to us all (the most famous being the Wenwu Temple on a hill above the lake). Vicky was taking to the cycling like a duck to water and went up the first main hill like it was flat before revealing herself as a fearless descender as we sped down a narrow (and wet) descent through betel nut plantations into the town of Puli which lay at the foot of the main event of the day (and day 2), the Central Cross Island Link.
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| Bossing it like a Pro... |
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| Phil G joined us briefly, but quickly dropped us.... |
After regrouping at a 7-Eleven we commenced the climbing. Lots of climbing.
After an initially gentle incline we started the climbing proper, heading up the Central Cross Island towards the historical town of Wushe and our lunch destination just 2km further up the hill just as the rain started to get a little heavier. As is usual as soon as the road goes up, the group fractured and spread out along the road - me leading the charge with the promise of a roast chicken lunch firmly in my mind and JK not too far behind. Pt and Janice were making steady progress as Vicky and Nic both put in great efforts to negotiate most of the climb before jumping off their bikes (literally in both cases as vans careered towards them on the wrong side of the road) and jumping in the van to meet us at lunch. Again the promise of views from the balcony at lunch was defeated by the incessant rain.
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| Stick Chicken in barrel, leave for 40 minutes, eat.. |
As I continued to climb, ploughing a lonely, drenched and freezing furrow up the hill the rain continued to get heavier, the air thinner (apparently it is possible to get altitude sickness at these heights) and the temperature lower (going as low as 5 Celsius at the summit). The road continued to narrow and the oncoming cars become less and less visible in the rain and then, out of nowhere, I was at the summit, in a car park with three mainland tourists with the 'summit sign' annoyingly up an additional set of stairs.
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| It was all worth it for the wonderful views.... |
After dutifully click-clacking up the stairs in my cycling shoes with my bike over my shoulder I got a the all important picture (proof that I had actually cycled to the top rather than hidden round the corner from the hotel for a couple of hours?) and thought about descending. I thought about it some more. Then I decided I didn't really want to.
I have never been so cold on a bike in my life. No feeling in large sections of my hands, drenched to my core and being buffeted around in the wind whilst trying to negotiate the torrents of water flowing down the middle of the road meant that I was counting down the 500m markers with more intensity than I had been on the way up. When I finally got back to the hotel I was meet with a worried Vicky (minutes away from sending out a search party) and the promise of a chance to thaw out in one of our balcony hot tubs, which I quickly clambered into, in a bit of a cold induced delirium, fully clothed.
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| Clothes options were limited, but this was something else from Pt.... |
Day 2 – Hehuanshan
Vicky and I awoke early on day 2 to an awesomely beautiful sunrise (no pictures, sorry, it was too early to actually get out of bed) and the realisation that our hotel actually had a fabulous view and we in amongst some spectacular high alpine scenery.
It was a brutal start to the day as the road headed up as soon as we left the hotel with 19km of pure climbing up Hehuanshan to the Wuling Peak. We all headed out and negotiated the road at our own pace with a plan to meet for a refuel around 7km from the summit. Everyone did brilliantly, Nic and Vicky making it 7km up the road (beyond either of their expectations) and then tackling the brutally steep last 2km to the summit, Pt and Janice both grinding their way up and JK, of course, took it all in her stride.
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| Finally the clouds cleared to reveal the epic scenery |
The weather was far far better than the previous day and it was enjoyable to actually get to see some of the beautiful scenery, that had been so well hidden the previous day, as we cycled upwards, upwards upwards.
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| All smiles at 3275!! |
After all conquering the legendary Wuling Peak (and getting the obligatory photo), we plunged down the eastern side on an epic fast winding descent through the tea plantations, fields of cabbages and apple and pear orchids of the Taroko National Park, stopping at the high altitude farming village of Lishan for a picnic in front of a temple just as another cloud of heavy rain rolled in. Vicky again showing she was fearless on the descents ("everyone is braking too much...").
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| Team Brown leading the downhill charge |
Leaving lunch we continued downhill in the rain, each bundled up as much as possible. Quickly, however, the rain cleared, the skies brightened and the temperature rose. As we hit the base of the last climb of the day towards Wuling Farm it was clear that we needed to shed as many layers as possible to avoid exploding in the heat.
On reaching the driveway to our hotel for the night ahead of the van (somehow), I decided that that would head up the 2km long climb to the hotel. The road had been described as 'gnarly' and I had expected this to mean a little bumpy or potholed, not very very steep... my already laboured breathing as I ground my way up the narrow country road was helped little by the cabbage farmers spraying pesticides in my face as I went!
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| Cabbage, Cabbage, Cabbage |
Despite not really looking like a hotel (I spent some time on arriving deciding whether I would be walking into someone's farmhouse or not when I tried to check-in) and being in the middle of millions of cabbages the hotel (Green Leaf Resort) was really good and the food, again, was excellent. The cabbage particularly.
Day 3 – Cabbage and hot springs
The final day. Still raining. Almost all downhill.
We headed out on the final day and after a short ride back out to the main cross island road we hit a totally epic 60km descent on smooth roads and incredible views of the valley as we snaked our way down into the Taipingshan National Forest. I was enjoying the descent so much that 'didn't hear' where we were stopping to regroup and kept going for a further 20km...
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| Plunging into the valley... |
After being chastised by everyone else we all headed out together to tackle the last real climb of the trip, on slippy treacherous roads (Vicky and Pt both taking low speed, comedy tumbles) in, you guessed it, heavy rain. Vicky again putting in a fab performance, taking the climb in her stride (watch out the Peak).
From the crest of the hill there was a little more descending before we decided to jump in the van and head to our final destination - the hot springs of Jiaoxi. The hot springs were exactly what was needed and helped ease some of the soreness from the past three days.
Day 3 – Airport dash
It turns out we may have been enjoying the hot springs for a little too long as, after a quick feed, we got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams that put arriving at the airport in time for check-in in serious jeopardy. As the clocked ticked down we made some pretty average attempts at rearranging flights whilst our driver started flying along the freeway like he as in a video game. I was pretty convinced it was a hopeless case.
Arriving at the airport with literally a minute to spare before check-in Janice legged it to the check-in desk with our passports just in time to stop the desk being closed and convinced them that we should be let onto the plane and only had a 'few bags' to check-in (Janice you little legend!) - I suspect the sight of us all running towards them with six half-built bikes was not what they expected. Credit where credit is due, the staff were great as we rapidly packed up our bikes and even joined us on our comedy run through the airport to departure gate!!
An eventful, if mildly stressful end to a great trip!
A summary...
Some very brief summary thoughts:
- Taiwan is a lot like China, but better
- Taiwan reminded me a little of Japan, just a little worse
- Everyone's training is progressing well
- The food was generally awesome (the thought of 'Chinese' food in the UK.... yuk!)
- Everyone needs to get a few more long long rides in (these rides were still significantly shorter than what we will be doing in the Alps)
- I don't like it when my bike gets dirty
- I like cleaning my bike less
- It is always helpful to have someone that can speak the local language
- Vicky is faster than me downhill
- Wet lycra in the cold sucks
- People may not finish reading posts this long
- Nic's efforts were amazing (she must love riding Pablo)
- The general support and cycle-friendliness of the Taiwanese was brilliant
- JK really does love Lulu more than a person really should love an inanimate object
- I still haven't ever missed a flight
- I'd like to cycle in Taiwan in good weather
Finally.... a star is born
There is no doubt that JK is an absolute natural. For someone that only really started cycling six months ago, she is far far beyond the level she has any right to be at – but to be honest this isn’t really unexpected, JK was always going to excel.
The revelation of the weekend, however, was Vicky! The 'domination' in the spin classes has clearly transferred well to the road. From never having clipped into a road bike at the beginning of the weekend to conquering some sections of the toughest climbing all weekend (including the punishing last 2km up to Wuling Peak in oxygen thin air) and finishing Day 3 with 75km on the odometer is an epic achievement. I should have known something was afoot when Vicky started emailing me her stats from her spin classes and talking about her RPM and Power/Kg....
