2024-05-19
Start: 12:00 / Arrival: 19:30
Distance: 95km / Gained height 550 hm
Again another hot day. Started on the bicycle path beside the Tamsui river. Then rode through Xinzhuang. Saw some garden, where the owner was collecting parrots, all of them sitting outside and making incredible noises. Was quite irritated in the beginning, where this was coming from.
Then rode over a small, but nice hill over to the eastern part of Taoyuan. From there, there is an old defunct railway line, which has been transformed into a cycling path. Beautiful ride – although sometimes it was under reconstruction, but – as an alternative one could ride alongside an amazing cycle path along a small river. So, I was constantly switching between those two. Found some nice flower market, ate some quail eggs at a “night” market and generally enjoyed the ride.
On the way it started to rain a little bit, but yet this was ok. But while approaching the sea, suddenly heavy rain started. And great – due to construction work, I was on a dead end on the cycling path 😉 So cycled back some distance, had again problems with my mobile phone getting wet…passed some temple, which was advertising that planes fly over it (to Taoyuan airport). While waiting at a light, I also saw some young boy crashing his bike, as the surface was slippery there. Immediately rode to him and ask if everything is allright, and told him to have a short brake, also checking his bike. Guess I quite cheered him a little bit up, he smiled after a fist bump for goodbye. And finally reached to sea, with completely wet clothes…but it was okay due to the warm weather.
Had a break at the port, ate some super tasty cooked squid with wasabi. Then rode along a street beside the motorway to Tamsui. With the rest of the tour being super nice, this is a very annoying part – super loud, no dedicated infrastructure for bicycles…but well. Manageable…
On the way I also passed some strange area, where “offroad”-motorists where driving through a dedicated hill with their strange jeeps. I remember, when in 2018 this was a green lawn, with some cows on it. So sad. Not everything changes for the good.
In Tamsui had a small break as well and then continued back to Taipei.
What a lovely ride!
