January 22, 2025
Fuli to Luye
Over the 23, then south on 東23 and 東40
This is our last day on the road. We may as well go out with a bang.
Yesterday's long ride was pretty taxing, but there are a couple of mountain roads in this southern area that Ralph hasn't done and we aim to tick them off today.
The first involves a climb from the small town of Fuli and is on yet another cross-mountain road (route 23) that links to the coast. However, just before it does there's a small branch that wiggles south and this involves a second long climb. The road is denoted 東23. I've done the former a couple of times, and the later just once. Both climbs test the legs and combined will offer a proper challenge. I reckon the day's ride will be getting on for 80km.
Like yesterday, we'll have to get to a train station for the same, roughly 5:00 train back north and the best station to do that from is north of Taitung City - a place called Luye. After all that, Ralph will drive us back home, a trek that will take six hours. But first, he has to drive south to Fuli.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We're up fairly early and get the bikes loaded on the car and set off before 8:00. Fuli is straight down Highway 9 and it doesn't take too long before we're parked next to the station and I'm having a familiar breakfast of bagel and cappuccino in a 7-Eleven just a block away.
The start of route 23 is a minute or so along the road that runs through the small town. The first few kilometres are up a gentle gradient and there are old homes beside the road, many of which have been abandoned... I'd say half. I stop at a couple to take snaps and pass one abandoned house that I remember taking a photo of the last time I cycled this way, five years ago. The traditional wooden window is still the same.
I can't recall very much of the scenery or the climb from that ride, but do remember a small tunnel cut through the rock because I took a photo there and this time snap Ralph as he exits. It leads us into a small gorge and not long after we get to a section of road that has traffic control due to some maintenance work going on and have to stand and wait around for over 10 minutes before we and half a dozen vehicles get waved through.
We don't really know where the crest is and as we get higher up the climb the more expectant we become of reaching it. You know what that's like - rounding a bend thinking you're there, only to see more climbing ahead.
The sky is overcast, but for a brief while the sun tries to make an appearance, but seems too shy to do so. At least it's dry and relatively warm, so we're not complaining.
We come to a quick stop when I see a flash of red flying across the road. It's a bird that I haven't seen here before and we wait hoping it will reappear. It does and I follow it circling around and landing on a small tree behind us. Unfortunetley it's silhouetted now, but I take a quick snap anyway, just to remind me that this all happened.
There are a couple more times we stop for short breaks, as the climb is longer than we expected and our legs begin to feel it. From one vantage point, I spot a blue truck parked in what appears to be the middle of jungly woodland and we ponder how it got there. Neither of us can recall seeing any lanes branching off, but there must be a track out there of some sort. The driver is doing who knows what.
Eventually we reach the top. I'd hoped to get to the branch heading south before noon and we doing alright as it's only about 11 o'clock and we can whiz downhill for a while, but it's a good job we woke early this morning.
Kilometre markers of route 23 flash by as we descend and I reckon the village where the branch road starts is after 35km, but it's more like 38km. The village is called Taiyuan and is set back from the road and there's a bridge to cross to get to it.
Taiyuan, in Donghe Township, isn't named on Google Maps, but it boasts a couple of places to eat on its main street - I actually stayed in a basic B&B when I rode this way five years ago. Ralph and I ride to the end of the village's busy street and settle on a place that looks like they'll be serving food. We wonder how many foreign cycle tourists have dined here. You can likely count them on one hand. I order a couple of plates of fried rice, which soon get cooked and served, and we're back on the road for about 11:45 - ahead of schedule.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We double back along the street and veer left at a fork and start climbing. The road bends around and we're soon looking back at Taiyuan's assortment of rooftops. A tiled mural beside the road forms a map that shows the main 23 as a squiggly red line running across and there's a blue pin showing our current location. We're going off the map very shortly.
There are remote homes here and there, with dogs barking like crazy when we pass by. No doubt the people living here and growing a few crops are aboriginal. The number of vehicles we encounter is minimal and we are basically alone as we climb and climb up into the tree-covered mountains. There are patches of tall, betel nut trees growing among the otherwise wild vegetation, with their thin, pale trunks looking like matchsticks.
While it may not be sunny today, it's warm enough for us to overheat and we pause and take a drink a few times.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
The 東23 becomes the 東23-1 once we drop down to a handful of homes. It's hard to know why the suffix has been added and considering it's a little used and remote route, the road is a decent one with a nice surface. At times it's as wide as the main 23 with yellow lines down the middle. Eventually we reach the top and the road number changes to 40.
My top is damp with sweat. My red rain jacket is in my saddlebag, but I feel too warm to put it on at the start the descent, which will be at least 5km. I wonder if this is something I'll regret as the chilly mountain air wafts over me as my speed picks up.
The 40 tee's into the 197 and from there we continue to drop down towards a wide and flat valley bottom. The village-town of Luye lies just across the river and there's a narrow bridge that spans it. Squat buildings are clearly visible as we do so.
We make out way along Highway 9 that cuts through the place and get to the small train station and buy tickets for the 5:14 departure. We're now regulars on this particular service, but today we're much earlier than I expected and there's over 90 minutes to kill. Considering I'm an overweight codger who's just done a lot of climbing and covered 75km, that's good going. This morning I was worried we'd actually miss the train.
There's a 7-Eleven a blck from the train station and it's got seats and microwaved dinners and warm drinks, so that's where we sit for a while. After recuperating, Ralph wants to sample some tea from a shop called Ding Go, so we do that. I have a bubble tea, which is a Taiwanese creation that's been exported - there's even a bubble tea shop in my hometown in England.
The train journey lasts over an hour. I take one last snap of us both by twisting the Gorrillapod around one of the handgrips that dangle from the carriage's ceiling. It's completely dark when we arrive in Fuli and Ralph now has a six-hour-plus drive to do, so it'll be gone midnight when we get home. I text Debbie to let her know. As we drive north, I start sneezing and accept my mistake of not doning my jacket on that last descent. Never mind.
Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 326 km (202 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |