March 25, 2023
March 25th
Zhunan to Yuanli
Last night the weather forecast said that there's a 30 percent chance of rain today, but I'm not sure how to interpret that. Does it mean it could rain quite a lot, or perhaps there'll be just a short shower, or that there's a 60-odd percent chance it'll be sunny? It's not clear, so I looked at the satelite image which showed hardly any clouds drifting towards Taiwan, so a trip down to Miaoli County is on. You could say I'm focused on the 60-odd percent chance.
I don't have a class this Saturday, as it's one of those make-up days here that allows people to have an extra day off work early next month for what's known as Tomb Sweeping. Conversely, Debbie has to work, so I'm on my own.
A train that allows bikes leaves at 8:59 and I ride away from home before 8:30, giving me enough time to get a coffee from the shop inside the station and I drink it on Platform 3 while waiting for the commuter train to arrive. When it does it's a bit disappointing to find there are no facilities for bikes, so I have to hold on to mine for the 70 minutes it takes to get south to Zhunan. I manage to do that and read a novel. I'm a multitasker.
Google Maps show a coffee shop that looks decent and I cruise along for a few of blocks from Zhunan's station and have a bagel to go with my frothy drink. This is a small town without any obvious attractions.
The ride south from to Yuanli will take about four hours. There's no rush.
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On Thursday I spent a bit of time plotting a route away from main roads and now have edited screenshots stored on a small tablet and I consult a few of them as I ride south out of Zhunan and get on a lane that's quiet as expected. After about a kilometer it takes me to a wide river, where I get on an elevated bike path that flows west. There's just me. Nice.
The path soon takes me to a narrow bridge that's named Wufu and it gets me over what's become an estuary, then it's a case of following another small lane due south. There's a stiff wind at my back and the sun comes out and it occurs to me that the 30 percent chance is on the high side. I just can't see it raining today.
A few homes form hamlets and it's all very rural. This is Miaoli County - not very dramatic, but very nice for riding around.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-winged_stilt
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There are lefts and rights to make as some of the lanes are dead-ends, often not having a bridge to cross over streams and small rivers, or maybe coming to an end where it meets the railway. Eventually the town of Houlong comes and it occurs to me to stop and have a snack, but I'm not really hungry, so keep on riding. There are other places.
The lane going west out of Houlong is nice, but I veer off onto a bike path that soon goes beside another estuary. The only bridge over it carries the wide Highway 61, but there's a seperated path for scooters that I pedal along at a decent speed thanks to the back wind.
Once over, I head to a short 'old street' that I noticed on Google Maps, with the StreetView showing a few houses that look interesting. It's just a few-minute detour east along Highway 6.
The roughly 20 brick homes that line the alley look like they're mostly lived in, but a few have clearly become derelict and one or two have collapsed, leaving just sections of wall. I take a few snaps before heading back along the wide road to get to Longgang, which is just a junction of roads and a small harbour.
I was here in Longgang with Ralph a few months ago. There's not much to it apart from a small train station. There doesn't appear to be a shop. I don't see any people.
I follow a small road to the coast, wondering if it'll be possible to go along it south, but it ends after a minute or two and I decide to take a snap before heading back towards the rail tracks, but as I set up my tripod, the wind picks up and fat rain drops splatter on the road surface, making me dash behind a small shed, out of the wind and rain.
Within a minute it's blown over, thankfully. I just wonder if that's the 30 percent chance out of the way - but the sky certainly looks threatening and the gusts coming off the sea are strong. I keep the tripod legs short to make sure the thing doesn't get blown over and take a self-timed shot before riding back and getting on a lane that runs right beside the rails.
Ralph and I cycled the other way on this lane. It was very sunny that day. I cross the metal bridge that carries a cycle path that we did and see sand blowing across the path at the far end, with it collecting in places. I have to walk my bike through the deeper parts.
Huge wind turbines are everywhere. They're rotating and making a dull swooshing sound.
Eventually I cross under the rail lines via a small tunnel, but the lane comes to an end after five minutes, so I head back and keep cycling south for a while on the sea-side of the tracks. There are some disused tunnels that I want to find and eventually I get to the path leading to them. There are no signs in English, but I knew where to look - on the inland side of the new-ish rail line.
There are a few family groups walking along the path.
Some round hills drop to the coast and the old tunnels through them are quite long and bend slightly. Lights with coloured coverings make it not only quite psychedelic, but also easy to navigate. I expected the places to be dark and wet, because StreetView gave me that impression. Perhaps the local authorities have set to work fairly recently and spruced these tunnels up. I put the camera to HDR mode to best capture the lighting and me.
As I ride south, the path continues for a short while to take me onto a lane that runs beside the new rail lines and I soon cross over them to head west and get closer to the coast, which is much less than a kilometer away.
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I take a quick look at the grey, turbulent sea and feel glad I didn't plan on taking a dip, then let the wind help me cruise south along a tranquil lane at about 30km/hr, hoping that it doesn't rain again. There's little shelter.
It's now well past lunch time.
A lane runs beside a concrete defense wall and in places a bike path goes along its top. I get on it for a while and there's only me out today. My speed is decent thanks to the wind. It'd be horrible riding north and it usually is here.
I cross over another estuary and get to a place called Baishatun, follow more coastal paths and veer along a lane that passes old concrete pillboxes. The idea they'd help protect Taiwan from an invasion force seems laughable. They've been abandoned.
A network of newish roads takes me into a place called Tongxiao and it's about 2:30 now and common sense says I should eat so I make my way to the town's small train station as this is where there'll be some places to eat. Sure enough, there are two convenience stores and I choose 7-Eleven and get a microwaved Thai curry that's spicy and a bottle of green tea and enjoy them while sat next to the window. A young man at a table just in front is asleep with is head on the table and he doesn't stir in the roughly 15 minutes I'm there.
After crossing another estuary, I consult my screenshots a few times, but eventually just follow my nose and keep going south. The roads here are quiet and it's a mostly lanes passing through farmland.
Some spots look familiar from the screenshots and sure enough I'm riding in Yuanlin quicker than expected. I know there's a train north at gone four o'clock and it's at least 30 minutes before it's departure that I arrive at the station and get a ticket for the journey that'll take over two hours. It costs me about US7.
The town's old street is just a block away and I go there to have a quick look and take a few snaps.
A sign outside the station points to a Giant bicycle shop and I have search for it, but the place must have closed down. I want to buy a rear light that can clip on my clothes, as it'll be dark when I get off the train. Rain drops start to fall just as I get back to the station.
I have to change in Hsicnhu and when I do it's nice that the second train is a more modern one with hangers for bikes, which saves me having to support my bike while sat down. Rain has been lashing the windows as we've zipped north and I get through quite a lot of the novel about China.
It's still raining when I get off and my thin yellow jacket is soaked after riding for 100 metres from the station and it feels quite cool. It takes about 15 minutes to get home and my plan had been to get dinner en route, but I don't bother stopping as I'd feel cold.
Today's ride: 55 km (34 miles)
Total: 2,614 km (1,623 miles)
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The vacation for Tomb Sweeping is April 1st - 5th this year.
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