March 9th

March 9, 2022

Daxi

I usually teach a teenage student on Wednesday mornings, but he's too busy today and the sun is out again - two things which combine to form a gilt-edged invitation to get out for a ride.

It's been a while since I cycled to the historic town of Daxi and there's a Louisa there, so my destination is soon sorted. It's about 40-plus minutes, depending on the route, and my bike is wheeled out the front gate at before 10 o'clock, with me having rubbed some SF40 on my face and forearms. Yesterday I got a bit frazzled.

The ride to Daxi is one that can be via main roads, or along back lanes and through some farmland. My mind isn't really made up when I get to the end on our road, and I just head in the general direction while my brain comes to some sort of a decision.

The quiet route is complicated. I did it once after spending time on Google Maps and plotting a route that had a lot of turns. I've forgotten most of it.

The main-road (Route 112) option is one Debbie and I used to do practically every Sunday when we first started cycling. It's pretty shit really, but that's where I'm sort of heading today simply by default - until a side street gets my attention.

It's hard to say how many times I've ridden along the 112, but heading down a side street around here never occurred before. In fact I can't recall ever noticing them. The streets are actually narrow alleys and the homes look to be about 50 or so years old, with a few having small front yards. Like elsewhere, most have been revamped over the years and look nothing like they did originally. There are only a few untouched ones left. It's fun finding them.

The surprise is the alleys form quite a large grid of about 20 small blocks extending a few rows deep from the 112 and at the far end is a drain marking the community's western boundary. The few people I see give me a friendly nod while looking a bit taken aback by a foreigner like me cycling around. Most men and women I pass are at least 50 and my guess is the area was originally linked to a nearby military base.

Scooters are parked here and there and there's washing hanging out to dry on the sunny side of the alleys. There are some old homes that have nice wooden windows with metal grills and the original, mosaic-type tiling. Chairs are placed outside and my camera comes out on almost every block.

Time slips by, but I have all day. Eventually it's time to get going and I simply ride along the 112 until another side road catches my eye. It's one I recognize from riding down on the quiet route, so I turn down it hoping things will come back to me regarding where to go.

A shoe-box shaped tunnel takes me under a highway and it doesn't seem familiar and shortly after it's a bit confusing, with road works having jumbled up the landscape. It becomes a case of taking a guess at where to go when I get to junctions and I end up back on the main road for a while.

It's only a few minutes until I reach a spot that I know has a side road that leads to an old temple. It was closed when I came this way before due to the strict Covid rules in force at the time, but surely it'll be open again now.

It is so I park my bike in the designated area as instructed by an attendant then wander around outside the building and take a few snaps. There's not much inside and I just glance through the doorway a couple of women lighting foot-long incense sticks and praying. It'd feel like gatecrashing.

A narrow alley leads to a road that drops down in curves to the valley bottom and a bridge that spans the Dahan River. Rather than going straight over the road bridge, I veer under it and ride to the small original one that's now pedestrian only. It's safer and more enjoyable, and I take a shot of myself on the bike with no one else around. The camera says the battery is low, so I change it for the spare I carry but this also needs charging... It must have forgot to do it and from here on it's clear there won't be many more photos taken.

On the far side a woman comes out of a glass elevator, which gives me the idea of taking it up to the small town. This is a first and saves lugging my bike up a series of steps.

There's a Japanese-era building that was designed for martial arts training and I ride in that direction, which is away from the town's Old Street. A few other visitors are outside the large place. While the architecture leaves me underwhelmed, the roof has ornamental pieces at both ends of the ridge. Maybe there's a technical name for such things, but I don't know what it is. These ones look to be formed with sheet copper that's oxidized an olive green.

Across the road is a small home with a stone wall, which is something you don't see very often in Taiwan. It looks old and I take a snap then look briefly around some of the refurbished buildings before heading off to find the Louisa via the Old Street. Sustenance is needed.

Upstairs in Louisa are two other customer in the roomy area and I sit in a corner and have my drink and quiche and a wedge of cake. It is my last snap as the second battery dies on me.

There are a few ways to ride home. I could make a detour heading down the river to the pottery town of Yingge, which would involve a decent climb. Or there's the small lane in the other direction. Both involve quite a ride, so I decide to just head up the main road and get on the 112. It's a crap ride what with there being little space on the long climb and traffic zips by at speed. My wheels stay on the painted line.

Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 1,620 km (1,006 miles)

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