January 21, 2020
Taiyuan (near Donghe)
south to Fuli and east up the 23
Sleep is fitful but when I take a look at my Casio it says it's gone nine and outside the room a cleaner is audibly busy working. Within a few minutes my panniers and saddlebag are piled outside the elevator and it won't take me long to get to the 7-Eleven just a block or two away, opposite the train station.
My immediate goal is a cup of coffee, then it'll be getting to Fuli - about 30km away - and from there doing a climb over route 23 to get to the small village of Taiyuan.
The tarmac is wet and has a sheen to it, so rain must have fallen early in the morning. The adjacent Giant shop is open and the owner is stood near the door and nods as I ride past. His eyes soon go from mine to my bike.
The 7-Eleven is an older type that doesn't have any seating inside, so I get the coffee and stand on the street corner and eat my croissant and know that the start of a cycle path begins across the road, right beside Yuli's train station.
When I ride over to get going there are painted numbers on the surface stating this fact: 0+00KM. Really it's just a side street that goes south next to the lines for 200m or so, then zigzags across a bigger road before turning into a proper bicycle path - a disused railway. This curves gently and then heads for the river with only me on it and the long bridge is arrow straight and as my wheels roll along the sun comes out and makes me wonder if my long-sleeved top Debbie got me for Christmas is gong to be too much. The temperature is only in the teens, but the high humidity makes it feel warmer.
As you'd expect, the bike path is flat and it's easy riding with a slight breeze helping me along. Bananas grow right beside the route and rice paddies stand between the path and the shallow river that's now over on my right. The fields have a winter look to them - most are covered in water and are monochrome - but some have green shoots that have recently been planted, forming lines of vivid colour.
After ten kilometres it's too early for a second coffee when I get to Dongli 'bike station'. The old platform is still there and some public artwork is on display. It's not obvious what the local connection is with two elephants made of straw.
The man in the coffee shop that was once the train station's ticket office beckons a woman who it turns out is an extrovert who speaks some English and she shows me her painted pebbles then bursts into song before presenting photos of various cyclists who have been this way, all of them having their snap taken as they leap in the air on the long platform. She senses it's not my thing and I settle on buying a few postcards that look like they've been there a good while, the colors having that Technicolor hue but which has slightly faded over the years.
It's a mystery why the tarmac path ends but there's a gravel trail that continues south for 100m and I ride along it to get to a lane which takes me up to the main road. There's a traditional house near a junction in the village proper and I soon find it.
An elderly lady is sat in a four-wheel mobility scooter on the side street and I say hello before parking my bike in front of the old house. It's richly decorated with the two stone pillars carved with leaves at the top and the woodwork supporting the eaves has dragons and other symbolic motifs in abundance, with the paintwork slightly timeworn. The front elevation looks like it's been given a touch-up and as I'm taking a photo a woman probably in her 30s appears and speaks excellent English and she's clearly happy with her lot.
She's the maid who cares for the elderly woman in the mobility scooter and tells me she's from the Philippines and has worked here for four years. When I ask, she tells me an American cyclist stopped to look at the house a month ago and I think aloud that it'd be more popular.
It's a long bridge and the valley is a flat-bottomed expanse with just a small river flowing down it. No doubt when typhoons hit there's a lot more water heading to the sea. Once across, I make a sharp left and ride south on route 75.
There are bike signs on it which have a worn look to them and a couple on loaded bikes approach and the man asks where I'm from and then he tells me they're from Canada. It's an exchange done in seconds as we ride in different directions and I wonder if they know about the old house in Dongli.
The area is seriously rural and rice is getting planted and the largest place is Fuli, which isn't too far away. The 75 goes slightly west of the town and there must be a small turning that I missed because after passing the 11km marker I can see the buildings forming the village way over on my left.
A lane presents itself so I make my way down it and it's not long before I get to the southern end of the village and soon find a 7-Eleven to get a bite to eat and some cold drinks - curry and a carton of choco milk and one of soya milk. I also buy some water and snacks for the ride to Taiyuan as there's nothing after this.
It's about 12:30 when I get back on the bike and the sun is shining and the skin on my face feels a bit frazzled as I pedal eastwards up the start of route 23. A sign says it's 16km to Donghe, which must be wrong, and for a few kilometres it's easy going but after I go through a small gorge the incline doesn't really let up. I know it's around 25km to the 600m pass and then it's a decent drop to Taiyuan.
Riding in this direction on the 23 is new to me and it's a few years since I cycled the other way one September when it felt very hot. Even though this is winter, I'm sweating and feel glad I bought bottles of water back in Fuli's one of two 7-Elevens, but a blanket of cloud rolls in and hovers over the rounded mountains and I wonder if I may need to use my cape.
It's 16km to a false pass and in that time less than 10 cars have gone by. Most vehicles stick to the north-south highways. A sign says this is Donghe Township, but this is the middle of nowhere without even a shed to be seen.
The descent is nice and my Casio says it's 3:45 when I cruise into Taiyuan and the B&B is on my right at a junction with a street that leads into the village. The shutters are down and when I knock on the door there's no answer, but right across the street is a small bank and when I ask the clerk if she speaks English, she gestures a little and uses her phone to call the number on the B&B. She speaks to someone and says 'wait' and as there's a seat near the door I sit down and do just that.
An elderly lady on scooter turns after a few minutes and unlocks the door and shows me a ground floor room. It's basic and she says it's NT$1,200, which is OTT, and the bank clerk then calls someone in nearby Donghe village, near the coast. He's another B&B owner and he tells me to ride the 10km there and get a room at his place, but I explain I want to ride south from here on the branch road and ask the bank clerk to get me a reduced rate. The lady calls her boss and quotes me NT$1,000 so I take it and wheel my bike inside and run the shower.
It's not long after that the bank clerk knocks on the door. She's bought me dinner - two containers of cooked food - and a drink and a wedge of sponge cake.
Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 189 km (117 miles)
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