November 29, 2014
Back in Taipei
Closing the loop
We left Keelung by continuing southeast on highway 2. Once we left the city, the coastline evolved to a scenic landscape of rugged coastline, fishing villages, and the beautiful blue Pacific. Among other things, this brought to mind our grey days at the start of the tour. I'd love a second pass down the east coast under better conditions some year.
We soon left the coast though and turned inland, passing through Riufang and then joining lightly traveled highway 106 which we followed all the way to the outskirts of Taipei. This is a great cycling highway, and carries a lot of bike traffic - it looks like the most natural route to the coast from Taipei. We saw well over a hundred riders out today, alone or on group rides. On the east side it rises steadily but gradually from the sea to a height of 1500 feet or so, offering some great views back to the coast. The descent is also gradual, but steadily picks up more traffic as it nears the city and passes through a particularly scenic stretch that includes Shifen Falls and Pingxi.
By early afternoon we were back in Taipei again, with its terrific network of riverside bikeways. It was a beautiful, fairly smog free Saturday afternoon, and everyone was out enjoying the banks of the Xindian. It was a welcoming way to be ushered back into the city, and quite a contrast to our soggy ride out on this same bike path three weeks ago.
We were surprised by our reaction to Taipei this time through. Everything about it seemed more comfortable, easy to manage, and almost calm this time. Our three weeks in this country has certainly changed our comfort level. We enjoyed walking through Ximending much more this evening, not befogged by jet lag or jarred by massive culture shock. This time, it doesn't feel particularly foreign at all. If we knew the language, I could imagine living here.
Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 1,032 miles (1,661 km)
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