January 27th

January 27, 2022

southern Taipei with Ralph

Taiwan Weather Bureau's forecast for today isn't great, but what do they know? Looking out the window, the sky looks a decent colour and Ralph and I have some free time, so we agree to meet at the train station at 9:30. The plan is to head north with the bikes and come back via the riverside bike path from Shulin, a southern district of Taipei.

We don't wait long for a train. It's the standard commuter type that depart roughly every 15 minutes and a ticket with a bike is about NT$50, which converts to something like US$1.50. It's cheap for a journey of around 30 minutes. We stand with our bikes near the doors while the other passengers swipe away at their smartphones.

Shulin is really an extension of Taipei and it's all built up. It isn't a place I've cycled before, so this will be something of a novelty - but not much. Urban Taiwan is pretty much the same wherever you go.

We exit the station and look around for somewhere to get a coffee and I spot a Cama sign down a street opposite and it's less than 50 metres away so that's where we scoot. I'm gasping. There wasn't enough time for me to get one this morning like I usually do from my local 7-Eleven.

Ralph knows this area a bit and leads us down a busy road and we make a right and head towards the Dahan River. I just follow his instructions. The traffic is OK. There are too many red lights for it to go fast.

It takes less than 10 minutes to get to the raised bank and the sight is a familiar one, as it's a wide concrete bike path I've cycled along a few times. The last occasion this far north was a while ago, though... maybe a couple of years.

There are a few joggers out and we pass small groups of elementary school children on cheap mountain bikes, each with a couple of conscientious teachers supervising. It's great to see the young boys and girls getting on two wheels and hopefully they have an enjoyable experience.

The forecast is way out and the sky is cloudless, but Ralph took heed and is wearing a long-sleeved top that's quite thick. I wipe some sun cream on my face. It feels like summer.

We get to a vending machine and buy cold bottles of drink - I get FIN. It's a local brand and a whiz in the company's marketing department has come up with Fly In Nature as a way of making sense of the supposed acronym.

Being a riverside bike path, the route is flat but we're heading upstream. It's hard to tell if there's an incline - it's that subtle.

We go past Yingge, which is a pottery town, and I wonder about taking a photo of some nearly two-metre-tall 'plates' near the route that are made of concrete covered in mosaic, but I can't be bothered. Instead I take a shot of us both reflected in a chromed piece of sculpture just a bit further along.

The path continues along the bank for some distance, but we opt to leave it and make our way home via back lanes when we near Bade. There's a short climb up to a road and we go along that for about 500 metres before getting onto a series of narrow lanes that run right beside the highway. These are ones I've been on a few times. There's hardly any traffic. I lead us along the lane on the west side of the elevated highway, as it offers some shade. It feels hot today.

We have a nasty climb to get up the escarpment. It's not too long, but long enough with a couple of hairpins to get the heart rate going fast. I'm sweating like mad long before reaching the top and finish off my drink when I get there.

Heading to Bade in the shade of the elevated highway

We ride past tall apartment blocks an see cranes on nearby construction sites where there will be more in the near future. Ralph hasn't been along a small lane that goes past an old house that's been carefully renovated. I open the gate and take a couple of snaps while Ralph worries I'm trespassing. It seems fine.

Eventually the back lanes comes to the southern edge of town and we cycle along with some traffic. We're used to it. At the end on of my road we say goodbye and I cruise to a halt at Traveller Cafe on the next block as it's time for me to get something to eat.

There's a group sat on the far side an it looks like a work party, or maybe a class reunion. The eight are in their late 20s or early 30s. There's only two men and one has an interesting face and I take a sneaky snap of him before leaving.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 1,353 km (840 miles)

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