North to Jiji in Nantou County - Two Gs on a Taiwan Trip - CycleBlaze

October 11, 2019

North to Jiji in Nantou County

adventure and a U-turn

Courtesy of having an early night, it's barely light when we wake up. Once outside the tent, we're greeted to a swathe of grey sky and cool dampness, and the cycling clothes we'd left to air on a couple of chairs are soaked in dew, as are the bike seats and everything else in sight.

A bit misty at 6:00 AM
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One item g has thankfully brought along in his tweed panniers is a pack of fresh coffee, together with a dinky pot. We need coffee. Now.

We try to get the camp stove working, but dew has saturated the flint and it's only when we borrow a lighter from the people in the adjacent tent that the water starts to heat up. 

Sitting quietly, we share the metal mug g has also packed and both of us have a couple of energy bars, and an orange while I have a banana that's gone soggy from being knocked around in my bar-bag. We chat about how stiff our legs feel and contemplate the nice fact that it'll be downhill from here, at least for a while.

g
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There's a nice drop down route 149 for about 4km and there's nobody around until we get to a junction where we'll turn right and drop some more to a river. The junction is marked as Shiqiao, which is just a handful of homes and a few shops congregated around the T junction. 

We park our bikes outside the biggest shop and get some cold drinks from a tall glass-fronted fridge, then sit in rigid plastic chairs that look like they've been reclaimed from a bus station. A colorful striped tarp hangs down from the front of the place and provides some welcome shade - the mist has all gone and it's already beginning to feel hot. Above us are a handful of old metal signs advertising various drinks and I wonder how many times passersby have inquired about buying them.

We stop for drinks at a junction after descending a few kilometres on route 149
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Across the road, spread out on a green plastic sheet, are flattened triangular shapes of bamboo shoot that are drying nicely in the sun. We ride past them and then immediately start on the drop down to the river, passing more tea fields with rows of neat bushes following the contours. This is tea country, and proud of it.

We whiz along. There's no traffic. The road becomes narrow as we get lower. Then it turns into a concrete lane with a potholed surface and drops very steeply as we get close to a narrow bridge spanning the shallow stream-like river. The surface of the road has a thick layer of yellowish dust on it. It feels like we're somewhere very few people go. There's certainly no traffic.

The view north on the descent to the river
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After the bridge the road is just a rough track that's also steep and we can't pedal up it, so get off and push, keeping a wary eye on a rugged cliff that looms up on our left. 

Rockfalls seem to be a regular occurrence, judging by the boulders and debris lining the route. 

It's just a dirt track.

Steep and rough going after riding over the bridge
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It bends and we go around them and past a heavy truck with workers in the process of doing some serious drilling with big equipment. Then we come across felled trees blocking the way. Google StreetView ended here and I assume this is the reason why.

I crawl under one or two branches, but it's not possible to go any further. We need to cut our way through. Tools are required.

The two guys working with the heavy drilling equipment will likely have some and I walk over and ask if they have a saw and the leader of the two hands me one about a foot long, telling me via his phone's translator app that nobody has used the road for 10 years. He then hands me a machete too, and tells me the road doesn't go very far because there was an earthquake that caused lots of damage. I explain we'll see if we can find a way across the damaged section, as riding back up the 5km hill that g and I just cruised down doesn't appeal one bit.

The branches we saw through are only a couple of inches thick and after 10 minutes or so of hot work I manage to make my way to the other side where the road surface is pretty clear and looks ride-able. After ducking back under the branches, handing the tools back to the workers, g and I maneuver our bikes through the fallen trees, then start riding up the road, feeling pretty chuffed with ourselves.

Cutting our way through the road block
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The feeling is short-lived. 

The surface ends suddenly and about 100 metres away we can see it continuing - a narrow bit of tarmac between the trees. However, between us and there is nothing except a deep chasm caused by a massive landslide. We have a U-turn to do.

The two workers give us a friendly albeit knowing wave as we ride down the rough track back to the dust-covered bridge, and we begin the long climb up to Shiqiao junction.

After a few steep bends, we get into a rhythm of spinning away, but our heart rates soon get high and we have to pause in the shade a couple of times to cool ourselves down.

Having a drink in the shade on the climb back to the junction
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As we pedal away, a man on a scooter cruises up beside us and asks if we need water, then gestures us to follow him to his home. It's not very far ahead and after getting up the 30-degree concrete drive we rest our bikes in his yard and go sit at a large round table in the shade of a metal roofed structure, directly opposite a much older single-storey, timber-frame home.

Old house where we were treated to coffees
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Other family members are hanging out in the open sided metal structure. There are the grandparents and a couple of young children aged around six who are watching cartoons on television, plus their mother who seems to run the show. She makes us black coffee and serves us cookies on plates and cuts up a pomelo. 

We chat, but it's pretty basic stuff as they know no English. What we sense though is the general togetherness of this extended aboriginal family, whose ancestors likely resided here a century or much, much longer ago. It's highly unlikely these people have seen white guys on bikes.

Granny
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Google Maps show us that from the shops at the junction we can simply follow the 149 down this side of the valley to Zhushan, our goal for the day. That's welcome news.

It's now nearly 11 o'clock and we're also grateful that we didn't try this ride yesterday, as there's no way we could have done what we did this morning, only to find ourselves snookered on a tree- blocked road with no accommodation in sight.

The 149 winds its way down and we speed along, eventually crossing the river after eight glorious kilometres of freewheeling and cornering. The 149 then follows the river for a bit, but we opt to go back over it on another bridge, as a route on the west bank seems to offer a bit more adventure.

The two of us crossing the river to pedal along a narrow lane on the west bank
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The route is a narrow lane running right beside a high concrete flood defense barrier and we trace it north, riding past duck farm after duck farm, with the feathered creatures scuttling and flapping away as they sense our presence on the other side of the wire fencing. Then the lane ends, so we double back a minute or so to a rough track that hopefully leads to a proper road.

Ducklings
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It's hard to know where we are as we bounce along the track, which turns left and right, but once at a tarmac road we instinctively turn right and pedal north and after 20 minutes come to another bridge and get back on the 149. We'll reckon we'll be in the small town of Zhushan before much longer.

It's about one o'clock when we cruise into Zhushan. Coffee time.

We've cycled about 38km, but it's too early to call it a day. We ride into the center along narrow streets and I guide us to where I think there's a coffee shop called 85 Degrees, but before we get there one named Laoo appears. It's a nice surprise. Their coffee is more expensive, but stronger.

They're not kidding when they say 'large' as the mug is a hefty lump. After I've finished my latte and pizza, I go for a smoothie. 

Smoothie
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It's hot outside and the AC is very welcome. We're both tired. 

After 30-odd minutes of recuperation, it's time to get the show back on the road as our destination is the town of Jiji, about 15km-20km away. I know there's a hotel or two there and it's basically flat, easy riding from here as we follow another river valley, this one very wide.

We cycle north for a few kilometres to the river only to find the east-west route is currently under construction, with the surface unmade and dusty. Our wheels follow in tracks made by trucks, where the compacted surface is slightly smoother, and after a couple of kilometers opt to veer over the shallow river to reach the main route.

We then cycle on to the top of a bulky concrete drainage channel, where there's a path as there are gravel trucks zipping along the parallel road, making it unpleasant cycling. Unfortunately the path eventually comes to a rough section, then peters out, so we have no choice but to pedal along the road to Jiji. 

On our way east to Jiji, riding beside a drainage channel for a while
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There's a bridge to go over to get into the town and the hotel I'd spotted on Google Maps appears soon enough after crossing it and some railway tracks. The guy at reception quotes NT$2,500, but I ask him to deduct breakfast and get the room for NT$2,000 (about US$60). That's what we paid to sleep in a tent last night.

It's only 3:00 and the receptionist says our room isn't available for another hour, so g and I walk into the centre of Jiji, just a few blocks further east. There's not a whole lot to see, but we spot a Thai restaurant which seems like a good place for dinner later.

Our room in the Qin Hai Hotel in Jiji was NT$2,000 - no breakfast
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We find it hard to believe we've only cycled 55km as we finally crash on the beds and chill out for an hour or two. 

The TV is tuned to CNN. Eventually we summon the strength to get showered and changed and head out to the Thai place. 

We're just not as young as we were.

Today's ride: 83 km (52 miles)
Total: 110 km (68 miles)

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Scott AndersonYou’re still young enough, I’d say.
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3 years ago
Graham FinchIt was one of those really humid days (weeks) and climbing for a few days proved to be hard work. I'm not as fit as I should be... need to get out more!
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3 years ago