November 13, 2014
Shihtiping
Crossing into the tropics
Sadly, it is becoming apparent that this isn't one of those serendipitous tours where everything goes smoothly and the weather is great. The forecast for today is for light rain, as it is for the next four days as well. Our total sunshine exposure since leaving Taipei is about three hours, including one on the train. It looks likely that we will be more wet than dry until we cross over to the west side of the island about 4 days from now.
We began the day with a light breakfast at the hotel and then wandered out to find food for the day, ending up to our surprise in a Starbucks where we enjoyed an encore meal. We don't expect to encounter any feeding opportunities before days end, so we picked up several additional items to add to our small larder
Today's ride began with a thirty mile leg up the East Rift Valley on highway 193, so untrafficked that it seems more like a bike path. Our plan for this and the following two days is to meander back and forth between this and the coastal highway to experience them both a bit. The valley is quite a beautiful region, I'm sure - pastoral, quiet, green. The predominant sound as we roll down the highway is a backdrop of chirping tree frogs. The woodlands are lush, the agricultural spaces are an evocative blend of banana groves, fruit orchards, and rice paddies. Through the ever present grey haze of the wet skies the outlines of the distant mountains faintly appear, but we see nothing resembling the beautiful green mountain landscapes under blue skies that all the travel literature portrays. Oh, well - maybe tomorrow.
Throughout the morning, conditions are fairly good - rains are a light mist at worst - but they deteriorate significantly as we leave the valley and cross the ridge. We arrive at the Pacific quite wet but are soon pleased to see the skies lighten and dry out; and the remaining miles to Shihtiping are a cyclist's delight as we are blown along by a vigorous tailwind and are awed by the wild ocean and rugged coastline.
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Arriving in Shihtiping we encounter an unexpected treat to end the day with - a teeming scrum of tourists here to pose before the Tropic of Cancer landmark. Everyone clambers to have their picture taken before it or facing the sea while standing on the precise location. Quite the show.
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We were gratified on arriving at our hotel to see that meals were available, and we enjoyed a relaxing evening catching up on some reading and praying to the weather gods for better conditions tomorrow.
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 257 miles (414 km)
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