Taichung

November 24, 2014

Hack, hack, hack

We didn't actually get to look around Lukang yesterday because the festivities and crowds were so overwhelming; so after polishing off a satisfying western breakfast (ham, French toast and coffee) at our B&B we set off for a second walking tour. We began with a brief foray through the market to pick up some provisions for the road.

We moved on from there to saunter through Lukang's famous Old Street, refreshingly nearly vacant this early in the day. This time we got a good look at the old street with its colorful and well preserved home and store fronts.

The famous public half-well on Lukang Old Street. The other half is on the other side of the wall, inside the home of a charitable one percenter.

Finally, we moved on to the two nearby Matsu temples. This early in the morning it was very quiet - we had the place to ourselves, and it was hard to imagine we were standing in the same spots that had been so frenzied just hours earlier.

Roofline of Nanjing Palace, one of two important Matsu Temples in Lukang

Gate before Tienhou temple, one of the oldest Matzu temples in Taiwan and the epicenter for last night's pagentry and fireworks.

We had only a short ride today to Taichung City, something we had planned this way to allow for our morning tour of Lukang. The ride began as a continuation of yesterday's - absolutely flat for almost 20 miles. Then though we were shocked by a very steep 800' climb over the ridge that separates Taichung's valley from the coast. It caught us by surprise - it was the most challenging climb of the tour so far - and we both wondered to ourselves whether we would end up pushing by the time it finally eased off.

After that though we enjoyed a brisk 5 mile coast down to Taichung, arriving just in time for a late lunch. By good fortune we passed by Simply Deluxe Cafe and Bar, an excellent European-style eatery, and stopped in to enjoy the best meal of our tour so far. We enjoyed eating alone in their attractive outdoor seating area, not needing to be concerned about offending other diners with our post-exertion airs. We also enjoyed chatting with a group of guys enjoying an afternoon drink or so. We caught their attention when one of them spotted our Bike Fridays. Surprisingly, he has two BF's of his own. The whole group is keen on cycling, and one of them is an ironman event organizer and has ridden the KOM (king of the mountain) ride up Taroko Gorge, so we found a lot to discuss.

At the Simply Deluxe Cafe and Bar, Taichung

That was the high point of our afternoon in Taichung though. By late afternoon a dense smog developed, making it feel very unhealthy to walk around. We did venture out for a short walk through Taichung Park - which looks like it must be beautiful under the right conditions - but with our eyes burning and with everything so gray and hazy anyway, it took a lot of imagination to really appreciate it. It was bad enough in fact that it triggered a racing heartbeat episode in me (something I manage through medication) and I had to lie down on a park bench for awhile before we gave up and headed back to our hotel.

I don't know if this is unusual here but I hope not for the residents' sake - I think this is about the smoggiest condition I've experienced anywhere.

In Taichung Park. A pretty spot, but I'm sure it would be much more attractive if the smog moved on.

Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 773 miles (1,244 km)

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