23.5.10

Cycle Trip to Tamsui, Via Keelung

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of pictures - the light yesterday was bad and the rain made it even more difficult with water getting onto the lens of the camera.


Pacific Ocean
The Coast Line

The Plan

Kipling once wrote: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same..." Today I felt I had met both triumph and disaster and I tried to bear these words in mind so as not to get too anxious over the situations that arose. Today I went on this incredible ride from my home in Taipei to Keelung (基隆) and then along the North coast road to Tamsui (淡水), passing Yehliu (野柳), Jin Shan (金山), Bashaiwan (白沙灣), San Zhi (三芝 and finally to Tamsui (淡水). The trip was also meant to include riding back from Tamsui (淡水). to home, another 28km stretch along the river but disaster struck at the end as the gear assembly on the back wheel got completely ripped out and my rear wheel seized up. The triumph of course was the trip, the disaster was the weather and the broken bike.


Before I start I must comment that most of my riding here in Taiwan has been inspired by my mate Peter who has done much to dispel the misperceptions of distance in my head. When a person talks about going to Keelung from Taipei, many people think it is far away, when in fact it is pretty close (only about 25km). The same is true of Tamsui (28km along the river) and Wulai (28km). So after riding to Wulai last week (those damn mountain climbs are brutal for the unfit like me) I decided to head off to Keelung then swing North along the coastal road and head down to Tamsui and from there back home to Taipei. The road from Keelung to Tamsui is pretty simple, as is the road from Tamsui to Taipei. I was just confused about the road to Keelung until I read Keelung to Taipei in 01:03 (騎省道台五線輕鬆地打通基隆及台北的界線) by Jeff Miller. In the article he suggested taking Provincial Road 5 which connects to Provincial Road 2 that takes you up onto the North Coast Road.


Provincial Road 5
Provincial Road 5

To Keelung ((基隆)

So with the route planned, I got up early on Sunday morning and decided to get out the house by 7:30am to make sure I could make some good time and be home by 4:00pm. As it turned out, this was not to be. Leaving early was a good thing. There was no traffic on the road. There was one nearly critical incident when two taxis were racing and got a little too close to the side of the road for comfort, but other than that, the traffic all the way up to Xizhi was pretty quiet with no major complications. I figured the trip itself would be about 120km and my approach was not so much for speed, but more to be relaxed and enjoy an easy pace the whole way (which I mostly achieved).


Taipei 101
Taipei 101 Early Morning


Acer Building
Acer Building in Xizhi


Fellow Cyclists
Fellow Cyclists

I was surprised to find how good the signage was for most of the way, except in Keelung itself where the signs, I felt, were not as clear or frequent as they needed to be. As I was unsure of the way I stopped an old lady to ask her for directions to Tamsui. She looked at me, carefully measured me up and then with all the sincerity in the world said: "I think it would be better if you took the bus. It is very far from here." I explained to her that I was riding for fun and excercise and her reply was still the same: "I think the bus is better." In hindsight, maybe she was right!


Keelung City Sign
Keelung City


Cidu Station
Cidu Station


View From Keelung
Keelung River


Sign to Follow
Way to Go

Despite her insistence on the bus, I managed to figure out the road and started to head out towards Yehlio but up until now I had not eaten any thing. I quickly found a breakfast store on the side of the road, wolfed down a bacon egg roll and two cups of ice tea and was ready to roll within 15 minutes. By this time I knew exactly which road to take and that it would be more or less straight riding from there into Tamsui (which I figured would be about 55km).


Breakfast Store
Breakfast Store


Bacon Egg Rolls
Breakfast


The North Coast

After leaving the breakfast store I noticed a slight drizzle had started. I then rode for about another 10~15 minutes, climbed a hill and saw the Pacific Ocean in front of me. I then suddenly found myself humming Toad the Wet Sprocket lyrics gently to myself:


We spotted the ocean
At the head of the trail
Where are we goin'
So far away
And somebody told me
That this is the place
Where everything's better
And everything's safe

Of course the first view of the ocean was breath taking. It always is for me. I never get tired of seeing the ocean and it was especially special this time as I had had to work so hard to get there. I felt like I had earned the view. It was a good feeling. On the way down towards the ocean, I saw three other cyclists going the opposite way. Apart from them, and the riding team that passed me in Xizhi, I saw no other cyclists the whole day. I guess everyone else had seen the weather report and decided not to ride. But at this point I was blissfully unaware and really enjoying the view, the light drizzle and the coolness in the air.


First View of the Ocean
First View of the Ocean

The Beautiful Taiwanese Coast Line
The Coast


I rode down the hill and started to enjoy the gentle ride along the coast. The ocean was beautiful and fairly calm. There were not too many cars on the road and even fewer motorocycles. Every few kilometers I would stop under a shelter (as the rain was getting progressively worse) to take in the view. Each time there were a few people enjoying the view and they were all fairly astonished at the sight of the lone cyclist hammering away along the North road in the rain. A few sheepish smiles were thrown my way but no comments or suggestions.


Fishing Boats
Fishing Boats

View from the Road
Sea Shore

Girl on the Road
Me and the Model


At about 11:00am I finally made it into Yehliu (野柳). My plan was to get a good picture of me and the Queen's head. Unfortunately, as I approached Yehliu I could see an ocean of umbrellas on the rocks and I realized not even the rain could deter the tour buses. As I got into Yehliu I was shocked to see so many tour buses in the smallest of parking areas. I never bothered to count them but I would have to guess there were at least 30 buses there. That dispelled any notion of getting pictures taken. Instead I settled for a quick drink at the 7-11 and a picture by the sign and decided to take off and get away from the people.


Buses in Yehliu
Buses in Yehliu

Yehliu
In Yehliu

Back on the road, the rain was starting to get harder but was still bearable. I had a couple of breaks along the way and took a couple of detours into some of the fishing villages where I saw life saver training on the ocean. At about the 55km mark the rain completely stopped and I thought the day would improve. I found this small, improvised mobile drinks store on the side of the road and stopped for some tea and a decent break. I called Queenie and enjoyed a rain free sky. I got on my bike and headed off towards Tamsui and of course that is when all hell broke loose.


Traing Life Guards
Life Guards

Beautiful Coast Line
Beautiful Formosa

Mobile Coffee Shop
Mobile Coffee Shop


The Weather Turns

Just before Shih Men (石門) I came round a corner straight into a wall of torrential rain and torrid winds. Within seconds I was drenched and the wind made riding damn difficult. The going got really tough from there on in but I realized then and there the only way out was to smile and ride out of the rain. I was later to learn this was the worst rain of the 2010 season to date. I was pedaling as hard as I could but unfortunately, due to the winds and uphills, progress was really slow. But I persevered. I took a couple of breaks in some of the undercover bus shelters but never once did I decide to stop. At this point I also realized the only way to approach this ride was by one meter at a time and to forget about the overall mileage. It was also becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy the view as it was just becoming very uncomfortable. Nevertherless I stubbornly persevered and just remembered to smile and enjoy as much as I could as there wasn't anything else to do.


Wind Power
Wind Turbine

View of the Coast from Laomei
Dreary View


The rain and the wind held up for quite some time but as I hit Baishawan (白沙灣) the rain and wind started to die down and the torrential rain and wind became intermittent and mostly bearable. The uphill from Baishawan (白沙灣)reminded of just how much further I had to go before I got to Tamsui but for every uphill there is a downhill so it was ok. I finally got into San Zhi (三芝) where I took a short break. I knew I was getting close to Tamsui but with the heavy, albeit intermittent, torrential rains and winds I knew it would be tough.


Baishawan
Baishawan


There were still a lot of fantastic views of the ocean and some greenery but the closer one gets to Tamsui, the more built up it becomes. At around 3:00pm I finally hit the outskirts of Tamsui (淡水) itself and knew I would soon be at the MRT. Stop which was my destination for this leg of the trip. At this point however I hadn't had anything to drink (except for the rain water that fell into my mouth when gasping for air) for about 20km and I hadn't eaten anything all day except for the bacon egg roll I had in Keelung. Of course I was famished. I found a KFC (yes I know) but I was drenched and thought no other restaurant would let me in. The cleaning lady in KFC did not look to impressed as she had to mop up the footprints from my soggy sandals. Ah well! I had lunch and then coasted down to Tamsui's Old Street to get to the MRT and start the final 28km stretch home along the river. And then disaster struck!


Grave Yard
Grave Yard

Farms Near San Zhi
Farms outside Tamsui

Tamsui MRT
Tamsui MRT


Disaster Strucks

As I was pulling up on the bicycle path to leave Tamsui my rear wheel seized up and I nearly tumbled off the bike. I got off the bike to take a look at what happened and the entire rear gear assembly had been buckled and bent and there was no way it was going to be fixed on the road. I dragged the bike back into Tamsui and found a bike shop whose cheapest bike was NTD50,000. I started to think this was going to be an expensive fix. After discussing it with those guys I finally decided to pack it in for the day. I found a taxi (took a while and a few requests) to take me and my wrecked bike back into Taipei. So after battling the elements (torrential rain and wind) and cycling for 91km at a good pace for me, and while I had the fulles intention of cycling home, I was thwarted by mechanical failure! And that is when Kipling sprang to mind: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same..." And in the taxi home, I had a good chuckle to myself!


Lessons Learned

It was a great ride and one I will never forget as it was so eventful. Everyone I met from fellow cyclists to concerned old ladies who suggested I take the bus were helpful and friendly. The views were spectacular and riding for the first half was cool and relaxing. I will do it again, and this time get to the end. Lesson's learned: ALWAYS CHECK THE WEATHER REPORT. Do I have any regrets? None! Taiwan has so much to offer in terms of natural beauty, and even the wind and rain in its own way has its own beauty. I have no regrets, and once the gear assembly is fixed, I will be back on the road.


More Pictures @ North Coast Ride

4 comments:

  1. Awesome, one day we will get to go on a long ride together, one day.

    I also love the North Coast, although I almost exclusively ride in the opposite direction so that I avoid the city traffic which gets worse later in my morning rides. There is much less city at the end when coming in from Keelung.

    You really got to see a lot and are much more observant than I am, I guess when I'm just aiming for getting to the end of the ride I tend to miss a lot of the the small details. I do enjoy the whole seaside riding thing though. Watching the sunrise over the sea is something not to be missed and is probably one of the highlights of riding that route early in the morning. I think you'd have to get up incredibly early to catch the sunset during the summer months, but in winter it comes up at a more decent time.

    I wonder what the "Sanitary Ware Tourism Factory" is all about (gotta love the name)?

    I tend to ignore the weather report as much as possible, especially when I am going on well ridden routes. Nothing particularly bad can happen along the coast and the worst thing is discomfort, which adds to the ride. Nevertheless, I do think preparing for bad weather helps a lot, but it turns out you had more than enough to handle it.

    Actually, riding in the rain is really soothing. I dread it because of the bike maintenance and upkeep caused by it. But the pitter patter or rain is a great, certainly not my choice for a bike race of anything like that, but for a gentle cruise, it can't be beat.

    Curious about the model.

    Great to see you're still having a kick-ass time on your bike. Hope you get everything on the bike sorted out. Can't wait for the next report. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the comment Peter. Yeah, we need to get together for another ride. Its good riding with you, at least you know the way. I think I might see more because I go much slower. When I got into Tamsui I was left wondering how you can do 180km in 9 hours. I was nearly at that and had only hit 91km. Ah well.


    I hope everything is going well for you in Tainan. I want to ride down there too. I think there are some good trails over there. I will get the bike fixed this week and then start making a plan to ride somewhere else.

    Take care and thanks again for the comment. Much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I want to see a post that says "A visit to the Taiwan Sanitary Wares Tourism Factory." I wonder what Kipling would have to say about that...

    I remember doing pretty much the same ride, except on the scooter, and in blistering hot sun. Didn't meet any pretty models though.

    And those pictures weren't bad at all. Seeing some of those sights, and those back dan bing make me homesick for Taiwan.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Richard. Thanks for the comment. I will try and fulfill your wish and visit the museum next time I am up that way - ha ha - should be interesting...and I have no idea what Kipling would have said, but I am sure it would have been smarter than anything I have to say.

    A lot of people do it on their motorcycles and cars, but more and more of us intrepid cyclists are now riding the road too. In a way I am glad it wasn't blistering hot and that it did rain, but it perhaps rained a tad too much. I think the Aussies might have had to cancel the barbie...heh heh heh....and as for the model, well what can I say, they were doing some promo shots on the side of the road and were taking a break.

    Thanks for the nice words about the pics. The light was pretty bad. I think pictures of the North Coast are awesome when they are taken with some decent light.

    Once again thanks for the comment and will try and meet your wish with a visit to the said sanitary museum.

    Paul

    ReplyDelete

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