My host for my Airbnb tonight expressed a lot of concern that it wasn’t where I thought it was. She went through about three rounds of confirming I knew where I was headed last night before she would confirm the reservation. There must have been a translation problem somewhere. The Airbnb stages me for a 50 km ride tomorrow. Straight up.
I had an early start this morning, although I think that will be the norm for this trip, about 8:00 a.m. The whatever this place is served breakfast. Fried potatoes, an egg wrapped up in something like a tortilla, and some sort of roll with onions and something else stuffed inside. The first two were pretty good.
I spent about half the day on the national cycle route 1. Generally a dedicated lane for cyclists and scooters. More scooters really, there aren’t that many people here who ride a bicycle.
The trash trucks play music like the ice cream truck, letting people know they are coming so they can stand outside to hand off their trash. That truck moves at about the same speed as a bicycle tourist. I had it just behind me for the longest time playing that music.
I had a number of river crossings today on big highway. But each time there was a separate dedicated lane.
And then detoured to see the Rainbow Village in Taichung. The guide for cycling around Taiwan noted it. It’s about four houses decoratively painted.
The western coast is heavily industrialized, mixed with rice fields stuffed in wherever they can get them.
I arrived at my Airbnb by 4:00 p.m. By 5:00 p.m. I had completed my laundry and made a reservation for Sun Moon Lake for the next couple of days. Sun Moon Lake is a major tourist attraction, Taiwan’s largest lake, and the main reason for my detour from the national cycle route. I’ll take a semi-rest day and ride the 30 km around the lake, spending two night at the hostel.
I felt much better today. A lot more energy, and my knee didn’t bother me as much (thanks in part to lowering the seat a couple of millimeters). Starting to feel like I’ve got my rhythm. 84 km.
