Day 4: 14 May 2023, Sunday

I woke up at 5:50am today, having slept very well last night, no doubt because of the physical exertions from the first day of cycling yesterday. I checked my legs and found that I could still feel them, which was a good sign. I think they would get sorer over the next few days. It was a cool 21 degrees C outside, the perfect temperature for cycling. The weather forecast showed it would remain cloudy the whole day.

After washing up, we went for breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant at 6:35am. The buffet spread was quite extensive, with a good mix of international and Asian food. The only thing missing was an eggs station. After a hearty breakfast, we went back to our rooms to retrieve our luggage and use the bathroom before heading back to the lobby. For subsequent days, we would bring our luggage down as we went for breakfast.

Actually, for this tour, there is a fixed routine every morning. A morning call at 6:00am ensures everyone wakes up on time. At 6:30am, we are to bring our luggage to the lobby and have breakfast at the restaurant. At 7:10am, we will bring our luggage and day bags to the van (小白) for storage, followed by a warm-up session together. Jeffrey will then brief us on the day’s itinerary. Once that is done, we will refill our water bottles, gear up, take our bikes and get ready to set off at 7:40am.

For today, we will be cycling 100km from Hsinchu to Taichung (台中). The first half will be mostly flat. Similar to yesterday, there will be two climbs – the first one is a small one and the next one will be much bigger, towards the end of the ride into Taichung. At 7:40am sharp, we started Day 2 of our Taiwan RTI.

As usual, the commute out of the city was stressful as traffic was heavy, with many traffic light stops. It got much better once we were out of the city. The bicycle path was well paved and clearly marked out so it was easy to follow. We cycled along the coast but it was a cloudy day so the sea didn’t glisten, but it was nice to have the sea breeze against our faces as we rode. The numerous Casuarina trees reminded me of our Coney Island in Singapore.

We cycled past some massive wind turbines and crossed a few steel bridges. It was a comfortable pace and we managed to chat with Jacky while we were cycling. He’s a real cycling enthusiast and had completed many rides around Taiwan on his own, so he was familiar with the route and landmarks along the way. We were so lucky to be able to benefit from his local knowledge and companionship.

At 8:55am, we had our first break at Long Feng Yu Gang (龍鳳漁港), at the 22.3km mark. Jeffrey told us that he would be taking our individual portrait photos for our completion certificates, so we lined up to have our photos taken, with the massive wind turbines as backdrop. We also took our customary daily group photo here, with the large Tour de Taiwan (單車環台勇士行) banner. We were known as Huan Dao Yong Shi (環島勇士) – or round-the-island warriors!

After a 40-minute break, we set off again at 9:35am. As we cycled inland, we passed by beautiful, green padi fields and local villages. Cycling really is the best way to see a country. As you pedal slowly through the countryside, you visit places you wouldn’t go on your own and it allows you to see things you wouldn’t get to see on a tour bus.

After conquering the first small climb which stretched over 2km, we took a short rest break at 10:35am, at the 42.85km mark. The temperature had risen to 25 degrees C but it was still cloudy so it wasn’t hot. We resumed cycling after 20 minutes but soon reached our next rest stop at Taiyen Tongxiao Tourist Park (臺鹽通霄觀光公園) at 11:05am, where we had a toilet break.

Taiyen is known for its salt making industry and the salt produced here is supplied to Taiwan’s domestic market. Together with salt, alkaline ion water is also produced here. Guided factory tours are available at NT100 per person.

Here, the Giant Adventure crew treated us to popsicles, a local specialty of Taiyen. What made these ice pops special was that they were salty instead of sweet, and they came in different flavours. I tried the grape one and it was yummy.

I also took the opportunity to inform the Giant crew that the front wheel of my bicycle made a weird clacking sound, so they examined my bike and replaced the front wheel. The tech support is top notch! At 11:30am, we resumed our ride and reached our lunch stop just 40 minutes later, at the 61.7km mark. Almost two-thirds of the ride done.

Lunch was at a traditional Chinese restaurant called Yu Chu Chuan Cai Can Ting (御廚川菜餐廳). It was an old-school type of restaurant with round tables, pink seat covers and tablecloths. Once again, we split into groups of 10, where the three of us MAMILs shared a table with Jacky, Gary and the guys from Hong Kong. Lunch was a sumptuous feast as usual, with Sichuan spicy soup, braised pork, duck, sweet & sour pork, prawns, green leafy vegetables with minced meat and more.

After a filling lunch, we continued our ride at 1:40pm. After cycling for 40 minutes, we took a break at Da Jia sports centre (大甲體育場). There would usually be fresh fruits provided at these snack breaks and today we had guava as well as more of the tasty persimmon that I loved so much yesterday.

At this extended break stop, Jeffrey also gave us a tutorial on cycling in Taiwan. As we would be encountering much tougher climbs over the next few days, Jeffrey deemed it important to teach us how to cycle efficiently to overcome the hills. He told us to maintain our cadence, even for uphill sections. Cadence refers to how fast or slow you pedal, and it is often measured by revolutions per minute (RPM). The objective is to maintain a constant RPM as much as possible. To achieve that, you’ll need to play with the gears, so he taught us how to change the gears on our bicycles.

After the lesson, we resumed cycling at 2:55pm. It was time to put what we’d just learned to the test, as we started climbing almost immediately. The climb up the mountain was sustained and steep, lasting about 2km. I must say that the climb was indeed difficult and it left me panting hard. However, it was broken into sections, with short breaks for us to catch our breaths so it was still manageable. It also took me a while to figure out how to use the gears effectively. After reaching the top, we cycled around the perimeter of Taichung International Airport before turning to Section 2 of Dongda Road, and it was downhill all the way after that.

At 4:20pm, we made a stop at the Cycling Culture Museum, which is located next to the headquarters of Giant Group, an asymmetrical blue-and-white striped building. Giant Group was founded in 1972 and it has grown to become a global leader in the cycling industry. Our tour was organised by Giant Adventure, the cycling tour operator arm of Giant Group.

We didn’t have much time to visit the Cycling Culture Museum today so we were given admission vouchers to come back on our own in the future. We did however, have time for a very welcome refreshment break of iced coffee from Haru Coffee. The caffeine kick was so good, especially since the coffee was cold, that I went back for a second serving.

We were then ushered into the lobby of the museum, where a customised message was projected on the wall to welcome us. This was followed by a short corporate video presentation introducing Giant the company and their bicycles (the usual PR stuff), which we watched politely without much interest.

After taking a group photo here, we were given some time to visit the Design Shop (gift shop) on the second floor and a quick browse through of the gallery on the third floor. I ended up buying a fair bit of souvenirs from the gift shop – some keychains and a small coin pouch. I am a sucker for merchandise with nice graphics or images with bicycles.

At 5:10pm, we left the Cycling Culture Museum and it was a short 20-minute ride to our hotel in Taichung. After parking our bicycles in a large store room at an adjacent building, we proceeded for our cool-down session, followed by the briefing for tonight’s dinner arrangements and issuing of room keys. According to my Strava, we covered a distance of 103.89km today, with an elevation gain of 568 metres. Another achievement unlocked – this was my first time cycling more than 100km in a day, woohoo!

Today’s accommodation was another branch of Howard Prince Hotel (台中福華大飯店), just like yesterday’s hotel in Hsinchu. However, the hotel building in Taichung is bigger and looks more luxurious, and the room is bigger too. We took our showers quickly and met the rest of the group at the lobby at 6:50pm and walked to our dinner venue, about 12 minutes’ away on foot.

Dinner was at a restaurant called Dun Pin Zhan (燉品棧), which came with the usual round tables but it was slightly more modern and better furnished. The food was tasty and sumptuous as usual. By this time, we were feeling a little tired so we left the restaurant at 8:00pm after finishing our dinner. As we walked back to our hotel, we dropped by the Family Mart convenience store to redeem our free cut fruits (thanks to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau).

We then went back to our room and had an early night, sleeping at 11:00pm. As I lay in bed that night, I thought about how blessed we were to have another great day of cycling with perfect weather. My legs still felt quite ok, but let’s see how it goes over the next few days. The real test will come when we reach the eastern coast of Taiwan, with all the mountain slopes!