Taiwan Cycling trip 2018 (Part 1)

First of all, welcome back!!

i just realise my last post was on 2016!! 2 years of inactive. Now, lets get to the main point!

Part 1 will mainly cover from Labuan to KK to Taiwan(13.09.2018 to 15.09.2018)

13.09.2018( Thursday)
we departed Labuan around 6.30am by RORO ferry from Labuan to Menumbok, took around 1 and a half hour. then around another 2 hours road trip from Menumbok to Kota Kinabalu. 1 3 tons lorry and 2 MPV. when we first arrive KK we went directly to Hotel(Likas Hotel) to drop off our luggage and cycling bags. then we left the truck at hotel packing and went for a short shopping and exchange currency for taiwan trip.BUT FIRST, FOOD!

at the time we change RM13.58 equals to NTD100.00. at night we went Lido foodcourt  for dinner.

 after dinner we went straight back to hotel and rest early because the next day we need to be at airport by 4am in the morning! which means we need to get up around 3am+ to get ready.

14.09.2018( Friday )
Officially Day 1 to Taiwan. wake up early in the morning, get ready ASAP to get our luggage to the airport as international flight requires you to check in and drop luggage 2 hours before depart time. Loaded the truck and head to airport. slightly rain but we all agreed that no need to cover the bags with canvas as it will take more time.

This will be my first trip solo oversea(without parents), first trip travel with my bicycle and most of all, First trip to TAIWAN!!(Taipei). Our flight departed around 0655 and took around 3 hours and 15 minutes(if not mistaken) to arrive Taiwan,Tao Yuan airport.

First Meal of the day(in flight) Nasi Lemak.hahaha

Touch down!

Waiting for our tour guide

My bags for 7d6n trip

Holiday mood face.

This picture is taken right before getting advice from security not to take picture at immigration area. 

Group photo at airport 14.09.2018

 After our tour guide(Mr liew and Bang qiu(baseball in chinese) pick us up, we went straight to Mr Liew workshop to assemble our bikes before heading for lunch.

Our tour guide Mr Liew

Since all of use have some basic knowledge of bike maintenance, in a blink of an eye, our bikes are all assembled. ps: the XXF bag your saw previous have a secret. it doesnt require you to remove your handle bar and seatpost. all you have to do is remove the wheels and pedal then mount it in the frame. DONE!.

LUNCH TIME!!

  

All of these you saw cost NTD2000 excluding drinks. 9 of us sharing. First actual meal in Taiwan, not bad. done filling up our stomach and is time for some exercise. walked to one nearest 7 eleven shop to buy some food and drinks for tomorrow big challenge. 

A doughnut or donut stand in 7E, imagine this happening in malaysia

7E selling liquors. 

 Another funny thing is that when we cross the road, normally we look right before looking left depends on which side of the road you are but in Taiwan, their driving side is on the other side. so we keeping looking to right why there is no car coming then we realise the cars are actually coming from the left. a reminder to us whenever we wanna cross road in taiwan.

So from Taipei to Hua lian took around 4-5 hours depends on traffic condition and also the stops we make for sight seeing or toilet stops.

The yellow top red building that looks like a temple is actually a Hotel. 

Taipei 101 from far

Taipei is actually surrounded by a lot of mountains. so we pass through 4-5 tunnels on our way to Hua Lian

See that dark cloud behind, as soon as we left it started to rain. 

Our Captain, Captain Soon

This Beach(i forgot what name, sorry) actually amazed me because the wave hitting the shore is so strong you can actually go surfing. non like i seen before in Labuan, not even in other beach that i been to before. plus the beach are all rocks/pebbles. no sand.

Big Sim AKA Rocket Sim

This picture is actually taken with a legit rainbow above us. not edited!

Passed this bridge and we are officially arrived Hua Lian

We waited for another group from west Malaysia(5 riders)(our captain's friends) and head to the "hotel" or should i say home stay we are staying for the night before the big challenge tomorrow. as you can see, the weather is not so good because we are currently at the east side of Taiwan island and there is a bit effect from the typhoon that hit Hong Kong badly. 

My first beef noodle in Taiwan. meh~

By the time we finish dinner already around 9pm, went to 7E again to stock up some supplies then back to homestay for safety briefing from our tour guide and one trainer( xiao lee), his son is actually a national track cyclist! why safety briefing you ask if is just a casual ride? because we are riding in a weather that a potential storm will hit us hard! so safety is our number 1 priority! second priority? enjoy and have fun!

Our route. Xiao lee told us that rookie like us can hit 90-95km already consider an achievement. because the last 10km will challenge you both mentally and physically! 

these are given for us to attach to our bikes and helmets for our escort car easily recognise us if there are a lot other riders

Never been so serious before. 

 So cozy and beautiful. too bad we are only staying for 1 night( few hours sleep) and im staying with a guy =[ .most importantly, is clean!! ps: in Taiwan, you cannot flush toilet papers down the bowl. even after you wipe it with your ass and full of sh!t on it. you have to throw to a small dustbin beside.

Well thats it for 14.09.2018(Friday)


15.09.2018(Saturday) 
IS DO OR DIE DAY!! cant even sleep well worrying about the weather because my roommate cant sleep and went checking on the weather, 100% raining from morning to noon!! screw that, we are riding no matter what! clean up and poop(most important routine before a big ride. might help you loose a few hundred grams) hahahhaa. went down for breakfast and last check/ preparation on bike and hydration.

The strip actually tighten your muscle doesnt let it flex so much plus reduce the chances of cramp

The way we strap our gel to our bikes for easy access

This was taken before hitting the first 20km mark. 7E stop again

Get crazy they say

This is the 20km mark. after this gate, there will be no more flat. as 0% gradient 

The last 7E. Xiao Lee said at here, money can buy you anything. after here, money cant do anything. this is around 40km+ if not mistaken 

I remember first fuelling station is at 55km inside a tunnel. i met our Captain Soon and two of his west Malaysia friend. wet, cold and starting to cramp. Xiao Lee gave us ginger milk tea and some of his secret recipe said will help bring our body temperature up and stay fresh. after fuel up and picture time!, four of us continue to ride an our own pace. sooner or later, i cant see their tail light anymore. on your way up there will be cars passing by you and shouting "加油!" which means keep going! i think thats what you really want to hear when you are struggling both physically and mentally.

after 60km, cramp starting to kick in again. i suspect due to cold weather and dehydration. because when you are cold, you dont feel thirsty. i stopped a few times to let me leg rest. continue to push my self to 66km +- and support cars arrived. insist me to get in the car ASAP, i was like " what? what happen?? "  after i get into the car only Xiao Lee start to explain to me that all the riders behind have been " tapau" and on their way up there. Mr Liew was worrying about our safety on the road and decided to stop this ride now. 

There are three more riders in front of me. when we catch up to captain's friend, one of their bike hanger broke off due to tree brunch stuck in the RD and he pedal down hard. by the time we catch up to captain soon, i think he is ahead of me 10km+-. damn he is fast!. you should see his face when Xiao Lee insist that he get in the car. me and the two west malaysia rider laugh so hard in the car. that full of anger and dissatisfaction. 

At this point we already in escort car heading to our second fuelling station for lunch. looks how scary that is.

waterfall from heavy rainfall

 When we arrive lunch station, we run, seriously, RUN! as fast as we can into the restaurant. when you are wet plus wind, i cant even talk when i reach inside. vibrating stronger than a nokia 3310. cant even eat. so i only ordered a cup on hot tea with peach honey. i never been this cold before. there is a thermometer outside showing only 14 degree celsius. I think we stay there for an hour then vote who wants to continue ride and who doesnt. i dont because i cant stand that cold plus the wind. after voting, tour guide also doesnt let us ride for our own safety. so the voting is pointless.hahahaha. 

The trees are blur not due to moving car but strong winds. at this point is around 5km+- to the top

This is how the top looks like. i think even if i continue riding i also cant make it. im the kind of guy that fears cold

See that pole on the right side of the black car? CCTV 24h for you to access online. open for all.

All though i cant ride to the top, at least i take a picture with it. (actually i went down to pee but since already get blown by the cold wind and rain, why not just take another picture?) then RUN back to the car. imagine running with clipless shoe in a wet surface. ps: temperature around 9-10 degree celsius. 

so a lot people ask, what makes Wu Ling so great? is not the highest mountain above sea level, no big deal. well, Wu Ling or He Huan Shan(合歡山) is the highest point which can be reach by road. which makes it a challenge for a lot of cyclist to conquer this mountain!

All of us carry a heavy heart down hill. im telling myself to train harder and if there is any chance coming back here, i hope i will do better than 66km! target 90km+-

while going down hill, the weather get worse. around 1 hours drive reaching our homestay for the night.

清境農場. reaching around 4pm+ with clouds everywhere. cant even enjoy the view. we unload our luggage from the car and head to our rooms to get rest and clean our racekit.

Our bike left outside with rain and winds. the chain also started to rust

 Dinner time!!!

Group Photo!

West malaysia friends!

felt like drinking thinner

This chicken come in whole as in uncut. Xiao Lee peel it with hands. best chicken i ever tasted! also a signature dish from this restaurant.

Enjoy our time so much. regardless the wind and rain, we eat like nothing happen outside although there is this one time when the wind is so strong shaking the whole restaurant and we thought it was an earthquake. after dinner is another 7E stop again. then only head back to hotel and spend our time together sharing today's experience and also some " near miss" that other doesnt experience. Captain Soon even gave us medal for completing the course even though we doesnt complete, but as a memory gift. reminding us to come back again to complete it! 

The restaurant we dine in.

well thats it for Day 1, 2 and 3! be ready for part 2 day 4,5,6 and 7(hopefully)

and this is what happen a day after we left the mountain. Thank God we left early.

Peace out!