Taiwan Planning - Elevation

During the previous two months I've realised the battery in my left hearing aid usually goes flat at least one day before the right side.  More recently I noticed I appeared to be getting deafer in my left ear.

This morning I went to insert my hearing aids and discovered this….

I suspect the fine wires in the lead have been fraying for several months without me realising it.  We will be heading to Costco this morning to enquire about a repair.

Meanwhile, returning to the subject of planning the Taiwan cycling trip.  I mentioned yesterday Taiwan has a mountainous spine with some high peaks.  There can be snow in the winter.  I'm going in the middle of winter.  Primarily because it's the coolest month with the lowest rainfall.  Who likes cycling in the rain?

I'll need to travel an average of 60km daily.  Probably more if I want rest days.  However the terrain will dictate the distance travelled each day.  Flat terrain will likely mean longer distances whilst steep terrain will be the reverse.  therefore I've divided the distance each day based upon the elevation. 

Below are some screen dumps from Google Earth showing the 'difficult' days on my planned route.

Day 2 - Example of an easy day with one 100m high hill (red arrow).  It appears to be the approach to a bridge over a river

Day 4 - Until now I will have been riding the beautiful inland eastern Rift Valley but today I will have to cross over to the coastal road.  The crossing is very steep rising 1000m in one kilometre

Day 7 - Cross back over the coastal hills.  A 465m rise over 5km

Day 12 -  I will now be heading north through the middle of the island avoiding the heavily populated and industrialized west coast.  A 650m gradual rise over 10km

Day 14 - A gradual climb of 450m to reach Sun Moon Lake

Day 16 - Gradually climbing up the western side of the mountain range.  It will be like this for the next three days until I reach the summit at Wuling where I will be at 2800 metres.  Apparently it can be quite cold here with snow during winter.

Day 20 - Taroko Gorge.  83km downhill   It is reputedly spectacularly beautiful.  However narrow, many bends and prone to landslides.  I have to hope there is no snow or ice.

Day 22 - Flat riding except for a very steep 200 metre hill

Day 23 - Second to last day. A couple of steep 100 metre high hills

All the other days have relatively flat terrain, apart from the three days of continuous climbing to the summit at Wuling. 

If something untoward happens (eg, injury or exhaustion, etc) I can always stop cycling and take public transport.  Taiwan is small and densely populated, with a very good public transport system.

After further research I've decided it might be prudent to take a small tent, inflatable mattress and sleeping bag.  A number of locations either only have expensive accommodation or no accommodation! 

I don't want to carry a bulky sleeping bag so I'll take the thin ultralight Aldi sleeping bag that I used on the mountain walk.  I was warm in it if I wore top and bottom base layers and socks.

We've been to Costco since I started writing this post.  The left hearing aid was repaired and the technician also replaced the same part on the other side as a precautionary measure.  All done free of charge.  I do like Costco!

Another bit of good news.  The local bike shop has given me a cardboard bicycle box.  I believe I will need to make some type of internal frame to secure the bike inside the box in an effort to minimise the possibility of damage in transit.