Day 10 - A chance Meeting

The Homestay didn't provide breakfast.  Probably a good thing after the last few days!  I left Ita Thao at 8AM and started cycling around the other half of Sun Moon Lake.  Another steep hill; which I though was an advantage.  The more climbing I can do over a longer distance the easier the ride would be.

The objective was the town of Qingjing, a few kilometres north of Ren'ai on the road over the mountains to the East Coast.  It's the last town before the summit and I planned on it being my starting point for tomorrow's attempt to the top of Wuling Pass.

When I was planning the trip today's ride was to be from ItaThao to Puli.  However I reached Puli by 10AM.  But not before some serious downhill riding.  I really didn't want to go downhill as it obviously meant I'd eventually be going back up.  At Ita Thao I was at an elevation of 723m on reaching Puli I was at 320m.  I had gone down 400m when I wanted to go uphill.

Then the satnav app decided to take me on some strange route.  Once I realised what had happened I had to backtrack and detour to reach the correct road.  Yes; I had to go back downhill again! 

I passed this interesting building during the downhill portion.

Shortly after passing it more building of a similar style appeared.  They were all modern with Buddhist monks walking around.  I assumed this was a monastery complex.

After leaving Puli the road started to climb with increasing number of hairpin bends and tight corners.  There were also several tunnels.  This was the most narrow of the principal roads I'd ridden to date and it was busy.

I attempted to place my recovery stops in a safe location where there was a view.

Eventually I could see Ren'ai in the distance.  More climbing required!

I stopped for a rest just short of Ren'ai

At this point the satnav app on the phone showed I had another 8km to my destination.  It estimated I would arrive at 12:47 and I was currently at an elevation of 1559m

It was somewhat of a surprise to see the buildings in the next photo.  A strange mixture of Gothic and Tudor.

"The Old England Hotel"

For the last 90 minutes 'I'd been pedalling in 1st gear with maximum power to the motor.  It was a trial and my legs were like jelly when I reach Qingjing.

There is a 7Eleven here and I went in to buy something for dinner.  I need food that I can be certain will provide sufficient energy for the final leg to the summit tomorrow.   Whilst sitting to drink my strawberry flavoured milk I used the phone to book accommodation.  I have a room at "Shepherds B&B".  I needed to wait an hour because they don't open into 3PM.

I took a few photos whilst I waited

At 2000m I'm well above the cloud line

Not sure what type of produce they are growing.  Perhaps strawberries?  It's certainly not tropical here.

With a roar a dirt bike pulled up beside me.  My old mate 'Grant' from Rotorua.

OK… Honesty time!  I've never previously met Grant.  It was a chance meeting.  Grant works on a nearby sheep station and has lived in Taiwan for 20 years.  We exchanged contact details and Grant was able to provide some useful information about the final section of road to the summit.  The sign on the wall beside Grant states this is the highest 7Eleven in Taiwan.

Tomorrow it's a final climb of 1200m and a distance of 19.2km.  Estimated time is 2hrs 45mins.  Then there is an 80km downhill ride through Taroko Gorge to the east coast.