Bicycle Trip

My roommate Belle is gone at the moment. She was kind enough to lend me her bicycle, so I decided to take the opportunity to explore some of Northern Taiwan on it. Despite a warble wheel and size discrepancy I was amazed at how comfortable the ride was, such that after six hours of riding I was still feeling quite good. Taiwan has designated bike paths extending from Taipei City in most directions, some for as much as 40 km. This is a pit stop on one of those paths.


I left at around 8:00am as to avoid the afternoon sun. By this point it was 9:30am and already 30 degrees, I was around half way to my first destination, Danshui (淡水).


The body of water in this picture is the Danshui river (淡水河) which flows into the ocean, my final destination.


Right before you enter Danshui there is a small fishing boat harbor. The farther north you go, the more nautical things become, for obvious reasons.


Temples closely resembling this one can be found all over the place. I believe this one was built for ‘Matsu’ the so-called god of the sea.


Across the river is a township called ‘Bali’, who’s name shares pronunciation with the Indonesian paradise, but likely few other characteristics.


This was taken after a refreshing rainfall. I was already entirely wet from sweat, so I didn’t mind. In summer it rains nearly everyday, but only for about half an hour which is nice. On the horizon is Danshui, and beyond that the ocean.


After a some snacking in Danshui I hit the open road. There are two main roads that will take you to the ocean, one that cuts across the top corner of the island which takes you right to the tip. It is significantly longer than the alternative, and being already 2:00pm in the afternoon, I foolishly chose it.


When you get into the rural areas; the ‘truck-stop off the highway’ type places, things get poorer and seedier. I did not make it long in the afternoon sun before I decided to turn back and take the shorter route. It was nice to be on the highway though.


My sense of direction is total rubbish. I got lost more than a handful of times, resulting in an accumulative couple hours of aimless biking. I was in no rush to get anywhere however, and a little extra biking does not bother me, especially when it is in a place like Taiwan! Anyway, there was a certain beach I was trying to get to. This beach is most definitely not it, but I reached the ocean nonetheless.


I was the only one there, which is shocking. The idea of ‘only one’ doesn’t really exist on any level in Taiwan. Everything has a duplicate or a fake or a clone or all of the above. I changed right there in the middle of the beach and went for a salty dip.


Some parts were rocky, some were sandy, fun for everyone.


What’s become of you when blue meets blue and pride is still on your lips.


For Dad:


On my way home (and while lost) I happened upon a golf course. It was visible from the road, but just barely. Father’s Day is celebrated on August 8th in Taiwan. The word for eight (八) sounds almost exactly like the word for father (爸). There is not really a word for ‘August’ in Chinese, rather it is called ‘month eight’, thus, August 8 is spoken 8/8 (八八). The word for father can be repeated also, 爸爸, similar to ‘papa’ in English. Thanks to this similarity in pronunciation Father’s Day is celebrated accordingly. So happy Chinese Father’s Day, Dad!


I ended up returning home as the sun was setting, which was something I was a little worried about as the city looks fantastically different at night. The trip distance was about one hundred kilometers in total and took around seven hours.