Hitchhiking is something I’ve only done twice in my life. The first time was 23 years ago when I was a lad in my 20s studying Chinese in Taiwan and exploring the island’s mountains whenever I could. A classmate took me on a hike on Yangming Mountain, just outside of the capital, Taipei. It’s probably my all-time favorite outdoor adventure. We wanted to avoid all the weekend hiker traffic on the trails, so we climbed the mountain by following a stream the cut through thick patches of elephant grass and bamboo groves. The stream flowed through some hot sulphur pits near the top of the mountain, so the higher we climbed, the warmer the water got. We only wore hiking boots and running shorts as we sloshed through the water and skipped from rock to rock. We wrapped our other clothes in plastic bags to keep them dry and carried them in butt packs.
Here I am, in my 20s, exploring the sulphur pits on Taiwan's Yangming Mountain.
It’s always hugely satisfying to finally reach the top of a mountain, but this hike had an extra special payoff at the end of the trail. The stream took us to a collection of massive slabs of rock. As the creek flowed over the rocks, the swirling water carved out bowls in the rock that were as deep and big as hot tubs! We kicked off our boots, slipped out of our shorts and climbed into the natural hot tubs, soaking our sore leg muscles for an hour. The only downside was the rotten-egg stench of the sulphur pits, but we got used to it after awhile. When it was time to head home, we decided to hike down a dry trail rather than retrace our soggy steps in the stream. We eventually found a road that wasn’t served by the bus that we took to the mountain. So we started hitchhiking. After only sticking out our thumb for five minutes, a young Taiwanese couple picked us up and took us back to the city. I’m sure we reeked of rotten eggs, but they didn’t seem to mind. They thought we were amazing, two foreign guys, thousands of miles from home, roaming around the Taiwanese mountains with no plan about getting home.
Last weekend, I was indulging in my new favorite pastime: hopping on my ‘cross bike and exploring the network of dirt roads that go through the woods and farm fields near my home. I was having a fantastic time, enjoying what might be the last decent weekend (weatherwise) of the year when my rear wheel punctured. I hit a bump and my back tire went flat. It had to be a snake bite. I pulled over, took the wheel off, fished around my jersey pockets for my pump (check), tire irons (check), spare tube (check)…wait a minute, the object I thought was the tube was my cell phone. I dug around some more and came up with nothing.
I couldn’t believe it because when I was preparing for my ride, I put my tube on the kitchen table with the rest of my kit. I apparently forgot to pack the damn thing. My wife was out shopping and unreachable by phone, so I was stranded on a dirt road, 20 miles from home. A couple pickup trucks rumbled past me, kicking up a bunch of dust but showing no interest in my troubles. I saw a big white pickup approaching, and I smiled and stuck out my thumb. The truck stopped and a middle-aged mother with two cute daughters rolled down the window and asked me if I needed a lift. I thanked her and she asked her daughter to move to the backseat of the cab and let me sit up front. When I went to put my bike in the bed, the little girl asked me if I needed any help. A real sweetie.
The lady couldn’t take me back to Ann Arbor, but she offered to drop me off five miles down the road. This was good enough for me because one of my work friends lives in the area, and I was able to get a ride home with her. It was mighty kind of the woman to take a risk with a stranger and help me out. I just don’t know how many people would have done that.
I’ve spent 13 years of my life in so-called Greater China (Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan). Without a doubt, my favorite place to ride is Taiwan. It’s got everything: fantastic mountains, terrific food, friendly people, beautiful nature, decent weather and great bike shops. Earlier this month, I was planning a four-day trip to the island. A day before my departure, I caught a bad stomach bug. The five-day forecast also included heavy rain. I debated a bit about whether I should bring my bike as I had planned. In the end, I decided that even if I had to pull over to puke every kilometer in torrential rain, I was still going to ride. I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to ride through Taiwanese mountains again. It did rain and I suffered a bit with the gastrointestinal issues, but as usual Taiwan really rewarded me and I’m glad I did it.
I did my usual thing and stayed at a small motel in the Tienmu neighborhood in the capital of Taipei. Tienmu is at the base of Yangmingshan National Park, so after a five-minute spin from the hotel door, the road starts climbing out of the Blader Runneresque urban densepack and into the lush subtropical forest that covers the Yangming Mountain range. The first 10-kilometer climb gets you into the park, where you’ll find a Starbucks coffee shop. I can’t think of many other climbs in China that deliver you to a Starbucks. Many folks won’t think this is a good thing, but I’m not one of them. I’ve done enough of the rough and remote thing.
The night before, I bought three big chunks of banana bread for my ride, so I decided to stop at Sbucks to enjoy some with a cup of joe. But I forgot that Starbucks opens at 8 a.m. in Taiwan and it was 7:30, so I decided to just have my snack on the patio. A young woman inside the cafe saw me and came to the door. She said, “Sorry, we’re not open yet, but can I get you a glass a water? How about a chair, too?” In Guangzhou, I would have been told to scram until the store opens.
She called herself "Winnie" and she was wonderful. She apologized for not being able to open the store earlier and offered me a glass of water and a chair. She was amazed that I planned to ride 80 km in the rain.
Yangmingshan is full of natural sulphur pits. The steam rises rises from the hills in several areas, and the rotten-egg stench of sulphur fills the air.
The rice crop is just getting started. In a month, this will be a brilliant green carpet of rice plants.
My favorite climb goes up and over Yangming Mountain and down to Jin Shan Beach. There were a few dedicated surfers waiting for waves when I stopped to watch them.
This food truck sells some awesome waffles with whip cream on the coastal road that passes Jin Shan Beach. It’s at the mid point of my ride, and I was really looking forward to stopping to have a second breakfast. I was crushed to see that he wasn’t open.
Waiting for waves at Jin Shan Beach.
Like in mainland China, convenience stores in Taiwan sell chicken parts. But they also have chocolate-covered Belgian waffles. Boo yah!
Stopping at a flower farm on the climb back over Yangming Mountain.
This guy marveled at how high my seat was and said to his friend, "Look at the long legs on this guy!"
One of my all-time favorite switchbacks at the base of Yangming National Park.
We were guys staying at the same hotel with our mistresses.
He looked like a Taiwanese gangster, with permed hair, black suit and pointy knockoff Italian loafers. It was 5:30 a.m. and he was renting a room for a few hours with a woman in a leather mini skirt, fishnet stockings and the longest false eyelashes I’ve ever seen. They had no luggage.
My mistress was my climbing bike, and I was carrying her out of the hotel lobby for a morning workout when I passed the couple as they were checking in.
It must have been a surreal sight for them, a tall Western guy in a red polka-dotted jersey and black biking shorts, lugging a magenta road bike and clip-clopping out the door in cycling shoes.
I was doing what I love to do: taking my bike on a business trip and staying at an inexpensive, no-frills hotel close to some spectacular cycling terrain.
This time, I was bunking at the Feeling Hotel _ one of the numerous “love hotels” in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. They are cheap places often used for lunchtime flings and one-night stands in crowded Taipei, where privacy can be hard to find. The establishments are designed for discretion, often located in alleys or backstreets. Rooms can be rented by the hour, and no questions are asked. A complimentary condom can usually be found in the bedside table.
Best of all, you can roll a bike through the lobby and wedge it in the elevator without anyone hassling you. The staff is used to weirdness.
Although they may sound seedy, establishments like the Feeling Hotel are clean and well-run by professional and friendly staff. They’re usually small and only offer bare-bones amenities, but that often means the rooms are inexpensive, about US$50 a night at the Feeling Hotel. This makes them popular with families and business travelers during these hard economic times.
The biggest plus for me was that the Feeling Hotel is at the base of the spectacular mountains of Yangmingshan National Park, just outside of Taipei. The hotel in the suburb of Tienmu _ long popular with expats _ is also surrounded by great restaurants, stores, decent bike shops but few standard hotels.
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