Chapter2 Taiwan Travel – Part 2

We had a lot of elevation to cover for day 2 so we departed from Yilan at 7:30 in the morning. Everybody looked fresh and stoked to tackle 100km / 2500m from Yilan to Wuling Farm.

20km in, the road began pointing upwards and the group started splitting. I held onto the wheels of the first group until I regretted the stupid decision. Kim (Chapter 2 distributor from Korea) and I decided to be sensible and peel off the back and ride at our own pace.

To regroup, we made our first pit stop 48km in at Datong Junior High School School. Soft drinks and snacks were handed out, it was a much needed sugar top up because we still had about 2000m elevation to cover.

At 63km in, we made our second pit stop at Siji Elementary School The sun was beating down and everyone was cooked!

At this point, Terence warned me about what’s coming up. He said we’re about to enter a long stretch of false flats, and the climb is going to feel never-ending. He wasn’t joking, riding through the section was torturous, but luckily I had Kim to keep me company.

The false flats lasted for about 10km, then we all regrouped at a FamilyMart convenience store. Everyone was starving at this point, and inhaled everything we bought for lunch. I had some instant noodles, a banana and a hot long black coffee.

After lunch, the road continues to kick upwards. This was the last stop before we reached the highest point of the day, at Siyuan Yakou. The group eventually turned into a string of riders, all grinding it to the top. Everyone was happy the hardest part of the day was over. It was all downhill from that point… for now.

Photo Credits

Photos from this entry is provided by (Dom, CJ).