LTF Spring Ride (14-26 April 2018), Day 5 : Puli to Cingjing

At the Old English Manor

Breakfast at Xiang Ting Hotel, Puli

Sue is always last to arrive as her makeup always take precedent over food. Yes, she carried the full range up the mountain!!!

At the beef noodle shop

Can't resist a photo shot

Charlie's Angels???

Enjoying the view from the hotel

Spectacular view

Dinner at Inako

Views on the road

Views on the road

Views on the road

Views on the road

Sleeping in a hotel by the foothills of a mountain range, coupled with picturesque views of gushing river, suspension bridge and farms does has its downside. The air is cold and damp! Our laundry could not dry on time!!!

Tip : Tie a cable to the switch for a hands free experience. Further improve by attaching a hard paper to prevent sliding; not shown here.

Tip : Check voltage before hauling a hairdryer up a mountain!!!

Trying to reduce the weight of wet clothes, we were all blasting away the hairdryer in our rooms this morning. Claudine though, had an extra weapon, having brought her blower all the way from home! A slight miscalculation on her side, it was only operating on half capacity due to the low voltage in Taiwan!

Traffic is heavy for the first 10 km

After breakfast, we started our first installment ride to Wuling. At half past eight, the sun has risen past the mountains, raining full force, its UV rays on us. We were in a dilemma whether to dress up or dress down!

The initial 9 km stretch starting from Guanyin Falls was one of gradual climbing slope. Along the way, we made a few short stops in search of a foot pump for George as his tyres were sporting a paunch. While the police station had misplaced theirs, the 7 Eleven had one ready for distressed cyclists.

After 7 Eleven, we were rewarded with a nice descend all the way to the tunnel. While the road was hugging the edge of the hill, all the way to our left were rolling farmyards. A river, parallel to the road was running its course through the valley.

Entering the pitch dark tunnel, a sudden familiar voice startled Claudine. It was KC! Like a school boy, he had whizzed past her at the descend, raising his posterior and lowering his chin to reduce drag. Stopping in the middle of the tunnel, he had patiently waited to take everyone’s photo!

Once out of the tunnel, the gradient began to pick up. A short struggle ensued before we made a stop at a historical monument by a river. Built to commemorate the hill tribe’s sacrifice and contribution during WWII, it was sadly run down with tiles falling apart!

At this point, Claudine was getting rather worried. Down to her second last gear, she wondered how she will cope for the rest of the journey and the following day as well! On MTB, Sue still has a few more cogs to play with and had not even dropped to her smallest chainring!

Landslides are aplenty

Moving out after the stop, the nasties began to pick up. Initially gradual, we soon “hit a wall” as fondly described by YC.

As evidenced by the soap, this bike cafe has not been in business for some time

The gradual hairpin bends we had to overcome to arrive at "Disappointment"

Beautiful farm view, topped with the sound of "waterfall", courtesy of KC

Besides KC, the rest of us made a pitstop after the first switchback. As for him, he glided past the vegetable stalls without heeding our calls. Disappearing at the hairpin bend, we could hear him call out, “Woo Hoo!” as he tackled another incline!

 2 mountain cats are confined in the cage behind VT

The road we took

After a much needed break, we left the husband and wife team at their vegetable stall, together with their pet mountain felines in pursuit of KC. Making the 180 degrees turn, we were immediately assaulted with a 15 percent grade hill!

Smiling in the face of adversity, we all took the challenge and succeeded! Of course....with KC’s camera aiming at us from the other side of the road, everybody wanted to look good and nobody wanted to be caught pushing!!!

Such is the sweetness of KC. After the ascend, he had walked down the slope to wait patiently for us. Throwing in a cheerleader role as well as official photographer, he was packing loud, “Jiayou” to egg us on!

After a series of switchbacks, we reached the 7 Eleven at Renai Township. It was queer to see KC and Sue downing full meals just past 11 am while some others like Claudine was only sipping red bean soup. Perhaps, everyone’s fuel consumption is different!

Right after the town, we were arrested by a breathtaking view of the valley below. A wide river, laid bare by the dry season exposed a river bed of grey rocks and pebbles.

Taking the left fork, we joined Route 14a for Cingjing. This time, another set of switchbacks awaited us.

Like mountain goats, KC and Christoph were always leading. Meanwhile George was at his best elements, caught overtaking Sue a few times. Whatever the speed, we were not far apart and every regrouping point brought us back together!

Today’s finish line is the 7 Eleven at Cingjing. Located right after the Old English Manor, this convenience store is a favourite haunt amongst cyclists as it also marks the end point of a popular KOM segment on Strava.

Close to 4.4 km to the checkered flag, we made a stop at a beef noodle shop. Serving delicious looking beef noodle and dumplings, Claudine was feeling anything but hungry. Not realizing, the red bean soup she had consumed earlier, coupled with the high altitude was keeping her bloated....and nauseated. She could only manage a few sips of Coca-cola which was then passed on to VT.

As none of us were hungry, we only took cold drinks from the fridge. The proprietor welcomed us, was apologetic on his stocks and even suggested a Family Mart not far away! Not troubled by their lack of choice, we were just too happy to be sitting on the verandah which comes with a postcard perfect backdrop!

Moving out after our short consultation with Taurus, food outlets began to sprout more frequently. There was Family Mart, the “fish” shop and Inako Valley View restaurant. Hotels and resorts were scattered along the road too.

Note the faraway castle!

Then, came a curious sight! An Old English Manor, set in Tudor architecture loomed from the edge of the cliff. Tiny from far, we watched it grow larger and larger as we inched our way slowly but surely towards it.

 

 

Finally, we arrived at the finish line! Not wanting to fight for English scones and tea with the long line of tourists at the Manor, we had cheap microwaved lunch from 7 Eleven instead.

When lunch was safely packed into our bellies, we backtracked 1 km downhill before resuming our climb on a side road. More steep than Route 14a, we were all ready to unfriend YC on Facebook for his choice of hotel. The terrain was as complicating and difficult as the name, Cingjing Brilliant Stars of Seattle, our stay for the night!

However, all was forgiven when we stepped into the resort. A charming and beautiful place, 2 queen sized beds were thrown into each room. Set before a large garden overlooking the valley below, we were all ready to unwind until dinner time!

That evening, we went to Inako Valley View Restaurant for their famous roast chicken cooked in urn ovens. In fact, this aboriginal method of cooking has been following us since Sun Moon Lake!

The restaurant offers pick up and drop off service

Hoping to get a sunset view from the restaurant, we went early but the mist beat us to it. Close to 6 pm, the open verandah which comes with a sweeping view of the mountains was too chilly for our skimpy dressing. Instead, we chose to dine indoors which was thoughtfully built with wide windows. Finally settling down, nightfall beat us to the views as well, hence we had no choice but to transfer our full attention to the food laid out before us!!!



Photo Credit :
KC

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Cingjing Brilliant Stars of Seattle

 

 

LTF Spring Ride (14-26 April 2018), Day 6 : Cingjing to Wuling

Hoping to fly on the magic broom to Wuling!

Sunset Trail

The Roadies and The Tourers

Time check, 3.08 pm

Time check, 3.37pm. George waiting for a lift

Time check, 3.39-3.41. Words of encouragement poured in from Alvin and Ying Chang

Time check, 4.07 pm. George's truck broke down before 24km mark! He's been on foot ever since!!!

Time check, 4.14pm.

Time check, 4.17pm. VT is bent but not beaten, arriving at Kunyang!

Time check, 4.32pm. Less than 5km to peak, but everyone is worried for George!

Time check, 5.20pm. By God's grace, George was offered a lift to the peak!

Mission accomplished!!!

Waking up in the mountains is not easy! The room is frigid cold, the tiled floor sends shock waves to the brain and while the hot water takes 10 minutes to come, the bidet solely shoots out chilling cold water!

By dawn, the portable dehumidifier (HVAC) had auto-stopped for the second time as the tank quickly maxes out. You’ll never realize you are a walking bag of water till you have to drain out the tank!

Despite the cold and the damp, the slivers of sunshine that peeped through the door gaps, gave warmth to our hearts. Transcending further was a quintessential day of bright sunshine and clear blue skies!

Even the breakfast spread of roast chicken in Cajun seasoning, baguette with German butter plus a fruit platter of watermelon and star fruit was a pleasant treat from the usual rice congee. The Taiwanese staple, still served, was a welcomed twist when cooked with sweet potatoes.

Riding out ..... was almost impossible! A steep slope greeted us right outside our hotel. Other than George, the rest of us duly pushed our bikes up to decent ground, not wanting to stress any muscles.

Yesterday’s arrival was a different ball game. Advised by the hotel staff not to roll down due to the overly steep gradient, we had pushed our bikes down with both hands gripping the brakes. “Possessed”, our bikes were rolling down faster than we could walk!

Once on decent riding ground, we took the trail route that runs past farms and resorts. Joining Sunset Trail, we found ourselves bobbing up and down a gravel path while having to maneuver our way through some water logged pot holes. Before long we were traversing through a forested, dirt road which ran alongside a wooden boardwalk.

Emerging from the tree covered canopies sometime later, we found ourselves back on Route 14a, totally bypassing yesterday’s 7 Eleven! Continuing our climb on proper tarmac, we soon past Cingjing Skywalk.

At this juncture, a few svelte ladies on roadies began to overtake us. Totally unthreatened by their presence, we cheered them on.

After all, we were no challenge to them. A bit nomadic with total loads ranging between 20 kg to 25 kg, there was no way we could keep up with them.

Sheep by the hillside

Little Bo Peep arriving to herd the sheep

 At the 10 km marker, the fluffy white sheeps grazing on the hillside was a good photo-stop. Reared as mascots for Cingjing Sheep Village Country Home Stay, they were brushed clean, unlike the usual livestock on farms.

One click from the woolies later, we made a regrouping stop at a 7 Eleven. Located at 2050 m above sea level, it is often quipped as the highest 7 Eleven in Taiwan.

As Christoph was first to arrive at the store, he busied himself with the ladies group that had made the same stop. All expats from Taipei, they had started from Puli this morning with some husbands driving the support vehicle.

Meanwhile, George was getting VT rather worried. He went missing for a good 30 minutes right after the “sheep hotel”. Back tracking 500 m down the switchbacks, VT found him making his way up. He had taken a long break posting on FB, his latest conquests with the fluffy animals!!!

Back at 7 Eleven, Claudine had finished her store bought banana and second box of soy milk, lugged along from the hotel. 40 minutes had passed and with no sign of the 2 men, she decided to roll out without them.

It was already 10.30 am and with another 20 km more to the peak, it was a make or break challenge. Harrowing stories have been told on how quickly the weather changes in the mountains and how the fog starts to blow in past 1 pm!

With only 7 km up her sleeve, she set out alone. Surprisingly, the few kilometers after 7 Eleven was one of pleasant rolling hills. Her speed was going above 40 kph at some points.

While her speed dial picked up, the ladies group flew past her, cheering her on as they overtook her. Of course, she had to eat the humble pie for there is no way a Land Rover could compete with a Ferrari!

Chui Feng checkpost

11.05 am, Chui Feng

Right after the Chui Feng checkpost, the road narrowed to a single lane passage. Vehicles circumventing the following switchbacks have to veer to the side to allow passage to oncoming traffic.

Riding along this stretch, Claudine had to make a tough decision between taking on a speeding bus head on or diving into the drain. She staggered to the right, then left while screaming panic in her head! With less than one meter space to trod on, she was really lucky she got out of the tree silhouetted road, totally unscathed!

12.16 pm

12.17 pm, above the clouds!

A slight gnawing hunger began to creep in by half past noon. Realizing that she only had one muesli bar to tide her to the peak, she had to choose between riding ahead and waiting for VT who was carrying all the goodies. However, without a Taiwanese simcard, she had no knowledge how far back he was. 

Deciding on the former, she knew she had to ration her ONE and ONLY muesli bar. Taking her first small bite, the sugar rush catapulted her salivary glands. Within seconds, she was on to her second and third bite!!!

She watched with horror as her energy bar dwindled to a small clump. Reluctantly, she stuffed the remaining morsel back into her back pocket only to be saved by Christoph!

“Now, that’s a familiar face!” he shouted as he approached. Happily sharing his energy cubes which tasted somewhat like gummy bears, he recounted riding out a few minutes after VT and George arrive at the earlier 7 Eleven. By then, KC and Sue had left on their own.

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, located 6 km from the 7 Eleven, George and VT had bumped into KC and Sue. They found them having a simple lunch of herbal eggs and pau by the makeshift stalls operating from the wide carpark.

This marks the last meeting point as we were separated further and further apart NOT because of different climbing abilities but because of different susceptibility to altitude sickness. While KC and Sue were plagued by compounding headaches, Claudine and George were blowing their nose all the time.

A buddy system of sorts, Christoph was always waiting for Claudine while KC and Sue were mostly together till the finish line. As for VT, who had waited for George at every corner before riding on; he soon found himself all alone! George had backtracked 2 km downhill to find his lost handphone!

Although Lady Luck rewarded him with the find, it was already too late to finish his quest to the peak. He called it quits at Yuan Feng, opting to hitch a ride than risk another concussion. After all, he had recently recovered from a brain injury resulting from a bad fall.

Everyone made a stop at Yuan Feng but all punched in at different times. Even though Christoph was first to arrive, he waited for Claudine before pushing off. Together they had a banana each, purchased from one of the vegetable stalls.

A young roadie who dropped by gave an update on the rest behind. He recounted some being 30 minutes behind while others were even further away! He also gave an insight on the roads ahead...gradual climbs of 7 km to the peak with a short nasty switchback! This is his common playground and having set out from Changhua, he will be clocking a whopping distance of 215 km today!

Leaving Yuan Feng, Christoph and Claudine left their unfinished 1.5 liter water with the stall owner. Purchased from the stall earlier, they gave clear instructions for them to pass it to other cyclists with panniers. This informal "POP station" worked wonderfully as the water was soon picked up by Sue and KC. 

In the meantime, VT who dropped in later, had refilled his bottle for free from the water cooler by the toilets. As for George, he had just waited by the entrance of the carpark with hopes of hitching a ride.

After Yuan Feng, the ride became a challenge for Claudine. She made 5 major stops and another 5-6 brief breaks. Without realizing, she was beginning to get affected by the thin air. She was breathing laboriously.

Arriving at the switchbacks, she watched how a car overtook her, disappeared at the end of the road before taking forever to climb up the slope. Thinking that was the end, she soon hear the engine rumbling up another incline!

Her mental preparation took forever! She recalled looking up and thinking how she will manage the 15% grade hill with low levels of oxygen. Drivers that passed her called out “Chiayou!” Some wind down the windows to give their thumbs up. One even took a photo of her!

After the switchbacks, the feeling of ecstasy flooded in. Armed with the knowledge, passed on by the young roadie at Yuan Feng, she knew she only had 2 km more to go.

3070m above sea level, 2.05 pm

"Begged" for food at this car park!

At Kunyang, the young men who had taken her photo from their electric blue car while cheering her on had disembarked with one bike. Only one of them will be attempting the final 2 km while his friend drives to the peak in support. They gave her a banana when she claimed she had not had lunch and pointed out to her the red roofed landmark as the final checkpoint.

Weather keeps changing at the mountains, 2.47 pm

Spot the little red roof, 2.47 pm

The last 2 km, at more than 3000 m above sea level was the toughest she had ever attempted. Rolling out, she had to stop every 50 m to catch her breath. Back in her homeland, this kind of gradual slope would have been a breeze.

High in the mountains though, she felt like an old woman who had been smoking 50 ciggies a day since turning 13! Her lungs were screaming! She was panting hard!!!

3.03pm

Arriving at the peak at 3 pm, Christoph had just said goodbye to his svelte ladies group. Together, they had celebrated their victory with champagne and even left him some water and pocari.

Within minutes after arriving at the peak, the wind started to blow hard and the road was covered with dark clouds. Thinking there was a 7 Eleven or some cafes at the peak, it was disappointingly barren.

While Christoph was tasked to search for food on google maps, Claudine went over to the car park to use her charm on a bus driver. He gallantly flicked his phone out to inform the nearest 7 Eleven is 20 km downhill in the direction where she had just came from and NO, there are no cafes nearby! Taking pity on her, he brought out 4 packets of biscuits for her.

Water, Pocari and biscuits were hidden behind this booth

Thankfully, Soon Syue Lodge is just 1.6 km downhill. Stashing away the unfinished food for the others behind, they left for the hotel.

3158 Cafe is located across the road from this yellow structure, an observatory above the public toilet

Soon Syue Lodge

Checking in was a breeze. Hoping for some food, the hotel’s restaurant only serves breakfast and dinner. Instead lunch came in the form of dumplings and pau, the only food served at 3158 Cafe. Located 200m away, it was more a souvenier store than cafe!

Returning to the lodge, bath towels had to be purchased at 200 NT! Run by the National Park, this entity encourages its guests to bring their own towels to reduce damage to the environment.

News began to stream in on everyone’s location. George though got everyone worried as his first hitched ride broke down a short distance after picking him up. He had to continue on foot before another truck offered him a lift.

Arriving at the peak at 5.20 pm, George waited for VT, Sue and KC. The trio took more than an hour to finish the last 2 km to the peak. Even on foot, they had to stop many times to catch their breaths.

Totally unaffected by AMS, Christoph took 25 minutes on this stretch. As for Claudine, she spent 44 minutes, taking stops every 50 m to fill her lungs with oxygen!

While Christoph and Sue were chatty during dinner time, it was clear that none of us were feeling at the top of the world! No doubt we were thrilled with our conquest and neither were we plagued with muscle aches but somehow we were not in tip top conditions. Retiring into our rooms, Claudine could feel her heart palpitating rapidly while her breathing is short, even at resting conditions!


Photo Credits :
1. KC
2. Sue 

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Soon Syue Lodge