Fantastic descent to Taipei

Everything that goes up must come down. And in Taiwan's biking paradise, even going down is more epic than anywhere else.

I wake up in the morning of a cold night at the top of Mount Wuling, after my three day climb. The encampment packed, I just have to let myself down. And what a descent !! In these two days of descent to the capital Taipei, I only had to pedal a few kilometers out of more than 150 in total!

11th puncture

One of the questions that I am most often asked is my number of punctures since the beginning. I don't do it quite rarely actually, but my eleventh since the start comes at a rather inconvenient time. I have been waiting for some time for a barrier blocking the way. Due to construction, the road is only open 10 minutes every two hours. I was lucky to arrive just 20 minutes before its next opening. I took the opportunity to repair my rear brake which no longer worked (quite handy on the way down).

But as the barrier opens and motorists begin to pass, a young man on a motorbike points my rear tire at me. I have a flat tire… the first for almost 10 km! And I have about 000 minutes to fix it where I will have to wait another two hours. Under the amused gaze of the guard, I have never changed an inner tube so quickly in my life!

I am out of breath from pushing vigorously on my little hand pump so quickly. Luckily, I relaunched myself in a new exhilarating descent.

A few pedal strokes

I go down almost constantly without pedaling. Passing the village of Lishan, perched on a ridge, and its tens of kilometers of fruit fields, I have a thought for Georgia, which I crossed over two years ago. So many landscapes seen since!

The lands are so steep here that farmers have set up rail systems all over the place to reach their fields, and transport material from the road to higher or lower altitudes.

A few short climbs are planted in front of me but I cross them standing on my bike to better descend on the other side again. As I descend on silk-paved laces, I rush through clouds that literally go up the mountain in the wrong direction. Each time this thick fog opens, I am invaded by pictures of greenery. The humid vegetation smells strongly of earth, like a forest after the rain. I take off my headphones to enjoy the silence of the mountains. Only the wind and the rolling of my tires which are having fun then whisper in my ears.

From conifers, I switch to deciduous trees. From tea and peaches, I switch to vegetables as the flanks straighten in the valley. Lettuce is particularly ubiquitous. The valley is overflowing with millions of these edible leaves. Along the road also appear dozens of large pipes carrying water. I will understand in the next village that water from the mountains is brought directly to houses and fields for agriculture. There is virtually a unique hose for every use.

 One last wall

The tropical heat unfortunately returns quickly as I descend. It's amazing how air pressure has such a big effect on temperature. My pores smell like never before when I leave the village of Yilan, by the sea, to face a last wall. I leave a puddle of sweat every time I stop. And even wiping myself constantly and changing my sweater often doesn't change that.

But once again, the difficult ascent of 600 meters in altitude in just a few kilometers is quickly forgotten at the top. I hardly pedal for 25 kilometers again and I feel like I am riding a motorbike. I am obviously not the only one to find this pleasant path. I am just overtaken by a few dozen motorcyclists who have come to enjoy the countryside near the city.

On a final descent, I take a last look at the mountains. I enter Taipei, a city of a few million inhabitants. But if the capital is as nice as the rest of the country, I won't be bored there.