| Distance | 149.00 kms | 92.58 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Ride time (hours) | 6.50 | - |
| Avg speed | 22.9 kph | - |
| Distance | 447.40 kms | 277.75 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Ride time (hours) | 20.80 | - |
Friday, November 4th, 2016
Today's goal was a modest 85 kilometers but that cyclotouring can't-stop-gotta-keep-on-riding virus kicks in; we blow past the modest goal and into the mountains, down the other side onto the west coast of Taiwan, pushing south well past dark until we get to Kanting a full day ahead of schedule.
Breakfast of homemade bread and yoghurt, fruit, coffee at the house then we push off back down the hills to Taitung City. The first 85k fly by as we follow the relatively straight coastal road with a good tailwind. Some modest climbs and a bit of construction are the only speedbumps.
We arrive at Daren around 2pm. This is where we planned to stop but it's way too early, and it doesn't look like there is much of anything in this town. There is no road down the coast from here so the only option is up into the mountains and over to the west coast.
Where the road comes out on the west coast there isn't much to look at. We head south hoping it will get better. It takes a while before it does, so in the end we just say the hell with and ride all the way to Kenting. We are treated to a beautiful sunset along the way but have to ride for a good hour in the dark. It turns out to be a big day, 149 kilometers plus a long climb.
Kenting is so much like Puerto Vallarta it's creepy. If you take away the signs in Chinese you would hardly know the difference.
