My good friend Lin-Hui met me at the airport. It was great to see my friend again. It has been two years and I have missed her company. We talk via Skype almost every fortnight but it isn't the same. It's also great to see her two daughters Janet and Jennifer. They sure have grown in the last two years.
My bike tour starts on Tuesday and tomorrow I will ride to the local bike shop and buy a few supplies such as water bottles, gloves, cheap bike lights and even a helmet.
My plan is to ride around Taiwan to Hualien in two stages. First I will ride from Taipei to Kaohsiung next week and then spend a day exploring Taiwan's second largest city. After this I will return to Taipei and my youngest son Kenny will join me. We will then recommence the tour and ride from Kaohsiung along the coast to Taidong and then up the eastern Rift Valley to Hualien.
I am travelling with my iPad so every evening I will do a posting on the days adventure. I am only riding 70-80 kms a day mostly. First, I have not been able to get much riding in over the past few years and this in my way of getting into cycling again. Second, I want to experience Taiwan. It's a beautiful country and the people are amongst the friendliest and most hospitable in the world. I know I will make new friends. Finally, I know I will get lost, particularly on the west coast. So riding shorter distances will mean I have time to get lost and still reach my planned destinations.
The challenges are many and most important of these is that I speak and read almost no Chinese. Thankfully most road signs are also in English and I have google maps.
So I will write a short post on Tuesday night, probably from the township of Guanyin on the southern border of Taoyuan county. I expect to have some navigation issues after the Bali bike path ends about 35 kms into my ride.
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