The HIYA Cycle Tour 25th November – 3rd December 2022
Hal, myself, Yasmin and Angus recently cycled around the entire island of Taiwan, because why not!
We began our treacherous journey in Taipei, and cycled to Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, Chechung, Taitung, Yuli, Hualien, Jiaoxi and then back to Taipei!
The fact that none one of us put any thought towards this trip beforehand was for the best, for had we known what was to come we definitely would not have agreed to go.
Nevertheless, we spent 8 nights and 9 days covered in blood, sweat and tears. Every one of us had a fall at one point, but luckily no major problems with our bikes or bodies! This is very lucky, especially considering we didn't even have a first aid kit on us. Although, whilst stopped at a traffic light one day, a motorbike driver spotted Yasmin's many cuts and bruises and dove into her handbag to give her some plasters.
None of us are quite sure how we managed to complete the cycle, although the countless hoots and motivational 加油s (literally meaning 'add fuel') from strangers kept us going. We were especially in need of motivation on Day 6, other known as Hell Day, were we set off at 6am, only to be faced with a 40km steady incline. However, after celebrating cycling up and down a mountain, we were hit with 40km/h winds, forcing us to a stop if we dared to stop peddling – even on a downhill. This continued for the rest of the 120km long day – safe to say there were a few tears and attempts at surrender along the way, but we reached our destination that day after 11.5 hours on the bike.
We ate two out of three of our meals at 7-11 every day, where we discovered the magic of the 7-11 hotdog – probably the most processed food we could find. In the evening, if we had enough energy, we strolled the various vibrant night markets and restaurants of Taiwan, indulging ourselves in delicious well-deserved local cuisine – such as spaghetti hotdogs and deep fried 蔥油餅 (加蛋 of course). Some nights, we were unable to summon enough strength to walk out of the door, so ordered takeaway to our hostel rooms. Our dinner on the night of Hell day (in Taitung) was one of these nights, so we ordered some fried rice, noodles and omelettes. By the time the food arrived (with arguments about who was going down to collect it), we were so ravenous that we all sat on Hal and Angus' bed and tucked in without bothering to engage in conversation or display manners of any kind. We each seized hold of a container and wolfed down the food, and every few mouthfuls, would snatch a container out of each others hands, forcing our partner to swap. As we were nearing the end of our regularly swapped containers, Angus got a hold of the last chunk of omelette and shoved the whole piece in his mouth. For the first time since beginning our feast, the three of us looked up from our food and stared at Angus in horror – our faces were later compared to someone who had just seen their pet get run over.
Another one of these nights was in Kaohsiung, after another 120km ride. We managed to put on some clothes other than our over-worn cycling shorts and we hobbled out of the hostel in search of any food – we weren't fussy. After walking a few metres, Angus asks if any of us fancy ordering pizza instead. Without a moments of hesitation or discussion, we all simultaneously turned on our heels and walked the short distance back to our hostel in agreement.
A large proportion of our cycling routes went through cities and townships, meaning that we had to cycle through innumerable traffic lights. We started off strong, stopping at every red light, but on the third day, we passed a local cyclist (or should I say he passed us) who cycled through a red light. Whether he meant to or not, we took this as permission for us to follow suit, and for the rest of the trip we took red lights as a mere suggestion rather than a legal requirement. The fact that we weren't getting told off only fuelled our disregard for the law. However, on one unfortunate occasion, as we were coming up to a very quiet crossroads with a big red light, a police car passed Angus and I and stopped at the red light. For some mysterious reason, Angus and I felt a sudden urge to stop at the light. We watched amusingly as Yasmin and Hal followed our usual procedure of feigning colour blindness, unaware of the police car that had pulled up behind them. As they crossed the road, we hear the a loud, angry voice coming from the car, indicating that the policemen had watched them and disapproved entirely. As the light turned green, Angus and I were still giggling as we re-joined them.
The nature of our city-based cycling routes also meant that we had to keep a close eye on directions, which caused a few hiccups and arguments. One moment that Yasmin and I remember fondly was when we turned right at a crossroads, expecting the boys to follow suit, because they knew we were on directions. But when turned round, warned of their absence by the lack of regular doubt 'YOU SURE THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY??' As we looked back, we saw them speeding along the road without turning. We called them straight away, telling them to turn off where we did. After assuring us that they were on their way, we saw them cycle back in the opposite direction, missing the turn again – we were waving frantically but they missed us, so we called back again to deliver the same news. Once again, they assured us that they were on their way this time. Only this time, instead of turning right where we were waiting patiently for them, they veered left on to the last wrong turn possible at the crossroads. At this point, Yasmin and I were cracking up, and just about managed to get out our fourth lot of directions between our hysterics – needless to say, by the time they finally found us, they did not match our level of amusement.
By the time we got back to Taipei, however, we were all in equal amounts of pain, and as we arrived back at the bike shop, embraced in a sweaty, tearful, smelly hug – all in complete shock that we actually survived.
