Woke up in a brisk sunny morning. The blue sky capriciously left no clouds at all. Got myself and my scooter refilled then I hit on the road for my Day 2 ride.
The route I selected is County Route 197 & 193, small back roads along with west side of seaboard mountain range. This is the first time I visit these roads in my life and I am still very excited about it.
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| The route for Day 2. Not too long but very very very beautiful. |
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| The rice field outsides B&B. Super sunny morning. |
Dropped by Solo Studio trying to visit my former colleague who runs this small space with coffee and customized English lessons. She was not there for my sudden visit and I will be back again for sure.
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| Dropped by Solo Studio, Taitung |
About 15 minutes after leaving downtown Taitung city and heading north, County Route 197 sign showed up.
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| The sign of County Route 159 and its 59-th km. |
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| A mellow blend of Pacific and Sky. |
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Central mountain range on farthest side.
Seashore mountain range in the front. |
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Roadside sign says where I am: "Liji Badland and Little"...
It misses "Yellow Mountain" in the end. |
Almost zero traffic on County Route 197 in the sunny, hot, almost windless Sunday morning. A small village named Luanshan sits along the road quietly in a 50-minute riding distance from downtown Taitung. I rarely saw anyone out there, maybe it's church time for them then.
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| An abandoned community patrol vehicle, Luanshan village, Taitung County. |
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| Platform with no waiting passengers. |
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Straight and quiet tracks.
Central Mountain Range stands still with some clouds. |
After leaving Ruihe station, I moved on back to County Route 197 and went across Beinan stream thru Baohua bridge. The painting on both sides of bridge is so original. I got 15 kilometers more to complete the journey on Route 197.
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| Painting on the side of Baohua bridge. |
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| A welcoming bench with great view. |
There is a uniquely nice cafe in the 4.5-th km mark of Route 197; simply named "4.5-km Cafe", Located in one of Taiwan's finest rice farming areas, Chishang Township, Taitung County, that also becomes a popular touring spot.
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| "4,5-km Cafe". |
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The roadside 4.5-th km mark.
A canola field backed by Central Mountain Range. |
I ordered a cup of "Aborigine Coffee", an unique mixture containing 50% of home-made coffee and distilled millet wine is the other half. Roughly a size of two shots, the coffee held me there for another 1.5 hours letting alcohol gone.
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| "Aborigine coffee" |
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| Banner says "come to drink coffee". |
Cafe owner is a batik artistic, color printing on cloth using wax. He started the cafe at his ancestor's hometown more than a decade ago. After the coffee, a kettle of firewood-brewed Pu-Erh tea and a brief talk with owner are served.
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| Pu-Erh tea poured from firewood-brewed kettle. |
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| Downtown Chishang is ahead of me, journey on Route 197 is close to end. |
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| 0-km mark of Route 197. Chishang Township, Taitung County. |
I got onto Route 193 at Yili Township, Hualian County, after about 30 kilometers northbound on Provincial Highway 9 from Chishang. Straightforward sunshine in noon time offered me great views and frequent stops for drinking water.
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| Route 193, Yuli township |
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| A break on Ruisui bridge across Xiuguluan river. |
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| A lovely curve near downtown Hualian city. |
Checked into hotel on 4pm. Got some beers to replenish my body after the long ride under strong sunshine.
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| Lookout from my hotel room. Got some beers simply across the street. |
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| An antique steam locomotive displayed in Hualian Railroad Culture Park, located in a walking distance from the hotel I stayed. |
Put 208 kilometers on my scooter this day. I will be back to visit both county routes for sure.
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