Nothing like having a tail wind and fully inflated tyres to help ride a long way. Now we are in much cooler climes we don’t have the same urgency to get on the road, so we can let the boys sleep in. So it was a longest ride based on a 9am start.

It was a cold day, but very little little rain thankfully and we were much better prepared for the cold. We did a mix of inland and coastal roads and all very enjoyable. A couple of unexpected hills along the way meant that we are preparing for the mountains to come.  The picture below is at the top of a 100m climb with a great downhill

The infrastructure and roads in Taiwan are amazing. In the picture below we crossed over a lesser bridge, but on either side there are massive freeways and expressways(bigger than a freeway) that also cross the river. In the distance you can see wind turbines. There have been wind turbines all along the west coast so far. It is great to see the Taiwanese taking advantage of the wind along the natural resource along the coast.

We have been riding along some freeways or expressways, but as you can see the roads are so wide that they have a lane for bikes, motorbikes, slow cars, and another two for the standard traffic. For the expressways the slow traffic and bikes travel underneath the standard traffic. Some of the expressways have been over 50m high. We have been contemplating setting up camp under one of the expressways if we can’t find a better spot. They have not wasted the space under the expressways and have built bike paths, toilets, basketball courts and playgrounds. So setting up camp doesn’t sound so crazy when you have a flat rubbery surface to pitch a tent and be sheltered from the rain.

Found a restaurant for dinner that was like a fish mongers just to the side of the tables. They didn’t have a menu. The process was to go up and pick the seafood you wanted them to cook for your meal. They had every type of seafood you could imagine and plenty of it still alive, as you can see from the tanks. Julie picked a beautiful pink coral looking trout. It was the best tasting and most succulent fish we have had all trip.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/915029119/

The gods weren’t smiling on us today, more like crying on us instead. The weather brought us back down to earth after an amazing day yesterday. The rain started in the middle of the night and pretty much kept going until lunch. We were glad the tent held up well and kept most of the rain out. Being close to the international airport combined with the wind and rain, and our first night in the tent, none of us got much sleep.

We rode south down the coast, but the conditions were cold and blustery, so we headed inland.

The route took us through many rice paddies and we got to see a machine planting rice. Below was an interesting temple with dragons that caught our eye.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/913283633/

So good to be back on the bikes. Even better when cycling in perfect weather, with a tail wind and most of the time on dedicated cycle paths. Cycling from Taipei to Bali was cycling nirvana. 

It was so picturesque I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Normally that would make Paddy chuck a paddy(he hates to stop and doesn’t like being photographed), but he and Robert were in BeyBlade heaven because we rode past a shop that specialises in them, so both of them were in a great mood.

It was a slow and late start today, but we weren’t stressed because the maximum temperature is mid twenties rather than mid thirties, so we can ride in the middle of the day. By the time we were leaving Taipei after getting everything ready and necessary purchases (BeyBlades, orange juice and blankets) made it was midday. We came across a robotic orange juice vending machine for a cup of fresh juice for under $2.

Leaving Taipei via a dedicated bike/motorcycle lane to cross the river.

Once across the river we rode on a wide and smooth cycle path that followed the river all the way to Bali (approximately 20kms)

We had never heard of Bali, Taiwan, but it had a holiday feel and busy boardwalk markets at the mouth of the river. 

 Sunset at  Zhuwei Fishing Port. We set up our tent in the structure just behind Patrick’s head for our first night of camping on the tour. 

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/912291705/

The boys were really keen on the medieval knife making course. As you can see below,  the conditions and occupational health safety well represent the medieval age. When we rode past the blacksmith it was basically a shanty town looking building with no doors. 

In the afternoon I took a solo ride to see Angkor Wat in sunset for the last time.

Then climbed a hill that had a temple on top called Bakheng that had views of the whole area.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/908673218/

Up before dawn to see Angkor Wat at Sunrise. Left the boys in bed, so Julie and I relived times of touring on a tandem together. 

After breakfast we ventured out again with the boys in tow. Visited Angkor Thom, Ta Keo and Ta Prohm.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/907030122/

https://www.strava.com/activities/907136746/