Travels of the World
Day 3 Jia you! (“Good luck!”)! Finishing at Hongye Hot Springs!

Jia you! (“Good luck!”)!
Finishing at Hongye Hot Springs

The end to a
200-km-long bike tour!
The Bike


サイクリング

会長の挨拶Mr.Wong,
chairman of the
Fanshu Y team
Next day
Distance traveled 154.9km
Time elapsed 11 hr. 57 min.


We began our ride this day on a stretch of difficult undulating mountain passes. We'd repeatedly go up, come down, and then go up again. Nimbly climbing hills with a light-hearted dancelike moves.
We crossed the Tropic of Cancer on the day of the summer solstice when the altitude of the sun at culmination is at 90 degrees and stop for lunch exactly when the time was right.

The seas off Taitung host a submarine trench in the Philippine Sea Plate. You can catch a wide variety of sea creatures that bound about its waves including sharks, sunfish, and deep sea fish. We tucked away abundant fresh sashimi and desserts made from sunfish.
We also want to express our thanks to Mr.Xu from the Fanshu Y team who made the arrangements for the delicious restaurant.

We passed by quite a few cyclists as the wonderful scenery flew by, and as we encouraged one another with hearty shouts 150 km went by before we knew it.
There were a lot of people on mountain bikes, hybrids, and one-speed shopper bikes. The cycling fad may have peaked around 2010 in Taiwan, but I think there are still more bike fans there than in Japan.
For example, groups of young people will make a cycle trip around Taiwan as one way to mark their reaching adulthood comparable to coming-of-day events at age 20 in Japan. The island is a big one, measuring 900 km around with nothing to compare in Japan.


Finishing the ride on our favorite bikes
Photo
bottoms up!
Photo In the Fanshu Y team, there were women cyclists, too.
Getting past heights of 3,200 m . . . “Lihai!”
Arriving at today's lodgings, Taitung SPA hotel.
Before our very eyes was a broad and open outdoor bath, and when you turned the faucets on in your rooms the simple sulfur bath would be filled to overflowing with an abundant quantity of spring water. Taiwan is not only a major bike-riding country, it is also a hot springs paradise.
However, unlike in Japan there is a rule that you cannot be completely naked in the outdoor bath. Both the men and women were in swimsuits.

乾杯!Receiving instruction on toasting Taiwanese style from (front to back) Mr. Chen, Mr. Xu, Mr. Gao, and Mr. Wong.
All of our friends in Taiwan!! All of our friends in Taiwan!! We thank you very much.

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