Day 14: Luodong to Keelung

Time: 12:16am

Location: Keelung

Weather: rain 17C

If I thought yesterday was challenging today was simply a bit of a sufferfest. The heavy rain woke me up at 7:30am but I took my time getting up and ready trying to delay getting wet. Joyee brought me along when she went to pick up her husband who works at the Yilan Jail so I got to see what a jail looks like on the inside for the first time! Eventually I had to get going, and left Luodong on Highway 9 which cuts through the various townships of Yilan County. Yilan City and Jiaoxi were all familiar territory but I still made often stops as I kept getting distracted by the shops that sold various Yilan specialty foods. At Toucheng, I merged onto Highway 2 which hugs the northeast coastline. It stopped raining briefly at Waiao where there was a great view of Turtle Island.

Soon the coastline turned into rocks and sea stacks, and I lost track of how many geoparks I passed. Near Sandiaojiao Lighthouse, the easternmost point of Taiwan, I met another cyclist who apparently I had passed on Suhua yesterday and we went for a walk up the lighthouse together. 

I had been following the Old Caoling Bikeway which had a wonderful protected bike lane that sometimes detoured right down to the wharf. The bike path ended in Fulong, where I rode a bit inland to see the Old Caoling Tunnel, which at about 2km long was the longest tunnel in Taiwan in the 1920s. Eating a late lunch of the Fulong bento box, I met and chatted with two backpackers from Singapore. I really don't know how all the regional bento boxes are different but they have all been good (okay, so I haven't really had bad food in Taiwan). 

Up until now the rain had been steady but bearable, however from Fulong to Keelung was another story. It was as if the tap had been opened a much bigger notch and within minutes I was biking in a river. The rain was coming down sideways and hurt hitting my face. At points I couldn't even see clearly and simply hoped for the best rolling down the windy hills. It's not a bike tour if you don't get completely soaked at least once. 

Seeing the many people fishing out on the rocks made me push on and I was a complete wet mess when I got to my host Shanglin's place in Keelung, said to be the rainiest place in Taiwan. It's kind of a shame I didn't get to enjoy the northeast coast at its finest but that just means I'll have to come to ride it again!