Green Paradise Road

Taiwan Stage 11 – Taitung to Chishang 65 Km (Wed 21 Nov 2018)

Weather: 22⁰C min – 28⁰C max, partly sunny

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“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.” ~ Paulo Coelho

Sometimes when bicycle touring you have to convince yourself it is not just a dream, like today when I found myself in tropical paradise. Everywhere I looked there was lush green vegetation, with every type of tropical fruit imaginable … bananas, coconuts, papaya, dates, custard apples, and other trees that I couldn’t identify.

Towns were few but there was the occasional quaint house along the way. Small fruit stalls lined the roadside, selling mainly custard apples which seem to be the most popular fruit around here.

There was a magnificent mountain range on my left, so high that the peaks were covered by cloud. Fortunately my route skirted around the foothills, only climbing to a maximum height above sea level of 300m.

One feature today was the Guanshan Town Encircling Bikepath, one of the most magnificent dedicated paths you will ever find. It added a few Km to my day but was well worthwhile … a sheer delight.

Not to be outdone by Guanshan, Chishang has excellent cycling facilities too, including Mr. Brown Avenue which was once an ordinary rural road that passed through rice paddies. Recently, a well-known actor, Takeshi Kaneshiro, starred in an airline commercial that was filmed at this location. This brought attention to the road, which has been nick-named “Green Paradise Road” due to its natural beauty. Regardless of where you are on the road, you can point your camera in any direction and get a scenic photo.

With such good bicycle paths you would expect to see riders everywhere. However, the paths were dominated by 4-wheeled, electric buggies, just like the roads are dominated by motor scooters. For a country known for manufacture of bicycles, Taiwan surprisingly does not seem to have a cycling culture.