Taiwan 2026: Down the East Coast

I know these blogs are in danger of becoming obsessed with the weather, but........

The forecast today was not good, rain poised to strike at any time. As my time is limited I had to keep moving, so I prepared for the worst. It was dry when I set off and, bizarrely, stayed that way all day. A few spots of rain only and the sun even appeared for a while towards the end of the days ride. The mountains inland were still shrouded in mist, so I decided to stick to the coast and wait for the promised good weather to arrive before hitting the high ground.

Keelung to Hualien

The road south was a cracker! Closely hugging the sea as it wound it's way through fishing villages for much of the way. Quieter traffic today, the only complaint was the speed limit. Usually only 50 or 60 kph (31 to 37 mph! on a main road between towns!!). The road surfaces are generally excellent, which makes the low speed limits even more inexplicable. I dutifully stuck to the limit and again it seemed the only person in Taiwan doing so. In danger of being overtaken by pedestrians!!! Still, it was only about 200 km to my destination and I was in no rush. I was enjoying the ride. Nowhere to be and all day to get there.

Older tunnel

Later on, the tunnels appeared, mile after mile after mile of them. Fun at first, but towards the end of one tunnel which must have been 10+ miles long, I was hungering for some twisty mountain roads again. Still, the limit here was 70 kph (a dizzying 43.5 mph. Ooooh the speed!!!!!!)

I ventured away from this cavalcade of speed and tried the even smaller roads when I could. More tunnels, but older and more decrepit than the shiny examples I had been through earlier.

As Taroko Gorge appeared, the weather inland looked to be quite clear. A hopeful sign for the days to come.

The V-Strom continues to impress. It's pretty nimble despite it's weight (not unlike myself 😁). It did make a horrible rattling noise at one point; like a bolt or something had fallen into the skid plate, rattled around for a bit and then fallen to the road. As nothing obvious was missing and the noise didn't come back (as yet!) I decided to ignore it.