Pingxi-Ruifang ride w/double climb

3:25 p.m. - Keelung River from Zhongxing Rd., Xizhi 汐止. Setting off on what turned out to be an arduous 60-mile ride. Heading east out of Taipei on the right (north) bank of the river, the bikeway in Xizhi requires crossing the river at Zhongxing Rd. onto the left bank to continue east. 

3:32 p.m. - Still on the bikeway in Xizhi, but approaching the end. After that river crossing at Zhongxing Rd., which also requires crossing car traffic to cross the road, the bikeway is contiguous and very nice to the end at Xinjiang N. Rd. bridge, near central Xizhi. 

3:55 p.m. - Xiping Rd. connecting Xizhi and Pingxi. From the end of the bikeway, it's all urban car traffic roads until getting on more rural mountain roads like this. This is at the bottom of the climb, pausing at about 230 feet to contemplate the 1,770 feet ahead, still not fully confident about it.

4:05 p.m. - At about 600 ft., pausing at the crossing (and taking reverse shots) of the same creek in the previous pic. Upstream in the top pic is Dongshan waterfall, but being on a "ride" prevents exploration on foot. I used to never take breaks on climbs because I don't like losing momentum, but in my old age, getting some rest seems to be more important.

4:10 p.m. - Further up, looking down at what I just climbed.

4:18 p.m. - Further still at 940 feet facing northwest with big sky and Yangmingshan range in the distance. I don't know what the individual peaks are. Except Mt. Guanyin further still in the distance towards the left.

4:23 p.m. - Not a hard grade, but like all climbs it's constantly plugging away at it. Slow and steady wins completes the race, albeit after sundown and exhausted in considerable pain.

4:45 p.m. - Panshiling 磐石嶺 viewpoint. A nice place to pause very close to the top of the climb at 1,670 feet.

4:48 p.m. - Stone border marker to Pinxi 平溪 township. It's all downhill from here.

4:55 p.m. - The most memorable part of the descent are these hairpin turns near the top. I think anyone who rides this would remember it. I actually was going down them and turned around to come back up to look for this shot. 

5:07 p.m. - Keelung River, Pingxi, at the bottom of the descent. Less than 20 minutes from the border to here, including the backtrack to take the pic of the hairpins. For some reason I'm still surprised at how fast these downhills go, but duh, screaming plunges several times faster than the climb, using brakes more than pedals.

5:09 p.m. - Pingxi branch rail line over the Keelung River, near Pingxi old street. At the bottom of the climb, I turned left (east) on Rte. 106 to follow the Keelung River. Interestingly, turning right (west) would eventually have me following the Jingmei stream back towards Taipei. There's a watershed right near this area that separates water that goes either into the Keelung River or the Jingmei stream. 

5:35 p.m. - Footbridge to Shifen waterfall 十分瀑布, east of Pingxi.

5:36 p.m. - Pingxi branch rail line along the Keelung River and Shifen waterfall. I think this is one of the few remaining local branch rail lines in existence; off the trunk line that goes down the east coast. 

5:44-5:47 p.m. - The last time I rode through here I didn't see the waterfall, but this time I came prepared with a bike lock to leave it outside the area.

5:49 p.m. - I think it has the distinction of being the widest waterfall in Taiwan.

5:56 p.m. - Four-faced Buddha statue. I think Taiwan is considered a Buddhist country, but spiritually it's more of a mix of Buddhism, Taoism and local spirituality based on protective deities. I do get surprised at public displays of Buddhism outside of distinctly Buddhist temples. 

6:30 p.m. - Second climb of the day, going up to 1,600 feet this time, on Rte. 106 which is heading north by Shifen waterfall. I got a major leg cramp almost immediately and had to stop and massage it out. It wouldn't be the last time. I think that's a weather station up there.

6:33-6:42 p.m. - Rte. 106 descending to Ruifang 瑞芳 is very pretty with views of Keelung and the ocean. And waxing gibbous moon. The ride doesn't go through central Ruifang, but takes the rural highway back to Keelung. It was just barely light when I got to the bottom and pretty much dark by the time I got to Xizhi where I had to stop a couple more times because of cramps. It was pretty miserable, but I suppose not unexpected for a 60-mile ride with two significant climbs. I think it's safe to say this was a "limit finding" ride.