01/12, ride around the Island, day 12, Yuli

Today I could feel that yesterday had been a tough day, making today quite a tough day as well, even though on paper it was not as tough as yesterday. The rains had disappeared, but unfortunately the wind was still there. So my first 70k were along the coast, against the storm force winds 🙈 I was quite relieved when after 70k my route took a left turn, away from the coast and into Taiwan’s eastern mountains. It was quite a relieve to be shielded by the wind, but in return I got a 25k gradual climb to 600m 😯 Took my time, and after reaching the top I got a 15k descent 🤗 The last 20k were through Taiwan’s eastern rift valley. Unfortunately the wind returned, making it quite a tough last stretch. And against everything I believed in, I had booked a hotel for tonight that is located on top of a hill. So at the very end of my ride I got to take 4 hairpins to climb another 100m 🙈 Today was the first day on this trip on which I didn’t manage to finish before dark. And I’m quite curious to see how my legs are going to feel about tomorrow’s 100k, which I guess will be dominated by wind as well. Bt scenery is absolutely worth it. Both the coast and the mountains are just stunning 😊