After spending a night at Qingjing, this is the day my friend and I will split as he will return to Taipei and I will continue on my trip. However, the day isn't over before some good fun. We visited a go-kart track where he had the first taste of driving one, while I was beaten by a kid on the track. Oh well, there are many excuses but I will just say I am getting old.
After lunch and a bit of sit around enjoying the cold beverage under the blazing sun, he left for Taipei and I continued the day with what I was really hoping to do, visit a local mountain bike trail. This mountain trail nicked named Super 8 is on this special patch of hill beside the main highway that I always take on my way to my grandparents, so I've drove pass it countless times and drooled over it for the longest time. This time, I finally got the chance to bring my bike here. Since I have no one to give me a tour, all I could do is to find as much info on the internet as possible and made my own map of the place. There is no official map of the trail, so I printed out Google satellite images of the area and hopefully don't get lost.
The landscape is rolling hills with tall grass, much like a pasture. The dirt is reddish brown. The day was hot and the land was dusty. The trail itself was peppered by large round pebbles that are often seen around rivers and oceans, so to see them on these hills is a bit strange. I suppose they were transported here to make the trails. These large pebbles made the ride that much more technical as I was constantly fearing that I will fell over. Being alone, first time on this terrain, I had to be cautious.
Although harsh and hot, the landscape was quite stunning. The green hill was such a pleasant sight and over looks at the lower lying land close to the shore line as well as the freeway. It was a windy day and the tall grass was swinging among the wind. However it wasn't long before I found myself a bit lost. I couldn't be sure which route to take and all of them seemed to be dead ends. I rode in the general direction heading west and down the hill, but soon was surrounded by thick grass that completely buried me. I could not see ahead nor where I came from. At that point, the only safe option was the head back to where I came from, which was up hill all the way. So that marked the end of my short adventure, exhausted and beaten. However it was still a wish granted and I had enough ride for the day. Some day, when I am more ready, I will certainly be back because this is so far the best place I've ridden in Taiwan.
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