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Updated Thursday, June 5, 2008 0:00 am TWN, By Cam McLean, Special to The China Post



	Nine cyclists ride ATV Quad bikes, a highlight of the eight-day cycling tour. (By Cam McLean, Special to The China Post) Enlarge Photo

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Tour de Taiwan: Antong Hot Spring to Kending

After refilling our water bottles and enjoying some snacks, we passed by the outskirts of Taitung (台東) and continued down to Jhihben (知本) Hot Spring. Situated in a canyon at the foot of the Jungyang Mountain Range, Jrben is one of Taiwan’s oldest and most famous hot spring resorts.

After seven stages of mountains, valleys, country roads, sweat and tears we arrived at the ultimate point in our epic adventure down the island of Formosa, a 76-km ride on superb undulating country roads from the top of the Capricorn Highway to our Kending finish. It was hard to believe that we had been riding for 7 days and had covered over 700 km!

Winding southwest through the mountains beyond Shouka, we took route No. 199, a narrow sealed road that crosses pristine highland scenery before sweeping back down to the splendid southeastern seaboard. Along the way we passed numerous Paiwan tribal villages that remain largely untouched by Taiwanese tourism. This led us into Kending National Park and within sight of the finish line.

Kending National Park is one of Taiwan’s top attractions and famous for its warm tropical climate and magnificent white-sand beaches. It covers most of the Hengchuen Peninsula, which sits at the confluence of fault lines and tectonic plates and, as a result, has been pushed, pulled and twisted into a complex network of low-lying mountains, grassy meadows, steep cliffs, sand dunes and elaborate coral formations.

A slight detour took us into some of these sand dudes and a rocking ride on some ATV Quad bikes. Like kids in a playground, we ripped up and down the dunes, spraying sand high into the air as we become totally intoxicated with uncontrollable laughter — definitely a highlight of the tour.

One last hill and we made our way to the finish line on Kending beach and a well-deserved brew. We hugged and shook hands as we celebrated the completion of eight days of riding — quite literally the adventure of a lifetime.

If you want to experience this wonderful island and one of the most underrated destinations in Asia, I would seriously recommend doing it on two wheels—the leg-powered variety.

Organized by IN MOTION ASIA (www.inmotionasia.com) and sponsored by CLSA Taiwan, the Tour de Taiwan involved nine participants from all over the world who were looking to discover the “real Taiwan” and in the process raised more the US$20,000 for charity.

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