Day 07 Lock and load

2/5 Yuli to Hualien

After having breakfast, compliment on the house, I set off into the rain. It was a light drizzle and fortunately came to a stop a while later.

90kms stood in the way from Yuli to Hualien, but the weather was pretty in my favor, almost windless. I used it as my weapon and set the bike to a 3-9 gear, the heaviest but fastest riding paddle. My strength seemed to be infinite, and wasn't at bit sore after half an hour of quick-paced paddling, eventually I covered almost 10 kms in that 20 minutes.

However, it was just a metaphor about immense strength and my physical power died out. I did some painful climbs, and upward slopes felt endless for the whole journey was full of them. I discovered that my strength regenerates bit by bit as I rode slowly and painfully, and when the tank was once again charged, my legs would get all pumped up and full if energy, then I can again ride fast and feel reborn.

In the following 90kms I ""regenerated"" about 4 times, and reaching the top 3-9 gear every time.

This was really a new discovery.

However I was starting to find the climbs to be worse than usual, it must had been the accumulated exhaustion in my leg muscles, that I forced them to go so hard again every next day, even when they haven't return to their previous state. In this situation, I was pretty worried about tomorrow's trip, for I would be doing a lot of climbing into the mountains, and there are a lot of upward slopes in the next 107 kms to come.

The good thing was that I had a pretty good fish bendong in the family mart on the way here. I reached the accommodation at about 1:20, and visited the ecology park nearby, for my parents were somewhere having a great time of themselves and haven't yet arrive.

I even washed my bike in one of the shallow ponds, for my bicycle became so dirty after the last few days' riding.