A Man and his Motorcycle Part 5 (The Finale!)

The journey was in it's final stretches as I woke early in sleepy Taidong for the second time. Again, a quick shower, pre-packed the night before, and a quick helping of zhwabing and red tea, and I was off like before. Last time going down the East Coast, I took the coastal road with scenic cliffsides and ocean vistas. For my return, I decided to take an alternate route, through the valley between the central cordillera and the oceanside cliffs. And to be quite boring, this route was very boring minus a few notable exceptions.

The first was Taiwans very own stone hendge located suspiciously close to the the Tropic of Cancer. Built over 3,000 years ago, the two Saoba monoliths are collectively almost 23 tons in weight, reaching a maximum height of 575 cm, and span out 600 meters long and 400 meters wide. Today, these massive structures remain a great mystery as to who put them there and for what purpose.

There are two legends surrounding the origins of these monoliths, both of which bend truth with magic in mythical ways. The first, according to the displays at the site, indicate that the Amis people first settled the area. One day, a pouring rain came into the area, and so everyone picked up a wooden board to protect themselves. This is how the monoliths became known as the Saoba, or wooden board, Monoliths. I guess no one realized that this story doesn’t actually account for how the stones got there, nor does it make for a very good legends. “Gather round children, and I shall tell you the exciting tale of how our ancestors… stayed dry!”


The second rumor is much more interesting and much more devious. As the Saoba people made their homes, they would have to circle their structures and sing the ancestral prayers. If the lyrics were sung incorrectly, the perpetrator would be blown away by the wind and all would turn to stone. The enormous remaining monoliths are proof enough for me that it has happened at least once! I think that is why karaoke is so popular in Taiwan, because the words are written at the bottom of the screen to prevent such a catastrophe!

I continued back up the route with a short stop off at the famed hot springs in the valley. It was a great way to soak up before getting back on course. The scenery didn’t change much, the route just passed through boring after boring town, and I realized that I had made a mistake in going up this humdrum valley. Humdrum, that was, until I reached the Taiwan Sugar Factory!!! Sadly, though, it was not as much fun as you would expect. If I had a sugar factory, I would make secret passageways and cool slides and a giant sugar bowl where you can lick you arm and dip it in and then suckle on the sweet sweet goodness. This place was just a factory. It was neither fun nor open to the public.


Around 5 o’clock, I rolled into Hualien. I had some more of the delicious dumpling soup and fried pork steak soup noodles before I went to bed.

As I woke up, I hopped onto my motorcycle only to notice that the back tire was flat. Perfect, 7am on Sunday and no mechanics were opened. I asked my hotel front desk if they could help me, but they were no use. I then walked up to a small breakfast joint, ordered my usual, and then explained my predicament to them. They said they knew of one that was opened on Sunday but it wouldn’t be open for another hour or so. I thanked them very much and they instructed me to push my bike up to the restaurant from my hotel and return later.

This push was a momentus push for me. As I was rolling my bike along, I watched my mileage roll over the 1,000 mile mark. What serendipity, that of all places for me to reach 1,000 miles would be in Hualien, while rolling it down the street with a flat tire. I stopped push, applauded my accomplishment there in the street with a raucous clap, and then carried on.


The mechanic pulled out a long nail from my tire and replaced it with a new one. She was in perfect working condition and then I pressed on along the stunning coastal route between Hualien and Ilan.


Past Ilan, I retraced my steps along route 9 over Pingling, into Xindian, and finally back at Taipei by about 3 o’clock. It gave me enough time to meet up with Amber’s going away party as we said good bye to her for the next year where she will be in the United States studying to get her MBA.

From the man with no sugar high, just high on motorcycle fumes, Michael.