Doing Duona

Drew is ready to go

Great weather, so Drew and I grabbed the chance to drive down to Pingtung and do the gorgeous road from Gaoshu up to the aboriginal village of Duona, the Pingtung 132. Click on READ MORE to see more...

We left Taichung at 6:30 and made the visitor's center at Maolin around 9:30. Outside the visitor's center many local cyclists were taking a break.

We drove through the first cluster of houses. Drew forced me to skip the fatty pork being grilled at the roadside stands. This was heartbreaking.

Drew indicates a couple of landslide sites formerly known as roads.

Looking back at the gate to the area.

Typical Taiwan river and gorge topography.

The weather stayed perfect the whole day.

After the Welcome to Maolin sign there was more fatty pork to be had. But Drew broke my heart again. No fatty pork for me.

Luckily the stunning scenery was perfect therapy for a broken heart.

The climbs were work, but never exceeded 11% and most were quite reasonable.

The road winds around the ridges along the river through a couple of small villages.

I am a slow rider, and the other cyclists easily caught me.

Stopping to get a picture of one of the villages

A village. Once again there was fatty pork, but once again we rode on. This was not mere heartbreak. This was pure torment.

After the village you descend to the river...

...where above you is a suspension bridge over the gorge. Suspension bridges are the new "thing" in Taiwan, and every township seems to be installing them as reliable tourist traps.

Drew speeds across the bridge. On the other side is the steepest climb on the route.

The sign says 10.5% grade, but it felt more like 8%.

More tourist traps as you go around the ridge.

We stopped several times to image this spectacular wall with its washed out road sections.

The road used to run across the top of that area, but it fell into the river. Pieces of it cling to that slope.

The river has many spectacular turns.

I rested a bit here, this part was a lot of work. Drew, a powerful rider, pushed smoothly on through.

Yep, we climbed that. Drew was temporarily overcome with zaniness. Probably due to the lack of fatty pork.

A few buses made the climb.

Finally Duona came into view.

The last time Drew was here, many years ago, it was a backwater. Things have changed.

At last we stopped at this place. This kind woman saved me...

...with a plate of lifegiving fatty pork with onions, the real reason I came.

Many of the shops sold dried goods, which they prepared in the street.

True Taiwanese tourism cannot be accomplished without the aid of a small dog.

There's a few old slate houses in Duona.

With amazing carvings.

The side streets are quiet.

The 132 ends here, though you can drive out of town in either direction. We had parked our bikes in town and walked around.

The food served in the restaurants was grown in the area.

Around noon the tourists flooded in.

So we headed back on the lovely road...

...stopped to get a few more pics...

...and went back to the highway through Gaoshu after fortifying ourselves with another round of fatty pork, the only reasonable evidence for the existence of deities that I am aware of. A great ride, only about 35 kms, but well worth the trip. Highly recommended if you're in the area.
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