Riding the oil fields of Miaoli...

Tyler zips down the road parallel to the HSR.

I took some friends on an easy ride through the low hills west of Sanyi and east of the sea on Friday, and discovered the mother lode of Taiwan's oil and gas wells. This old article gives a brief introduction to oil and gas drilling in Taiwan. Come below the READ MORE line for more...

ROUTE NOTES: To find the oil fields of Miaoli, take Pingding Road southeast out of Tungxiao. The natural gas and oil wells lie along it, and at the end, where it meets the Miaoli 40, is the massive oil and gas storage facility. All the roads in this area feature easy hills with excellent views and good rural riding. The little service road which runs along the HSR offers spectacular views of the HSR shooting across the countryside. It comes down to the 121, which returns you to the Miaoli 43 and home to Taichung via the 140 and the 13.

We took the 13 out to the 140, then followed that downhill to the sea. Easy riding on a lovely day.

My friend grabs a shot of the spectacular views from this slight elevation.

It was hot, and we drank liters of water.

Exploring roads down to the water, we passed a farmer hard at work.

Mike heads for a port.

Waterbirds on a paddyfield.

After we lunched in Tunghsiao/Tongxiao, we headed back south to Pingding Road. The climb is steady but easy, and you pass many natural gas wells like this one.

The views from the top of the hill are excellent: Highway 3 and the ocean.

Another natural gas well.

Oil wells?

Mike hides from the brutal midday sun.

Storage facilities on the corner of Pingding Road and the Miaoli 40.

Mike arrives at the intersection of the 40. There are a couple of small shops there.

The 40 is a lovely road through water and forest. Highly recommended.

Fens line the 40.

After a while I realized we'd gone too far. I stopped to ask a local, and she said to take the road by the HSR, and I understood that was the road I'd been planning to take all along, but missed. We backtracked to the HSR, did a short climb and descent, and were down to the 121. I had a bit of bike trouble, but that little link road made the whole trip worthwhile, with the view I shot at the top of this post. With a good camera and lenses, some spectacular shots of the HSR could be taken.

We stopped at the 7-11 in Rinan on the 121 in desperate search for decent fruit ices, but failed miserably. Perhaps you can come along next time and tell us what this sign means... Triangle Rush Exhibition Hall?
_______________________
[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!