Biking Taiwan's East Rift Valley - Day 1, Hualien to Ruisui

Day 1, Hualien to Ruisui (November 2016)

• Distance traveled: 86 kilometers (53 miles)
• Route: County Highway 193 the entire way. Be sure to follow the signs leaving Hualien -- you want to be sure you cross the bridge towards the East Coast scenic area and not end up on Highway 11丙. (Check out a map here!)

Day 1 got off to a late start since we weren't able to pick up bicycles until the Giant store opened at 9 am. We tested the bikes, loaded up our panniers, and hit the nearest 7-11 to stock up on food and water -- finally getting on the road closer to 10-10:30 am.

Leaving the Hualien giant store and ready to go!

Stocked up on the essentials: Pocari Sweat and 7-11 onigiri! (photo via The Girl who Ate Everything)

We knew we wanted to stick to the East Rift Valley instead of the ocean-side route along Highway 11 -- vehicle traffic was pretty heavy for the first couple miles getting outside of Hualien (including some larger trucks), but the shoulder of the road along the way was plenty wide to get around.

Before long, we found ourselves winding up and down quiet and scenic roads. We heard--we think!--the barking sounds of Formosan rock macaques (a local monkey) but were unsuccessful at spotting any out in the wild.

Along the winding roads of County Road 193

Bring enough food and water leaving Hualien for this leg! There aren't many towns or rest areas to stop in the first part of the Rift Valley. While not too steep, the route was hillier than we anticipated, and we were definitely hungry by the time we started nearing towns again some 30 or so miles in. We detoured over to Guangfu (about three-quarters of the way there) for a late lunch/early dinner, but there wasn't anything to write home about in that town otherwise.

A scenic pit stop en route to Ruisui along County Road 193.

Where to Sleep

We winged it on arrival, looking along what appeared to be the main street of down for anything that looked like a hotel or homestay (look for the symbols 民宿 and accompanying phone numbers). Identifying a place to sleep on arrival appeared to be a popular option among many others who have written about this bike ride, but my partner and I weren't a fan of this approach. (For subsequent nights, we identified a few places online either the night before or in the morning before hitting the road and made advance reservations.)

We ended up taking advantage of access to data (via T-Mobile) to look up a few options and found ourselves at the Golden Paddy Hostel, a spot tucked away about 2 miles from downtown Ruisui. The woman working the reception desk look startled to see some scraggly-looking cyclists roll in, but she told us it wasn't uncommon for other guests to be doing a similar bike tour. We were able to leave our bikes at the hostel's storage shed during our stay.

View from our room at the Golden Paddy Hostel

Fancy private bath with a view (via Hotels.com listing)

This ended up being a "treat yo self" sort of place and the most expensive place we spent the night on our trip. We figured as novices on our first bike tour, we may as well fancy it up and make sure our first stop was in comfort. While not the public bathhouse and hot spring experience Ruisui is more famous for, if budget's not an issue, I'd highly recommend the spot. We got a gorgeous and spacious room, outdoor patio facing a scenic lake, a private bath (also with a scenic view), fast wifi, and a fair bit of privacy from other guests. We definitely weren't ready to leave the next morning -- but more of County Road 193 and golden rice fields awaited us!

Golden Paddy Hostel 
No.16, Aly. 1, Ln. 23, Sec. 1, Wenquan Rd.
+886 3887 2558
4,500 NTD/night (~$150 USD) for a room with private bath
Stay included breakfast.