Would actually make a great Youtube channel as well, although without the budget to actually buy wood, do carpentry and travel very far, could still visit people's book collections (bigger the better) and talk to them about it. I'd watch it.

Haven't finished it yet, but it's the definition of mindfuck by quantum physics. Deep explorations of the very structure of reality. Really don't know how it's going to end, but so far it's great.

That actually gave me a headache.

The trick is to never let it out of your sight. Not even for one second.

It's like climbing up a wall. Not going that specific way again.

In case anyone's interested, the bike is a custom-built, titanium frame road bike built by a local company called Performer who, I think, also make bikes for Trigon.

I'm thinking of doing a couple of short multi-day trips next year, but I won't be going that far, or that hard, on each day: based on recent experience, fifty to sixty miles a day is easily achievable, unless there's a lot of climbing involved. And if the way is flat, further yet.

After that, all I had to do was follow my usual route back south, fuelling myself with onigiri rice snacks and a Coke from a vending machine. The good thing about all this from my perspective is it's given me a sense of how much I can achieve in a single day where cycling is concerned.

By this point, I'd passed beyond mere fatigue and into some other realm where all that mattered was keeping the wheels turning: my whole world became reduced to a constantly undulating highway that felt like it stretched out forever--at least, until I got to Beitou, to the north of Taipei.

It was only a mile and a half, but still. After a bit of cursing I managed to turn around, and at least had the wind at my back. I followed the road all the way west, past the lighthouse that marks one of Taiwan's northernmost points, and then south.

Eventually I hit the coast and mostly turned west. I say 'mostly', because after a brief pit stop at a 7-11, I found myself wondering why the sea was suddenly on my left rather than my right...which is when I realised I was cycling the wrong way.

I was directed to a small, outdoors dining area on the opposite side of the road, where I found myself surrounded by large soft toys and pink seating. After all that, I pretty much flew up the remaining ascent before the eventual descent.