Taiwan cycle, Day 9

Jilong to Hsinchu
Not much can be said about this day expect it was wet, windy and cold, definitely a bad combination!
The northern part of Taiwan looked bleak and miserable under a grey sky. All we wanted to do was hit the most northern point of Taiwan and then as quick as possible make our way south.
Unlike its southern counterpart that everybody knew, the most northern point of Taiwan was a mystery to most people, everybody seemed to have a different opinion as to where it was or no idea at all. After riding for a long time, unsure of which place it was, we decided that this spot with an old stone bridge seemed as good a place as any to declare as the northern point.

With the obligatory picture taken we quickly rode our way to the western side of Taiwan, we were desperately looking forward to having the wind with us. We cycled through the busy port of Danshui and over its big bridges, cycled along the north western coast, passed a huge nuclear power station and through many nondescript towns.
And yet even though the wind's direction did begin to change, the cold and the rain persisted, the only place that offered respite were the 7/11s.








So by the time we reached Hsinchu (well, a small town near there) we were fed up. We found a love hotel as there was no other place to stay. (On a small side note, the love hotel was amazing, great service, private garage, breakfast, a comfy bed and reasonable priced!)
After discussing it a great deal, we decided to call it a day and get a train home to Tainan. Yes, we didn't complete the loop, but that didn't really matter. I had a fantastic time cycling around (part of) Taiwan with Adrian and Andrea, saw some amazing sights and made a lot of great memories.

However, this was not the end of the trip, even though we didn't complete the loop in one go, a few weeks later we came back to Hsinchu (when it wasn't raining, or cold or windy) and did the final leg, which will be the last post of the trip.