After such a difficult day yesterday, the trip from Hualin to Yilin City was a little easier than the previous stages.

A casual early morning ride through Hualin included a formal welcome by a Mayor's representative. We were all presented us with the keys to the city. The city of Hualin has many kilometers of bicycling trails throughout the city. Hualin's cycling participation for both performance and casual cycling is one of the highest in all of Taiwan. It is a city situated on very edge of the Pacific ocean.

Our next leg took us up through some incredible limestone and marble mountain caverns in Taroko National Park. The mountain sides were hundreds of meters tall filled with brightly colored marble faces that were dotted with the mature clinging trees on the hard rocks surface.

We enjoyed another traditional lunch in Hualin Town where a local park ranger introduced us to Taroko park and it's many natural wonders. This park provides the gateway between the east and west of Taiwan. All through the park are nestled old traditional temples which provide spiritual protection for the country.

From Taroko National park, we bussed along narrow roads cut into the mountains with staggering shear cliffs on one side and the raging pacific ocean hundreds of meters below. Truly a natural beauty unique to Taiwan. It is a stark contrast to the industrial west side of the island.

The bus ride was interesting. We selected an A-Team brotherhood song which will represent the spirit of the A-Team. It was great. During the ride, we sang the song several times in preparation for the Wednesday press conference. Also on the trip, everyone had a chance to share with the team their insights on the event. Lots of interesting perspectives. Most really appreciate the challenge and learning opportunity.

Our last leg of today tour took us about 40k to Yilan City. Fortunately we had a tail wind, so the 40k went by quickly.

We all celebrated another great day of riding at a local restaurant in Yilan City. The brotherhood of the A-Team is now galvanized forever.

We settled in late to our hotel in Wuchieh, Ilan. We have a 120k day tomorrow. Our last long day of the tour. Some of us don't want the tour to end, but all good things must come to an end some time.

More to follow.

Bob Margevicius, Vice President of Specialized .
2008/5/12