Photos by MJ Klein
UPDATE: This article was missing the ride stats. I’ve added them at the bottom.
Today, I took the Artifice out for a ride to finish the route that I had started last week when I was rudely interrupted by 5 dogs coming out of a house to chase me.
This is a small bicycle trail between Sinfong and Yongan. It connects the 2 trails together.
There is a small temple beside the trail.
This is what the temple looks like. A neighborhood temple for this small village.
Opposite the temple is a rice field. By the looks of it, the rice is ready for harvest.
I had to take this shot of my Artifice against the bright green of the rice stalks. I’ve been trying to think of a name for my trike. I think I’ve settled on Artifice Gordon.
I’ve ridden by this radio station before, on a ride I took a couple of years ago.
I rode the Sinfong trail, connected to Yongan and rode on the Yongan trail. What I haven’t blogged on before, are the military buildings along the Yongan trail.
Yes, those are gun ports alright.
I noticed that there is some kind of construction going on beside the Yongan trail. I don’t know what they’re doing but it’s not small:
I came to a pillbox.
This is the other side of that pillbox. I didn’t see a way to get inside and with cycling shoes on, I wasn’t about to try looking very hard.
This was the next building I came to – another tower of some sort.
The back was open so I went inside.
There was an old rotted-out spiral staircase.
Next, was this pillbox. You can see the previous tower and the trike in the distance.
On the way home, I passed this house:
The house has a cool lookout tower. This would be my radio room if I owned this house!
Ride Stats:
- Distance: 43.22 KM
- Maximum Speed: 37.1 KPH
- Average Speed: 15.7
- Total Time (including stops): 3:47
We hope you enjoyed looking at these reminders of Taiwan’s military past. Thanks for reading! Be sure and leave us your comments and a rating below!
MJ The Artifice looks awsome in that picture. It looks really comfortable but also sleek.
Those concrete bunkers look like they would have held some heavy guns to protect that area. Is it right on the coast?
Thanks for sharing MJ. Wish we had cycle trails like that here.
Bruntys last blog post..World No Tobacco Day, Isaan Thailand.
Brunty, i’ve ridden in Thailand as I have a MTB there, but i’ve yet to see a bike trail anywhere. are there bike trails in Thailand? there must be.
those bunkers and towers are on the road just adjacent to the coast. at the time they were built, they had an unobstructed view of the water. clearly they had some civil defense role.
thanks Brunty.
Nice ride and good report. I love the old military leftovers in TW – they make for some interesting sights and photos. If things keep moving the way they are politically, there might be a lot more decommissioned sites in the near future.
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thanks Craig. i’ve seen those buildings dozens of times, so i figured it was time to photograph them and show them to our readers. i often think of what Taiwan was like back when those places were in service.
Oh my doesn’t that look comfy and everything! I can’t even say in my comment what the first thing I thought of was when I saw the pic of that trike, but anyway..me and my mind……I enjoyed your pics as always!
hi Danielle. well i can’t imagine what your first thought might have been! the trike is pretty comfortable. i could never ride my diamond frame bike as far as i ride this one. thanks for your comments Danielle. don’t be shy!
M.J., that trike looks like a fun ride and , like you ,I think the dogs here in Whang Pho would be more than I could handle. I really loved the pictures and the great ones of all the leftover war stuff , I took a trip to Unalaska and Dutch Harbor, one of the Islands in south Alaska and the towns and beaches are dotted with the same kind of war stuff , left from when the Japanesse invaded the USA thru Alaska, there were still some old planes that had been shoot down from both sides, they left some of the gunner implaments and canons in some of them , just fixed them so they could’nt be fired , it was fun to sit in the pill boxes and pretend. Thanks again for the photos and tour , as they say “Keep on Keeping on.” . Give your Lady a hello from me and Ciejay. malcolm
malcolms last blog post..FOOD ,FRIENDS,+A LITTLE WINE ,+KARAOKE = A PARTY
hi Malcom. the trike is a lot of fun and i’m trying to build up my endurance on it with longer and longer distances traveled.
my wife and i are fans of the Discovery show called “The Deadliest Catch” and we hear about Dutch Harbor on that show frequently. i think it’s very cool that you were there and saw those relics from the war! i guess i didn’t really realize that the Japanese had invaded the US via Alaska, but there you go – i learned my New Thing for Today!
thanks for your excellent comments, Malcolm. take care and enjoy your life in Thailand!
Great site , Very interesting. I live in Florida and we have many trails here .
The withlacoochee is 46 miles ,paved and goes through national forest,lakes ,etc.
We are doning a project on Catrikes with Electric Assist at this time.
Always nice to see pictures from other countries.
thanks for reading and your comments Pete. i grew up in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. there are some great places to ride and that 46 mile paved trail you mention sounds like a really wonderful ride! good luck with your electric assist project Pete.