I have this concept that I only ever drive as fast as I can see - the further down the road I can see, the faster I can drive. So when the only thing you can see are the 5metres of road that your headlights illuminate, you don't go very quickly at all. Probably a good idea with all the landslides that had occured all along Route 7, there were a lot.
And the rain came down even heavier.
The click came at the point where I came up behind this convoy of 4x4's, they weren't exactly moving like snails, but slow enough for me to start noticing just how heavy the raindrops were. Using their headlights to see ahead, I overtook each of them, gaining confidence with each pass. When I reached the first car I slowed down again, since I couldn't see. Then in the distance I saw some brake lights. By following the directions of the lights in the distance I was able to tell the layout of the road ahead.
I never get tired of listening to third and fourth gears on The Grandpa now.
By the time I got to Yilan, everything was soaked. It was 9pm. I was 89km from Taipei. Traffic was nuts from CNY. The rain was heavier than ever, you could swim in the streets.
The queue to get onto Route 9 into Taipei was crazy, but then again, I was on a bike. Spotting a Scooby up ahead with some nice, bright xenons I pulled up behind to get in on his illuminating action. And then the bastard started speeding up.
It was here that I found the road that my mechanic friend had tuned The Grandpa for. Not wanting to lose my newfound deluxe torch - I kept up pace with the Scooby, and found that I could keep up pace with a Scooby, on a mountain road, in a downpour, at night. Well kinda, his xenons were pretty damn bright.
That last 80km was the most intense rush I've had in a long time. Maybe even better than bungee jumping in Macau, definitely much longer lasting.
I was back in Taipei by 10:30pm. My trip meter read 957km. I'd been riding for 15hours.
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