The Youbike phenomenon is surging with such pace that a new station seems to open up every week. There are now stations ringed around our place and new ones have just opened up at our closest MRT stops of Mingde and Zhishan. A quick check of the online, real time availability and we made a beeline for Zhishan as the others around were quickly being depleted.
It was no wonder: our Sunday was just one of those perfect days that not only entice you into them, but continue to pamper you when you're surrounded by all they have to offer. The sun was bright and intense, but not searing, there were a few striated clouds etched across the sky for interest and a breeze that promised relief for our return journey as it fanned our faces and buffeted our bodies on the way downriver.
We were joined by similar sunseeking citizens on the riverside bike paths all the way along. There was an eclectic mix of vehicles with family groups on matching sets of bikes, all branded alike and like Russian dolls lined up, each person a slightly more miniature version of the one before. There were carbon fibre, lighter-than-air numbers purring past at great velocity, the riders encased in riotous spandex and space age sunglasses. Daytrippers like us were clunking along on Youbikes or other rentals from the riverside banks of cycles. Riders were wiggling wildly on their first time experiences, some were escaping the heat under highway overpasses with a drink, and others lounged on the grass verge watching the baseball and rugby games that entertained along the way.
We had a wonderful time on the ride and finally decided to turn around and head back when faced with a great long uninspiring wall of concrete on the northern bank of the Keelung River at Neihu. We spotted all sorts of items of interest along the way, including a dedicated legal graffiti wall, and an apartment building that Cassy was quite taken with, with its wide floor to ceiling windows and river views. There was even a new river dam with an associated "fish ladder" (an ingenious device we'd never seen before which allows fish to negotiate different levels in a river that has been artificially altered by humans), and all manner of people at a dizzying array of activities! On the way back, a well meaning new "friend" decided to befriend us for a spell and although we thought we'd shaken him, he caught us again a little further down the track. People here just have such beautiful natures: he was trying out his English and seemed genuinely concerned about whether we could negotiate Taipei to look for restaurants etc. We assured him we were fine and he pedalled off quite happily then to meet up with his cycling buddy!
So a great day on Sunday was icing on the weekend's cake as we had also had a very enjoyable Saturday, again savouring the delightful fare at Din Tai Fung. I had the special chili version of the shrimp and pork wontons and I probably won't have them again: they were delicious, but crazy hot! I think I'll stick with the chicken xiao long bao from now on. We also got two plates of the cabbage since a waitress unfortunately mentioned that the original has been cooked in a pork broth, Cassy now has to get the vegetarian version. Who would have thought they'd be a non-vegetarian version of boiled cabbage?!
We've got another week of work before our spring break, which we're really looking forward to (the break that is, not the work!). We were supposed to be going to Bangkok for an annual conference on Wednesday night, but we decided to pull out due to the ongoing political tension and violent protests over there. It will probably be fine, but we think we'll wait till things simmer down a little more.
Photos: Din Tai Fung dishes, bike path shots and a cute doorway in the backstreets near home.