We had breakfast at the Under Star Lab restaurant in the hotel where we stayed.
The breakfast menu was a colorful one-plate morning meal. We spent some time in an elegant setting looking out of the restaurant window at the ocean.

Today's target is Taitung City. The 135km ride will be the most hilly of the trip.
In addition, from this point on, the road heads north on the east side of Taiwan, so it will be exposed to headwinds. It will be a tough day for Kenta, whose bike weighs about 30kg. The first half of today's leg is a mountain route and the second half is a coastal route. Parts of the eastern side of Taiwan do not have roads that run along the sea, so we will need to go inland."

Shortly after going inland, we came across a cow bathing happily in the river.
There were no people around, and we didn't know if they were livestock or strays, or why there were herds of cattle here, but we were surprised at the wild atmosphere. This was certainly a far cry from the western side of Taiwan and the busy city we had been riding through yesterday.

The first hill climb of the day. The elevation gained was about 150 meters, making it less challenging.
However, My bike, which weighs about 30kg, made a creaking noise from the joints of the carbon frame every time I pedaled.
We climbed at a slower pace while taking care of the frame.

Soon after the first hill climb, the most difficult part, a hill climb with an elevation gain of 450 meters and a distance of 18km, begins.
During this second climb, we began to see illustrations of aboriginal people on the side of the road.
According to Sam, there are several Aboriginal ethnic groups (16 throughout Taiwan) living in the eastern part of Taiwan, and the area where we were riding was inhabited by people called "Paiwan".
As you can see from the picture, their clothes are completely different from those of today's urban Taiwanese people. It shows that these First Peoples have their own unique culture.

We stopped at an ethnic restaurant on County Road 199 during our hill climb. This area is all mountain scenery, with no towns, restaurants, or cafes, and limited places to eat. It was cozy with open-air seating and few people.

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Sam ordered about five different kinds of food, including fried rice.
It was interesting that many of the dishes were made with vegetables, and the simple flavors gave the impression of rustic home cooking, which is totally different from the spice-rich dishes
I've had in the past.

After lunch, we continued up Prefectural Road 199 for 3km until we reached the intersection with National Road 9. This is the goal of the second and biggest hill climb of the day. The cycling terminal "Shouka Cyclist Rest Stop" is located on the border of Pingtung and Taitung counties, and used to be a checkpoint for mountain entry ("Ju Pass" was the name given by the Japanese during the war, and it is still called by that name). After the checkpoints were abolished, the area became a stopover point for riders and bikers on Route 9 for leisure purposes, and was renovated as a cycling terminal.
It has become a "mecca" for riders, especially those who aim to circumnavigate Taiwan.
Although there are no special tourist facilities other than a photo spot, it is a welcome rest stop with toilets and water fountains.

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After the rest stop at Shouka Cyclist Rest Stop, there is a 3-5% downhill slope to the coastline for about 10km. It is a 450m difference in elevation, and you will descend the whole way.

For a drink break after the 10km descent, we stopped at Family Mart, a well-known store in Japan. Family Mart is the most common convenience store in Taiwan, and we stopped at two stores that day. FamilyMart in Taiwan offers a service that allows customers to select a store to have their packages delivered to and received at, and Sam received his saddlebags at a store near his hotel yesterday. This is a bit advanced, but it may be beneficial for riders who want to buy souvenirs on the course, for example, as they can ride light on the way if they select a store near the finish line in Taipei as their delivery address. Incidentally, the entrance jingle used to be the same electronic melody as in Japan, but recently it has been changed to a completely different piano sound jingle. If you enter a store unconsciously expecting the same melody as in Japan, you will be struck with an unusual but interesting experience.

After descending to the ocean, we continued north along the coastline. The tailwind (northerly wind) that had been pushing us on the west side of Taiwan turned into a headwind on the east side, making it difficult to pick up speed.

After about 10km of riding along the coastline, we arrived at a town called "Daxi. Since we had been riding silently into a headwind, we decided to take a cafe break for a change of pace and to refuel, but the cafe we had planned was temporarily closed. We hurriedly went to a restaurant next to "Longxi Station," which Tsucchi found.

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The sweets and cafe lattes ordered here are just delicious. The three of us unanimously agreed that the slightly warm brownie topped with vanilla ice cream was "delicious. I couldn't help but murmur to myself, "It's perfect."

We stayed longer than expected at the café and found ourselves in the dark. At 5:30 p.m., just after sunset, we had 30km to go, and we continued north on Route 9 toward today's goal in Taitung City.

It took about an hour of riding through the night. I felt strangely relieved when I see the neon lights of the city. Traffic volume increased in the streets of Taitung City, the goal of today's trip. We were relieved, but also braced ourselves as we headed to our hotel.

Arrived at today's lodging, "旅人駅站鉄花文創二館". Bicycles can be stored in the room, and there is a laundry in the hotel, so the facilities are perfect.

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Today we had dinner at a Japanese-style all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant right next to the hotel. We had a hearty dinner that included all-you-can-eat nabe (hot pot) to celebrate the toughest part of the trip's itinerary. As Sam had told us in advance, the sixth day was the toughest, with lots of climbing and long distances into a headwind. We had no time to spare, so we were also limited in the places we could stop. However, compared to the city-to-city rides on the west side that we had ridden so far, the east side was a challenging ride in the mountains, along the coastline, and in silence of nature, but the sense of accomplishment at the end of the day was very special.

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