For breakfast today, I went to a popular restaurant, "早点大王 zǎo diǎn dà wáng," a 10 minute walk from the hotel, for a Chinese-style breakfast recommended by Sam.
The restaurant, which specializes in breakfast and is only open from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., already had a line out the door at 7:00 a.m. when we arrived.
The popular "baozi steamed buns" and "Youtiao sandwich", a staple of Chinese-style breakfast, come in small bags, and you can choose what you like.
All are reasonably priced at 30 yuan (about 150 yen).

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The waiter in the store is cooking the aforementioned "Youtiao".
It is made by sandwiching Youtiao(=airy fried bread sticks), or "youtiao," in a steamed bun.
The combination of the glutinous skin and crispy youtiao is a new texture for me. It is light and has a slight aroma of sesame oil.

At the eat-in space in the back of the restaurant, we had a bun and a drink while discussing today's route.

After breakfast, we stopped by the "Railway Art Village Station" in front of the hotel at the suggestion of Tsucchi, a train enthusiast. The station, once the center of eastern Taiwan, was abandoned in 2001, and now the train and part of the tracks are preserved. The plaza where the tracks remain is also used as an event venue, and is the finish line of the "Challenge Taiwan" triathlon in which Sam participated.

About 6km after starting from the hotel, the Central Mountain Range, one of the five major mountain ranges that rise from north to south on the main island of Taiwan, appeared before our eyes.
Avoiding the strong northerly winds along the flat coastline, we ride between the Coastal Mountains and the mountains of the Central Range, where the winds are less vigorous.
We were told by Sam that there is a highly recommended landscape ahead so our expectations were high.

About 30km after the start, we arrived at a town called Luye.
It seems that many Japanese immigrated to this town during the Japanese occupation itself, and the Japanese-readable signs and place names were impressive remnants.
We rested for a while in this town to recover from the previous day's fatigue.

Both Tsucchi and I became fans of tapioca drinks through our trip to Taiwan. The usual combo of black tea, milk, and tapioca is found at most restaurants, but the tapioca drink at "叮哥茶飲 DING GO" is different, as it contains nata de coco and passion fruit. This is the perfect solution when you want something sweet but refreshing. You can enjoy both the sourness of the passion fruit and the sweetness of the tapioca.

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We had lunch at 池上好店 chí shàng hǎo diàn in the downtown Chishang area.
I ordered a Taiwanese-style pork cutlet called "叉焼肉　chā shāo ròu". The hard batter has a texture similar to that of fried chicken. Next to the side dishes was pure white rice from Ikegami, which is grown in this area.
Whether it is the difference in the way the rice is cooked or the nature of the rice, it is a little firmer in texture than in Japan, but it is shiny and certainly tastier than rice served at any other restaurant in Taiwan.
Moreover, refills are free, I usually prefer bread but the rice was so good I had two extra bowls.

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We had lunch at 池上好店 chí shàng hǎo diàn in the downtown Chishang area.
I ordered a Taiwanese-style pork cutlet called "叉焼肉　chā shāo ròu". The hard batter has a texture similar to that of fried chicken. Next to the side dishes was pure white rice from Ikegami, which is grown in this area. Whether it is the difference in the way the rice is cooked or the nature of the rice, it is a little firmer in texture than in Japan, but it is shiny and certainly tastier than rice served at any other restaurant in Taiwan. Moreover, refills are free, I usually prefer bread but the rice was so good I had two extra bowls.

After lunch, the road to Hualien County is a stamina-preserving downhill route, as it is a mountain road and is not affected nearly as much by the north wind. County Road 75, which runs parallel to National Highway 9, is the route Sam recommends.
With very few cars and a gentle downhill slope of 1 to 2%, it has all the pleasant conditions that cyclists probably prefer the most.
It reminded me of the road along the Shimanto River, which was the highlight of my "1,000km round trip of Shikoku" in 2021, and the rice paddy road that I rode through Minami-Boso, Chiba, toward Kamogawa City in an original Discover Ride event.
No wonder Sam, who probably travels nearly 10,000km (or more?) a year on his bicycle, liked this road.

After driving about 20km on County Road 75, we arrived at Yuli Township, a town located in the southern part of Hualien County.
At the request of train-loving Tsucchi, we stop at the railway-side cafe "誠家緑葉 chéng jiā lǜ yè ".
Just as we parked our bikes, a train decorated with Mickey Mouse designs passed by in front of us.

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You can order your favorite coffee from a wide selection of beans, as well as lattes and lemon squash.
The three of us enjoyed the owner's homemade cinnamon rolls, lemon cheesecake, and azuki & green tea mille crepe while comparing tastes.
My recommendation is the sweet and sour lemon cheesecake.

5km before today's goal, we stopped at the Tropic of Cancer Memorial Park for our last rest stop of the day.
The Tropic of Cancer is a line located at 23.5 degrees north latitude and is directly below the sun on the summer solstice.
If you stand on the Tropic of Cancer around noon on the day of the summer solstice, when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer, you will experience a phenomenon called the Lahaina Noon phenomenon, in which the shadow disappears.
In Taiwan, this boundary divides the climatic division of subtropical in the north and tropical in the south.

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After our last stop, we arrived at today's goal, Ruisui, one of the three major hot spring destinations in Taiwan. The lantern lights decorating the main street are tasteful.

We arrived safely at today's inn. What a luxurious inn, a room with an open-air bath in addition to the shower. I quickly filled the bathtub with hot water and prepared to take a bath.
I have traveled many times before, but this is the first time for Discover Ride to have a room with an open-air bath, and I can't help but get excited.
The hot springs here are characterized by their yellow, iron-rich water, and are also known as "golden hot springs."

After a refreshing soak in the hot spring, it was time for a toast before dinner. We moved to a nearby hot pot restaurant for dinner, but we learned that many restaurants in Taiwan do not carry alcohol, so we opened a bottle of Taiwan beer in our room before we left. Seven days into our trip, we are finally getting used to Taiwanese culture.

We walked about 10 minutes from the inn to the hot pot restaurant. First, choose a flavor from several different soups, then choose the type of meat (chicken, pork, beef, etc.). Ruisui is in the mountains, so the temperature drops as the sun goes down. The warmth of the hot pot is appreciated.

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Returning to the inn, I once again have a Taiwanese beer in my hand as I organize the video data I shot today and prepare for the next day's ride. There are only two days left on the trip.