Hi Everyone:
FYI, for all riders - I did the 101 (Bailaka) ride this morning, and I came back to Tien Mou from Starbucks and down Cherry Hill. While road conditions in Tien Mou, Peitou and Tam Shui were all OK (apart from a blown-down construction fence in Tam Shui which was hanging out into the road), road conditions on the mountain were pretty variable and, at times, treacherous.
In particular, as you are climbing up from 101 you should be wary of a number of mudslides and rockslides on the way up. Some of the rocks are pretty big (no boulders, though), and there are fields of them in some places. The mud slide is particularly treacherous, as it consists of red clay mud, and occurs on a curve on which you would ordinarily be inclined to accelerate (and which does not allow motorists to see you coming wide around the turn). The downhill from the Ta Tuan Mountain parking lot also had a few slick areas from rain runoff and rocks of varying size that had come down from the mountain.
The road to Starbucks suffered its usual landslides during the typhoon and there is a downed street lamp near the bus area. Most of the debris had already been cleaned up when I got there this morning, but there is also a partially downed tree which is suspended over the road like a bridge. It looked fairly stable for now, but you may want to exercise some caution when approaching it.
I am sure that most of the slides and vegetation blow-downs will be cleared in the next couple of days. Those of you who plan to ride this weekend, though, may want to exercise some additional caution, particularly on your downhills.
Also - anyone who may have been thinking about a ride on the Kwantu-Tam Shui bike path should reconsider, as sections of the path generall remain flooded for up to a week after any typhoon.
Ride safe,
Bill Bryson
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