Bike Challenge to Wufen Mountain to Admire the Miscanthus Flowers – How Is It Not Quite Like a Trip to Wufenpu?

▲Riding with like-minded cycling buddies not only ensures safety and fun, but the sheer group momentum also adds about +3 km/h to your speed. (Photo provided by the Timid Cycling Team)

Text by Nine-Five Evil Wife

Nine-Five Evil Wife, male, born in the 1980s (7th-grade student in Taiwan’s educational system), is not a seasoned cyclist — in fact, he’s only been riding a bike for a few months. He belongs to the “Nanako Matsushima” category of cyclists. Although he rides a road bike, he often gets overtaken by public YouBikes or uncles carrying vegetables in baskets. But Nine-Five Evil Wife adheres tothe national philosophy of“look stylish first, then go fast,”and pursues the life goal of“not aiming for the podium, just for appearing on TV.” He treats others’ piercing glances as dirt, and pedals forward inefficiently, one step at a time.

By the way, there’s no real cycling instruction or experience sharing here — mostly just hollow articles about eating and drinking around. Occasionally, there might be some complaints about the agony of cycling, but that’s about it.

▲When passing through residential areas, keeping your voice down is a virtue every cyclist should have. (Photo provided by the Timid Cycling Team)

As a seasoned keyboard warrior cyclist, Nine-Five Evil Wife knows certain route names that must be dropped — otherwise, when you mention them, people won’t think, “Wow, even this rookie knows his stuff!”
Some of the most effective terms include “One King and Four Queens” (which has nothing to do with adult content), “Wuling,” “Zhongshe,” “Wufen Mountain,” “Fengguei Mouth,” “Sword-in-Sword,” and “Yangjin 3P” (still nothing to do with adult content)... Just knowing these terms usually earns you a ticket to the “outer field” of cycling banter, so you’re not completely left out of conversations.
It’s kind of like how hipsters at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park occasionally need to drop names like “Chen Qizhen,” “1976,” or “small happiness”; if you can throw in “Murakami Haruki” or “The Catcher in the Rye,” the effect is even better.
But the biggest difference is probably that when cyclists get together, they usually chat about routes, races, and endless peer pressure to buy gear; hipsters, on the other hand, rarely gather. And even when they do, they’re usually huddled in a café with some salted peanuts, each buried in their own MacBook, telling the world online how lonely they are. (And you definitely shouldn’t care about how many likes your posts get — that’s too shallow.)

As for the similarity between cyclists and hipsters? Hmm… maybe it’s that both wear really tight clothes?

▲Overcoming physical and mental pressure to push toward the light is one of the big challenges of cycling. (Photo provided by the Timid Cycling Team)

After all this circling around, if it were a team leader, they’d probably have been torn apart by now — but really, it’s just to introduce the main topic: a friend dragged Nine-Five Evil Wife along to cycle up Wufen Mountain.

Wufen Mountain, eh? A place you’ve often heard of but have only ever “ridden” with your mouse. According to New Taipei City Government data, Wufen Mountain is located at the border ridge between Pingxi District, Ruifang District, and Ruifang’s Nuannuan District in Keelung, with an elevation of 756.7 meters, making it the second highest mid-level mountain in Pingxi.

To be honest, Nine-Five Evil Wife really doesn’t have much experience cycling up mountains. First, because it’s exhausting. Second, because it’s exhausting. And finally, also because it’s exhausting. But his friend wouldn’t stop insisting, “The miscanthus flowers on Wufen Mountain are in full bloom right now — you’d be crazy not to go!”

He’s not particularly interested in TV dramas like “Storm Family” or “Father and Son,” so he can’t express his inner struggle through nasal expressions like the male leads. So he won’t elaborate — anyway, a few days later, when he came to his senses, he was already standing neatly dressed at the meeting point early in the morning. (Dressed neatly means wearing the same skin-tight cycling gear as the hipsters.)

▲The 7-Eleven and FamilyMart near Shiding’s foothills are common meeting and resupply spots for many cycling and motorcycle groups before heading up the mountain. (Photo provided by the Timid Cycling Team)

The team Nine-Five Evil Wife joined is the Timid Cycling Team — the name alone tells you it suits his personality perfectly.
As for the route this time, it started from Kunyang MRT Station, passed through Nan Shen Road, then met up with the larger group at the 7-Eleven in Shiding before heading up the mountain. The route went through Jing Tong, Pingxi, and Shifen, and finally climbed up to the Wufen Mountain Radar Station. According to online data, the one-way distance is about 45.6 kilometers, with a total elevation gain of 1,048 meters. Excluding the undulating sections, the average slope from the entrance of the Wufen Mountain Radar Station to the summit is about 6.4%, making it the most “fun” long climb of the trip.

▲When cycling uphill, always pay attention to your physical condition — it’s better to get off and walk than to push yourself too hard. (Photo provided by the Timid Cycling Team)

Starting from Nan Shen Road, Nine-Five Evil Wife, who usually only trains verbally, quickly noticed a significant difference in fitness compared to his teammates. But as the saying goes, “To climb high, start low; to go far, start near.” To climb high and ride far, you have to start with the basics — so he adjusted his breathing and pace, and moved forward slowly.

▲If you’re tired from cycling, you can take a break in Jing Tong, Pingxi, or on Shifen Old Street. (Photo provided by the Timid Cycling Team)

This route passes through popular tourist spots like Jing Tong, Pingxi, and Shifen. If time allows, you can take a short break, try some street snacks, or fly a sky lantern with friends — but don’t overindulge in food and drink, or it’ll affect your climbing strength (and your weight). Remember, remember!!

▲If you’re not chasing performance, take it slow and enjoy the fun of cycling, eating, and playing along the way. (Photo provided by the Timid Cycling Team)

After leaving the popular tourist spots, to be honest, what happens next on the climb is more or less the same — just cycling, while muttering curses: “Damn it!! Why did I come here to suffer instead of sleeping at home on a Sunday??” Then you get effortlessly zoomed past by cheerful cycling buddies, and you keep cycling, eat a chocolate bar, and keep cursing.

▲ With the unique perspective and speed of a bicycle, you'll experience Taiwan's mountains in a whole new way. (Photo courtesy of the Timid Cycling Team)

Before you know it, you've made your way up the mountain.

Many people say that Taiwan’s mountains are beautiful, but most folks have no idea just how stunning they truly are. Sitting inside a car, with thick glass, a low roof, and high speeds, you can’t really appreciate the beauty of nature. And if you’re riding a scooter with a girl behind you, you’re probably too focused on the gentle swaying from those two soft hills behind you to notice the lush greenery all around.

▲ A quick glance to the side while cycling might reveal a train weaving through the forested mountains. (Photo courtesy of the Timid Cycling Team)

Cycling might leave you drenched in sweat, but it allows you to fully take in the mist and clouds, and your eyes can feast on the layered, crisscrossing mountain ranges — truly lovely. As for your ears? They’re treated to an endless stream of heavenly sounds like “Damn, this hill just won’t end!” or “My legs are about to fall off!”

▲ Once you pass through the entrance of the Wufen Mountain Radar Station, there’s nearly a continuous 10-kilometer gentle uphill climb. (Photo courtesy of the Timid Cycling Team)

Finally, the Fearless Wife No. 95 and her teammates made it up to the Wufen Mountain Radar Station. Before them stretched valleys and hillsides covered in silvergrass, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight. A gentle breeze swept through, causing the golden waves to sway like Akiho Fujimoto, leaving everyone in awe of nature’s beauty...

▲ The magnificent sight of silvergrass blanketing the mountains and valleys in radiant glory during autumn and winter. (Photo courtesy of the Northeast Coast & Yilan Coast National Scenic Area Administration)

But it was all just an illusion, aaaaargh!!! After struggling to bike up the mountain, it started pouring rain, aaaaargh!!! Didn’t the Central Weather Bureau say there was only a 30% chance of precipitation? Who brought the bad luck to the team?!

At first, it was just tiny droplets floating in the air, but soon they turned into heavy rain, and eventually mini waterfalls formed on the road. It felt like if we stayed another half hour, the yellow rubber duck could’ve just swum right up to us, aaaaargh!!!

▲ The summit of Wufen Mountain was shrouded in rain and fog, making even group photos look like ghostly snapshots... (Photo courtesy of the Timid Cycling Team)

After quickly taking a photo with the radar station, the whole group immediatelywent boating along the waterfalland biked back down the mountain, taking shelter in bus stops when necessary. After all, Uncle Sun Yue once more or less probably said: safety is the only way home.

While the Fearless Wife No. 95 and her teammates were taking cover in a bus stop, wringing out their “waterproof but completely soaked” windbreakers, a motorcyclist pulled up beside them — a young man carrying his mother on the back of his bike.

“Aren’t you wearing a raincoat?” “Here, take this one. I keep a spare in my trunk!” He handed a brand-new lightweight raincoat to the Fearless Wife No. 95, coolly refused the change she offered, and then rode off just as stylishly.

▲ Mom always said, always bring a raincoat when you ride a bike. (Photo courtesy of the Timid Cycling Team)

The best part about cycling is being able to explore places you thought you knew well at a pace that’s neither too fast nor too slow — and encountering angels you never expected along the way.
Although they couldn’t see the shining silvergrass due to the heavy rain, it was also because of the rain that they witnessed the brightness of humanity.
Though they would’ve loved to thank him in person, they still want to say: thank you,owner of the scooter with license plate 300-DGL.

▲ The strangest thing about biking is that even though it can be such a drag, you’ll soon find yourself wanting to hit the road again. (Photo courtesy of the Timid Cycling Team)

Oh, and by the way, the real nightmare is the post-ride car wash and waxing...

▲ In this diverse society, many people find their true selves through cycling adventures (yeah right). (Photo courtesy of the Timid Cycling Team)