Giant Adventure Extended Tour de Taiwan day 1 of 9

Cycling tour around Taiwan
Tour de Taiwan
Earlier in March I took part in Giant Bicycle’s 9 day Tour de Taiwan www.giantcycli..., not to be confused with the UCI Pro Tour de Taiwan Race taking place at the same time. We were a group of 6 from the Bay Area that was part of 30 riders going counterclockwise along the coastal route and hitting the furthest East, South, West, and North points of the island. We had warm weather, smooth well-maintained roads, and no rain.
The 14 hour direct flight from sfo was $1k.
The 9 day, 630 miles, rental bike, guides, sag support, daily photos, snacks, 9 lunches and 7 dinners (banquet family style), jersey, water bottle, award certificate photo, medal, and hotels was $1.2k
This tour is only given in March and October.
The pace was much better than the tour I did in 2017, but may still be too slow for the general club members. Also way too many rest stops, which gave me time to edit my daily videos. The ride is in the subtropics and tropics, many got sunburned from the long days. The biggest challenge was uploading videos 8 days in a row and not to overeat from all the food presented to you. I took a lot of my worn out or damaged cycling clothes and discarded them after using. This gave me room in my carry on to bring back souvenirs. Mandarin Chinese was mainly spoken but the ride director would translate to English if asked.
I gained 5 pounds by the second day. I lost it all back after 3 days of riding when I got back home.
Masks are required on the flight and public transportation.
95% wear masks outside, but not required.
Tips for next time:
Sunscreen every two rest stops
Buy a seamless neck gator
Lip balm 4x day minimum
Edit during rest stops
Leg & arm coverings
Less over eating
More fiber
Tums

[@CatherineShawLLB]

Thanks for sharing. This was very helpful and you did a incredible job of capturing the ups and downs of this tour.

[@daryldamiendaphne]

Thanks for sharing

[@joefenech6839]

Just sitting down to binge watch your series, Stan.

[@tritruong8125]

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

[@thaifhai]

noice! thanks for sharing

[@vallee401]

hi It was recommended to use 21" luggage, looking at the video, most luggage used were bigger? could you tell me whats the length of your without wheels? also why seamless neck gator?

[@chidonchea]

The airline you use will give you the size allowed for their carry on. A seamless gater would be good for sun protection in the tropics