Taroko Gorge!

Yesterday Cres, Max, Jer and I went to Taroko Gorge. It was an absolutely beautiful and amazing experience. We took a train to Hualien an rented scooters. I have never driven a scooter before. It was totally scary at first, but it was SO amazing once I got the hang of it. We drove for about an hour from Hualien to Taroko on this highway. I ran a bunch of red lights because Jer/Max were going so fast. I made the boys let me ride in the middle so that I wouldn't get left in the dust. Once we got to Taroko it was the most beautiful ride ever. We were on the coast, riding around swervy roads, it was SO beautiful. One of those things that you feel so fortunate to be able to do in life. Ugh I can't even describe how amazing it felt. We stopped a bunch along the way to look at he beautiful scenery and take pictures. I had a really hard time turning my bike sometimes, so that was a bit scary. There were a ton of tour busses rushing past us that made it a bit scarier.

After taking in the beautiful sights and sounds we headed back to Hualien. We got a little lost on our way and had to turn around a bunch while riding in the city. One time when I was turning around I almost fell off, it was a bit scary, but I was going slow and I picked my bike up fast enough that I didn't get hurt. I can't believe how many distractions there were driving in the city; dogs running across the street, some lady got hit by a car and was sprawled out in the middle of the road, weird left turn rules, I really got to ride in all sorts of places on my first day of scootering. I think I might have hit 80mph at some points. Very scary but very liberating. Usually I rode at 60, which is the speed limit in most places (not around the cliffs). After we made it back to Hualien, we stopped at 711 and I burned my leg on my bike. So many people I know have a scar from that, but luckily I only grazed the burning metal briefly so that I won't have a scar. Wow. What an amazing and exhilirating day! I really don't want to go home :(.