The East Rift Valley is sacred land for cyclists. Neat and safe bike routes providing the best cycling environment in Taiwan run along the East Rift Valley, the valley that lies between the coastal and central mountain ranges. Several well-known bicycle activities take place here, such as the Never Stop 200km and 300km rides as well as Ironman triathlons. Cyclists challenge their limits by riding through the East Rift Valley as fast as they can but also miss out on this paradise for a leisurely life.
There is no reason not to slow down. The scenery along Taiwan provincial roads 9 and 11 is beautiful, but it is also a good idea to sometimes stray from the main roads and venture out on smaller township roads. In the East Rift Valley we can find Amis, Bunun and Truku Aboriginal culture, remaining Japanese era styles, both Hakka and Minnan villages and Mainlander veterans villages, as well as amalgams of all these different groups.
During the Japanese era, the Bunun Aboriginals in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township were forced to move from the mountains down to the flatlands. Brick by brick and tile by tile, they dismantled the stone houses that previous generations had built and rebuilt them below the mountains because they had lost the techniques for manually cutting stone and tiles. And the Amis Aboriginals in Mataian in Guangfu Township turned their ancestors’ land into ecological wetlands and created a farm for eco-tourism.
It is only away from the main roads that you will see the daily life of local residents. People eating and drinking in front of their houses will wave friendly, and if you stop for a chat, they will invite you for something to drink and a taste of the local life.
Next time you take your bicycle to the East Rift Valley, try not to challenge yourself and take a leisurely ride along the smaller roads to enjoy the scenery like the contented local residents.
(STAFF WRITER, TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON)
花東縱谷是單車聖地，沿著海岸山脈和中央山脈之間，有平整安全的自行車道，這是台灣最佳的單車環境。花東有著名的單車活動：NEVER STOP 300k、200k，鐵人賽等。單車族挑戰極限在最短的時間呼嘯花東縱谷，卻也浪費了這個慢活天堂。花東縱谷快騎，錯過了花東最珍貴的人文資產。
何妨放慢速度，台9和台11號公路固然風景怡人，但是偶而偏離公路，走進鄉間小路也不錯。花東縱谷有阿美族、布農族、太魯閣族等部落文化，有日治時代統治遺留的風格，有客家人聚落、有閩南人的村子，有大陸外省人眷村，還有許多是「五族共和」的混居型態。
花蓮縣卓溪鄉古風村的布農族在日治時代被迫由山上遷到平地，他們將先祖親手建造的石板屋一磚一瓦拆下，一塊塊揹下山重新組合，因為手工切割石板瓦片的技術已經失傳了。在光復鄉馬太鞍的阿美族人則將祖先的土地開發成生態濕地，以休閒農業的型態創造適應環境的模式。
公路之外，才能看到居民生活的真實面。你可以看到三五原住民就在門口擺桌喝茶飲酒，友善地向你招手，如果你停下來與他們聊天，他們還會邀你喝一杯，品嚐一下本地的生活方式。
下次到花東騎車，試試看不以挑戰競速的心情踩踏，以悠慢的節奏走離公路，享受「悠然見山、怡然視人」的慢活單車行。（本報記者）
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