It's Friday evening and my companions and I meet at Hong Kong International Airport, with helmets, jackets and boarding passes at the ready. After months of planning we're about to embark on the motorcycle ride of a lifetime. Our inspiration is not Hollywood's latest spin on middle-aged angst, Wild Hogs, but a shared interest in fast bikes, narrow roads and foreign travel. And this time our route of choice is Taiwan's east coast. The region is home to one of Asia's most spectacular motorcycle journeys: 600km of winding roads lead riders from Pacific Ocean cliffs to marbled gorges and up some of the steepest mountains on the continent.
In Taipei, we check in at the famed Grand Hotel, with its acres of red carpet and vermilion pillars. It even has an underground air-raid tunnel that can accommodate up to 1,000 people. Thankfully we don't need it and sleep undisturbed before departing early on Saturday to collect our rental motorcycles.
Taipei is teeming with bike shops. Most cater to the hordes of scooter owners who buzz around the congested streets. Few offer rentals, but a Taipei-based friend helps us find Hong Bao Heavy Bikes. Judging by the bemused interest of the shop's assistant, renting to westerners is not a regular sideline. It has a selection of machines deemed suitable for our ride. I claim an FZ6 Yamaha 600cc. It is fast, reliable and, for a three-year-old rental bike, in surprisingly good shape. Using our rudimentary Putonghua, we exchange licence details and sizeable deposits in return for the green light to depart.
The aim is to ride southeast and meet the ocean before following the coast down to the resort town of Hualien. On the first day we need to exit a labyrinth of freeways, so we hire a guide to escort us to the city limits. Forty minutes later polluted streets give way to lush woodland and narrow roads. Our guide nominates a road-side food stall on Route 106 as our departure point. The only food on offer is a curious grilled pork sausage served with a raw garlic clove. It's a hit. After farewells, we head for the hills.
The snaking road is dry, the weather warm and traffic moderate - a biker's dream. I find a rhythm, lean left into a corner and power from first gear to second and third. Then I move quickly back down the gears and break into a tight right. There is barely enough time to feel guilty about the engine's scream before repeating the process.
At the summit, the dense foliage parts to reveal Lanyang Plain and the distant, deep-blue water of the Pacific. Turtle Island lies off the coast. After taking photographs we weave down the mountain in search of a seafood lunch. Following an hour's ride south on Highway 9 we enter the fishing port of Nanfang-ao. While kite surfers battle onshore winds, we head to a restaurant to escape the soaring heat and taste the local fare. The catch of the day - in fact every day - is blue mackerel. Fresh tuna, local prawns and crab round off a feast.
Taiwan's natural beauty - and danger - unfold after lunch. The 120km stretch of the Suhua Highway leads south to Hualien and follows the rocky shore. Built in the 1870s, the highway cuts into Taiwan's highest coastal cliffs and is not for the faint-hearted. Tourist buses rounding tight bends force riders to the road's edge. Rock slides threaten from above and scores of pitch-black tunnels hide potential hazards. It's stunning and, at times, frightening. An online search for 'most dangerous roads' is sure to list this highway. Yet another contender will be tackled tomorrow - Taroko Gorge.