A Horse Farm of Different Colors

On Tuesday, January 23, the weather was perfect for a long bike ride; sunny, cool, and not windy. I would go to my favorite spot on the abandoned grandstand at the Houli Horse Farm near Taichung in front of the disused racetrack. I was shocked when I saw what they had done since summer while I was gone.                                                                                                                                On the way to the farm, I rode along the Han River. I hadn't ridden the bike past my favorite benches between Tan-Zih and Feng-Yuan in quite a while, but by car on way to class at Shengang Middle School, I had noticed some construction off the Han River East Road where it narrows. I assumed they were making a new storm drain there. I was wrong; they are building another bridge over the Han River. It will reach over between the horse stable and Taoist Temple and a road from the bridge will join Feng-Xing Rd. Sec. 3 to the west. It will take stress off the Han River East Road one-lane cutoff  before the Feng-Xing makes its big turn across the Han River to Fengyuan. It would make it faster for me to drive to class in Shengang. For now, I'd take the shortcut going straight at the bridge turn onto Fengyuan Blvd. Sec. 3 through 5 and then right at Fengshi Rd Sec. 1-2, left on highway 4 a short way to the path.

The Houfeng Bike Path was more crowded                                                                                 than I thought. I figured there would be few pleasure seekers on a weekday and no school children  with two days of school left before the Lunar New Year holiday but some wise teachers had brought their whole class for an outing on those useless days after exams. I made my way through the congregations, across the old railroad bridge over The Dajia River and through tunnel #9. I heard machinery at work and smelled the dusty air as I reached the end of the bike path, turned right and had a surprise. The  racetrack that I used to sit at was not there anymore!    

The Houli Horse Farm was the governor's stables during Japanese occupation, then was commandeered by the interloping KMT when they retreated from China after the civil war. Finally, it was opened to the public to see the variety of horses bred there. The track was actually used for races back in the day but fell into disuse.  
All of this mishegas is for a grand plan called "Houli Horse Ranch & Forest Area" that is expected to be completed in 281 days, according to the website, in time for the "2018 Taichung World Flora Expo". That is a horse of a different color. 
 
       The Bikeway will be extended 1.2 km. on what they're calling "Flower Horse Path" between the Houli Train Station and the Horse Ranch. They say they won't mess with the historic buildings of the ranch; just add a lot of flowers to create a "garden city." All this progress will crowd out my pleasant bike ride.

To accommodate traffic, they are also constructing another overpass parallel to Highway #1 across the Dajia River to the new flower exhibition center; now I know where the center will be. Not only will it cover the racetrack but also spill into the horse farm area. The horse farm will be updated. But for now, the building of an exhibition center leaves me nowhere to sit without the din of drills. I rode back up the bike path and stopped at a boardwalk and wooden benches near the Taiwan railroad line.

There I sat in peace at the end of the path with a silicon valley factory out of sight over the hill, far from the school kids on their rented tandem motorized bicycles . My solitude was short-lived though as a pensioner couple on two bikes that first passed  doubled back to sit in the area near me. I didn't mind their company if they were discreet, but they chatted at normal volume like I wasn't there. I began singing “The Sounds of Silence” out-loud, softly, then louder, just as it’s meant to be sung. The couple first thought I was cute then ignored me in typical Taiwanese fashion and talked over my singing. And in the naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more, loud-talkers.
I finished the last verse, got on my bike, and rode home for lunch.