このブログ記事は英語のみで提供されています。ご迷惑をおかけして申し訳ありません。

• Where: Kaohsiung (高雄) to Kenting (墾丁), Taitung (台東) to Hualien (花蓮)
• When: 18 Dec – 27 Dec 2012
• Who: Peter and Lois (our first cycling trip)
• Goal: To ride on the Southern part of Taiwan and the sea route of Taitung-Hualien. Two legs separated by a two-day rest in Kenting. As traffic in Taiwan moves along the right side of the road, we planned our route anti-clockwise in order to get closer to the sea, even though we would have to ride against the prevailing North East wind from Taitung to Hualien.
• Accommodation: We reserved hotels or homestays in the first and last stops of the two legs. In between those, while we were on the road, we would find places to stay by checking out Google Maps or try our luck with the small advertising flyers stuck to bare walls or lamp posts by homestay owners nearby.
• Mobile Data: Prepaid SIM card
• Navigation: Google Maps

• Kaohsiung city is the 3rd most populous city of Taiwan with around 2.77 million people. Its airport, which is the 2nd largest international airport in Taiwan, is connected to the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit, which will bring you to the city centre within 30 minutes at a fair price. It’s our first time in the city. We spent the first half-day roaming around the city. Most bicycle shops open after 11:00 am. We were not able to get our bicycles earlier and embark on the journey. So, we decided to spend the night in the city.

• Night markets are one of the highlights of traveling in Taiwan. While most restaurants are closing down at 9:00 pm, business of those tiny stalls selling various xiaochi (literally means bite-size snacks) in the night markets is peaking. The food is tasty while the price is cheap. The only problem is our stomach is not bottomless. Our strategy? Take a walk to check out all the stalls first. Make a list of all the items you want to try. Evaluate and eliminate, then start munching! My personal favorite: stewed pork legs.

• We brought a pair of walkie-talkies for communicating with each other when cycling. Are we going to turn right or turn left? Should we detour to check out that seemingly interesting site? Would you like to stop for some snacks or take a toilet break? All these can be discussed and decided without having to stop. We don’t need to hit the brake, wearing the braking pads thin, and let our momentum turn into wasted heat just to get a simple yes or no. We found two headsets with talk buttons that we can attached to the handlebar. That way we could keep our hands on the handlebar while we wanted to talk. Safety comes first.

• Sea views! We love sea views! However, even cycling on the roads closest to the sea doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you can see the sea. Usually, it was blocked by levees or buildings. We followed Google Maps and mainly rode the Provincial Highway No. 17 from Kaohsiung city to Fangliao Township. Most of the time when one sees the bikeway signs, like the one here in Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣), it’s worth the trouble to check it out. The sea view was most welcomed.

Guest Contribution from Alaric Lester

このブログ記事は英語のみで提供されています。ご迷惑をおかけして申し訳ありません。

“Fancy riding the east coast of Taiwan in November?” asked my mate Jon last August. Before then, Taiwan had meant little more to me than Giant cycles – the world’s biggest cycle manufacturer – and the infamous Taiwan KOM challenge, but my interest was piqued. 

A little research and my mind was made up. Encouraged by Giant, Taiwan has developed excellent cycling infrastructure in recent years. Cycle tourism is increasingly popular. The best routes are on the less developed eastern side of the island, where one can choose between flatter coastal routes and any number of dramatic mountain passes. Jon rides sporadically and I was recovering from a couple of months’ illness, so we sketched out a relatively unambitious clockwise route from the capital Taipei to its second city, Khaosiung. 

Arrival 

I landed mid-morning at Taoyuan International Airport and took the train to Taipei Central station and the metro to our BnB. All was civilised, calm and welcoming. The train was fast, clean and efficient. Most signs are in English as well as Chinese, which helps no end with navigation. Some metro stations play ambient music as trains approach, as if to say, “Your train is approaching. Queue calmly, relax and enjoy the ride.” 

The city was busy, but not hectic like some Asian metropolises. People keep to themselves, often separated from their wider surroundings by a face mask and a mobile phone screen. This is a highly connected country and the younger generation is permanently plugged in. The weather was a comfortable 26 degrees, a little humid, but by no means oppressive. I liked this place already. 

Jon arrived separately and we soon set about exploring the neighbourhood. We were staying in Datong district, one of the older parts of Taipei. Untidy, older low-rise buildings nestle next to taller modern ones. Temples are everywhere, some on imposing large plots, others in small gaps between shop fronts. Taiwanese are superstitious people and even non-believers feel compelled to make regular prayers and offerings. Our favourite temple was the magnificent Dalongdong Baoan Temple, where we marvelled at the architecture and paid homage to the gods.

The next morning, we headed to the nearest Giant store to hire bikes. The network of official Giant stores has a good-value cycle hire scheme, where you can even drop the bikes off at a different location. The shop assistant was friendly enough, but explained that they needed two weeks’ notice for bookings. The remaining stock bikes were too small, unsurprising in a country where the average male height is just 171 cm. A quick, panicked web search found the excellent Bike Express Taiwan, who arranged to deliver bikes and accessories to our door the next day. 

Day 1 – Taipei to Jiufen, 46 km 

Our bikes arrived just as promised. We loaded up the panniers, fuelled ourselves with street food and headed off into the city streets. A little intimidated at first by the chaotic traffic, we soon got to grips with the flow of things. There are shared cycle and scooter lanes on most major roads, with large advance-stop boxes at junctions. After around 3 km we reached the Keelung River cycle path, where we enjoyed traffic-free riding for the next 15 km – easier on the lungs, as well as the nerves. From Hengke onwards, though, we were back on busy roads as we weaved our way through the urban sprawl of the river basin. Only in the last 4km, as we climbed towards Jiufen, we were in anything remotely resembling countryside. 

Jiufen itself is a stunning mountain town, with narrow alleyways scattered on the hillside of the old town. It is rumoured to have influenced Studio Ghibli anime films such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. 

We stayed at Rita’s House homestay, just below the old town. Our hosts were most welcoming and helpful, a benefit that was to become a theme of our Taiwan tour. Rita advised us to go into town before 7pm, so we just had time for a quick shower before dragging ourselves up the many, many steps to the old town. The alleys were full of street food, trinket shops and lanterns, not to mention hundreds of Japanese and Korean tourists. We grabbed a bite to eat and I bought souvenirs for my children – and just in time, because, sure enough, everything but the 7-Eleven and Family Mart closed dead on 7pm and busloads of tourists were spirited off into the night. 

Continue to read Alaric’s article on Strava

このブログ記事の翻訳を進行中です。もうすぐ完成しますので、後ほど再度ご確認ください。ご不便をおかけして申し訳ありません。現在は、こちらで提供されているGPXルートや地図などの情報を自由にご利用ください。

• Where: Luodong, Taroko, Wuling, Qingjing, Puli Township
• When: 30 June – 3 July 2017
• Who: Peter and fellow cyclists who joined the group tour organized by Bike Explorer Club 山海戀單車俱樂部

• This fir (巒大杉 Cunninghamia lanceolata var. konishii) can be found at around 127.6 km of Provincial Highway No. 8. It is more than 3000 years old and around 50 metres tall.

• It must have been hard to build these roads, especially the numerous small tunnels, yet the designers did not make compromises on aesthetics. The entrances are decorated with beautiful patterns.

• The Acacia Hill Station (合歡山管理站 elevation 3002 metres above sea level ) was the last stop before the team reached Wuling. We were at the same level of the clouds. The air was cool and had a unique taste of freshness. It’s a busy spot where campers, hikers and cyclists gather. Our coaches had to give us a push to help us balance upon starting – it’s easy to lose balance when the roads are so steep, and if you do, you will likely force your muscles a bit too much, which may trigger spasm.

• Made it to Wuling (elevation 3275 metres above sea level), finally! It’s a great achievement! We were so lucky that the weather was so fine. The downhill ride was more dangerous and tricky. For some cyclists, it is good enough to do the climb on bike and go home by car. But for some, it is not even enough to do the whole trip once. There is the so-called “Wuling Double” (雙進武嶺) challenge, in which people head up to Wuling from Tianxiang (66km, ascending 2825 metre) and then down to Puli (55 km, descending 2826 metres) on the first day, and return to Tianxiang via the same route on the second day! To me, bicycle is a means to explore the world. I always plan my routes to minimise changes of elevation in order to make the ride easier. The thought of maximising its difficulty had surely not crossed my mind before.

• We descended to a nice Japanese style resort in Qingjing (清境, elevation 1607 metres). Everyone was so thrilled about what they had achieved. We had a sharing on the roof about our own story with cycling. The team included some local Taiwanese, a Singaporean, and some marathon runners and one cyclist from Hong Kong. I was so surprised to learn that most of my team mates had only been cycling for around 5 years. A couple retired locals told us that cycling had healed their ageing bodies. It made them young. No doubt it is! They did much better than me in the trip. I seized the last chance to ride on the final day after making sure my hip joint was fine. Yeah, it’s much more fun to cycle than just sitting in a van.

Conclusion:

Lois and I love travelling on bicycles, but we had never joined a cycling tour before. We used to just roam along the routes at our own pace, and we would change our plan anytime. Must say we are both free spirits. What we need is someone to provide us the bicycles and take them back at the end of our trip, at the time and place that is most convenient for us. And this is the key service we provide at Bike Express Taiwan.

Freedom comes at a price, of course. Without an organiser, we need to do all the planning and booking ourselves, probably paying more. Without a support car, we need to carry all our luggages by ourselves and have to plan more conservatively to avoid exhausting or even injuring ourselves. So, if all you want is cycling and sightseeing, you’d better join a cycling tour and let someone else worry about the rest.

このブログ記事の翻訳を進行中です。もうすぐ完成しますので、後ほど再度ご確認ください。ご不便をおかけして申し訳ありません。現在は、こちらで提供されているGPXルートや地図などの情報を自由にご利用ください。

• Where: Luodong, Taroko, Wuling, Qingjing, Puli Township. The route of KOM challenge in Taiwan. 
• When: 30 June – 3 July 2017
• Who: Peter and fellow cyclists who joined the group tour organized by Bike Explorer Club (山海戀單車俱樂部)
• Goal: To get to Wuling Pass (elevation 3275 metres above sea level, Taiwan’s highest road) from Xincheng Taroko Station (elevation 36 metres) on bicycles in 3 days. This 106km route is usually done in several hours by participants during the KOM challenge.

• No luggage on the bicycle for this 4-day trip. All were taken care of by the support vehicles. They were also loaded with beverages and energy food to be served at every rest stops.

• The first half-day we cycled on the flat scenic country roads to warm up before embarking on the challenging climb. The Dongshan Township has quite a number of tourist attractions to offer. We cycled along the Dongshan River Bikeway to the Dongshan Train Station, which has a cover like a melon trellis. Then The Sanqi Village offered a vast view of paddy rice fields. They even built a viewing platform for visitors. 

• We were supposed to approach Wuling Pass from the north (北進武嶺). At least this was what I had signed up for. It’s the least steep one, I supposed. Unfortunately, right before our trip started, part of that route were ruined by typhoon, and we had to take the east route instead. We took the train from Su’aoxin Station (蘇澳新站) to Xincheng Taroko Station (新城太魯閣車站). It is a 80km trip covered by train without any climbing. Looked like it’s going to be very steep ahead. Some cyclists I met said that approaching Wuling Pass from the west has endless ramps to climb, while doing it from the east is like climb walls.

• We spent the afternoon climbing on the Provincial Highway No. 8 from Xincheng Taroko Station to Tianxiang (天祥, elevation 476 metres ), a 22km ride with a total climbing of 1,370 metres. It’s a road/semi-tunnel carved out of the rocks of the Taroko gorge. Very impressive! Therefore the saying goes, “If you have not been to Taroko, you have not been to Taiwan”. I hired a car and drove on this road years ago. It was a different experience. I did not know that I can climb the road with a bicycle there.

• Endless climbs for the next day. The moment I stopped pedalling, my bicycle started retreating. It was hard to tell by sight how steep the road actually is as it goes zig-zag all the way up. But you could use a cup of water to show the tilt. Though I managed to ride using the lowest gear, I was moving no quicker than on foot. My plan was to stay on the bicycle as long as possible (because it’s a cycling tour after all), but unfortunately I was told to hop on the support van or I wouldn’t have time for lunch. So, that was me looking completely exhausted in the van. While I was trying to help myself to food with shaking hands at Sinbaiyang (新白揚, elevation 1644 metres above sea level), the other guys were already done with lunch and taking a nap. And that’s it for me. After cooling down, I found myself unable to walk properly because of an aching hip joint. To avoid leaving permanent damage, I decided there would be no more cycling for the afternoon and the next day. I would get to Wuling sitting comfortably on the van. Anyway, I had already climbed around 3400 meters. My personal best.