First time in Taiwan - cycle touring/routes

Recreation Cycling
21

Is the 197 all paved now?

Also, are you suggesting he take the 193 out of Hualien and not the 11. And miss the view from the Baci Pavilion?


Baci Pavilion by Mucha Man, on Flickr

taiwanvisitor, this is the scenery on the mountain road Feiren and I are talking about:


Dewa Terraces by Mucha Man, on Flickr

And here’s the west, in particular Linbian where you want to end your cycle:

Mind you when I typed in Linbian Taiwan in Google images I got some rather lovely results as the search thought I wanted Lesbians Taiwan. :laughing:

And here’s a set of my pics from a ride down the east coast a few years back (when I had perfect weather). Just so you have an idea why we all suggest this route over the west coast.
flickr.com/photos/53879542@N … 939849792/

22

Choices, choices…

Baqi to Shitiping is really spectacular. But 193 is so absolutely traffic free.

Maybe Nuit can tell him how to get from the 193 over Shuilian. Then back from Dagangkou to Ruisui. It’s all good once you are on the east coast.

No, the last section of 197 is not paved. If this is a concern (road bike), just ride on the 9 down to Luye and cut over there.

23

I rode a great new cross-road the other day (#11 to the #193), in better condition than that one you’re talking about Feiren - it brings you out on #11 almost at the top of Cow Mountain, only 2km or so from that Baci lookout. Which is great as it saves you the Cow Mountain climb, which you’d have to do if you came out at Shuilian.

BUT, where it exits onto the #193 is a community and a little network of lanes. I remember thinking that it might not be straightforward to explain the right road back to the #11. There’s a 5 way junction at one point :slight_smile:.

But all that aside, I’m not sure the OP has got time to do all this. Certainly not to Taidong in 1 day. Even just the straight run down the #9 is about 170km, and I’d recommend riding as little of the #9 as possible. Me thinks he should be aiming to lay up short of Taidong.

tv222, how light are you riding - using panniers, or just a small backpack? Fast road-bike?
#193 to Ruisui, then the Ruigang to the coast, and down to Chenggong is about 140km and a full day unless he’s riding fast. Another 50km from there to Taidong.
#11 to Changhong (Dagangkou), the Ruigang to Ruisui, and then the minor roads (#193 etc) down to Fuli is also 140km or so.

24

Feiren - can you retype the link for your route again?

Yeah - the east coast pics look great - it will definitely form the majority or all of the ride. But if route 199 is also good, it could be the end part of the journey and then I would be far closer to the fast trains to return to Taipei.

Wont have a bike bag. Will just take the bike directly on when possible, or take the wheels off and wrap in all in bubble wrap on other occasions.

Taroko Gorge does seem like a must-see though… but it always feels better to have a continuous route than to have to double back on the same route or catch trains half way through

25

Yeah - maybe two days between Hualien (or further North) and Taitung would be better, with time to head inland on occasion, would be better. I will be on a roadbike, with about 3 kg in a small bag on the back of it. Will be starting about 5 or 6am each morning, 150+ km on the flat on good quality roads or equivalent on the first day, then declining after that.

26

Ah, great if you’re a 6am-on-the-road man, so much more is possible. Then again, 6am is the just the perfect time to ride up Taroko - it’s a superb road (if the weather is good) and I promise you wouldn’t even think twice about the doubling back aspect. As Feiren says, you need to get the train from Taipei to Xincheng (not all of them stop there) and overnight just at the foot of the gorge. Then exit Taroko and spend Night 2 in Hualien (of course that’s a whole day used up).

If you do Taroko, you’ll need bike lights - lots of tunnels and dark places. And a small bike-lock if you’re going to go walk down to the hot springs at WenShan, just above Tianxiang. That’s about a 22km climb from the gorge entrance.

You could get a train(s) back to Taipei from Yuli or Taidong, but that would take about 5 hours.

27

Taiwan visitor, You’re gonna have some great rides on those roads. These guys know the deal, and they’ve given you valuable info.

Just a couple of pics of the east coast to add.

Between Shitiping and the Baci Lookout, heading north:

And if you can somehow wrangle it in, a day ride between Kenting and Hsuhai and back (about 110 km round trip) is well worth it for the scenery like below.

28

Sorry, here is the suggested route.

The 199 is OK but not great. It has fairly heavy traffic at times since this is how trucks get to Taidong. Also, you will be at least a couple of hours from the HSR, which is on the north side of Kaohsiung. And that would be if you took (and could find) a cab from Fenggang. Another problem: you are not going to be allowed to take a bike without a bag onto the HSR even if you bubble wrap the wheels. A bike in a bike bag is fine, but they are quite strict about this.

Also, unless you get on the right Taiwan rail trains (non-HSR), you cannot take an unbagged bike. Now things are not so strict here. I often get away with putting my bike in large black plastic garbage bags on local commuter trains. But the faster express trains do not allow bikes even in bags and enforcement is very strict north of Hualien.

I’d suggest that you let us know exactly when you want to leave Taipei so that we can help you identify the right train. Otherwise you may be frustrated by Taiwan’s willful ways.

29

Ok - thanks for the map. That route seems good.
I dont know the exact date yet. The trip can be anytime between 9th and 24th of Nov… I will wait and see the weather forecast. Probably be from a Thursday to Sat/Sun, but travel out on Wed afternoon or evening from Taipei. I thought I could wrap the whole bike with wheels and saddle removed (as per roninonabike.weebly.com/shikoku.html) and just carry it… rather awkwardly… under my arm as I board. Always works in Japan, although they let no bikes on the trains ever here. Then I could just post it back to Taipei at the end of the trip.

Couple of questions:

  • Could I just cycle across Hualien to make it one complete route? It only seems a 20km gap. Have you recommended the train there coz it is particularly testing, busy, or not much to see, or coz the local trains are easy to board with a bike? Same goes for Taitung too I guess.
  • The end point in Taroko seems to be at about 600 m asl. Is this a major spot to visit there or the start of the canyon?

I will add some Taroko questions when I have read some more abuot it.

Thanks a lot - all info really appreciated

30

Gap is about 30-35km, depending if you ride the main road (highway #9) or not. Totally flat though. Local trains are very easy to board with a bike, though not always that frequent.
Taroko end-point is the village of Tianxiang, at the top of the gorge. Yes, about 600m altitude. Limited food and supplies, plus 5 star hotel. And there are the hot springs of Wen Shan only 2km further up the road.

Neat bike packing, I think you’d stand a chance of getting away with that on Taiwan non-local trains too.

31

[quote=“Nuit”]Gap is about 30-35km, depending if you ride the main road (highway #9) or not. Totally flat though. Local trains are very easy to board with a bike, though not always that frequent.
Taroko end-point is the village of Tianxiang, at the top of the gorge. Yes, about 600m altitude. Limited food and supplies, plus 5 star hotel. And there are the hot springs of Wen Shan only 2km further up the road.

Neat bike packing, I think you’d stand a chance of getting away with that on Taiwan non-local trains too.[/quote]

You might get away with it. I wouldn’t recommend trying. Too many people try to do this and they are pretty strict these days. Things are much more lax from Hualien on.

You can’t take a bike in any form on any of the non-designated express trains of the high speed rail. You can take a bagged bike or an assembled bike on some LOCAL trains usually in the late morning or afternoon.

For example, if you were leaving on Thursday 11 Nov., you would need to show up at noon at Wanhua Station (NOT Taipei Main Station)) and take the local 4188 train at 1:278pm to Xinsuao (New Suao station not plain old Suao) station arriving at 4:15pm. Then you would have to wait for the 4228 at 20:18 arriving in Xincheng about an hour later. Those are designated trains that you can definitely take.

You will almost certainly be able to slip onto the 686 leaving at 4:25pm from Xinsuao or the 604 at 4:52 even those these are not designated trains. Again these arrive about an hour later in Xincheng.

A much easier way in my opinion is to ship your bike on the baggae train from Wanhua on Thursday before 6pm. It will be in Xincheng the next morning. Take regular train down to Xincheng that evening.

Xincheng is a very small station, so you may be able to pick your bike at 5:30am when the first train comes. I would suggest that you give them a heads up when you arrive. The station people are very friendly and willing to help although English will be limited. Alternatively, there is a Giant rental shop next to the station. You could rent a bike to go up and down Taroko and then pick up your bike on the way back.

By riding to Tianxiang, you will be traveling riding through the most spectacular parts of the gorge. Like Nuit said, the up and back on this one is well worth it. For a swim stop off at Shakadang on your way out.

You could ride the gap. But Hualien City (which is what you would be going through) is suprisingly unpleasant and the local trains are really easy to hop onto if there is a convenient one.

32

Oh, and don’t rely on or worry about the weather too much. This is the best time of year and forecasts are very unreliable. Just go.

33

This. I didn’t go a couple of weeks ago, when I had a very rare three-day weekend, because of a bad forecast. So I sat at home and checked online and kept seeing how nice the weather was where I had planned to be riding. Grr … the more fool I. (And others had warned me not to pay attention to the forecast, but did I listen?!)

34

Don’t often leap to the defence of this town, but that’s a touch harsh.
It’s probably worst along the coast, just because it’s where you’d expect it to be nicest.

35

If you do the Hualien - Taidong route you’re in for a great ride, weather permitting. There is dedicated bicycle/scooter lane most of the way. At every police station you can fill-up your water bottle and air-up your tires. People are friendly and helpful, and you’ll hear “Jaiyo!” a million times. The scenery is spectacular, especially along the coast, but the rift valley is also nice. It really is a great experience!

36

This is getting me all hyped about my own east coast redux trip in a few weeks. Our route is Hualien to Shihtiping on Hwy 11, possibly just passed to this little B&B seaside across from the Tropic of Cancer marker. Shihtiping to Ruisui on the 64. Ruisui to Yuli along the 193. Yuli to Fuli along highway 9 with a stop in beautiful Loshan for the organic rice fields, and highest waterfall in the east. Then up and down the 23 back to Hwy 11 and down to Dulan. Finally Dulan to Taitung and train back.

37

OK - amended version of plans and route. Any comments appreciated.
roninonabike.weebly.com/taiwan.html

Day 1 - Xincheng to Taroko Tianxiang 30km.
Morning weekday train Taipei to Xincheng… e.g. train number 214 8.20am-10.50am every day, bike bags/wrapped bikes ok according to the train website.
Start before noon, north from Xincheng to Taroko entrance 10km, plus 20km climbing up to Tianxiang. Explore a bit and head up to Wen Shan. Overnight there at a place booked in advance.

Day 2 - Taroko to Ruisui (130km) or Shitiping (150km)
Start early downhill from Taroko, route 9 back south through Hualien, then leave this route asap and follow route 193 all the way on the climb inland to Ruisui. Overnight either in Ruisui or back down by the coast at Shitiping/Dagangkou etc. (Am I likely to find some accommodation around by the coast here or should I stay up in Ruisui? Not gonna book anywhere in advance for this night.)

Day 3 - Ruisui/Shitiping to Taitung (inland on route 23 - 120km, or just coastal route 11 the whole way - 90km)
Head on to Taitung on last day, long or short route depending on energy left. Either stay overnight in Taitung or post bike back to Taipei and take the night train to Kaiohsung, then only 90 min rapid train journey back to Taipei then next morning. Will need to buy some more bubble wrap, find a big box or gets loads of cardboard, then dismantle, wrap, box, and post the bike back to Taipei from somewhere in Taitung, like a main post office…

A few more questions…

  • So all these routes will be OK for a road bike?
  • Apart from the main post office, are there other private companies with which you can send something like a bike?

Sorry for the tons of questions! Will be on my own without a word of Chinese once I get out there, so am trying to make sure I have as much info as possible beforehand - although I will try to find space for a very lightweight book of chinese/english phrases to point to when needed. All help is greatly appreciated.

38

Looks good, shame you can’t do Taroko early a.m., so you’ll have to compete with the tourist traffic. But I can’t see a good Day 0 evening train for you either.

Taroko - lights essential, think about a helmet (road does get its share of falling rocks).
On the way up the gorge, there are 2 sections of the old road which can be cycled (ignore that first no-entry sign!), and connect you back to the main road a little further on:
1. Turn left here
2. Turn right here

39

Taroko to Hualien, try and do this:

Once you’re out of Taroko, passing a big cement factory, take first right after the factory gates. Over a level-crossing and turn right up a hill. Then continue straight down that road, turn right at the very end and loop round through a little village called Sanzhan.

You’ll find yourself back at the #9: cross it and go straight onto the #193. You might have to double back a few hundred m north back up the #9 to get to the #193 junction (this is looking north on the #9, turn right onto the #193).

And in Hualien:
no reason not to ride the #193 from here either, no real reason to pick it up further south. Get to the Hualian Big Bridge 花蓮大橋 and turn right at the end of the bridge. Nice road :thumbsup:.

40

Yes, I second taking the 193 as soon as possible. Nuit, can’t he get on the bike lanes around Qinxingtan and swing past the city that way? Btw, have they completed the route out to Liyu Lake from Hualien?

taiwanvisitor, there is a hot spring hotel in Ruisui that has a dorm for cyclists. Quirky little place. First hot spring in the area and first used by Japanese soldiers injured in war with Russia. Owners speak a bit of English.

Shihtiping has a couple nice B&B (one of my pics was taken from a balcony in Shihtiping) and a cheap hotel. I suggest you pick up a guidebook. I’ll recommend Lonely Planet, not just because I wrote it :slight_smile: , but because I put a lot of information in for cyclists, especially on the east coast. If you don’t want to carry the book download the east coast chapter to your smartphone.