The queen and I, we have not forgotten. Heads did roll.
I doubt that. There is no part of the Taipei bike path that is like that.[/quote]
Iāve ridden from Xindian to Danshui a few times on the river path and there are a couple stretches that are on regular roads.
Well, if you ride from Longtan to Shisanhang and back on the dahan/danshui riverside trail, you will in Longtan/Daxi, and between Daxi and Yingge ride on some stretches of road. Not a major issue, they are very quiet. I would prefer dedicated trails, however well, I am more than happy with what I already got.
[quote=āMucha Manā]This is really cool news. An entire loop around the city is about to open. The part that is really surprising is the connection between Nangang and the Zoo. Had no idea this was being built.
The whole loop with be just under 60km with a good climb up from Nangang or the Zoo.[/quote]
Great news. Is there a map of this anywhere?
[quote=āirishstuā][quote=āMuzha Manā]This is really cool news. An entire loop around the city is about to open. The part that is really surprising is the connection between Nangang and the Zoo. Had no idea this was being built.
The whole loop with be just under 60km with a good climb up from Nangang or the Zoo.[/quote]
Great news. Is there a map of this anywhere?[/quote]
I was going to say that I did my usual ride up Fudekeng several weeks ago and noticed that they had bicycle symbols painted on the asphalt. I donāt think they actually built any new paths, just painted the existing ones.
As Iām here, I thought I might as well ask. I think read here somewhere that you can take the riverside park all the way out to Shimen reservoir. I rode on the Tucheng/Sanxia side, but the path just stops somewhere around the intersection between 3 and 110. Are you supposed to get on the road and then back on another path? Or are you supposed to ride on the Xinzhuang/Yingge side of the river? What are some good bridges to cross the river?
You are supposed to cross the river, I would think that there are a couple of bridges between Xinzuang and Yingge where you can cross easily.
You need to cross quite early actually at the Xinhai Bridge over to the xinzhuang side. There are other bridges further down but they have no ramps up for bikes.
Okay, I did the city loop this evening. 4.5 hours from Bitan with breaks and dinner and a few stops looking where the f-ing path went next.
The naysayers were correct. The Nangang-Zoo route is is nothing more than paint on the road. Not even a lane painted, just bike symbols every 100m with no f-ing English of course.
Okay, the Nangang-Zoo route is well chosen. After you get off the paths on the Keelung you ride through a Taipower station, through a quiet neighborhood and then along sidewalk paths. Then itās a quiet ride to Academia Sinica, through that, down to the Chinese tech uni or whatever it is and then along Academia Sinica Rd to where it splits at the pass to Liuzhangli and the zoo. Then down the graveyard road to the 106 and across to the zoo and back on REAL paths.
I was out around 6pm and traffic was negligible. The signs were a bit confusing around nangang but overall easy enough to follow.
But this was nothing for the city gov to crow about or pretend they did something great. This is a well known route. Only the twists and turns from Academia Sinica to the Keelung bike paths is worthwhile. The rest you can figure out yourself.
Itās also bullshit to call these paths in the same way the rest of the system is (even the on-road sections Mr He mentions). You need lights if you are going to do this at night, and many people especially women, may not feel safe riding the very remote stretches of Academia Sinica Rd.
So while it is an enjoyable ride I still say Fuck You Mayor Hau. This is bullshit. Taiwan Today wrote:
āThe newly completed route was formed by connecting 45 kilometers of existing riverside paths and carving out 13.8 kilometers of new roads in the eastern part of the city, according to the cityās Hydraulic Engineering Office.ā
There was no carving out of new roads. They used roads that have been around for decades and most of which are completely well known to cyclists. Had they at least added a bridge across the 106 to the zoo area I could have cut them some slack.
Also what is this:
āThe entire 58.8-kilometer network of bicycle paths around Taipei City will be completed this Saturday with the final paving of the link from Fudekeng Eco-Park in Nangang to Thumb Mountain in the Wenshan District, where the Taipei Zoo is locatedā
What final paving? I rode on a 1km or so path through Fudekeng (the only bike only section) but it quickly returned me to the road. Also the surface was shit. Thin bricks which made it bumpy going downhill. The park was nice but I was through it is a few minutes.
Anyway, good route as most of you know. Lousy politics.
Thanks for the write-up, MM. From what I see itās a path Iāve already been using for quite some time. Itās a good route, at least, but as you mentioned, I donāt see them having done any work there except to publicize it and put some markings on the road (which will be ignored by cars anyway).
Itās worth mentioning that itās a bit of a climb going up Academia Road, btw. I think some people might find it a bit tough near the top if theyāre not used to anything other than flat riverside cycle paths.
Yup, just as I thought. I did this loop five years ago and it took me about five hours to complete. Just one question about the section from the pass down to the zoo.
[quote=āMucha Manā]and then along Academia Sinica Rd to where it splits at the pass to Liuzhangli and the zoo. Then down the graveyard road to the 106 and across to the zoo and back on REAL paths.
[/quote]
Iāve only ridden this section a couple of times and remember it being pretty steep and twisty. Did they do anything to the surface to give bikes more traction? I wouldnāt want to have a wipeout with a toddler in the baby seat.
No, incubus, theyāve done nothing to the road surface that I could see. Still very steep. There is a 1km section that runs through Fudekeng Park and the reconnects to the road. The surface on that is brick and it is bumpy (horrible choice).
irishstu, yes, the climb is a decent one though not as steep as Maokong if people need a reference. However, I think the city should have some warning signs after the bike lanes end that the next 14km is a long lonely stretch of mountain road. I can imagine some people with families, or single women, not being comfortable doing it. Also, if you have a flat or any other issue, there are no shops around for a long way, and few houses or people. I didnāt see a single other cyclist.
I mean itās not riding across a desert, but it isnāt the bike lanes either.
From what I saw around the zoo, however, it looks like eventually there will be an underpass under the 106 to the riverspaths, and there should be a better route through Nangang.
I usually do the graveyard route from Chongde Rd, which hooks into the route, and Iām not sure if I am missing something here but I donāt remember seeing too many bicycle path signs painted on the roads after descending to Nangang. Also, that road from the base of the mountain (where it spits you out at Acedemia Sinica) to the Nangang World Trade Center, is completely crap. My arse takes a serious beating every time. Is there an alternate route that I am missing from Acedemica Sinica to the bike path near the Nangang WTC?
I did this last weekend, itās okay, the roads in Nankang are quiet, the route from NanKang to Muja is also very quiet, there is a single small hill of around 180m. We didnāt take it at all fast and did the entire thing in about 4.5hrs (plenty of stops for people to catch up).
Hardly saw anyone else doing it, the signs could be better in the big MuJa graveyard, we went wrong there once and also crossing the river near the zoo we managed to lose the trail so ended up crossing at the āwrongā bridge. All in all we went lost for less than 2 mins each time and a few more signs would really help.
I donāt know if Iāll do it again soon because itās a bit of a nothing route in that there is really nothing extra to see and no real hills to climb, but on the other hand its nice to be able to say that Iāve done it.
Good effort on the City Government though for making it all happen.
I want to ride from central Taipei up the Riverside (east bank) to Xiaobitian, and then over the river to pick up the #110 to Sanxia.
But can I cross there on a bike yet?
Perhaps go further up to Xindian station?
[quote=āNuitā]I want to ride from central Taipei up the Riverside (east bank) to Xiaobitian, and then over the river to pick up the #110 to Sanxia.
But can I cross there on a bike yet?
Perhaps go further up to Xindian station?[/quote]
Yes, new incredibly flashy bike bridge over the river at Xiao Bitan. Several earlier options too.
If youāre not familiar with bikemap.net, itās an incredible tool (esp. for DE, where itās based). Thereās nothing in the same league that Iāve found. Great coverage of routes in the 'wan, though with plenty of duplication.
[quote=āMucha Manā][quote=āNuitā]I want to ride from central Taipei up the Riverside (east bank) to Xiaobitian, and then over the river to pick up the #110 to Sanxia.
But can I cross there on a bike yet?
Perhaps go further up to Xindian station?[/quote]
Yes, new incredibly flashy bike bridge over the river at Xiao Bitan. Several earlier options too.[/quote]
Ta, sounds posh. Better go and have a shave then so Iām looking good as I cross.
Heard good things about these paths, & got to be more relaxed than riding Zhongshan N Rd Sec 7 down to 2.
Thanks for that, looks great.
Lovely paths, great resource there. Joined at Shida and rode up to Xindian. Enjoyed myself so much I missed the Xiao Bitan bridge.
It was so nice out yesterday I had to sneak out for a spin on the river park paths. Iām happy to report the bike path linking to the top half of Shezi peninsula is finished. As recently as a few months ago it was a real mess, under construction.
The area in red is roughly where the new asphalt has been laid. Itās a great little section to take a zip around.
