I agree that that section of the riverside park is way too dark at night. I’ve nearly run over a couple of stray dogs. It’s a lot better north of Dadaocheng and around that Shezi Dao peninsula, so maybe you should try getting to Dadaocheng via the regular roads.[/quote]
Yes, but that is the only dark part. I think if you stay on the side road just north of the park above the parking lots you can by-pass it.
So after Dadaocheng it is lit all the way up? Good to hear. How is riding around Shezi?
oh and dont forget the scenic cemetery hill climb from liuzhangli mrt/chongde rd…its a lot of fun at night up there if you aren’t creeped out by all the dead people…the road splits to nangang or down to the zoo. alternatively just turn around and barrel down the hill…
Chongde STREET!!!
the stray dogs are worse in the cemetery after dark, and the later it gets, the more brazen they are. be careful there after 9pm.
and the idiots who feed them think they are doing a Buddhist good deed. better by far would be to get rid of the damn things. even CNR as long as they don’t keep feeding them. bastards. i would love to sue them for my serious crash last year that put me out of action for months.
I was thinking that Chongde Street would be a nice scenic ride at night, but as urodacus said, I am worried about hitting stray dogs. I’m okay with the cemetery part. How’s the ride up to Maokong? I remember a few years back I rode my motorcycle up and found a nice road that let back down the other side to Shenkeng, and came out right where the market was. I recall the road was quite scenic, with rows of tea plantations running along it. Anyone been on that route on a bike?
Your wish is our command. Here is a map of that route.
And The Biking Viking has a detailed writeup.
Here is another Fudekeng-Maokong link-up ride that uses the front side of the same hills to access Maokong via the Zhinan Temple area. I think this ride would be safer at night.
Shezi is nothing special. It’s marginally more lit up than the Zhongzheng-Dadaocheng section, but it has also has a lot fewer sudden zigzags, so it’s a lot easier to maintain a decent speed for a while. I typically loop around Shezi and go back. Crossing that bridge there
I’ve done the cemetery hill ride at night as well. Going uphill was fine, but downhill towards Muzha was completely unlit and you’re very likely to run into a dog.
Nice info and write up Feiren. We all need to arrange for a ride sometime.
Good info and maps Feiren. Makes me wish I were in Taipei so I could do some of these rides.
If anyone ever decides they want to ride Baguashan and the ridge area between Nantou and Changhua let me know - I ride here regularly and have a few nice routes that I’ve found. Some good climbing, great descents and long, low-traffic flat sections through rice fields and along the coast.
[quote=“urodacus”]the stray dogs are worse in the cemetery after dark, and the later it gets, the more brazen they are. be careful there after 9pm.
and the idiots who feed them think they are doing a Buddhist good deed. better by far would be to get rid of the damn things. even CNR as long as they don’t keep feeding them. bastards. I would love to sue them for my serious crash last year that put me out of action for months.[/quote]
It was dogs that did it? Damn. I’ve had a couple of close calls with dogs, too, and know a couple of guys who’ve gone ass over tits when dogs ran out into the road.
Did you post more about this crash anywhere here on Forumosa (or anywhere else)?
[quote=“rousseau”][quote=“urodacus”]the stray dogs are worse in the cemetery after dark, and the later it gets, the more brazen they are. be careful there after 9pm.
and the idiots who feed them think they are doing a Buddhist good deed. better by far would be to get rid of the damn things. even CNR as long as they don’t keep feeding them. bastards. I would love to sue them for my serious crash last year that put me out of action for months.[/quote]
It was dogs that did it? Damn. I’ve had a couple of close calls with dogs, too, and know a couple of guys who’ve gone ass over tits when dogs ran out into the road.
Did you post more about this crash anywhere here on Forumosa (or anywhere else)?[/quote]
i’ve had no big probs with the dogs; but my strategy is to slow down for them…if you’re stationary they leave off you…but yeah they love to chase bikes…
that back road to shenken in maokong is a mother…theres one section that is steeper than anything ive ever seen…if anyone can stay on their bikes im well impressed…
[quote=“Feiren”]Your wish is our command. Here is a map of that route.
And The Biking Viking has a detailed writeup.
Here is another Fudekeng-Maokong link-up ride that uses the front side of the same hills to access Maokong via the Zhinan Temple area. I think this ride would be safer at night.[/quote]
Feiren, thanks a million for posting this. I’ve been wanting to do a Maokong ride for a long time now. In fact I would like to ride it with someone else, but unfortunately having two kids, I never know when I will be able to sneak out for a couple of hours. It’s usually on a weekend afternoon when no-one else wants to go out in case they get sunburn anyway.
I think you are thinking of the Maokong to Xindian road that joins up to the No 9. That is almost straight down yes. Feiren’s route is steep but not outrageously so.
my strategy is also to slow down for them, and stop if they chase, and even approach them and act friendly and all puppy-like. they want to chase, not to attack normally, and if you back up to them they get all confused and normally slink away.
the two that hit me came out of absolutely nowhere, and rolled onto the street in front of me whilst i was head down, arse up and cranking hard. 45-50 km, T-boned the pair and rotated over the front wheel and directly onto my head on the road. one smashed helmet, one delayed major concussion… i didn’t realise i was unconscious until i later spoke to the guy who moved me off the road. sprained neck, grade 3/4 concussion, no other damage apart from a few scrapes to my butt. and the hospital wanted to book me in for a CAT scan in three weeks time! idiots. i eventually used some guanxi and got seen at 7am next morning. sixe weeks offf the bike, then two weeks back on and i had a 250km ride in melbourne to do… i was not fit.
What I do if I know I can’t get by them is to stop and yell at them while waving my arms in the air. I curse a blue streak like they’ve been very bad. That’s a confrontational gambit that I suspect might backfire if I’m ever confronted with a pit bull, but they say it works with bears, and so far it has worked with me for dogs, so I’m sticking to it.
So I’m guessing that wearing a helmet was a good thing in your case? Putting your head down and pedalling hard is always a bit risky, I guess, though unfortunately it sounds like a simple case of really bad luck for the two dogs to have come out in front of you at just the right (that is to say, wrong) time. I would imagine that you’re extra cautious when you see dogs on the road now!
Dog saren’t really a problem for me. It’s Sunday riders who don’t know how to stay in a straight on any of the bike paths, or even on the mountain roads. Most of my close calls have been from kids and wobbly riders who just swerve in front of me from the opposite side. These people should just stick to the parks if they can’t ride in a straight line.
I think you are thinking of the Maokong to Xindian road that joins up to the No 9. That is almost straight down yes. Feiren’s route is steep but not outrageously so.[/quote]
nah i mean the back way to shenken, i dont think feirens covering it…this is the road that goes right up the left side of maokong to caozhang(?) ignoring all turn offs on the right and left including the turn off to the back of zhinan temple and then goes over the hills to the left and back down to the road to shiding…its so steep near the top there are signs warning cars to go into low gear and not stop for any reason…i can only get over it by pushing the bike…once at the top its a very nice long downhill…maybe an iron man could do it but bearing in mind you’ve already climbed the whole of maokong you’d have to be damn fit to knock it off…
btw the best hillclimb ive done is from the far right of maokong along the whole top ridge, thru the daytrippers around the gondola and on this back road to shenken…you start at a high school underneath the freeway but the name escapes me…
i know that section, bear. it is pretty damn steep.
edit: sorry, flickr has stopped us looking at my cycle computer that shows a max gradient of 21%. that’s for about 600m, too, on a concrete road because the asphalt one would flow down the hill in summer, i think.
far more comfortable coming the other way, starting at the service station in the shenkeng valley and finishing in Muzha, or extending over the ridge to Xindian.
[quote=“urodacus”]I know that section, bear. it is pretty damn steep.
far more comfortable coming the other way, starting at the service station in the shenkeng valley and finishing in Muzha, or extending over the ridge to Xindian.[/quote]
yeah ive never reversed it for some reason…prolly cos i like to get off the main roads ASAP at the weekends…
btw you can do some great cross training by tying your bike to a lamp post at the top point and hiking to pen rack mountain…theres a fantastic view up there from a rocky outcrop near to the guy selling green bean soup…
Ah, you are taking about that road. Yep damn damn steep. I hate that people always dump shit at the top though.
Feiren could cover it as it begins at the end of the dirt track he mentions as you come down from Zhinan Temple. Instead up turning around and heading beack to Muzha keep going up.
And yes, the outcrop you are talking about is great. A personal favorite too.
I just got back from a few hours riding. The Muzha to Jingmei section is now open again. At the end of the Jingmei line just head straight up the road .5km and when you get to the next T intersection look for the start of the path on the other side. From here you can ride to the zoo and up into the uni. The uni is such a nice place at night with its big city views and tree lined streets that are traffic free. These days the night lillies are blooming so the air smells like perfume. It’s also a decent climb up to the top of the ring road.