Cycling etiquette question

I yell “on your left!” and “thank you” as I pass

Yes, always. I’ve had a group of ladies push past me and when I stepped on it to pass them, they dug in and passed me in turn. When I stopped to puke, they thanked me and told me to have a good ride.

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Hahahaha been very close to that myself. Had to fight it back for ten minutes while trying to get in as much air as I could. Terrible feeling.

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Just slowly pass them. No really need to exchange greetings, unless you know them!

I know overseas it’s frowned upon and the etiquette is to give your domestique a heads up. However, in Taiwan, you just follow along. It’s very likely you get dropped :laughing:.

I usually do this during races/sportivs and if I do catch them, I tend to just wheel suck them for as long as I can. If someone were to do this to me, I’m completely ok with it as I always do it to others :laughing:.

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I didn’t realize shouting “On your left!” was an ettiquette faux pas.

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I would like to know that route. Is it closer to the coast than the main road?

Are you talking about the north coast? Here’s a map that if you enlarge it, you’ll see that parts of the recommended path go off the main road (Rt. 2) and hug the coast, so less traffic, better scenery and gentler gradients. I haven’t done this route, but it’s on my list of rides to do. Would appreciate more info on the ride too.

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If I’m matching that map to my memory correctly, I’ve done that route from Baishawan to Qianshuiwan, once, with no intention of ever doing it again. I wouldn’t really recommend it. Often wooden boards, in trees so no breeze or views, twisty so it’s slow. May be interesting for a slow ride with a kid or non-cyclist, outside of summer heat anyway, but I much prefer the main road.

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Good to know. I’m planning to ride from Keelung to Tamsui, not a short distance, so no time to dawdle. Your advice from another post is also helpful: just bomb through all the red lights on the 2. :cowboy_hat_face:

Hey, I didn’t mean for that to be advice! I’ve got very mixed feelings about that approach.

Yeah, if you’re doing that long a ride, you don’t definitely don’t want to do the Baishawan-Qianshuiwan stretch of that route. It will slow you down a lot. If you’re in the mood to dawdle and explore, and it’s not an especially hot day, it’s probably OK. For all I know that route could be fantastic for those who know more than I do about Taiwanese history and architecture - maybe there are tons of gems that I was oblivious to.

I’ve never gone east - oh, I guess it’s south - of Jinshan, so I don’t know what things are like on that side. Between Jinshan and Baishawan, most of the main road is right on the water anyway. I do like the bit around Fugui Cape lighthouse, or whatever it’s called - it’s definitely a detour, but it’s pretty.

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It can be a maze in Keelung, I’ve ridden from Danshui to Keelung and onto No.5 to get home and 9/10 I get lost in Keelung and need to pull out my phone.

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One thing I do before riding in an unknown area is go through it on Google street view a few times. Makes a big difference than just studying the map. The plan is to take the train to Keelung first and then start riding from Keelung train station. Since the station is right near the harbor, I wouldn’t have to deal with too much of the inner city’s maze. From both the map and street view, it looks fairly easy to get from the station to the seaside cycling path.

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Couldn’t agree more - google street view for trip planning is REALLY helpful.

I was always proud about my orientation skills, until I came to Taiwan.

In urban areas, every street looks exactly the same to me, even after nine years here. Then, when you are cycling or driving around, sometimes you know that you have to follow the main road you are traveling in for many km. In my home country this would be easy because road signaling and road design usually makes pretty easy to tell the difference between the main road, or the road you are following, from other secondary roads in a crossroad. Here in Taiwan, secondary roads that go nowhere (maybe it is a deadend that only goes to a farm or something like that) can be double the size of the “main” road. Signaling is also pretty poor, usually non-existent in secondary roads.

For me, checking the map often is a must when I am in unknown places.

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Part of the adventure is getting lost for me.

I still remember taking long rides as a kid and getting lost. Leaving around six am and getting home at midnight. Whenever my sister went with me, she’d be crying the whole way home.

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I totally agree! I’ve discovered some amazing routes and places by just getting lost or wondering “what would happen if I just turn right here?”

I also do that in Taipei, but I never seemed to end up far from starting point!

So I’d go out on the river, exit one of the emergency gates and try to find my way back :sweat_smile: phone and google maps came out most times, my sense of direction is dreadful.

However can end up at very interesting places, remembering where they was ?

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There’s one downside though. Google street view doesn’t show the steepness of a hill. I once found a nice shortcut to a place on the map and then proceeded to check it on street view. Everything looked fine until I actually rode my bike there and came to a hill with more than 20% gradient. Had to dismount and push my bike up. Ended up spending more energy on the shortcut.

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Here’s a video on what it’s like to cycle in London. Etiquette? What etiquette? After watching it, I’m pretty glad I ride my bike in Taipei, and will stop complaining about Taipei’s “hostile” traffic.

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Do get much of the same problems in Taipei, other than horses :racehorse:.
I do feel a lot safer in Taiwan, drivers know your there and give some space and respect.
Riding U.K. cities and towns really is dangerous, car drivers hate cyclists amount of abuse and honking is unreal.
Cycle in groups on the road or MTB off road.
Countryside dogs off leads and fast white van drivers and slow tractors, loads of mud and shit on the road.
Roads that are crumbling massive pothole that drivers can force you into.

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With a name like LondonSpice, I’ll take your word for it. :slightly_smiling_face: