Cycling to work... Good idea?

Hi everybody,

I’m considering cycling to work, for exercise, and also for fun. The route would be from Linkou to Taoyuan, 25km one way, 50km round trip. It currently takes 45 min driving by car (in traffic), and cycling will take about one hour.

My main question is, whether this is a good idea in terms of traffic and road safety. There are no bike routes, so I would be on regular Taoyuan roads the entire time (and not the empty mountain roads, but mainly residential/industrial areas).

My motivation for wanting to commute by bike is because I’m hoping the exercise will help me de-stress. But if the ride will be stressful (or dangerous to my physical safety), then it seems counterproductive.

One complicating factor is that my current bike is a cheap clunker (only good for running local errands), and I can’t use it to test the commuting route. I would need to buy a proper bike to make the trip, but I don’t want to invest in a new expensive bike unless I know that this is a feasible idea. So feeling somewhat stuck.

Does anybody have experiencile commuting by bike in Taiwan, and can offer advice?

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I think riding on “stroads”, especially in hectic morning and evening traffic, is as stressful as going by car.

Do you see anybody else riding a bike on that road? If not, the average driver isn’t prepared for handling cyclist, which means many close calls with dangerous drivers.

Is there a public transport option for you?
Maybe you could ride your old bike to the bus stop or take a youbike from a stop close to your destination to your workplace?

Is there a youbike near your home? maybe try that for commuting a couple times.

Edit: wtf, my phone corrected youbike to “you like” twice.

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Dangerous!

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It’s hard to say without knowing the route, but there should be some alternative routes through smaller roads. Try to look for them and explore them by car first.

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If you are indeed limited to regular Taoyuan roads, then I think the car pollution will be a net negative for your long-term health, and the drivers will be a dramatic negative for both short-term health and stress levels.

Also, what kind of shower & changing facilities do you have at the other end? In summer, you’re going to be awfully sweaty by the time you arrive at work. If you can shower and change, not an issue, but if you can’t, that’d seem like a problem to me.

I love cycling to de-stress. It works wonders. But that’s in the countryside, on mountains, or the Taipei riverside paths. Dealing with 15-20 minutes on city roads at the end of a ride can undo any relaxation I experienced.

Long ago, I did “commute” in Tainan City by bicycle, but this was buxiban work, with a bunch of short trips scattered across the city. It was fine for that - but I doubt any of the trip legs were longer than 10km, and most would have been in the 3-4km range. The main challenges were staying slow enough to not get too sweaty, and making sure I arrived early enough somewhere with air conditioning and/or fans to dry off before work.

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This! Mostly from motorbikes who will be around you waiting for the lights to change, it’s a reason for me to use the car (I can walk to my office too though which I mostly do, car only in heavy rain). Southern Taiwan people not live as long, bad air is part of that I think.

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Seems all but the lousiest, most poorly maintained bike should be able to test out a 25km route once or twice - is this actually a limitation for some reason? (I’ve easily ridden more than that in a crappy ubike)

I sometimes ride through Taipei city traffic to work and back. Not quite as far but with some hills. If you aren’t able to shower I’d say it’s a no go. Otherwise, the traffic is ok. No one is going particularly fast and things move pretty organically. The pollution isn’t so great. I don’t do it often, mostly due to the pollution.

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I wanted to share my experience commuting to work by bicycle using a YouBike along the riverside in New Taipei City. My commute was a 20-minute ride (about 6km) followed by a 5-minute walk from the nearest station to my workplace.

One thing I quickly learned was that I needed to wake up earlier. Finding an available YouBike could be challenging because many students and older people use them for their commutes. The ride along the riverside was smooth and relaxing, but once I entered the city streets, dealing with heavy traffic during peak hours became stressful, even for that short distance.

Since I sweat easily, I would ride in casual clothes—a t-shirt and short pants—and then change into formal attire at the office. My office doesn’t have a shower, so I used body wipes, which was okay but not as refreshing as a shower. For an hour-long ride, you’ll definitely want to bring a backpack with extra clothes and toiletries and plan to arrive early to change.

After a while, I stopped using the YouBike because it meant more laundry and I had to leave home at least 30 minutes earlier to ensure I could find a bike. While you won’t have that problem with your own bike, riding for over an hour in traffic can be quite tiring.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what to expect. . Best of luck with your decision!

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I used to do a 25km commute (each way) from Beitou to Nankang in Taipei, roughly 23k on the riverside bike paths and 2 k on the roads.

i) Bike paths were brilliant, I used a road bike and used to sit at around 30kph, also used to ride the S side of the river in the mornings to keep in the shadow

ii) Using the roads was not pleasent, v slow with all the traffic lights - you tend to hit more of them on a bicycle as you ‘miss’ the right timings to get a flow of greens. Lots of pollution, but being only 4k a day it was okay

iii) A shower at work was essential, I used to do the 25k in around 55 mins but then needed to shower once I got to work

iv) secure parking, I used a road bike but used to park the bike inside the office as we had space, I am sure parked and chained outside it would have be stolen

I would never consider this commute without the riverside paths/shower/secure parking - where I work now we don’t have showers or secure parking so I no longer commute by bike which is a shame.

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Hard no from me. All the reasons already stated.

Riding in the city is fun for short distances or exploring but for long its not great. Lots of sitting at red lights, pollution and the roads in Taoyuan are pretty rough.

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Thanks everybody for the helpful feedback. To reply to a few points:

  1. Yes, there will be shower/changing facilites at work.
  2. Public transport is not an option (I’d be going from Linkou to Bade, public transport takes about 2 hours from what I can tell
  3. Taking my current bike is not an option, because the tires literally don’t hold air, and the bike shop said it’s not worth fixing because it’s so old

I hadn’t thought of the pollution as a factor, but it does seem important, as I definitely won’t enjoy inhaling exhaust smoke for two hours each day. At this point I’m thinking to use my car to scout out a few different possible cycling routes to work before making a final decision. But unless I’m pleasantly surprised by nice sidewalks/country roads, I’m thinking this probably won’t work out.

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Linkou is on a 250-meter high plateau, so in addition to the distance, you need to figure in the extra time it takes for climbing, and when you climb, you’re breathing heavily, which means you should pick a road with little traffic to avoid breathing in auto exhaust. There are about a dozen roads leading up to the plateau from all sides with varying gradients and traffic. I’ve ridden the 108 from Taoyuan up to Linkou. It goes through some pretty rice fields but it’s quite exposed. There are smaller and better shaded roads, but those tend to be more steep. I’d suggest getting a road bike, which would increase your speed and make climbing easier, plus it’s more fun. As for traffic, just stick to the side of the road and ride along the white line. Motorists here are generally pretty respectful of cyclists. Don’t ride in the middle of the lane to force cars to go around you, as advised in some Western countries. That’s not gonna work here.

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You’ll get fit pretty quick, particularly on the return journey.

Even if you use that bike only for short errands, new tubes and new tires are cheap and totally worth it.

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The only thing that really matters.

He’s talking about Taoyuan, not Taipei City.

These are pretty different places for cyclists! :grimacing:

Guy

Not if the new tires and tubes cost more than the bike itself :laughing:

I’m well aware. Just trying to give some insight on commuting here and much of Taoyuan is actually pretty similar when it’s busy. I’ve cycled in traffic both places extensively for 13 years.

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It’s not impractical to bike your way home after work daily. It’s not both ways… but you could uber to work and bike home. Problems over finding quieter roads and avoiding peak traffic could be mitigated by doing this. Also, you can strip off and shower at your own convenience.

I’ve done short urban trips in Taipei. Each and every time, I sit at the red light on a Youbike and regret NOT choosing a quieter road. I LOATHE breathing in that scooter air. I honestly think scooters, trucks and old buses are sources for about 90% of the particulate pollution we otherwise call PM2.5. The air is getting better in many places but the volume of traffic is just insane. I don’t know why we aren’t taxing scooters more per KM for the pollution.

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