Hi all,
I’ll be arriving in Taipei in about a month and planning to live there for about a year while learning Mandarin. I’ll be bringing my road bike with me and I’m hoping to do a bunch of riding when I have the time. Are there any fast group rides around the area and how about the racing scene? do they have some sort of racing categories like usa cycling in the US?
Hi Palisades,
In the Taipei area I guess you have everything from fast group rides to leisurely weekend rides. Ranging from a couple of kilometers around the riverside to 150km rides. There’s quite a lot of local groups and also some groups with mainly foreigners. So take your pick! Whom best to join also depends a bit on which side of the city you’ll be living, since having to commute all the way from north to south or vice versa every time you want to join a ride can get tedious…
How much/fast/far do you plan to ride by the way?
Sorry, I’m not familiar with racing categories in the US, so cannot help you there 
I assume if you are learning Chinese, you will either be going to NTU or NTNU? Jurriaan is correct, depending on where you live will greatly affect where you will be riding. Having to wake up an hour earlier than everyone else and riding another 30-40 mins to the meet up point is no fun. Unless you’re someone that enjoys that
If you venture your way over to the "Unofficial Forumosa Riding Club"thread, which I really should re-name,“cycling club”, you can get an idea of what Jurriaan and I (plus a few others) do on a weekly basis.
A quick synopsis of our group, we usually do two rides a week, maybe three if we’re feeling ambitious. One flat ride at night ranging from 30-50km and one weekend ride with total elevation gained from 1000-2000m, ranging from 30-100km+. The weekend ride will depending on how we feel during the week leading up to the ride. On the weekend ride, we do anything from non-stop 3 hour rides to 8 hour rides with multiple rest/lunch stops. We have a pretty wide range of speed when it comes to a small group so I’m sure you won’t have a problem finding someone to pace with.
On occasions where the group is busy and I still want to ride, I go out with the local group. This group consists of a FB group that has thousands of members, but those that show up for the group rides range from around an average of 20 people, but one time they hit a record high of 70 people. The group rides there are usually whole day rides that consist of multiple stops and is more of an exploring/make new friends group rather than a group that likes to push their limits. However, if you want to see and get to know the island (or just Taipei area), they are a super friendly group of people and you can also practice your Chinese while riding. 
Almost every bike shop has arranged rides every week. If you get familiar with a shop employees, you can always ask to join them on their rides.
As for races, I haven’t got a clue since I just signed up for my first race coming up this March. However, once spring starts rolling around, there’s races every week around the island.
Feel free to send me a PM if you have any other questions or would like to join us!
Thanks for replying, it looks like I’ll be staying around NTU area (I think that is near the south side). Do they have any group rides near that area?
The weekend ride sounds pretty good with the amount of elevation and distance. What is the FB group called? and do you guys know any local/foreign groups that are on FB? and do you guys usually post the ride on Unofficial Forumosa Riding Club?
Try finding local shops nearby and asking the employees on when they head out for day or evening rides because I’m not familiar with any groups other than my own and the local group I ride with. You can also ask NTU student activities if they have an official NTU club or ride over to the Da Dao Cheng Wharf, where many cyclists meet and ask if you can join group rides. You’ll find most of the locals are pretty friendly.
With the Unofficial Forumosa Riding Club , we communicate via LINE messaging app. I usually post the Saturday ride on the thread, but the weekday night rides are communicated via the LINE group chat due to the spontaneity of those rides.
For the local group I am in, try FB name: 自行車同好會. When it comes to FB groups, all you have to do is search 自行車, 單車, 台北 and you are bound to find groups. A lot of them are discussion groups for anything cycling related, but you can always post on the wall that you are looking for people to ride with. Good luck!
As foreign groups go, the Unofficial Forumosa Riding Club may be the only one that you can Google, however, that doesn’t mean there’s none here in Taipei, you just have to look!
Let me know if you join LINE, I’ll have you added to the group.
As I understand it there isn’t categorized racing (Crit or Road) in Taiwan. Most of the timed rides are more like sportive rides you find in England/Europe.
I’ll do my best to help on the racing scene. The poster above is correct by saying there are not categories as there are in the US. It is done by age group instead, yes it is a little funky. Also, from my experience all racers start at the same time, yes more funky, so nearing the end of a race you would find the people that have same number category as you and try to beat them, beating somebody in another category would only influence your overall standing not your categories. Also, from what I’ve been told, you need to be part of a club, no unaffiliated stuff. However, finding a club is very easy so that shouldn’t be too hard. I can help you, or peoples I know can help as well.
Below will be the main races this year. I’m not sure what the all-star races are just the cycling series ones.
http://www.cyclist.org.tw/index.php?fn=news&fn1=info&no=A&no1=1070&no5=C
Next, as the poster mentioned, their are many 脚踏车的活动 basically, sportives, and then there are more race-like races. If you are really looking to find more information than I know, crankpunk.com the guy who runs that site helps out with KOM race in the fall, and may be able to help you out more than I can. If you would like specific information I can find that for you as well. – Callum - 凯伦
Any group bike rides over Chinese NY?
Ask Ranlee to add you to the LINE group, see the thread. I’m hoping to head out on Thursday morning.
Edit, this thread:
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 4&t=141987
The “All star” series are sportives. Good fun though and in general the fastest riders are of a pretty high level.
If you want to see how you measure up, one of the “all star” challenges is planned 2 weeks from now (March 7th) and is quite close to Taipei. Signing up can be done HERE (use google chrome to translate - it should be possible to sign up without a local helping out ). Note: sign-up deadline is Feb 25th.
Last day to reg for the Sakura challenge today…this ride has the advantage that you can catch the first MRT out to Tamsui and be in time for the start.
I would suggest you ride the 6/6 Da Tuen Shan peak race. 22 km of gently increasing climb, barely any flat, where the final ramps are 15-16%, and a finish of 1170 m or something like that (total altitude change about 1130m).
best if you like climbing, and aim for sub 1 hour times.
You call it the Da Tuen Shan peak race, but for that date I find the Tai Pin Shan peak race HERE. Is this the same event you’re talking about? What route does the race take? Yangde blvd?
Crap. yes, I can’t read Chinese very well.
And the Datuenshan race is a bit shorter than the 22 posted there. (about 18.5 km or so, but still either a cat 1 or an HC under TdF reckoning).
Taipingshan is also a recommended race, if you have the means to get there early enough.
OK! So, when would the Datun Shan race be? I’m very interested in joining that one, but didn’t spot it yet. And where is TaiPingShan? Is it drivable by car from Taipei?
Taipingshan is south of Yilan. Quite high, too, and almost always raining.
DatuenShan race was just outside summer, i recall (October or November, perhaps). Maybe they don’t do it any more, that was 8-10 years ago.
you can still ride the hell out of it without a race, of course. it’s just all the way up Balaka from the 2, turn right at the datuenshan carpark, and suffer till the very top (line used to be as the road flattened out at the top carpark).
Ah, Taipingshan is the one ending at the lake? About 2km high? Still have to do that one… Might sign up. Should be good fun.
For DaTuenShan there are several Strava segments from several locations that are worthwhile doing non-stop (most are HC)… I personally like starting at the bottom of the Satellites climb, although I don’t think many people will be able to climb it under the hour from there (as you describe for the Balaka route)…
The mere thought of going straight up Da Tun after Balaka makes me tired, however, it’s definitely something worth trying one day.
next stop: wuling. we post ride events regularly
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