I went up there recently to go hiking, and there was a constant stream of cars going up and down that narrow road. Could be due to the cherry blossoms. It was certainly much busier than Maokong which is where I usually ride.
They may be a problem but they always beckon me.
There are a few big temples there too. If you are unlucky and there’s a religious event, the traffic will increase a lot. The few times I’ve been there (I can’t say it’s one of my most ridden roads) I didn’t feel it was worse than Satellites, Wulai, 106… Definitely better than Yangde Boulevard (weird name for a road in a mountain)
Bishan road is crazy crowded on sunny Saturday/Sunday afternoons due to the temples. During the week however much emptier vs say Satellites.. I was riding there a lot last November.
Try this for a route up Bishan Rd and FGZ - much less traffic than the main ones (via the temples), and although tis got a few steep parts, IMHO I think its a much nicer road.
This looks like Neihu Road Section 3 that @Membrillo mentioned earlier. I think double-digit gradients are fine as long as they don’t extend for more than 10 meters and are wide enough for me to zigzag my way up (hence the importance of light traffic).
Yangde is terrible for climbing but awesome for descending.
It is.
I don’t think I’ve ever climbed it fully from the bottom. There are so many other options… And I have descended it to the city very few times too. In part because it’s not the most convenient route to go down for me and in part because I don’t see the point on racing university students on scooters with little will to live.
You would love to ride with me 
. Ask @shaokilai
Three ways up BiShan, which you’ve already pointed out two
My suggestion, to unlock a new route, would be to do a counter clockwise loop via Jin Long Industrial Road.
Jin Long does have pretty amazing views towards the second half of the segment and the main benefit is you skip all the Bi Shan Temple + Cherry Blossom traffic. Downside is, it is quite steep in the first section.
Enjoy!
Thanks for the detailed directions. Looks like Jin Long Industrial Road is what Neihu Rd. Section 3 turns into. The only change I would make is I’d also like to go up (down?) to the temple for the views (gotta have the pics to show when you unlock a route, right?) before I head back over to ZhiShan Rd.
These threads started with this Tour of Taipei:
Now I am bringing to you the ultimate Tour de Taipei:
Route name: Tour de Taipei (goated) Tour de Taipei (goated) - Strava link
Start point: You can start anywhere along the route.
End point: Wherever you started.
Traffic level: Low for most of the mountain roads. There are a few km of urban riding.
Main climb(s): Oh boy, where to start
* Taipei City University of Science and Technology. The climb is short but it has some steep sections. Be aware, the descend is very steep.
* Main climb This climb includes bastards like Fuxing 3rd Road and the infamous Goat Road. The Goat Road is barely cyclable but fully walkable. No shame in walking (but see below). A wiser alternative is to go to the Flower Clock to climb Zhongxing Road, but you will be breaking the spirit of the route.
Helen’s Steep Yep, I ignored the steep climb towards Lengshuikeng. Helen is a b***h of 20%, but after the Goat Road everything else is barely uphill.
After Helen there are 3 smaller climbs. The first two have moderate gradients while the third one to the graveyard is quite mild.
政大威秀~草湳橋 This was my second to last climg an by now anything higher than a 10% is painful. I did this at night and I had dogs coming towards me. Luckily the owner was there.
Maokong East. I thought this one was going to be very steep (I never did this section before) but it was much better than I was expecting. I still was zigzaging big time.
Total estimated distance: 127km
Total estimated elevation gain: 2500m
Max elevation: 800m
Difficulty: Advanced
Description: The rules for this route were to ride as close as possible to the Taipei-New Taipei border without trespassing (at least not for any significant distance). U-turns were not allowed, i.e. no riding the same road twice. It happens to be that some of the roads required to obey the rules are crazy bonkers.
VERY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER ABOUT THE GOAT ROAD. PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU GO THERE. This is a VERY steep road. The steepest part probably goes close to 30%. The Goat Road can be skipped by doing the Flower Clock climb. If you do this route anticlockwise, I strongly suggest to avoid the Goat Road. Descending that on a road bike is not a pleasant experience and can be dangerous. If there aren’t anything but perfectly dry roads (keep in mind that the Goad Road is always covered in shade and therefore it can be wet from recent rains even if all the other roads are already dry) please don’t go, especially downhill. I am not sure if it is walkable with road shoes. I did walk the steepest of the steeper section on gravel SPD shoes and it was okayish.
The road that connects Dahu St. with Kangle St. is narrow, with a rough concrete surface covered in dead vegetation. Probably not a pleasant ride on a wet day. It also has some short steep parts.
Here my attempt at this route. I called it Giro because il Giro is ongoing now.
Almost 12 years of cycling and not once have I attempted Goat Road. It’s still on my bucket list. It’s a segment you can’t really plan to ride. As you’ve mentioned, it’s always covered in shade, so you need to wait for 2-3 days of sun before you attempt. Time of day has to be early as it’s a major shortcut from Dong Shen Rd up to Zhu Zhi Hu and there’s zero room for thru traffic.
Mad kudos.
I think car traffic is rare. A few houses there but for through traffic is not practical. There’s a choke point barely wide enough for a narrow car to pass.
That day I saw a few scooters. I think they were exploring the road since they were laughing and joking.
For anyone planning to ride Bishan Road, I’d definitely recommend going early in the morning on a weekday if possible. The temple traffic can get pretty busy on sunny weekends.
Also worth checking the weather before starting, especially after rain when some of the steep descents can be slippery.
I agree, the main Bishan Road is busy, steep, narrow and pretty sketchy (anytime) - that’s why I now ride Jinlong Industrial Road - very, very quiet with close to zero cars, scooters and never any buses. As an added bonus, the views across Taipei are awesome.
I recently rode up Lane 329 off Balian road in Xizhi, which connects to the main road that goes up to Wuzhishan. This little road is nice because it has few cars (so you can safely zigzag your way up when you get to the 18% grade section near the top). It’s also narrow with a stream flowing along it so it feels like you’re out in the country even though you’re in Taipei. There’s also a pet cemetery near the top so we can call it the pet cemetery ride from now on (a nice contrast to the graveyard in southern Taipei). Here’s the turn off from Balian:
I’ll try descending it next time. It’s steep near the top but shouldn’t be as hairy as coming down Dahu street toward the bottom at 55 kph.
