Air quality in northern Taiwan has been pretty good. Unless you have asthma or live on the western plains, now is as good as ever.
Yup - this has been a fantastic stretch of weather lately, one that sadly may be coming to an end this weekend. Just got back a few minutes ago from one of my typical rides, a mix and match of different climbs and descents and coast stretches in the Danshui-Sanzhi-Shimen area. I think it was another foreigner who passed me on a downhill going out of Sanzhi? Any of you? Didn’t get much of a look.
I’m happy with this year: in September I exceeded previous monthly personal bests, dating from 2020, for both distance (475km) and elevation gain (6,661m); then in October I got new monthly PBs again, with 494km and 7,356m. And just today I reached 2,796km for the year, which is also a new personal best. I’m still a few thousand meters short of my most elevation gained in a year: currently at 39,000m, best is 42,605m.
Or at least those are “modern” personal bests. For sure I’ve never climbed that much before, but there have been times when I was commuting on a bicycle, and I presumably racked up a lot of mileage in those years.
@Membrillo, for the Songshan train, I take it you rode from Danshui to Songshan station, and then did those rides? And then rode back to Danshui at the end of the day? Or is there an easier way to do this that I’m missing? Maybe I could do the ride you linked to above, although it’d be tough for me; but the trip from Danshui to the train station (and especially the ride back!) discourages me.
And hey, my weight is finally back down to where it was when I sprained my knee in November two years ago, but not quite to where it was when I cracked my rib in December 2020. (Not THAT much gain or loss, but still annoying.)
I had to ride to Songshan in the morning and then from Songshan in the evening. My idea was to go back to Taipei via 106, but no way I could make it before pitch black night. I barely made it back to Ruifang. I took the 7:41 train in Songshan (rush hour, I know).
Weekdays is what it is, MRT only allows bicycles from 10:00 to 16:00 and then from 22:00 to end of service. Even taking the train at 10am in Hongshulin would be already too late. Weekends are better because you have the option to take the MRT at any time, but there is more traffic. Jiufen can be very crowded on weekends. Lots of buses too. Actually, I had to scold a bus driver who wanted to pass me with incoming traffic. He got really close to my rear wheel. Idiot.
What’s your gearing? First climb is STEEP. I used my lowest gear (30/40) a lot. I rarely use the 40, in fact I didn’t use it again after that first half of the first climb, but I needed it for that climb. It saved my legs for the rest of the day. Doing that with road bike gearing without being a really strong climber (which I’m not) must be painful.
But let me know if you want to do it and you want some company.
I’ve been riding the same old routes up around Yangmingshan and sometimes the north coast. I always think about trying new routes, but always end up at Lengshuikeng. However, I’ve been nursing a knee issue recently so no riding these days.
I still haven’t done any ‘destination’ routes needing a train ride, but I should make a 2024 or 2025 goal of doing the Taiwan KOM challenge or going to Hualien myself and shelling out some cash for a support van.
The most eventful ride in the past 3 months was some good timing for the sunrise near Wanli and later bad timing getting 2 punctures and only having 1 tube. Uber was on the menu that morning. Although I wonder if I could have brought my bike on the Hongshulin MRT?
Did it two weekends ago, it was roasting hot, that is one of the rides I really look forward too. I’ve done it as a night ride quite a few times, leave TPE around 18:00 and get back at midnight ish. Wonderful
When someone says they’ve gone on a bike ride, and then it turns out that they did 5km on an e-bike, do you also feel an immediate loss of respect or am I just snobby twat?
- 5km on e-bike is depressing
- You’re a snob
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voters
Hey if it gets them out of a car, that’s a start right?
Guy
Did you go to Wufenshan from Taipei? I’m in the Dingxi-Yonghe area and doing a lot more cycling the last couple of months, usually very early in the morning. Wufenshan is easier for me to get to than Yangmingshan, but I want to avoid the urban sprawl and morning rush hour traffic. If there’s a relatively out of the way route there from the direction of Taipei, I’d love to hear what it is.
EDIT: I take it back. When I googled Wufenshan, I got some place near Taoyuan. But there’s a Wufenshan Observatory east of Keelung that looks like it’s on the road you mean.
I’m also curious. I’ve spent a bit of time trying to figure out train routes out of Songshan Station, and what would be a good 50-80km route from or between train stations, but, well, I’m confused by what routes work well. Or if there’s a feasible route to get there just by cycling from Danshui.
Feasible for me = less than 120km and let’s say less than 700m of climbing, which is about the most I’ve done in a day thus far. But Songshan and back is already around 50km!
Actually, are there good places to stay in the area, and make it an overnight trip? With this semester’s schedule I could leave first thing Wednesday morning and get back for class late Thursday afternoon. Weekends too, of course, but I have a strong suspicion that the roads in this area are a lot more fun on weekdays.
My recommendations for you near Yonghe:
You probably already know Hongludi near Nanshijiao.
Those are good. Thanks.
I also went down to Wulai, twice, the first time along Xinwu Road. Xinwu Road was filled with boy racers, so the second time out I stuck to back roads along the opposite side of the river. That was better, but you still have to get back on to Xinwu towards the end (there didn’t seem to be any other road into Wulai) and compete with tour buses and big trucks, even very early in the morning. I’ve had some nasty scrapes with buses, and I’m very, very leery of them.
What I can confirm is that climbing it was easier than finding it. I don’t think I’ll do it again because I’m not sure I’ll find the entrance in Xike again. Jokes apart, it is a nice road, but I don’t think it’s harder than Balaka. Total elevation is lower and it has a few sections of false flats (literal translation from Spanish cycling dictionary “falso llano”).
I went down to 106 and up again through a smaller road. A priori, I wasn’t sure it was going to be a great idea because it looked steep. Then I saw this signal at the entrance…
...and thought that it couldn't be that bad if it was the recommended road for bicycles (yes, I mixed up 單行 [one way] with 單車 and 自行車 [both meaning bicycle]). Well, it was that bad with plenty of 20% ramps and then this:
As usual, in photo it doesn’t look as steep as it is in reality. But, trust me, it was a f***ing vertical wall. This section was around 30%, followed by another 20%ish. I didn’t even try to ride it and I’m glad I didn’t because pushing the bike was hard enough and a car was coming down.
The signal in the upper entrance of the road was less confusing, it said 道路危險.
Nope, it’s far away. I’ve seen people (maybe @ranlee?) taking the 2丙 road, which is part of the official cycling route no.1 (huandao), but the tunnel doesn’t look like a tunnel I would enjoy riding in.
Maybe you can finish your ride in one of the towns that allow to take a train with a bicycle and have dinner there, maybe a beer or two after dinner too. Then you can take a train to arrive in Taipei around 10pm to be able to take the MRT to Hongshulin. Doing this has the benefit of avoiding rush hour. Trains get really crowded in Xike.
Edit: I’ve just seen that there is a train that arrives in Songshan at 21:50 on Wednesdays. That’s your train back!
The tunnel is nice and wide and there’s a shoulder. It’s not a bus nor a truck route, so you don’t have to worry about those too much.
If you’re heading down from Danshui @lostinasia , it’s a tough one, especially on a weekend. The Saturday ride I was on did have someone ride from Danshiu and he said he left home at 4 to get to the zoo at 6. Not ideal, but he said it was worth it.
Take a day and stay in Jiufen for an evening on a Friday-Saturday and you’re golden. Can do both the Bu Yen Pagoda and Wu Fen Shan all in one day.
From Yonghe, you want to head towards the zoo and then straight east on the 106 towards Shi Fen and head up that way (to the WuFenShan in Keelung).
On the weekends, what’ss key is starting really early because the 106 tends to get a lot of people in their sports cars going stupidly fast. This might sound crazy, but if you’re not passing the zoo by 630AM, you are already too late.
My suggestion (if possible) is to ride it on a weekday when mountain roads tend to be empty.
Weekdays are good, but I tend these days to head out at 4am. I can go down roads I wouldn’t even contemplate just a couple of hours later. I stick to bike paths and known routes on the return leg, usually just before 9.
Glad you did it. You gotta do 北33 at least once because of the historical significance of the Luku Memorial up there. I think about the people that were planning an uprising against the KMT and were later rounded up in those hills back in the '50s as I ride through there. I also see you did a section of Guangming Rd., the tranquil mountain road that @Coffeefan introduced to us upthread. I will ride Guangming again for sure. But honestly, Balaka is hard to beat. If I lived in Danshui, I’d ride it every week!
Two times I’ve been in the area, two times I missed it. I totally forgot about it last week when I was there.
I did Guangming Rd. a few months ago. There are great roads to ride almost everywhere in the great Taipei area.
Did it today. Yes, amazing, especially the blooming silvergrass, it added to the already stunning views. I took the bike-friendly train from Songshan to Ruifang, and started from the very end of the 106. The traffic, made up of mostly trucks, was a bit heavier than I expected, but once I turned onto the road leading up to the weather station, it was blissful. The ride back to Taipei on the 106 was lovely, especially with the gentle descent after Jingtong.
