Looking at the topography maps, it seems like any good hills to climb (say 500m or higher) are towards the east/northeast of Kaohsiung.
Anybody have some recommendations on the nearest hills from Kaohsiung city center (realizing they may be quite a few km’s away) to go bike riding and get a decent workout on? Looking for hills about the same altitude (or higher) as Yangmingshan in north Taipei that I could bike.
On a side note, I would consider any Kaohsiung MRT station that is the closest to said hills as a place to hop off from.
Unfortunately, I have no first hand experience, but I do have a teammate down in Kaohsiung who rides regularly. His fitness level is pretty high, so he does go on some crazy rides, not saying yours isn’t, but just make sure you know what you’re getting into
Here’s some Strava segments for your viewing pleasure.
Is SYS University the same as Zhong Shan University? I remember only one Monkey Mountain where Zhong Shan Uni is located and where my cousin attends school.
She told me that bikes aren’t allowed up the main entrance to the school due to no shoulder, scooters and…monkeys.
Dunno, mate. If you can see my ride on Strava, someone has created segments called Monkey Mountain, so that’s how I know it. The road follows the coast from the Uni campus - you have to turn around when you get to the gate of the military base.
You can also walk up Monkey Mountain on the southern side (steep steps popular with weekend walkers/hikers) if you can cope with the presence of said monkeys. One jumped on me head first time I went up there, so I ain’t too keen.
Thanks for your Strava links, Ranlee. Have checked them and will mark them down on some maps.
I generally rode around the northern hills of Neihu and 風櫃嘴 a couple times a week. Not a pro by any definition. Also used to do the ride up to the tea farms of Muzha, starting near the back entrance of NCCU when I used to live along the riverside near NTNU. You get to those hills by following the short riverside trunk that goes over to Muzha and cutting over onto one of the bridges. Would rather climb hills more than do flatlands.
Thanks also to you, CoIT, for that ride out the ZhongLiao. Looks kind of cool and certainly very close to the city. Gonna definitely try that when I get the time.
How long are you around in Kaohsiung? If you want to hook up for a ride some time, we are down there quite often visiting in-laws and I usually take a bike with me.
If you have Strava, navigate to “explore segments” on the menu bar. You sometimes have to zoom in for the segments to show. Not all are in hilly areas, but many are.
There are some good hilly roads in Niaosong /Dashu as well as YiDa. Zhongliao was already mentioned.
Yes, It’s Zhong Shan University.
There’s an entrance behind a temple which opens later in the morning (when its hot) but you can enter on the access road to the zoo. Go up that road a bit, and there is a walkway on the right. Just walk your bike up the stairs and you’re in.
Heatmaps shows where most of the people are riding and the popular routes. Don’t get me wrong, segments are a good way too. You see the names of the segments and the distance/gradient and how many attempts by how many people. So by looking at the attempts, you know if it’s popular, it’s just heat maps is a clearer picture.
