I have only gone up it on the weekend unfortunately. What is your go to route when cycling from Tamsui?
I usually go up and down Balaka on the weekends. There’s a lot of blind corners and the road does get narrow at some spots, so I would advise taking it slow going down. Going up, you just have to be aware of your surroundings. You can’t stay too close to the white lines as they sometimes are slippery with moss.
Some cars just assume they own the road and are reckless. This is one of the main reasons why I do not listen to music going up or down the hill, being able to hear cars in front or behind you are so key to your safety.
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I’ve only gone up Balaka and descended down Yangde boulevard, which is wide and smooth. When there’s traffic jam going down, a bike is the best mode of transport to get off the mountain. I’ve passed more than a hundred cars coming down once. The road is so smooth it’s easy to go fast. Watch out for indents on the asphalt that you can’t really see until it’s too late. You might get airborne if you go over one of those at a high speed.
Up 101, then depending on mood and traffic, Balaka, Qingshan Road, 北7, 北15 … up and down in the hills. I think I’ve posted most of them in the “How was your ride today?” thread. Or along the riverside into the city for lunch, at least outside of the summer months. Or up Denggong Road, over the ridge, down into Beitou.
My ride distances are nowhere near @ranlee’s (yet, damn it, I’ll get there!), but one of the longer rides I do is up Balaka, down to Jinshan, and home back around the coast. The Jinshan descent is wider and has a lot more visibility than Balaka - but, as ranlee described in the “Most dangerous moment” thread, that can in fact make things more dangerous!
But I haven’t ridden anywhere near often enough this spring, due to pollution or weather or, today at least, getting a COVID vaccine in the morning. I suspect going out for a ride today would be pushing my luck, despite the lack of side effects.
Gorgeous weather yesterday and today, however.
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Quality over quantity!
Many times when I hit those high kms, up to 10-20km of that is what some like to call 垃圾里程, in other words, garbage mileage, where you’re just traveling to and from the meet up point.
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Has anyone ever taken Zhongshan North road up? It’s kind of close to Xingyi road, but seems way less popular (I’m guessing it’s a bit steeper and more narrow?).
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I’ve taken it up. It’s pretty steep, then flattens out and then there’s a 10-15% 200m long kicker at the top. Not an easy climb, but definitely a more scenic and quiet road.
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I rode it up and down several times. It has some steep sections as ranlee has pointed out. It has been years since I last rode it. Going down, when the road enters into the city and it gets really narrow, l almost rear ended a car that stopped completely for no reason. Luckily we were going slow, but the stoppie and the last second evasive maneuver is something I can’t forget. I was on an MTB, I don’t think I could do that with the road bike.
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Just be smart and know the turns and your limits, goes for any road you descend in taiwan. Also do not cross over the left side unless you know its clear, going up and down 
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