There’s a brand new dedicated bike/pedestrian bridge over Dahan river several hundred meters upstream from Xinhai Bridge. Of all the bike bridges in Taipei, this has got to be the mother of them all, with several rest stops on it and a walkway that has glass for a floor. The only drawback is they have personnel stationed at the ramps to make sure you walk, and not ride, your bike down the perfectly safe, gentle slope. :raspberry:
You’re in luck - go to the Miramar in Neihu! The tourist info booth (in the atrium between the two buildings, with the fountains) almost always has cycling maps. There are both Chinese and English versions, but if you know Taipei at all the Chinese one is pretty good anyway. For both versions the map itself is bilingual.
I assume the Flower Expo stretch is still closed?
Inquiry: how feasible is it to make a “big circle” around downtown Taipei, sticking mostly to the cycling paths? It looks possible to take the city streets from, roughly, the Raohe night market/ Rainbow Bridge, heading southwest towards Gongguan. Possible, however, doesn’t mean pleasant. (I’d rather go from Raohe to Taipei Zoo, but that goes through a tunnel that I very much doubt is bicycle friendly.)[/quote]
These maps you can get at visitor centers wouldn’t happen to be online would they?
Would they have the maps in MRT stations?
EDIT:
You’re in luck - go to the Miramar in Neihu! The tourist info booth (in the atrium between the two buildings, with the fountains) almost always has cycling maps. There are both Chinese and English versions, but if you know Taipei at all the Chinese one is pretty good anyway. For both versions the map itself is bilingual.
I assume the Flower Expo stretch is still closed?
Inquiry: how feasible is it to make a “big circle” around downtown Taipei, sticking mostly to the cycling paths? It looks possible to take the city streets from, roughly, the Raohe night market/ Rainbow Bridge, heading southwest towards Gongguan. Possible, however, doesn’t mean pleasant. (I’d rather go from Raohe to Taipei Zoo, but that goes through a tunnel that I very much doubt is bicycle friendly.)[/quote]
These maps you can get at visitor centers wouldn’t happen to be online would they?
Would they have the maps in MRT stations?
EDIT:
Found it! http://163.20.108.7/~kn999/map/taipei_bike.htm[/quote]
Clicking on that link, about only half of the map loads. Is there something wrong with the link, or is it something to do with my browser?
Same here, only loads half.
It appears to be an old map anyway, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It doesn’t have the Shezi bridge on it which has been open for at least half a year, but I’d say the map is probably much older than that. I haven’t seen a recent map online lately, and I’ve done searches before. The maps at the bike rental shops or the tourist centers still seem like the best ones, in my opinion.
What Incubus said above about that new bridge (called something like the Crescent bridge) near the Xinhai Bridge is true. It’s very nice and brand new. I’m going to be using that one a lot more than the other existing bridges when I go toward Yingge or thereabouts.
You’re in luck - go to the Miramar in Neihu! The tourist info booth (in the atrium between the two buildings, with the fountains) almost always has cycling maps. There are both Chinese and English versions, but if you know Taipei at all the Chinese one is pretty good anyway. For both versions the map itself is bilingual.
I assume the Flower Expo stretch is still closed?
Inquiry: how feasible is it to make a “big circle” around downtown Taipei, sticking mostly to the cycling paths? It looks possible to take the city streets from, roughly, the Raohe night market/ Rainbow Bridge, heading southwest towards Gongguan. Possible, however, doesn’t mean pleasant. (I’d rather go from Raohe to Taipei Zoo, but that goes through a tunnel that I very much doubt is bicycle friendly.)[/quote]
These maps you can get at visitor centers wouldn’t happen to be online would they?
Would they have the maps in MRT stations?
EDIT:
Found it! http://163.20.108.7/~kn999/map/taipei_bike.htm[/quote]
Clicking on that link, about only half of the map loads. Is there something wrong with the link, or is it something to do with my browser?[/quote]
If you have a magnifying glass, the below map will work.
http://163.20.108.7/~kn999/map/taipei_bike_s.htm
It only shows riverside paths though. And like scomargo said, it’s an old map, but gives you an idea.
To you guys looking for a map of the river bike paths…
A quite complete map can be found ON THIS SITE, which is basically a site that contains a number of maps of Taipei (like a night market map and a bike path map)
Direct links to the bike path map files:
THIS ONE is an enormous (pdf >9Mb) map of Taipei that contains all the bike paths (not just riverside)
THIS ONE is also rather large (pdf >5Mb). It’s a brochure that describes the various bikepaths along the river (same layout as the above map, but with some pretty pictures and a lot of descriptive text 
).
I hope this helps! I know it helped me when I first started off riding the bike paths.
P.S. The big pdf is the same map as ranlee posted above, but at a much higher resolution and from the official source (so perhaps more up to date? haven’t checked…)
J, nice find.
Anyone know when that bridge from Nangang over to Donghu will be finished?
It seems to only be missing the guard rails and a path leading up to the ramps.
They’ve been working on that bridge for many months, but it does look like it’s almost done. I usually just ride over the bridge in the same lane that the scooters use. It’s not that long of a bridge anyway.
In other news: I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned already in this thread, but the riverside bike path on Shezi, or Shezi Island (社子島) as it’s called in Chinese, has been complete for several months. It’s quite narrow in parts, but at least you don’t have to get on the street anymore like was necessary before.
Hi!
Not sure if anyone posted this link already, a detailed route map of New Taipei City.
http://iwater.ntpc.gov.tw/ezfiles/0/1000/attach/17/pta_15_6130106_94324.jpg
Are you referring to that northernmost sticky-outy bit when you do the Nangang-Muzha-Nangang riverside loop? If so, I noticed that too when I did that route recently. A very welcome development indeed.
Are you referring to that northernmost sticky-outy bit when you do the Nangang-Muzha-Nangang riverside loop? If so, I noticed that too when I did that route recently. A very welcome development indeed.[/quote]
Yes, that’s the one. The Shezi peninsula that’s called Shezi island in Chinese.
Are you referring to that northernmost sticky-outy bit when you do the Nangang-Muzha-Nangang riverside loop? If so, I noticed that too when I did that route recently. A very welcome development indeed.[/quote]
Yes, that’s the one. The Shezi peninsula that’s called Shezi island in Chinese.[/quote]
Got it. I don’t think those fellows quite understand the meaning of “island”.
[quote=“scomargo”]
In other news: I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned already in this thread, but the riverside bike path on Shezi, or Shezi Island (社子島) as it’s called in Chinese, has been complete for several months. It’s quite narrow in parts, but at least you don’t have to get on the street anymore like was necessary before.[/quote]
I think I rode the entire peninsula without even realizing that I went over a bridge that just got completed. Where is the bridge exactly and what does it connect you to?
[quote=“ranlee”][quote=“scomargo”]
In other news: I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned already in this thread, but the riverside bike path on Shezi, or Shezi Island (社子島) as it’s called in Chinese, has been complete for several months. It’s quite narrow in parts, but at least you don’t have to get on the street anymore like was necessary before.[/quote]
I think I rode the entire peninsula without even realizing that I went over a bridge that just got completed. Where is the bridge exactly and what does it connect you to?[/quote]
The outline of the peninsula is shaped like a duck’s head, and the new bridge is located at the back of the head, or the northeast side of the “island.” It looks like a larger version of Dazhi bridge, and it connects you to the bike path on the opposite bank of Jilong river near the garbage incinerator with the revolving restaurant.
In other riverside bike path news, the boardwalk on the Taipei City side of Yongfu bridge (near Gongguan) is no more. 
The new path is paved with asphalt. I know it’s easier to maintain than wood, but I miss riding over those boards and hearing the creaking sound they made.
Ah, so it leads you up to Beitou?
[quote=“ranlee”][quote=“Incubus”]
The outline of the peninsula is shaped like a duck’s head, and the new bridge is located at the back of the head, or the northeast side of the “island.” It looks like a larger version of Dazhi bridge, and it connects you to the bike path on the opposite bank of Jilong river near the garbage incinerator with the revolving restaurant.
[/quote]
Ah, so it leads you up to Beitou?[/quote]
Yes, south Beitou, or Qilian to be more precise.
Yes, I think I rode that a few weeks ago on a spontaneous night ride up to Danshui.
Back to the Nangang —> Donghu bridge. Rode past it last night and noticed that the floor of the ramp is not complete. I assume this won’t be finished until January. 
The majority of my rides take place at night. Much cooler than riding during the day, and there’re fewer kids out, not to mention lighter traffic if you go out after 10:00 pm. The only issue is how well lit the bikeway is. Generally, I find Taipei city’s riverside better lit than New Taipei’s. The best place I’ve found in terms of brightness is the stretch from Treasure Hill going south all the way to Jingmei bridge. It’s like a freeway for bikes, nice, wide and bright. You can go pretty fast (20 km/hr) without having to worry too much about what lies in the darkness ahead or passing other bikes. What are some other riverside parks suitable for night rides?