Two German bikers wanna say hello and have a few questions

Recreation Cycling
1

Dear Forumosa-community,

first of all thank you very much for providing so much information on Taiwan and on how to get around. I’ve been reading along for quite some time but now I would like to ask a few more detailed questions.

First of all, my name is Chris and I’m planning on spending my Easter holidays in Taiwan with my travel buddy Simon. We’re both teachers in Germany and have discovered our passion for cycling when we did a trip through Cuba the year before. Surprisingly, we find it way more difficult to organise our tour in Taiwan, although (or because?) there are so many options.

We’d be happy if you could comment on the itinerary that we have developed till now… you know, tell us what is or is not a good idea, where (not) to go / stay and so on. Thank you in advance for your time and efforts!

Our plane arrives with our bikes on April 2 at 11:45am in Taipei (Taoyuan) and we’ll try to catch a bus that brings us to the main station - we’ve already contacted a hostel that is willing to take care of our cardboard boxes that protect our bikes - we need them for the way back and want to stay in either EZstay, Flip Flop Hostel or Main Station Hostel for the first and last night.
April 3 is the beginning of our bicycle tour. We want to get to HW7 and ride about 60km to Fusing (Fuxing?)… or some other place that lies on the Northern Crossing.
The next day is bound to “suck”, because we try to cross the mountain range and ride ~100km to Luodong / Yilan - that is, some place where we can board a train the next day and get safely to Hualien - I’ve taken notice of the dangerous coastal route. Here’s my first question: On the TRA Website, the Tze-Chiang Limited Express has a bicycle symbol next to it, but it says “bicycle bags available” <- our bikes are not bagged and I believe they won’t hand out bags… does it simply mean there’s a place for bikes?
Anyway, we try to go south by train until Hualien on April 5, arrive there before noon and cycle up Taroko Gorge - and down again. One night in Hualien and the next day some strenous 170km to Taitung (Taidong?). Is this possible at all? Would you recommend the coastal HW or No9?
On April 7, we want to cycle further south and reach Kenting or some other place where we can stay and rejoice in some tropical beaches and scenery. Is there something worth seeing? We want to spend one complete day there to cure our sore butts.

After that our plans are not that well thought-out… we want to go north on the west coast and maybe get on a train in Fengshan - but the train website doesn’t explain if bicycles are allowed there - if I klick “Other”, the website won’t let me choose anything in the dropdown menu; I’m just allowed to tick the major cities.
We’d like to visit Sun Moon Lake and avoid cycling in the crowded urban sprawl… maybe spend more time in Taipei? Or skip the West and head north to Keelung (using bike paths)? Our plane, however, leaves at noon on April 13, so there are some more days to fill!

Phew, that’s a whole lot of info. Any help / comment is deeply appreciated, so feel free to answer!

Thank you very much - we’re both looking forward to visiting Taiwan and want to make the most of it!

Have a nice day
Chris

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I would use a hotel close to the TPE airport as the start and ending hotel. Why deal with Taipei at all when your objective is touring.
Bike bag can be newspaper taped around the bike. It’s Taiwan… appearance over substance. I bring large (“leaf and garden”) trash bags in which to bag my bike whenever the TRA stationmaster has a hissy fit.
Hualien to Taidong… a long day in the saddle, but doable if it’s not raining. I would go down the E. Rift Valley. Then, for coastal views, go South from Taidong to Kending along the coast.

On any train that doesn’t have a bike symbol, just “bag” the bikes and avoid all four rush hours: business rush hours and school rush hours. School kids are completely inconsiderate and will jam every square inch in a train, reserved car or not. Need to get off a train full of school kids? … not going to happen if you have a bike in a passenger car.

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how much do you like hills?

if you like them loads then instead of going hualien to taidong keep going uphill frpm taroko gorge to hehuan shan at 3200m. There is a hostel at about 2400m, so you can do first day up to that, then on the second ride to the top and then ride back down to Hualien.

If you hate hills then skip the northern cross highway and simply explore the area between taroko gorge and taidong using either route 193 in the rift valley or route 11 on the coast.

If you like both hills and flat then your route is fine and is very similar to a tour I did about two years ago. I would suggest the following changes :

Stay at lower Baling and not at Fuxing on the northern Cross on day 1. It will make day 2 easier. There are a couple of hostels there that are accustomed to having cyclists stay over. They will suggest that you get up at about 5:30am so that you can make it for the all-you-can-eat breakfast at the hotel at the top of the hill. Don’t bother, the food is expensive and not that worthwhile. Have a lie-in but stock up on loads of food - there aren’t that many eateries after Baling.
Here is the hostel I stayed at: 北橫貫下巴陵溫泉山莊 - shabaling.mmmtravel.com.tw

Get a train from Luodong to Xincheng at the end of day 2. There is a youth hostel at xincheng before the entrance to taroko national park which means you don’t have a nasty slog from Hualien. liwu.ho.net.tw/profile.html
There aren’t many dining options at Xincheng - you may need to eat a lot of microwaved food from the 7-11.

Between Xincheng and Hualien there is a pleasant coastal road so you can avoid the route 9.

Between hualien and taidong the route 193 is quiet and much more pleasant than the route 9.

You don’t need to go all the way from hualien to taidong in one day. There are train stops and hostels at loads of small towns between them. There are also many side trips - the gorge to the west of Liyu for example is lovely.

The road South from Taidong on the way to Kending has some really nasty sections. I would suggest instead going down the 193 to taidong and back up the coastal road to Hualien.

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Chris, Ilan to Hualien can be done with unbagged bikes, in 2 ways.

  1. The slower local train (2 hrs): there are 5 / 6 of these a day, bike just stays with you in the end carriage. You have to buy an extra ticket for each bike, but it’s not much. I’m still not sure if all local trains will allow bikes, but certainly some do. Good thing about doing this is you can get off at Xinsheng, and cycle right into Taroko. That saves a 20km backtrack from Hualien.

  2. There’s one faster train per day (1 hr 25) from Yilan to Hualien which you can put an unbagged bike on : the 172, leaving Yilan at 17:37. The bike has to be sent as Express Delivery (kuai-di), and there’s paperwork involved. Get this done at the Yilan Baggage Office, before 17:00. The bike goes straight into the luggage van (at the front of the train, on southbound trains). Cost is about $350NT.

This is a useful recent thread about cycle-touring on the east…
[url]First time in Taiwan - cycle touring/routes

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Nin hao and thank you for your answers!

Contrary to your suggestion, maunaloa, we’re still heading for Taipei. First, it’s a capital city and I think that makes it worth visiting and second, I’m anxious to visit Taipei 101 - I’m a geography teacher and we have recently finished East Asia (tectonic movements, living in seismic regions, …) in grade 10. That’s a must see for me! Thanks anyway, especially for your advice to use plastic bags to “bag” bikes! That should come in handy! :discodance:
As for the trains: that’s exactly what should not happen - being entrapped by what we’re trying to leave behind - pupils :doh:

Greenmark, we don’t like hills, we accept them :aiyo: 3000m and more do not count as hills where we come from; our highest mountain in Germany is below 3000m and I wouldn’t think of climbing halfway up in my boldest dreams. However, the Northern Crossing should be feasible, I reckon. We’ll try and follow your idea to go as far as Baling. Also, we like your alternative to Hualien and HW9 → getting off at Xincheng and following 193 seems fine, too. :slight_smile:

Nuit, thank you very much for the link.

Apart from my other “problems” - we do not want to prebook (at least that’s what I suggested to my friend), but how on earth do we recognise a hotel / hostel / BB / homestay in rural areas? I imagine not every remote accommodation has an international symbol outside for us foreigners… I’ve looked up the Kanji for “hotel” but that doesn’t help at all, I’m afraid… any input highly appreciated!

Thank you!

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To be honest, if you are not into steep climbs I would just cut out the idea of going over the Northern Cross Island Highway. There are many easier ways to get to Ilan from Taipei.

On your first day, instead of going down to Fuxing and doing the Northern Cross Island highway, you could instead ride straight down Roosevelt Rd. from Taipei Main, down to Xindian and take route 9 to Pinglin then on to Jiaoxi, in Ilan county. It’s a lot kinder than the Northern Cross. There are two ups and two downs. The down into Jiaoxi is a really nice long, very well-maintained road with great views. You should, however, be careful of trucks and local yahoos on their race motorcycles. I cant say much about the Norther Cross, but I have heard you should also be careful there too. I suppose if you go during the week it would be better. Again, watch out for the small blue trucks on that route. Crazy drivers.

Another way would be to just go around the North Coast from Taipei to Keelung to Ilan on route 2. It’s longer by distance, but there are no big climbs really. You could also just put your bikes on a train to Keelung. There are lots of local trains on that route. You could also ride the bike path there. Although once you get out of Taipei City, the path gets a bit tricky.

Third way would be to go north towards Keelung, on route 2 but then hang a right on route 102 toward Rueifang, Gongliao and eventually end up at Fulong where you take the coastal road to Ilan.

Again, another way to do this would be to just put your bikes on the train to go to Gongliao or Fulong and start your journey there on route 2. I highly recommend this option as mostly you will be going through the city with lots of traffic until you hang a right onto the 102.

If you do this, then you will save a day getting to Ilan, and can spend more time down between Hualien and Taidong, which is really spectacular for riding. From Taipei to Ilan is really, really doable if you go the right route.

I don’t know much about the ride from Taidong to Kending, but you might also consider what was stated above, to just ride down the rift valley to Taidong, then ride back up to Hualien. Both sides are really nice biking!

If you get to the Hualien train station, there is a tourist center there once you exit the station on the south side. Go in there an pick up some tourist pamphlets. They have some info in English as to places to stay, suggested bicycle routes and other activities. Hualien and Taidong county are promoting their cyclo-tourism business, so there is a lot of info there for you. Btw you can go into every police station along that route to fill up your water bottle and there should be a bicycle pump to pump-up your tires.

Taipei itself has some great bike paths as well. So you can also consider doing some day rides there and cultural/food/drink stuff in the evening.

What time will you be setting out on April 3? If you end up riding through Taipei I can ride with you a bit of the way that day. PM me and I will give you contact details.

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Hi circleback!

Thank you for your post! I think we can manage the cross and we just have to when we want to experience Taiwan’s diversity. What’s the worst that can happen? Right… having to sleep in a ditch, horrendous cramps… well, we’ll give it a shot! We’re grateful of your alternative routes, though , and your hints regarding more info :slight_smile:
We don’t know yet at what time we leave Taipei, but I think in the morning hours… that will depend on a few circumstances - we could let you know the day before, our hostel provides internet access.

Can anybody recommend a place to stay at Sun Moon Lake? And how come NO train seems to go to Shuili? Our current plan is to leave Kenting, cycle to Fengshan, catch a train to Tainan and stay there for one night.
Then we want to get as close to Sun Moon Lake as possible and the only option we have seems to be Ershui, although other stations are closer…

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You’ll be fine. That is, unless you encounter The Fog of Death up past Mingchr.

The Jiji Branch Line serves Shuili. You can get on at Shuili and the transfer to the West Coast mainline at Ershui. I have no idea what the bike policy is on that train. I would avoid it on the weekend as it is a popular tourist railway (beautiful little line though, it winds along jungle-clad hillsides and tropical fruit farms most of the way).

[quote=“eager_biker”]
Our current plan is to leave Kending, cycle to Fengshan, catch a train to Tainan and stay there for one night.
Then we want to get as close to Sun Moon Lake as possible and the only option we have seems to be Ershui, although other stations are closer…[/quote]

I would highly recommend hitting the “Mountainside Highway” Provincial 185 east of Fangliao, then biking west on Hwy 24 to Pingdong City. There are countless nice recreation areas along that road and I would imagine there are lots of homestays/minsus around there too. I usually stay at the Wanchin Basilica (an old Spanish mission still run by Dominicans) guesthouse in Wanluan. It’s cheap, quiet and the grounds are pleasant. Anyway, I think that part of Pingdong is one of the most underrated spots in Taiwan and is very similar to the East Rift Valley in its pastoral loveliness. And if you go into the mountains, you’ll see some of the most fascinating aboriginal areas on the island.

Oh and re: Ershui. Forget the Jiji branch line and just bike up to Sun Moon Lake from Ershui. There are bike paths much of the way and after that Provincial 152 is a lovely road called “The Green Tunnel” because of the trees branching up over the road. Take that to Shuili and then take National Highway 21 up to Sun Moon Lake, veering off on 21-B to take in the lovely south and east sides of the lake. I’d find a place to stay on the east side as it is much quieter and nicer than the west side (which is developed up the ass!). Not sure where to stay as I usually camp but I’m sure there are plenty of hotels and minsus near the Ita Thao village.

Hope that helps!

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On the east coast you can’t really make a bad choice. Maybe go down hwy 193 to hwy 23 and then use that to cut over to the coast. I just drove hwy 23 last month and it was awesome and had very little traffic. I still need to post the photos on my website.

Taidong to Kending is similarly great. Hwy 9 isn’t great to cycle on because it’s very busy but once you leave the big hwy it is very nice although it has some ups and downs. Just stay as far east as you can. Hwy 9 up to the pass, hwy 199, hwy 26 and hwy 200.

On the west coast you should avoid the coast pretty much at all costs. stay as close to the mountains as possible. hwy 185 east of Kaohsiung and hwy 21 in chaiyi and nantou counties for example.

Since you only have 9-10 days I might start in Hualien. Take a tour bus up to tianxiang (Taroko Gorge) and coast down the gorge. And then ride about halfway to Taidong that day. After that bike to Kending, relax a little before going as far up the west side of the mountain range as you get. You should be able to go to any reasonably sized city and board a bus to Taipei with your bikes.

I would also consider Sun Moon Lake a place to visit if it works out instead of a destination to specifically plan for.

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[quote=“Abacus”]

On the west coast you should avoid the coast pretty much at all costs. stay as close to the mountains as possible. hwy 185 east of Kaohsiung and hwy 21 in Jiayi and nantou counties for example.

Since you only have 9-10 days I might start in Hualian. Take a tour bus up to tianxiang (Taroko Gorge) and coast down the gorge. And then ride about halfway to Taidong that day. After that bike to Kending, relax a little before going as far up the west side of the mountain range as you get. You should be able to go to any reasonably sized city and board a bus to Taipei with your bikes.

I would also consider Sun Moon Lake a place to visit if it works out instead of a destination to specifically plan for.[/quote]

I would agree with this ‘hugging the mountains’ idea on the west coast. I would even go so far as to suggest you skip Tainan since you are biking. Yes, there is a lot of history there but its nothing spectacular. Honestly, I found the Anping historic district to be a major disappointment. Just a bunch of old walls and a big ugly observation tower in the middle. Tainan, like most Taiwanese cities, only reveals its charms after living there or visiting repeatedly. Perhaps others will disagree with me on this.

Regardless, the amount of blight and traffic lights you will hit going into to Tainan just isnt worth whatever you will do there on such a short trip.

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The only reason to do Tainan (or any big city) is if you are using it as a transportation hub. Likewise don’t stay in Haulien but get a rec for one of those hot spring resorts south of the Taidong.

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The fog of WHAT? :aiyo:

I think that’s what we will do; thank you very much. It’s a shame I spotted the Teacher’s Hostel at the West side, because that’s what I’d naturally visit :smiley:

As for your tip to go to Pingdong - I think that costs us too much time. On the other hand, PaddyB suggested to skip Tainan. I will have to discuss this matter with my friend, because he was the one who brought it up in the first place. However, we were not planning to bike our way into Tainan, but to arrive on train (coming from Fengshan, which is the southmost station, I believe) - find a nice hostel to store our bikes and then go see Tainan. If it’s not too special… we could certainly skip it, but Sun Moon is on our list, regardless of our visit to Tainan.

You’re all suggesting to spend more time on the East coast and you do have a point. Maybe we can rearrange our plan.

Anyway, thanks A LOT for your kind help! We’re really looking forward to cycling this beautiful country and hope that Air China doesn’t mash our means of transport :no-no:

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here’s a nice place to stay south of Hualien
halfmoonbay.com.tw/index_eng.htm

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If you two are still planning on crossing the island from Fuxing >> Baling >> Yilan, I will also be doing it around the exact same time. However, I’m planning to go south on Route 7 down the spine of the island instead of heading over to Yilan, and then hooking up with Route 8 down Taroko from there. So maybe I’ll see you guys on the road if I end up leaving the same day (I live here so I have a little more freedom to play it by ear).

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The fog of WHAT? :aiyo:

[/quote]

I think you should defintely ride the Northern Cross. It’s the best ride in northern Taiwan and isn’t too difficult.

It’s true that the section near Mingchi often has heavy fog. But it’s preceded by 20km of some of the best riding in Taiwan with glorious scenery followed by the best down hillin northern Taiwan. A visitor from outside of Taiwan should definitely stop in Mingchi and look at the thousand year old cedar stands.

Especially in the spring it’s likely that Mingchi will be fogged in and one must always be prepared for cold rain above 1,000 meters. But in the dozens of times I have done this ride, only once or twice were truly miserable.

Go for it!

I think that’s what we will do; thank you very much. It’s a shame I spotted the Teacher’s Hostel at the West side, because that’s what I’d naturally visit :smiley:

As for your tip to go to Pingdong - I think that costs us too much time. On the other hand, PaddyB suggested to skip Tainan. I will have to discuss this matter with my friend, because he was the one who brought it up in the first place. However, we were not planning to bike our way into Tainan, but to arrive on train (coming from Fengshan, which is the southmost station, I believe) - find a nice hostel to store our bikes and then go see Tainan. If it’s not too special… we could certainly skip it, but Sun Moon is on our list, regardless of our visit to Tainan.

You’re all suggesting to spend more time on the East coast and you do have a point. Maybe we can rearrange our plan.

Anyway, thanks A LOT for your kind help! We’re really looking forward to cycling this beautiful country and hope that Air China doesn’t mash our means of transport :no-no:[/quote]

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That was actually our preferred route, but time is too short to go throough the mountains… yeah, give us a wave if you see two foreign bikers. I’m easily recognisable - I have a black and white Giant bike with black and white panniers and I wear a black helmet. I might be swearing if it’s a climb.

@ Feiren: We’ll see about fog & rain - I have new (black & white ; ) rain gear, which should defy any weather - at least that’s what I expect, given the horrendous price. I’m more concerned about fun; if you can’t see anything of the beautiful scenery and if it’s only about carrying our stuff from A to B…

We’re already excited but haven’t been able to do more planning. I’m a bit sick, which means no training, and our job is giving us hell. But it will all work out, I’m confident. Thanks to your help, too, by the way!

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eager, I suggest you guys pick up an English guide to taiwan so you have info on hotels and hostels (which will include Chinese characters). Of course I’ll recommend Lonely Planet Taiwan but largely because it has the most cycling info of all the other guides (which are also excellent but not so focused on outdoor activities).

Btw, if you are going to ride the North Cross, you can take the bike-only river paths in Taipei all the way down to the Shimen Reservoir and then start the highway crossing there. It’s a nice ride though a little longer than directly on the road (but then no traffic).

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I’m bored. Fixed that for you.
Sound advice, though - much more chilled to do that than ride out through town.

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Or take the MRT out there on a weekend. Or the local train to Shulin. Or just stay in Yingge or Sanxia and cut out Taipei altogether.

Sorry, when do you guys arrive and which days are you doing the northern cross?

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We arrive at April 2, and want to start on Tuesday (April 3) early in the morning. We’re hoping for nice weather… I’ve been following the forecast and Taipei’s mico climate works in mysterious ways - one day 15°C, the next 28°C. We’ll see :sunglasses:
I have found a nice map (Taipei Riverside Cycling Path Map ) and we want to go down - that is, up - the river on the path (Jiangzicui Riverside Park) that leads us to the West first. I have already taken a look at it in Google Earth (bless modern technology) and I’m not quite sure how to cross these huge bridges, but since the cycling path goes right across, there has to be a way. Later the path should be crossed by provincial Highway 110 (Fuxing Road), which leads underneath Expressway No3 to Highway 3. Then the road splits and we’re on Highway 7B. That’s the plan :ponder:

I’m going for a ride later to be able to keep up with my buddy - I still feel a bit sickish but I need to train for the mountains and the 170km stretch from Hualien to Taidong.