汐止區 left bank is pretty terrible. It’s true that many cities would not even bother to try it in an area like that, but it’s still a nightmare to navigate through it. All the antiscooter gates make it even more painful.
Part of 環島1. Crème de la crème of cycling paths in Taiwan.
Don’t work that well do they, I see them doing it, lean scooter over slightly turn Handelbar and through.
What I do is one foot at six o’clock and the other at 12 o’clock. Ride in a straight line as you approach the gate. Let the 12 o’clock foot glide over the gate, and you’ll get a smooth passage.
With my luck, not to mention skills, I’ll get a trashed rear derailleur.
That’s why you got to stay in that straight line throughout the passage. The thing I need to remember is to hug the gate on my approach, so my lower foot wouldn’t knock against the lower protrusion.
Gates are not all same width apart or height.
Some I can skin my knuckles others straight though.
I find best option is the 6-12 o clock on the side bars, but again they are not all fixed in same width. Can be risky with clipless shoes on.
I fucking hate cyclists. I’ll probably get censored for saying this in this thread, but c’est la vie. Old twats who think they count as pedestrians on their one-speed, rusted bicycles and modern fuckwits with their fancy, expensive helmets and girly kneepads irritate me.
Now report this post.
The worst that I could remember was the 106 road heading East with one long section that’s popular for wannabe racers. I still remember one car coming out of a turn straight towards me and I was just praying it wouldn’t lose traction.
Yesterday I headed up Xiwan Rd and 3 motorcyclists were doing ‘hill repeats’ on the top third of the climb. It’s a great road with wide lanes and only my 5th time going up that side, but my first encounter with racers.
I was there yesterday too. I did 2/3 of it downhill and only the last 2 km uphill. I don’t remember motorbikes while I was going downhill (it doesn’t mean there weren’t there), but I saw a few cyclists, which was a novelty for the day. When I joined this road for the last 2 km I saw a few speeding motorbikes and a lot of them parked in the coffee shop in the summit. Last time I was there cycling was ages ago, so I can’t say if they are a common sight.
Based on my limited experience of that area, I recommend the smaller roads. I hardly saw any vehicle of any kind on them. Using this climb (Qidu climb 2 | Strava Ride Segment in Taiwan) and going through the cemetery, I did it once years ago, Xiwan Rd can be skipped entirely.
I don’t have them? gutted I thought I had all the kit!
I hoping fellow cyclists haven’t noticed? Feeling ashamed.
Nice recommendation, I’ll give that route a try. I’ve always seen motorbikes at the top of that climb, so maybe I was just unlucky to have them repeat up and down 3 times while I was in that section.
Before I moved to Taiwan, I checked the road I would have to use to commute everyday with the satellite map:
6km of straight, flat, new pavement with 2 lanes for cars, 2 lanes for scooters and 1 lane for bicycles clearly marked, going through wetlands in Tainan, looking perfect.
It turned out cars use the 2 scooter lanes to overpass from the right side which pushes all the scooters on the bike lane. Thanks to that I managed to get hit from behind by a scooter while cycling in the middle of an absolutely straight cycling lane.
After meeting my first cadaver on the lane, I switched to car sharing and hitchhiking to commute. Years of complains from me and others have not changed much, Lai was the mayor, 200 people get killed each year on the roads of Tainan.
Classic Taiwanese driving.
Guys, be careful when passing next to this parking lot at night. Most of the day, the “guardian dogs” are chained at the entrance of the lot. But, at night, they are left to roam free and often chase cyclists. The other night I was returning home through here and a car started doing a U-turn (very slowly), so one of the dogs went out, growled, and ran to me while I was waiting for the car to stop blocking the road. If it wasn’t for an old man who scared him off with a stick, I think it might have bitten me.
I see it’s still your most hated segment. 
Haha I just have a new reason to hate it even more 
I was rarely having encounters with dogs, but recently this has changed and now I’ve been chased or blocked by dogs quite often.
Maybe it’s the cold weather. They want a good workout to keep warm.
There are a few kilometers of new construction on the left bank near Bali blocking all the views. Twists and turns and narrow spots and blind spots ans rough pavement and sharp corners and odd signage.
I don’t know why they’re tearing it up it was already beautiful with a nice smooth path.
Normally one of my favorite areas to ride but I guess I’ll be riding some other area until they finish.
