So this is where it all began…
We were planning our next cycling trip and we are searching for a nice place to test out our new steel bikes. Since our Genesis bikes are made in Taiwan, why not TAIWAN?!
When to go?
The best time to go to Taiwan is during low season (Nov-Mar). As per advice of our friend (Lonely Planet), only a few tourists go to this country during this season (except during January and Chinese New Year) making the prices of accommodations and major tourist sights cheaper. With this information at hand, we decided to go to Taiwan a week after Chinese New Year.
Weather forecast sites show that early morning and night time could a bit cold and windy (between 14-22 Celsius) and it would be a good thing to have a light jacket. Daytime is bright and sunny (around 18-27 Celsius). Sunblocks and cycling sleeves are good to have.
The possibility of rain shower is low but packing a light rain jacket is recommended. During our trip, late afternoons are mostly raining ranging from soft drizzles to heavy downpours. Waterproof touring bags would be a good investment for such trips.
One thing we also considered was the chance of catching the cherry blossoms season. Weather in Taiwan is a bit warmer making spring to come sooner (starting in January and ending by March) compared to neighbouring Korea and Japan. For this trip, it’s not a must to find cherry blossoms but it would be great if we find them along the way.
Touchdown!
Taiwan has three major airports as follows:
| City–Location | IATA | Airport name |
| Taipei–Taoyuan | TPE | Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport |
| Kaohsiung | KHH | Kaohsiung International Airport |
| Taipei | TSA | Taipei Songshan Airport |
For this trip, we decided to reach Taiwan via Kaohsiung and start cycling towards East Coast side towards Taipei and back eventually back to Kaohsiung.
For bike packing trips, we always pack our bikes using carton bike boxes instead of using bike bags so that we can just discard the box at the airport and start cycling out.
After reaching Kaohsiung airport and collecting our luggage, we searched for a vacant spot inside the airport and started to assemble our bikes.
The experience:
After our two weeks Taiwan cycling adventure we can conclude that this country is the bikepackers’ paradise. In a relatively small island that you can explore in 10-15 days, you get virtually everything that you need for a fantastic bike tour.
In many senses, Taiwan is a country of extremes. The country’s 23 million people live in a territory smaller than the Netherlands. The country’s west coast is technically one giant, more than 400 km long urban area stretching from the capital Taipei in the north to the city of Kaohsiung in the south. The eastern coast is a totally different world. This is where you can find one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the whole planet, and that you can cycle along entirely. Here, there are no traces of the western coast’s metropolitan areas. The atmosphere is rural with villages and small towns.
Just a few kilometres inside the island you can find a wonderful mountain range with rugged terrain and lush greenness. If all the natural beauty is not enough, the country is culturally extremely interesting. Despite Taiwan being one of the most industrialized countries in the world, Chinese traditions have survived and, Chinese folk religion is even going through a renaissance. We tremendously enjoyed stopping by the temples of Matsu, the sea goddess who taught weaving to the ancestors.
The quality and diversity of Taiwanese cuisine is another thing that makes a bike trip even more enjoyable. Every town has a sizable night market that offers the best dumplings, an overwhelming variety of noodles and rice bowls. 7 elevens on the road offer reasonably good quality of coffee and Japanese sushi to refill the depleted levels of energy.
We found the Taiwanese generally very kind and friendly. Whenever we needed assistance we people did whatever they could to help. Perhaps the fact that very few people speak English can be an issue, but not an unbridgeable one in the age of Google Translator.
Yet, sometimes you have to work hard in order to experience the orgy of senses provided by the amalgam of diverse nature, cuisine and deeply entrenched Chinese traditions. Cycling in Taiwan can be challenging and trying due to the sometimes endless climbs and unpredictable weather. For example, while riding through Kenting national park in the south we had to do a 110km route in brutal head wind (sometimes felt as being in a wind tunnel) and steep ascends until we reached our homestay.
Our bikes and gears:
We travelled extremely lightly. Each of us had about 6kg of luggage distributed in our ultra-light bike bags.
Angela
Bike: Genesis Equilibrium 20 steel race bike, Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels, Schwalbe Durano 25c road tires (8kg)
Bags: Roswheel front pack, Apidura dry saddle pack, custom full frame pack; 2 custom food pouches (6kg)
Zoltan
Bike: Genesis Croix de Fer 20 steel adventure bike; Specialized Trigger Pro 2Bliss 38c gravel tires (12 kg)
Bags: Apidura dry front pack; Apidura Expedition compact frame pack; Apidura dry saddle pack; Birzman Belly B top tube bag (6kg)
~AZ
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