This year’s cycling experience was the second one. The first, in Corsica, did not go well. A bad decision led to me ending up in the hospital, and that trip was cut short.
The idea of cycling around Taiwan began somewhere there in Corsica. We had long planned to travel to Taiwan with the family. Then I had the thought that I could go there two weeks before the others and cycle around the island. Taiwan isn’t that big, so it should be possible in less than 14 days. I googled intensively for a few days and found Taiwan Bike Route No. 1 — an official loop created by the government. That was the plan. But that’s not exactly how it turned out. About 60% followed TBR; the rest were my own route choices. Another new thing was that I wouldn’t bring my own bike. Instead, I would rent one there.
I started by going to a bike shop to pick up my bike — a Giant Roadbike.
Day 1: Kaohsiung – Fenggang (78.9 km)
After breakfast, the bike was packed. This time I carried less gear. Since I wasn’t camping and would only stay in hotels, I had just two rear bags with clothes and a small gas stove.
Riding through Kaohsiung went well, despite all the fast scooters. I found some small side streets.
After about an hour outside the city, I saw two teenagers fishing from a bridge. Yes, they were going to eat the fish they caught. I was a bit doubtful after looking down at the river — the water was grey, and there might very well have been chemicals from industry and agriculture in it.
In the afternoon, I saw many fish farms.
Day 2: Fenggang – Taitung (102.4 km)
Day two started well with easy cycling toward the east coast. There was a 20 km climb to reach the pass at 442 meters above sea level. Light traffic and pleasantly warm weather. From the top down to Taitung there were a few smaller climbs.
I met a couple from Chile during a roadside lunch break. I saw a lot of farmland and beautiful views of the sea with steep drops down to the beach. An interesting observation was that fruits were covered in plastic bags — probably to protect them from insects.
I followed the main coastal road. Despite being a major route, traffic was light. After six hours, I arrived at my hotel.
Day 3: Taitung – Yuli (90.1 km)
Again, the day started with a climb — ten kilometres this time. I entered a valley with mountains to the east toward the sea and mountains to the left inland. I was in an agricultural area and saw bananas, rice, potatoes, cabbage, and cauliflower.
As I approached Yuli, I had seen on the map that there was a bridge marked as a bike path. When nearing it, an older man on a scooter told me something and pointed out that I was on the wrong road. I turned around and took the larger bridge instead.
With the help of my phone, I found my accommodation — this time a hostel, Hostel 910. I was very surprised to be the only guest that evening. It was a quiet night. I found a place to eat, brought the food back, charged my electronics, and watched a movie.
Day 4: Yuli – Hualien (94 km)
The day was like the previous one: lots of agriculture and small roads with little traffic. I started at 400 meters above sea level. After 14 km, a 5 km climb brought me to 800 meters. Now I saw tea plantations around me.
After that, it was either uphill or downhill until 64 km. From there, it was downhill all the way to the hotel. The hotel was right next to a night market with many food stalls. I tried a meat restaurant.
That evening, I experienced a mild earthquake — 5.4 on the Richter scale.
Day 5: Hualien – Suao (100.3 km)
When I opened the curtains, I realised this would be a tough day. Low clouds full of rain. From the moment I left the hotel until I reached Suao, it rained. According to an app, nearly 40 mm fell that day — a very wet ride.
On top of that, there were 2,400 meters of elevation gain to climb. Slowly, I rode uphill in the rain. After 38 km, I saw a chance to escape the rain on the steps of a police station. Instead, I was invited inside for tea with the patrol officers. We had an interesting conversation.
I continued riding in the heavy rain. Then I saw monkeys for the first time — shy animals sitting in a tree, difficult to photograph.
Instead, I got a picture of a very wet cyclist.
Then — oh no — a spoke broke on the rear wheel. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad, and I managed to reach Suao. Had to cycle in a long tunnel with a lot of traffic. a bit scary.
After nearly seven hours, I arrived at the hotel and a warm shower.
The first thing I did afterward was visit the nearest Giant store to fix the wheel. It worked out.
This was the day with the highest elevation (642 m) and the most climbing (2,406 m).
Suao – Xizhi (118 km)
This was the longest day in terms of distance. I followed the coastal road for 38 km.
Lunch was from a 7-Eleven. I saw an interesting fish restaurant/fish shop.
I looked for the Old Caoling Tunnel to avoid an extra 40 km detour around the peninsula. The Caoling Bike Tunnel is a former railway tunnel converted into a bike and pedestrian path. It exits near Fulong.
From Fulong, the road was calm and beautiful, following a small valley toward the outskirts of Keelung.
The last 20 km were difficult, as I followed a large, busy highway. I searched for the hotel and ended up at a community centre before finally finding it — after a 600 m climb.
It was a strange hotel. No reception. Check-in was in a small booth by the road. I saw no staff. Breakfast was delivered to the room at 7:30 the next morning.
Xizhi – Xinpu (84.7 km)
After a rather pointless breakfast, I headed into intense Taipei traffic. Imagine a huge number of scooters at every traffic light, sounding like a swarm of bees through a PA system. But it went well.
Breakfast at McDonald’s. I passed through Taipei and found Dahan River Park. It was nice to escape the hectic traffic. The park is used for recreation — I saw a Tai Chi group, a karaoke group, joggers, and cyclists. There were plenty of places to pause, with vending machines and toilets. A pleasant afternoon.
In Hengxi, I left the park and cycled through suburbs toward Daxi District. There I needed to cross a river. I searched for the bridge for quite a while, circling the park several times until I realized I had to take an elevator down to it — unexpected.
After the bridge, Google suggested an old road with large cobblestones and a gradient over 20%. Impossible to ride — I had to walk the 600 meters uphill.
That was also the day I ended up on a path that simply ended. Don’t trust Google Maps.
Xinpu – Taichung (117.4 km)
I left my host Tim and slowly made my way toward the coast. After passing through many towns, I reached a bike path I had seen on the map and followed it for 20 km.
There were some navigation errors during the day — dead ends and winding routes through small villages — but still interesting. The challenge was avoiding the large national highways and finding smaller local roads.
A detour to cross one river, then another bridge. Eventually, I reached my hotel, which was a motel. They didn’t open until 6 pm, so I waited outside a 7-Eleven with a takeaway beer two hours.
Finally, inside — a quick shower, then out to find food. It became a hotpot restaurant.
Taichung – Chiayi (117.2 km)
The breakfast included with the room was disappointing — a strange, foul-smelling burger and tea delivered outside the door. Inedible.
I left the motel planning to find a McDonald’s — always a lifesaver for a cyclist. Just two kilometres away, and a decent breakfast.
Leaving Taichung gave me insight into how people live in Taiwan: small villages and fields with crops.
The most interesting sight of the day was a field of small bonsai trees. I saw peanuts drying on asphalt and a large Buddhist temple.
Chiayi – Tainan (81.3 km)
Before leaving Chiayi, I wanted to see the house where my wife grew up. I found the right street and intersection — but no house. The entire block was gone, replaced by an open space ready for new construction. A disappointment, since they had a beautiful Japanese-style house at the end of an alley.
Out of the city, I found a bike path that led into the countryside.
Small, almost empty villages, rice fields, and other crops.
Evening walk — found a small craft beer bar, 182 Beer Bar.
Tainan – Kaohsiung (55.3 km)
Nothing unusual. Like the previous day — agricultural communities but with more industry.
At the same time as seeing rice fields, I could see and hear a textile factory next to them.
As I approached the destination, traffic intensified when I reached an access road — impossible to avoid.
After 11 days and 1,040 km, Cycling Experiences 2025 was completed.
It was a good experience. This time I only stayed in hotels — a well-founded decision. There were hardly any good places to discreetly pitch a tent. Some nights were cold.
Next cycling experience goes to Australia in April May 2026