Taipei to Daxi

November 7, 2024

A flat and easy start

I had a decent sleep, but I was wide awake by 5:30, earlier than planned. At least I was feeling a lot better than yesterday morning. I tried to avoid most of the political news from the U.S., and instead to get excited about the start of cycling today.

The weather forecast for the next few days is looking pretty good. No more than a chance of showers, and temps in the mid 20s. There’s a wind warning today, but it’ll be at our backs. Hurray! I’ll bet we still find it very humid.

The hotel breakfast was good, with a few western options, but I decided to try a Taiwanese breakfast because the selection of veggies looks great. So for the first time ever, I think, I had eggplant for breakfast. And some sautéed greens. And delicious honeydew melon. And a mystery crunchy green salad.

We were in no rush to leave this morning because it was a short, flat ride, almost entirely on bike paths. My Garmin took a while to figure out where we were, but I had already scoped out the route to the waterfront. We were on busy roads for about 1 km, but traffic was slow so it wasn’t too stressful. No pics because we were paying full attention to cycling.
At the starting point of bike paths on the Tamsui River, we met a German cyclist who was just beginning too. But he was heading north today, into the wind. Somehow, he’ll make it to Sun Moon Lake the same day we’re booked. He must be more ambitious than us.

Almost immediately upon leaving, the weather turned a bit misty. It was on and off for much of the day, but there was never enough moisture to bother with a rain jacket.

We finally saw blue sky as the wind picked up in the afternoon.

Our starting point on the Tamsui River paths.

This is typical of the views as we left Taipei. Not super scenic, but it was stress-free biking on great paths.

Signage for Taiwan Bike Route Number 1. We diverged from that route early on.

One of the many fun murals along the route. Quite a few of them were twists on well known paintings.

The girl with a pearl earring rides a bike.

We stopped for a snack break in this bridge along with a friendly group of walkers.

We saw a fair number of feral dogs today, all black and medium sized. They were all very chill, not stirring at all. This one was occupying a tennis court.

Towards our destination of Daxi, we passed through an agricultural area where they were growing mainly rice, but also chives.

This suspension bridge was for pedestrians only.

We also saw a guy handling a falcon, something new to me.

We were heading upstream along rivers and reservoirs today. The bike paths were very well signed, with mile markers and maps. There were dozens of basketball courts, tennis courts, and other recreational opportunities all along the paths. Wood ball, anyone? It looks kind of croquet-like. Interestingly, our route had zero cafes or restaurants. We’re not in Europe, obviously. But one great non-European thing is that hardly anyone smokes in public. We haven’t encountered smokers at any restaurant or market. Gotta love that.

We saw a lot of evidence from last week’s typhoon. Crews were out in full force cutting up fallen trees. And we saw a power pole that was tilted at a terrible angle.

Our Komoot route worked well until we hit a construction blockage near the very end of our day, but figuring things out was easy.

We booked a less expensive place that looked fine on booking.com. But despite friendly staff and fabulous bike parking in a private garage, it’s not really very nice place - not as clean as I’d like, and the wallpaper is peeling. But quiet and with a very nice shower. It turns out that the Blue Sky Hotel is a love hotel - you can book a room for only a few hours if you want. There is no way to tell on booking.com because they don’t mention the hourly rates - they even mention having family rooms. Haha. Lesson learned - pay a bit more and look at the worst reviews.

Our appetizers were seaweed flavoured Lays chips and beer from the 7-Eleven. Completely acceptable.

On the way to dinner, we heard what sounded like an ice cream truck. But it was a garbage truck, and people rushed out to throw out their wastes.

Our dinner was noodles from a street side shop that was doing a steady takeout business. That’s a poached egg floating on top.

Today’s Taiwan tidbit - most of the older apartment buildings don’t have basements. So there are designated air raid shelters in the city, mostly in parking garages.

Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 40 km (25 miles)

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Graham FinchMy wife and I cycled to Daxi last week - there are a few garden centres there ( We live in Zhongli - not too far away).

It seems you have a route mapped out. There's a strong wind again today, but it should be blowing you south.

Or are you heading over Route 7 to the east coast? It starts in Daxi and is a route I love. The road tends to be busy until you reach Fuxing, but then there's usually little traffic. There are a couple of places to stay in Baling, or close to the high point called Mingchi.
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2 weeks ago

Betsy EvansThanks Graham! We are heading south on quite a hilly route towards Sun Moon Lake. Today’s goal is Nanzhuang.

I may be in touch if we have questions about recommended routes, or things we can’t figure out. 😀
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2 weeks ago

Suzanne GibsonHow great to be cycling in Taiwan! I wish I could join you.
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2 weeks ago

Betsy EvansTo Suzanne GibsonWe are feeling very lucky to be here. The cycling has been great, and the Taiwanese people have made us feel very welcome. And some day I will get to the beautiful German roads you’ve shown me in your journals.
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2 weeks ago

Scott AndersonTo Graham FinchI read that Taroko Gorge is closed? Can you get to the east coast via route 7 now?
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2 weeks ago

Betsy EvansTo Scott AndersonI’m not sure if route 7 is open - it might be. But it looks like a very big climb! Route 8 is definitely closed.
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2 weeks ago

Graham FinchTo Scott AndersonI'm sure the road (Highway 8) has been opened, but the hiking trails are still closed.

It would be possible to go south-ish from Lishan where the 7 merges with Highway 8.
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2 weeks ago

Betsy EvansHi Graham-

I have a favour to ask - could you please do an internet search for a SRAM S700 10 speed shifter available here in Taiwan? Mine is in need of replacement. I can find lots in Canada online, but being illiterate in Chinese makes searching here tough.

The local Giant mechanic at Sun Moon Lake says Giant shops won’t have them because all their bikes with mechanical shifting use Shimano parts.

Thanks!
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1 week ago