cycling Taipei questions

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kintore
kintore

Hi all

I will be landing in Taipei in a few weeks to kick off a 1 month cycle trip of Taiwan and have a few more questions that someone might be able to help with.

First off , is there a really good cycle shop in central Taipei that i can start off with , im keen on local maps and touring routes , local knowledge, info etc. I don't speak Chinese, so a shop with someone who speaks some english would be great.

Im keen to get a taxi ( van?) from the International Airport to our hotel in Taipei with our bikes in boxes to save the initial hassle. Im assuming there will be larger taxis to hire?? or should i try to prearrange before i get to Taiwan?.

My plan is to head north from Taipei to Danshui along the river (cycle paths??), then east over the top. Is this the easiest/best way to leave Taipei or should i head east for Keelung instead??.( and then down the east coast )

I haven't seen any recent posts or news here in Australia re the typhoon damage, im guessing things are getting back to normal??. I'm keen to find out if there's any major road closures or problems that i need to factor in to my plans...

Is the swine flu causing a concern over there at all??...( like it is here in Australia??)

Anyway...it was good to read "ventures" latest post on cycling Taiwan...its all sounds pretty positive

Thanks in advance

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philipd
philipd

The bike shops I went into in Taipei are very helpful and well run. Alans bikeshop on Roosevelt Road (no. 38, Sec 5) is small (quite hard to find, I cycled past twice before I found it), but at least one guy in there speaks English and when I went in there (I visited in December 08) they invited me on their regular Sunday ride.

For local riding contacts, the local cyclists I corresponded with on the www.warmshowers.org list were very friendly and helpful. Due to time constraints I wasn't able to meet up with any of them, but I was invited on loads of local rides.

The simplest and most hassle free way to transport your bikes would be to have them sent directly to your guesthouse/hotel. There is a desk beside the tourist information office in the Airport that sends all sizes of bags directly to hotels anywhere in Taipei for a fixed price (they will arrange pick-up too). I can't remember exactly how much it cost, but it would be cheaper than a taxi if you do that and get the bus into the city.

I think there is a river path going to Danshui I think, but I didn't ride it so i don't know how good it is. From what I remember the underground train to Danshui allows bikes (the MRT map indicates which stations are suitable for bike access so that may be the best way to get there. I didn't ride the coast that side so I can't comment from experiences but there are a few blogs around that suggest its quite a nice ride, although there are some scary road tunnels between Keelung and Yilan. If you are unsure about that area I would suggest riding directly to Yilan using highway 9. After about 10km of heavy traffic its a pleasant ride to the coast (but be sure of course to avoid the new main highway).

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wix99
wix99

If you want to take your bike to Danshui on the MRT you can only do it on the weekend and only from certains stations. The stations are indicated by a bicycle symbol on the maps in the MRT system.

Route 9 from Xindian to Pinglin to Jiaoxi is a good ride out of Taipei. If you have more time and want to test yourself in the mountains you can also go on Route 7, the Northern Cross Island Highway. It more or less starts from Sanxia and you can ride out there on the riverside bike path if you are not comfortable with the city traffic.

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nuttyazn
nuttyazn

Sorry if I am too late to send you this info.hopefully it might assist future cyclists coming here.
Cycles on the MRT:
http://www.trtc.com.tw/e/travel95.asp
Cycle route in Danshui(Bali):
http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/cycling/page-05.htm
Map my Ride:
http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/taiwan/taipei
Bike forum:
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-301691.html

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