On wheels!
One of the many surprising facts of Taiwan is that it hosts some of the largest manufacturers of bicycles in the world: Giant (the largest in the world), Media and Ideal among others.
It is then not a shock to know that biking is the most popular sport in the the island and that a lot of people do the tour around the island (~1000KM) by bike. You can rent a GPS device from Cycling Lifestyle you actually get an official certificate about your tour around Taiwan.
The weekend after the earthquake in Japan, Anna and I joined a group trip with some of my colleagues at ADB to participate in HAHAHE, a 1 day-100KM (or 200KM if you want…) tour around Hualien and the east rift valley. We rented the bikes at a Giant shop and, as usual, the activity started very very early in the morning. It was good so it saved us from being completely burnt under the sun. As usual we were the only foreigners around. It took us a little bit more than 6 hours to complete the 100KM (not bad for not training at all!). All ADB colleagues finished and 2 of them took the 200KM route!
To Hualien by train11-Mar-2011 19:33, Nokia N95, 2.8, 5.6mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 500
We start at 7 in the morning!12-Mar-2011 06:13, Apple iPhone 4, 2.8, 3.85mm, 0.059 sec, ISO 80
Tourist stop in the middle of the road12-Mar-2011 08:35, PENTAX Corporation PENTAX Optio 33WR, 6.9, 5.7mm, 0.01 sec
Food and water12-Mar-2011 08:22, Nokia N95, 2.8, 5.6mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 100
It took us 6 and a half hours12-Mar-2011 13:07, HTC HTC Hero, ISO 100
In Taipei city there are bicycles everywhere (but the are no special paths almost anywhere), so you need to pay a little bit of attention.
Actually, if you want to ride a bicycle without worrying, there are more than 100 kilometers of beautiful, peaceful cycle paths along the three rivers that flow through Taipei. They are only for bicycles – no cars or scooters are allowed.
Bicycles are available for rent at low prices at several locations along the bike paths. You can rent in one station and return it at another one. All the details are available from Cycling Lifestyle. In the riverside there are various parks with basketball courts, baseball pitch, soccer fields, etc. We ‘ve rented bicycles a number of times (when it is sunny!), including when Xavier and Pilar visited us.
Partial map of the riverside paths28-Mar-2010 14:25, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D5000, 10.0, 35.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 200
Bicycles renting station28-Mar-2010 14:05, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D5000, 9.0, 35.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 200
Price table28-Mar-2010 14:05, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D5000, 8.0, 35.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 200
Giant bicycles to rent28-Mar-2010 13:59, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D5000, 5.0, 35.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 400
Little bicyles too28-Mar-2010 14:04, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D5000, 9.0, 35.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 200
Another bicycle rent station27-Jun-2010 13:08, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D5000, 8.0, 18.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 200
I also love to skate and I was missing that in Taipei. Mid 2010 I manage to buy a pair of skates (it was not an easy task, inline skating is not too popular here and my feet are big for Taiwanese standards). So, Anna goes with the bicycle and I go with the skates. Being a foreigner and with skates I get a lot of attention from the people with the bicycles, and some of them even cheer me up! :)
I have learnt that there is a group of people going to skate Fridays nights at 10:00pm (weather permitting), but I still have not managed to join. That’s still on my TO DO list.
Muy curioso. En mi familia tenemos dos bicis Merida y son muy buenas, estamos realmente contentos.
Además yo me voy a comprar un scooter taiwanés, un Kymco, marca de la cual no veo más que alabanzas :)
¡Muy chulo el post!
Te tendremos que dar una medalla como fan#1 del blog a este paso :) Ya te has apuntado a lo de venir gratis a Taiwan en Agosto? (http://taiwanroc100.tw/100homestay_en/CP.aspx?s=89&n=155)
Dons la meva Giant de 8 anys i mes de 15.000Km. ja no l’hi queda casi res de l’original.
Porta’m una de nova sisplis!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No m’estranya tanta tirada a anar amb bicicleta, havent-hi tan bones instal.lacions.
Per les pistes de bicicleta també si pot patinar o això s’ha de fer per les carreteres normals?
Abili i Carme
Es pot patinar per on van les bicicletes… no és molt recomenable fer-ho per on van els cotxes i les motos