The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Taiwan: The Beautiful Island

December 2nd to December 16th

Ride Coordinator: Thomas Ryan
Report by: Jacquolyn Duerr

Taiwan, The Beautiful Island

Shouts of “jai yo”, literally “add gas/oil” or “GO!! “, and many thumbs up from Taiwanese drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians routinely greeted our cyclists as we circumnavigated this lush, green island.  Cyclists are not merely tolerated, but seemingly embraced.  Coupled with good roads even when under post-typhoon reconstruction, and the very friendly Taiwanese we met throughout the tour, many of our cyclists have never had a more welcoming cycling experience. 

This tour wore its title with relish.  Formerly known as “La Ilha Formosa” in the “beautiful island in Portuguese”, Taiwan offered breathtaking views of its east, south and west coasts, rivaling some of the scenic coastlines of Oregon, Maine, and California.  No ride was more dramatic than our first day in Taroko Gorge, the world’s deepest marble gorge.  This 80-mile ride began with a 20-mile down hill, which took us into tunnels and over bridges carved through the marble and along the Liwu River. By mid-day, we were on the subtropical east coast. 

This first-time BAC tour had the expert, steady, and personable oversight of Tom Ryan, with an assist from Cynthia Lyons.  It was supported by Grasshopper Adventures, led by energetic and very knowledgeable Simon Foster and co-author of  “Rough Guide to Taiwan”.  On his team was Bradley Goldhorn (amiable fellow rider and able bike mechanic,) and Emily Milanak (SAG driver and patient ride sweeper).  In addition to being fluent in Mandarin, the most common language, the Grasshopper team generously shared their considerable understanding and appreciation for the island’s diverse cultures, religions and history. 

The tour began in Taipei, a cosmopolitan city with its Taipei 101, among the world’s tallest skyscrapers, its many temples, historic monuments, National Palace and other museums, and night markets (think dim sum on the street). In the days that followed, we rode through many villages, as well as around moderate sized cities.  We rode for many miles of orchards and lush plots of bananas, papaya, guava, custard apples, Buddha fruit, and yes, coffee.  Blooming poinsettias grew wild along the way.

We finished the riding portion of the tour in Tainan, the historic capital of Taiwan. Located on the southwest coast, it has 1000’s of temples but our walking tour took us to only 4-5 outstanding examples of the official religions --Buddhism and Taoism, as well as Confucianism, which we learned is more a set of teachings.

Our days began with dim sum-like breakfasts that included a variety of vegetables, fish, pork, and the customary congchi, a Chinese rice porridge.  Lunch was a feast of many dishes, served family style with seafood and pork featured prominently.  The fish was so fresh that it was probably swimming in one of the tanks we passed when being led to our tables.  Dinners were yet another banquet of local specialties. 

The weather this time of year was delightful, with the only cool weather during our ride in Taroko Gorge.  Even during the couple of days of rain, it was warm enough to make rain jackets optional.

The tour also lived up to its 2C difficulty, with more than 22,031 feet of climbing completed over 461 miles.  Our longest day riding out of Taroko Gorge was 80 miles and the steepest, short grade was about 15%.  Our cyclists, including those new to BAC, were up for these challenges. 

In debriefs at the end of our tour, our cyclists commented frequently on the warm, friendly and helpful Taiwanese. This tour had the customary first-time challenges, but set a high bar for future Taiwan tours.