Why Taipei is the Best City To Ride a Bike [Cycling in Taiwan]

[@TwoWheelCruise]

What's your favorite city for cycling, and why?

[@PaulWilliamson1]

Seoul - quite similar to Taipei but better organised but on weekends more crowded. Unlike the Taiwan they also extend hundreds of kilometres all over the country.

[@pingkazig5466]

taiwan yeah, i've been here for 8 years as worker, but i love to cycle here, very safe, nice road and places.

[@ohhi5237]

amsterdam, because duh amsterdam

[@Rejor111]

Taipei! Live here now and been cycling soooo much. So many mountain climbs. I joined the Rapha group here, and they're pretty great at organizing rides and such. And you're right about female cyclists, there are a lot here!

[@lexanddrewblog]

I don't have it.

[@是影片不是視頻]

Welcome to Taiwan again! Cycling started to be popular back in 2007 if I remember it correctly, at that time all the river paths are full of people riding. And it was very hard to buy a bicycle because it was always out of stock. You usually have to wait for months to buy a new bicycle.XD And you can try to ride the river path to 大溪, it is far away from Taipei but beautiful.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Good to be back, but unfortunately a really short trip this time with not much "free time". Wow, that must've been a special time! I'll have to add that to my list for next time.

[@Membrillo81]

I've been living here for more than eight years. I cannot agree more. The combination of hundreds of safe riverside bike paths and plenty of quiet mountain roads around it makes it ideal for cyclists. The only "bad thing" is that in the last years, the bike paths get pretty crowded on weekends during the day.

[@michaelclark3192]

I loved riding the rental U bikes around the riverside parks as well as just riding around the city on their wide footpaths when I lived in Taiwan. I was amazed at how many people you exercising even at night on the paths.

[@YashwanthReddy]

Coming from a country where there is no proper public cycling/sporting infrastructure, I really appreciate this video. Good job Taiwan. Great video too :)

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks! :)

[@yangformosa2357]

Welcome to Taiwan .

[@LaurensvanRooijen]

Ha, I've stayed one night at the hostel that comes into view 8:50min into the video - it's just outside Hualien at the Coastal Highway 11. Rode from Hualien to Taitung via Ruisui (first the 11, then the 64, the 193 and the 197, great experience, but absolutely do it on a weekday) on a folding bike a couple of years ago.

[@stasacab]

I have to say this is about the best cycling infrastructure I have seen anywhere. Copenhagen comes close.

[@Membrillo81]

It is not really designed for commuting. Inner city bike paths are usually sidewalk sharing with pedestrians. Besides that, Taipei has to be the best megacity for cycling.

[@skorpio320]

Man you just put me in nostalgic mode, I used to live, bike and run these paths everyday. Miss my second home, gotta visit one day again. Great video, if one day you'll be visiting south Bavaria we ride together! Keep up the videos, great stuff!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Cheers man, I LOVE this city and dream to live there one day lol

[@brokenchopstickz]

You're back Awesome! Taiwan for sure

[@TwoWheelCruise]

:)

[@pauldjerassi620]

What a great place to train it has everything ,thanks loved the video.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

it really does. Especially great in Winter

[@emmanuelbuenviaje6564]

Very scenic ride in an urban setting. I'll put this on my bucket list. Great vid.

[@jamesclemons18]

That was cool. I wasn't expecting river paths. I'm just heading out for a Sunday morning ride on the Loop in Tucson. The Loop circles the city, running along the river washes and greenways around Tucson and Pima county. There are about 131 miles of connected multi-use paths, and they're very popular. Now I want to ride in Taipei. LOL. Thanks for the vid. The Adventure continues...

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks! I've had a lot of ex-teammates travel to Tuscon for their winter training and they always said good things.

[@yuuuu_6]

Thanks for sharing your cycling experience in Taiwan!!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

happy to :)

[@waldemarrrrr]

Really such a great KZbinr!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks! 😁

[@DirtyTesla]

If all those vehicles were electric it'd be nice a quiet ;) Taipei looks awesome. And your camera quality is amazing!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

haha, didn't see any TESLA's on my trip, but most cars in Japan are scarily quiet.. G7XII baby!

[@funnpiet]

Tesla passed Volkswagen in the sales charts earlier this year. Gogoro (Taiwanese electric scooter) is now the best selling motorbike in Taiwan. Things are improving. Next step needs to be shutting down the coal fired power plants. There are plans to but renewable electricity will need to be ramped up much faster.

[@alec_cooking_channel]

@@funnpietTaiwan needs nuclear energy

[@storyandsoundscape8859]

I’ve ridden well maintained river trails from Isesaki to Tokyo. There are many popular cycling routes along the major rivers that cut through Tokyo. The biggest downside is that most run north-south.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

I hope I can check the Tokyo river trails out one day, they seem a lot nicer than what we have in Nagoya. But I've also seen a lot of complaints from Japanese people about cyclists on those paths as well :/

[@jhan2083]

I am going to be in Taipei next week for work and have Friday off to cycle around the river side as your video shows. Looking forward to it. And I strongly recommend to come to Seoul where I live. There is a great river path like Taipei around Han River. Crossing East-West one way is about 50km and you will enjoy it. Thanks for the video. Cheers~

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks! I've been there :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2e9hounrat0l6c

[@nonameparadise]

4:54 Either way! They will merge later. You won't go wrong with following the river, though!

[@aesonica]

I loved living in Taipei, biking every day across the island and the hills were fantastic. May I recommend Jilong pier to Xizhi or Xindian. It's an awesome ride.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

It's such a great place for riding, I loved going through the Xindian area

[@Colinke]

If you have a chance, make sure visit central Taiwan. The 139 County Highway in Changhua County, Taiwan is fabulous and well known for its climbing route and beautiful and refreshing cycling scenes.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

I definitely want to go! Maybe on my next trip..

[@lexanddrewblog]

Thank you for cycling video!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks! 😎

[@harisu0313]

Very informative ,thanks .

[@TwoWheelCruise]

🙂

[@joefenech6839]

Great video,Cruise,👍

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks!

[@WarutSurapat]

oh wowww, this is amazing. I hope Tokyo invests more on the bicycle routes. I'm sick of ride-stop-ride due to lot of traffic light T_T

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Nagoya is also a mess of red lights.. But the one river path in Tokyo looks pretty decent

[@WarutSurapat]

i guess you mean the one along arakawa? yes that one is good.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Yep

[@PaulWilliamson1]

A tip ! The cycleways in Taipei are not on Google Maps. Use the Strava recommended route finder to find routes that are popular with other cyclists.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Good to know, thanks for the tip!

[@funnpiet]

They were added a month or two ago. It’s great! Strava is still useful though of course to find the best spots.

[@x-reixn-hvyx-4839]

Oh my lord. Looks like a kom hunting heaven 😍

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Got a few while I was there ;)

[@GregorBrown]

Good video.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Cheers!

[@nonameparadise]

1:04 Oh wow this is in my hometown! (Xizhi district in New Taipei City)

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Jealous, love this area!!!

[@nonameparadise]

@@TwoWheelCruise BTW in another footage in this video you literally passed by my home! I almost thought you might have captured my mom jogging on the path LOL

[@hankbohanon8087]

Always love your videos.. will be in Taiwan for 2 months. Wondering if there's anywhere you'd recommend renting a bike? For long-term. I know you're busy. So if you don't have time to respond, I certainly understand. Glad all is well with you and your wife!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

I'm not sure about long term. Sometimes buying and selling used is best for that. We rented from the Giant shop for our short tour.

[@308_Negra_Arroyo_Lane]

I cycle the paths daily past midnight, every inch of the paths is brightly lit, not one single dark spot. But I wonder how much energy is required to power the entire system. Nice, but a bit wasteful.

[@MrNewlife1968]

I'd like to know more about Taiwan. The good and the bad. And possible work options for Americans there. I love your videos...there great! 🚲💨💨💨💨 Plus they can keep the scooters, I like them too...they make cleaner running ones.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks! I actually don't mind the scooters in Taiwan so much because they built the roads well to work with them and they usually follow the traffic rules. Definitely would like to see some more cleaner running ones since the exhaust can be pretty nasty sometimes..

[@michaelclark3192]

Taiwan has a very popular brand electric road scooters called Gogoro which you don't have to charge, just swap batteries at battery swap stations all around the country. These scooters are also very high quality and can go over 100km/h and so far have been selling well over 100 thousand of them so it's getting better with the scooter situation.

[@metricstormtrooper]

@ 4.23, that sounds a lot like Hobart Tasmania

[@adn8695]

i hope my country have such cycling place. too bad can only cycling on the road where lot of car or lorry which was dangerous

[@TwoWheelCruise]

My wife's home country is also pretty dangerous. Hoping that it will eventually start to build some cycling infrastructure as more people get interested in the sport..

[@SAplaya09]

This is already cycling heaven lol I am from the philippines and the roads here are average to poor. The bike lanes are disrespected by motorists(they usually just drive or park over them casually) since its literally beside the main roads.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Cycling heaven for me too. Cars in Japan park all over the cycling lanes as well :/

[@johnnydwicked]

The bike infrastructure sure looks very nice in Taiwan. I wonder what you think of the Netherlands bike infrastructure? It's practically bike capital over there. :D

[@TwoWheelCruise]

From what I've seen I like it, but some parts look pretty busy..

[@ohhi5237]

yes, if you build it, they will come, obviously cycling doesnt work in these places; nobody is riding a bike. @@TwoWheelCruise

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Some parts of the Taipei paths are really busy, but it's 6am in my video so not many people are out yet..

[@Thomean]

@@TwoWheelCruise If you ride around in the bigger cities it is really busy. Especially during the main traffic hours. But large parts of the country has very nice places to ride your bike without it being busy at all. And the best part is you can get everywhere by bike.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Would love to try riding in the countryside then 😀

[@lorenzsiggel1515]

Taiwan has been on my radar for a while now but I have never found a city that I like cycling in, even small towns can be a pain. I try to get outside the city limits as quickly as possible since cars and bikes really don’t mix well in my opinion and the situations are more predictable for driver and cyclist on a highway. I have no fear or hesitation about cycling in towns and cities when I need to: ride predictably and assertively when needed.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Out of countries with a high bike population, I've found Taiwan's traffic mix to be the safest since they build the roads with bikes and cars together in mind.

[@lorenzsiggel1515]

I‘ve always wanted to visit my friend from University in Taipei.....I‘d rent from Giant if I have the chance to ride. I assume they also have bikes for BIG westerners (6‘4“).....Good luck with BMC!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks! You should definitely dip or, they have bigger bikes too

[@wenshuohsu9503]

Funnily enough, there is an saying "cherish your life, stay away from river side" goes around cyclists in Taipei. Mostly because many joggers will make a U turn without notify and some children on the bike wobbling on bike lane. And according to my fellow cyclists and opinion from local forum, most of the cyclists in Taiwan consider Japan as a more friendly country for cyclists. The major difference is the attitude about cyclists, most of the vehicle won't yield while cyclists are crossing the road as drivers do in Japan and road is significantly smoother than Taiwan XD. However, it's cool to know how visitors think about Taipei, and made me start to think if i am spoiled by the great cycling environment and misjudge Taipei, since I have been living in Taipei since I was born.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

The grass is always greener on the other side.. 😅

[@kwacker45]

Sadly I started taking a shot everytime you said love....see you in about two weeks

[@TwoWheelCruise]

double shots when I say "absolutely beautiful" 😂😂😂

[@葉葉-o2m]

Welcome to Taiwan 🇹🇼

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Thanks!

[@vivoslibertos]

I can't believe you don't mention bubble tea, what an utter disappointment (in Anna Williams accent LoL). Joke aside good job Cruise shacho, have fun riding in Taipei what a great cycling infrastructure XD

[@TwoWheelCruise]

I'm ashamed of myself.. but to be fair, I think I talk about my bubble tea love in at least half of my Taiwan videos 😂

[@vivoslibertos]

@@TwoWheelCruise Since you already reflecting, It's alright we forgive you don't be to hard to your self. We'll be ready for bubble tea overload mean while LoL.

[@Alllivesmatterloveeverone]

That's amazing

[@christlerriola12998]

Theres a lot of girl cyclist (filipina) also here in the philippines 😁

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Good to hear :)

[@sensen9909]

Hmmmm is that Ok cycling everywhere?

[@christill]

It’s actually pretty scary how quickly countries like mine (UK) are being surpassed by ambitious countries like Taiwan. In terms of infrastructure and belief in what can be achieved, you can clearly see the difference. Only problem with Taipei I can see is the pollution, which I think is pretty visible in the video 🤢 I think that will change a lot in the next couple of years though so then it’ll be perfect.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

The same thing is happening with Japan and Korea, Japan's starting to fall really far behind.. It's great to see other ambitious countries accomplish what other countries say is impossible, but on the other hand it's definitely a bit scary to remain in a country that fails to adapt.. The pollution is a bit of a problem in Taipei, but they're aiming to eliminate all scooter usage pretty soon I hear, which should help a lot.

[@harisu0313]

The aqi in Ttaipei is not going to improve unless mainland China which is where I live do something about it , and the same goes to Japan and Korea . Just open the aqi map , you'll know where all that PM2.5 comes from .

[@amduser86]

Taiwan is very small and most people life on the south side of the country. furthermore most people are more open to change. Back here in germany people sue every big project and it takes forever. most asian countries do no have these kind of problems and they have a high population density. Hence it is really easy to build good infrastructure. Does not change the fact, that european cities are more bike friendly. Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Münster are the best cities in world, when it comes to cycling. I am regularly south Korea and japan. The last time i have been in taiwan is 2 years ago, and it rs a really great country. A lot of european do not visit it and i do not understand why. People there are very friendly and open-minded and the country is really beautiful. Furthermore is very safe and developed in comparison to countries like Vietnam and Thailand.

[@ohhi5237]

yes ban the scooters, go full on car fetish, get the same pollution as korea, AND their deathtoll LOL stupid fucking people! @@TwoWheelCruise

[@ohhi5237]

yes blame everything on chian, wake up dummy, that pollution is coming from YOU do your research kiddo @@harisu0313

[@frankyu4967]

Why am I watching this at 2 AM? Just for Cruise and what happened to the food clip? :-). Hope u had a great time at the bike show. P.S. Check out John Wick 3 for a real anime live action flick. It’s one of the best action trilogy of our generation.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Unfortunately every night was "business dinners" so I couldn't film my food haha. Had a good time and managed to get up early for a ride every day, but it was a bit tough with the full day / night schedule.

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

4:53 And that's what all cities has to do so the lovers won't destroy our bridges :-)

[@unstoppablezone4980]

If you want to cycle in Taiwan without worrying about getting whacked, drive down to Miaoli, to Gung Guan township. There you can ride for hours amidst the paddy fields, with paved paths and enjoy beautiful scenery. YiLan also has similar biking paths along the river all the way down to the sea. I strongly recommend you avoid biking on city streets unless you are hoping for a bone-crushing accident. Drivers simply have no awareness or respect for cyclists in Taiwan. They are nice people, but they have no clue about bikers.

[@solosinti320]

no digas Japan ,en Tokyo temenos lo mismo y quisas mejod Edogawa river arakawa river shin nakagawa river,y muchos mas,y las condiciones son espectaculares,nagoya es un pueblo pequenyo,ven a TOKYO

[@popcornsamurai]

So Long Riders was a lie? 😢😭 my 2nd favorite anime of all time.

[@mancello]

Bye Bye BMC -Japan. Hello BMC - Taiwan! 😉

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Haha, I would like to visit the factory some day :)

[@seanwu1968]

Cycling on the city road in Taipei need to mind the traffic. Too may scooters on the streets.

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Definitely a lot of scooters, but I didn't think it was too bad..

[@ScittsEddieThng]

Hi TWC, don't cycle in the opposite direction. 4.19

[@TwoWheelCruise]

Where was I on the wrong side?

[@ScittsEddieThng]

@@TwoWheelCruise Time of the video : 4.19 to 4.23

[@travischang2825]

Read u ❤ I from the other side of these characters 😂

[@TwoWheelCruise]

It looks like it was meant to be read from this way lol

[@MisterBenne]

yois beauti? y sky, no , Smog,no visible horizon? Ever been in Austria?

[@BurgerTime7441]

I want to go to Taiwan this winter. Woooo. And wow, women ride bikes there on their own!? That's great. In Vietnam some people tell me to ride in Son Tra and meet a girlfriend, but it appears all the women there are riding with husbands

[@unstoppablezone4980]

Cycling along the river in Taipei is great, depending on how you do it. If you go on the weekends, be prepared for large numbers of bikers, including parents who bring their young children. This can be a huge hazard, as parents don't teach their kids how to stay on their side of the bike path. I've had to crash many times to avoid colliding with little kids who are wobbling along. Weekdays are best, avoid holidays like the plague. Cyclists in Taiwan have no sense when it comes to passing others...they give no signal and it can be terrifying when a biker suddenly passes you. Avoid riding in ANY urban traffic unless you want to become a statistic. Cars, buses, trucks cut no slack for bikers and many bikers pay the price. Urban biking in Taiwan is very dangerous, have no illusions. I can't count the number of times I have nearly been wiped out by passing vehicles who show zero respect for bikers. Ok, you have been warned.

[@ohhi5237]

you obviously need a dictionary and look up BEST

[@TwoWheelCruise]

The longer I live in Japan, the smaller my English vocabulary gets :P

[@the.communist]

People? No thanks. I try to avoid people as much as possible

[@TwoWheelCruise]

It's only so I have someone to chase haha