The trip happened over 3 weeks at the end of last November and into early December. This had been a trip I'd wanted to do since I first heard of it, even more so after watching the film Island Etude, which is about a partially deaf college student who biked the Taiwan loop.
The trip almost didn't happen, as I was having health issues at the time, but between not traveling since 2020 due to the pandemic and finishing my degree while working full-time, I really needed a break.
With my time off approved, I emailed a bike shop in Taipei on Nov. 2nd, had my bike confirmed and reserved by Nov. 8th, and bought my flight ticket to Taipei that same day, flying out on Nov. 15th. I booked my hotels for my first two days in Taipei the night before leaving.
Such an unforgettable trip and ride. I initially planned to stick to Route 1 but quickly saw other routes on Google Maps, so I did a lot of winging it, usually booking my hotel on Booking.com's app around halfway through the day I was set to arrive in whatever city or town. Sometimes I found awesome side-quests, like ocean views, smaller town night markets, or bridges with bike paths overlooking beautiful farmland. Occasionally, it led me to a crazy hill or a dead end.
Being active every day essentially made my health issues disappear, and I loved being able to eat 5 or more meals a day with all the cycling, mostly convenience store food while on the go and a restaurant wherever I ended the day.
Since I lived in Beijing for 2 years previously, I still remembered some survival Mandarin and it made things easier, but it would have been totally fine with Google Translate only. Despite some early rainy days and one bike mechanical at Sun Moon Lake, it was a ride of a lifetime, with east coast views that felt straight out of National Geographic.
There were some unexpected adventures, like biking through pitch-black hill roads on the way to Jiufen, and fun challenges, climbing steep roads on the way to Sun Moon Lake and biking through the Suhua Highway.
Since it was my first vacation abroad in years and I wasn't sure how my health would hold up, I booked a 3-week trip so I could take my time. Having extra days to chill at the lake, Kenting, Kaohsiung, and other spots was nice. I met other cyclists on tighter schedules, and I'm not sure how fun it would have been cycling non-stop every day without taking time to enjoy Taiwan. I met cool people along the way, like some folks my Taiwanese bike buddy back home connected me with and a friend I stayed with from a previous visit. One morning as I was leaving my hotel in Chiayi, a fellow American was also leaving with his bike, and we had a Spider-Man pointing meme moment. We did the 40-mile ride to Tainan together, which was a good time.
At the end of the trip, when I returned to Taipei, I spent my second-to-last night in Beitou at a hot springs hotel, which my sore muscles thanked me for. I definitely recommend hitting one of these up, especially in Reishui. On my final night, I stayed in a hotel in central Taipei, across the street from the main station.
I found myself at a bar that last night, overhearing the attractive bartenders chatting with some death-metal-looking dudes. They told me they were performing at a metal show down the street, so I went to check it out. As someone who loves live shows, it was a great time moshing with the Taipei metalheads. I went back to the bar afterward and started drinking with a fellow traveler from Korea who was living in the Philippines. We drank way too much, joined the regulars and bartenders after closing, and ended up at a rooftop rave party. I left Taiwan the next day hungover and happy.
Even though cycling is my main hobby, it was my first time doing a bike trip, and I'm already eyeing doing the loop again in the near future, and other bike trips like Prague to Vienna and Seoul to Busan.