Taipei riverside bike path news

[Mucha Man]

Yep, I usually ride up it most times now for a break. Actually the Hakka park is not bad with a nice pond area. The road in front has a wide sidewalk marked with a bike lane so you can ride safely right up to Taipower MRT (the last 100m is a little crowded).

[Incubus]

Took a ride down to Bitan over the weekend and found that the new bike bridge connecting Xindian and Ankeng is now open. It's about midway between Xioulang bridge and Bitan. A white bridge with a huge arch. Can't miss it.

Another update: a couple of bike bridges are being built on the right bank of Danshui river right before you get to Shezi island. I noticed that the new ramps all have a very gentle grade. The new signs along the ramps now say "Test your brakes" instead of the old "Do not ride. Walk your bike."

[Mucha Man]

That new Bitan-Sunshine Park bridge is psychedelic at night as you enter a series of brightly and colorfully lit arches.

Last night rode through Sanchong, expecting to do the loop but found the riverside paths now closed as the parkland alongside is improved. Threw my plans out the works and a 3 hour ride turned into 5 (with a 1.30am return) but that is going to be a nice ride in the future. Great views across the river with the mountains rising up.

Nice to see other people still out cycling at 1am.

[landshark]

I have gone on several 50 mile spins on the river trails. I think making it a 100 mile ride would not be that difficult, all you need is the time.

[Mucha Man]

This is really cool news. An entire loop around the city is about to open. The part that is really surprising is the connection between Nangang and the Zoo. Had no idea this was being built.

The whole loop with be just under 60km with a good climb up from Nangang or the Zoo.

Bike path network around Taipei completed
12/23/2011 (Liberty Times)

The entire 58.8-kilometer network of bicycle paths around Taipei City will be completed this Saturday with the final paving of the link from Fudekeng Eco-Park in Nangang to Thumb Mountain in the Wenshan District, where the Taipei Zoo is located. The city's Hydraulic Engineering Office has arranged performances and a lucky draw at the Dajia Riverside Park that day.

In addition, the entire network will be shown off by two cycling teams: The first batch of 100 cyclists will ride along the loop path to meet up with Taipei City Mayor Hau Long-bin at the Lin An-tai Sluice, where they will all ride back to the Dajia Riverside Park. The second group of 1,000 cyclists will meet up with the first 100 cyclists at four points along the route and create an even larger contingent as they make their way back to the Dajia Riverside Park.

Hydraulic Engineering Office Director Eric Huang says that the cyclists will depart from Dajia Riverside Park and then follow the left bank of the Keelung (Jilong) River to Nangang. Upon reaching the Keelung (Jilong) River No. 1 Sluice, the path then connects to one that follows Yanjiu Road toward the Fudekeng Eco-Park area, the Taipei Zoo, the bank of the Jingmei River, and then downstream to the Guting, Zhongzheng, and Huazhong Riverside Parks before reaching the Huajiang Yingya Park.

The path then turns northward and heads to the Dadaocheng Pier, followed by a lengthy stretch to the entrance of Shezi Island. From there, the path leads to the left bank of the Keelung (Jilong) River that will take cyclists back to Dajia Park. The entire route will take cyclists between three and four hours to complete, says Huang.

He Xun-hua, the chief engineer of the River Administration Section, explained that the 15-kilometer stretch from Fudekeng Eco-Park to Nangang and then onwards to Muzha winds through the mountains. The path peaks at an altitude of 180 meters, with a 4.5-kilometer stretch grading at 4% starting at China University of Science and Technology, constituting a mildly difficult ride.

http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.as ... &ctNode=11

[lostinasia]

This is really cool news. An entire loop around the city is about to open. The part that is really surprising is the connection between Nangang and the Zoo. Had no idea this was being built.

The whole loop with be just under 60km with a good climb up from Nangang or the Zoo.

Brilliant. Looking forward to trying it sometime in the next couple of weeks.

[maunaloa]

Wow! The TaIpei Bicycle Beltway. Not even Amsterdam has something like that, esp. with the majority of the dedicated bike path being riverside.

Let's have a semi-annual Forumosa Happy Velo-Day, on bikes, and do the entire loop. I suggest early April and late November, with a primary weekend and an immediately following backup weekend in case of rain. We could have a Happy Hour upon completion at one of the riverside joints by the Bitan pedestrian bridge.... outdoors to waft away the multi-dimensional aroma of the peloton. Start/finish would then be adjacent to bike-friendly Xindian MRT.

[Incubus]

The part that is really surprising is the connection between Nangang and the Zoo. Had no idea this was being built.

I doubt it was ever "built" and suspect it just involved painting lines on the existing roads to create a bike lane. You'd still be sharing the road with other vehicles.

[Mucha Man]

The part that is really surprising is the connection between Nangang and the Zoo. Had no idea this was being built.

I doubt it was ever "built" and suspect it just involved painting lines on the existing roads to create a bike lane. You'd still be sharing the road with other vehicles.

I doubt that. There is no part of the Taipei bike path that is like that. Just check out Google Maps. The first part off the Keelung (Jilong) River goes down a slough that clearly has space for paths. Then it runs through Academia Sinica, and through the Chinese University. A few km later it runs through Fudekeng Park which has tons of space for paths (actually I believe they are already in) and there is a clear path from there to the main riverside areas by the zoo.

At most there are a few km where they might have the lanes running on very quiet mountain roads. Nothing wrong with that.

But of course I will see in a few days, once I am over the flu.

[Incubus]

The part that is really surprising is the connection between Nangang and the Zoo. Had no idea this was being built.

I doubt it was ever "built" and suspect it just involved painting lines on the existing roads to create a bike lane. You'd still be sharing the road with other vehicles.

I doubt that. There is no part of the Taipei bike path that is like that.

Have we forgotten the Dunhua bike lane fiasco? What a waste of good paint.