Taiwan a Hidden Gem

My gf and I just did 1100 Kms and 10k moa around Taiwan in 10 days and I can't recommend it enough ! Here are some main points why your next cycling adventure needs to be in Taiwan:

📍 Route: we did the island loop with a mountain twist. Started in Taipei and went across the east coast, crossed over the east to west on the Kenting National park and head north to through the west coast until Chiayi to then do the mystical Wuling pass and finished on the east side in Luodong (Picture of the route attached.

🦾 Pros: The country is amazing. The views and landscapes are nice and always changing. The roads and bike paths are very good. The FOOD, either snacks from the 7/11 or the night market or the restaurants. It was not only a cycling adventure but a food adventure different types of foods on different areas, you always get high quality food at very good prices. The People, they are extremely nice and always happy to see you. If you fly with EVA Air you can take your bike suitcase as checked luggage

🐍 Challenges: It is a good adventure you can do high speed and accumulate a good amount of climbing. Perfect for all skill and ambition levels. The weather is ever changing you can go from high heat and humidity to a storm in a matter of hours but it never gets uncomfortably cold. Language is sometimes a barrier but if you take it easy is a part of the adventure. As said roads are high quality but they get extreme weather so, specially in the mountains you are gonna find road blocks or construction sites but they are not too bad

😓 Con: as every cycling destination is not perfect but close to, these are minimal hiccups. The drivers, specially scooter drivers will just drive off without noticing you and the cars and trucks come a bit too close. Urban areas (e.g Tainan, Kaohsiung) are extremely dense with undending chains of traffic lights, which combined with the heat and the exhaust gas makes them a nightmare. Solution, avoid the west coast and go for the mountains instead.

In short, having ridden almost everywhere around Europe, I can tell you Taiwan is on par with huge cycling Hotspots like the Dolomites and Mallorca. So why don't go for something more exotic the next time around.

If you have Q's let me know !