Cycling in Taiwan gears up

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      When North Vancouver’s Zachary Bell recommends a cycling route, it’s worth paying attention. That’s because Bell is a 16-time Canadian road and track championship medalist, two-time Olympian, and has twice won silver medals at the world championships.

      One of his preferred cycling destinations is Taiwan (Republic of China), an East Asian nation slightly larger than Vancouver Island. He came to this conclusion last year after competing in an eight-day stage race along the west coast of the island.

      “There was a lot of different topography changes and, you know, we rode through a lot of different environments, which is not something I was expecting on such a small island,” Bell said at a June 5 news conference in Robson Square to promote cycling in Taiwan. “It’s pretty breathtaking.”

      This year, the 2014 Taiwan Cycling Festival will take place from November 8 to 16 and includes a climb from Qixingtan at sea level in the east to 3,275 metres above sea level at the top of Hehuan Mountain. The online publication Le Cycle listed this route in the Taroko Gorge area as one of the 10 most difficult in the world.

      Those interested in less gruelling cycling can ride 30 kilometres per day on a tour of the Sun Moon Lake area in the middle of the island. In 2012, CNN Travel named the ride around Sun Moon as the fifth best cycling route in the world, noting that the lake’s “calm, turquoise water has also inspired many ancient Chinese poets and painters”. Sun Moon also ranked as CNN Travel’s most outstanding cycling destination in East Asia.

      Speaking at the June news conference in Vancouver, the deputy director general of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Wayne Liu, said that his government has invested more than $1 billion into improving bike routes on the island, which is home to 23.4 million residents. There are more than 80 dedicated bike routes covering 3,000 kilometres around the island.

      “In Taiwan, you can bring your own bike to take the train or bus, you can ride on a dedicated bicycle lane or country roads, and when you get tired you can drop into a teahouse or coffee shop to rest,” Liu said. “Even you can put the police station as a rest stop. Some police stations offer tire inflation, toilet, shower, and beverage service.”

      Burnaby councillor Anne Kang, who was born in Taiwan, confessed at the news conference that she finds cycling “intimidating” in the Lower Mainland. But in Taiwan, she felt very safe. “There was only one challenge,” she said. “I couldn’t help but get off my bike every once in a while to stop and eat at the teahouses.”

      Bell said that after his trip last year, he’s eager to cycle on the east coast of Taiwan. “Overall, I really enjoyed the friendliness of the people that we dealt with. We had a lot of assistance with our team.”

      For more information on the 2014 Taiwan Cycling Festival and cycling routes around the island, see the Taiwan Cycle Festival website.

      Comments