Guides · Cycling in Taiwan
What to know before you ride in Taiwan — routes, rules, and logistics, compiled from official sources.
A Taiwanese industrial group linked its northern, central and southern offices into one ride, segment by segment, on e-bikes. This is what the support vehicle actually did. It followed the group, carried the luggage, picked up broken bikes, and shuttled people and bikes between sites.
Xianshan KOM in Nanzhuang, Miaoli. 31 km total with a 12.93 km timed climb. Field size, course, cut-offs, how to reach Nanzhuang, parking, and airport-to-venue support transfers.
At 3,275 m, Wuling stands higher than Japan's Norikura, Thailand's Doi Inthanon and the highest paved pass in the Alps. A month-by-month look at the three windows to avoid. Plum rains, typhoons and the icing season. And why the month is not actually what decides your ride.
The ten-day south-to-north traverse skips the full loop. But day one still means moving riders and bikes to Kaohsiung. Here are the real size limits, surcharges and group caps on the HSR and Airport MRT.
Korean carriers do not price bikes the same way. Some stack a special-item fee on top of per-kilo excess, others charge a flat rate per item. Size caps differ at 203, 277 and 292 cm. And there is a per-flight limit on how many bikes fit at all.
A Hong Kong cycling group used Taichung as its five-day base, riding Sun Moon Lake, Shuili and Sanyi by day and returning to the city each evening.
Wuling (Hehuanshan) is Taiwan's highest road at 3,275m. Puli and KOM routes, altitude and road notes, plus SAG support for riders, bikes and luggage.
Flying to Taiwan with a bike? Checked-bike policies for EVA, China Airlines, STARLUX, JAL, ANA, e-bike battery notes, customs, and transfer tips.
Taiwan's Cycling Route No.1 has two official distance figures. The highway backbone, sections closed to bikes, and how to split the loop by train.
The official round-lake riding distance, the Xiangshan and Yuetan dedicated path sections, elevation along the way, shuttle access and riding rules.
Bike pickup and transfer at Taoyuan Airport (TPE), plus the Airport MRT March 2026 bike policy. Hours, cars, surcharge, size limits, meeting points.
Bike pickup and transport from Taichung Airport (RMQ). No Airport MRT here, Routes 333/555 and the Sun Moon Lake shuttle (6670E) connect instead.
Bike pickup and transfer at Kaohsiung Airport (KHH), plus MRT R4 rules. Bike hours, the NT$80 fare, station list revised Feb 2026. Closest to Kenting.
Bike pickup and transfer at Songshan Airport (TSA). The Wenhu Line refuses full-size bikes. Only folded or packed ones ride free, unlike TPE and KHH.
The Cross-Sea Bridge links Penghu's main island cluster into one ride. How to bring a bike by air or ferry, inter-island boats, and summer vs monsoon.
An index to nine post-ride food guides. The point is not which shop tastes best, but whether it is open on the day and at the hour you get there. Opening hours, closing days and peak times all checked.
The first hot meal after a 23.5 km, 1,525 m descent from Wuling. Opening hours, closing days, peak times, cash-only notes and parking for three urn-roasted chicken restaurants between Qingjing and Puli.
Most Thao indigenous restaurants at Sun Moon Lake close for two to three hours in the afternoon. Finish the 30 km loop between 15:00 and 17:00 and nearly everything is shut. Real hours for three restaurants, and how to work around the gap.
Cycle Route No.1 is 968 km over nine days. One dish per stop, but the point is opening hours, not flavour: six of the ten close on set days or open only a few hours, and a nine-day tour cannot move its dates.
Riding Penghu means starting at dawn to dodge sun and monsoon wind — and one Magong shop opens at 05:40. Hours, closing days and peak times for three places, matched to the island’s riding rhythm.
The Dongfeng Green Bikeway is 12 km and the Houfeng Bikeway 5.8 km, and one end lands in Fengyuan — walk off the trail into Miaodong food street. Three long-standing shops, with closing days that fall on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Songshan Airport to Raohe Night Market is about 3 km — not a walk, especially with a bike box. The market only opens at 17:00. Real hours, how to get there, and the honest Google ratings of two long-standing stalls.
Taichung Airport sits on the coastal strip: Qingshui rice cakes and Wuqi harbour seafood are both within a fifteen-minute drive. But both seafood restaurants close on Tuesdays and the rice cake shop closes on Mondays — the day you land matters.
Kaohsiung is one of the few airports in Taiwan where a late arrival can still find hot food. One egg-crepe shop trades until 01:00; a fifty-year-old braised pork rice shop opens every day. Real hours and peak times for both.
There is no real food district around Taoyuan Airport. Rather than force a list, this guide sets out the three approaches that actually work: eat in Dayuan, detour to Nankan, or stay inside the terminal.
