Touring Taiwan on two wheels

CANADIANS could learn a lot about cycling from a trip to this tiny island.

Two water buffaloes wallow in the languid stream. Lush green rice paddies stretch endlessly across the valley to the surrounding hills. The fragrance of fresh flowers fills the air. The smooth, paved bike path wanders over tiny bridges and past little shops selling tea, ice cream and tasty bento-style lunch boxes.

If there is such a thing as the perfect bike trail, the Guanshan Bike Park in eastern Taiwan must be it. Municipal officials in Canada attempting to persuade people to ride bicycles should take note; if you want to encourage people to ride bicycles, this is exactly the way you do it.

The cycling revolution has caught fire on this island. The Taiwanese have suddenly taken to riding bicycles by the millions and today the island is criss-crossed by hundreds of smooth, paved bike paths.

A decade ago the SARS virus caused tourism to southern Asia to come to a crashing halt (as it did in Toronto, too). Then the global economic recession hit.

In Taiwan, the combination of the two plagues caused locals to stay at home for vacations. Then a Taiwanese filmmaker produced a hit film about circumnavigating the island by bike. Unable to afford trips abroad, the Taiwanese started to switch to biking vacations.

Keen to develop a new industry, the federal government began to fund bike trails and bike parks, tourism destinations in the countryside intended to lure city dwellers to enjoy cycling adventures. Bike parks, bike hotels and bike B&Bs have sprang up all over the island.

Today, the majority of Taiwanese, young and old, are frequent or occasional cyclists and the demand for more bike paths continues to grow. The bike trails and mountains have also attracted serious cyclists from Europe and North America. This year Taiwan hosted its first international cycling competition, the Taiwan Cup, attracting professional riders from around the world.

Guanshan Bike Park is just one of dozens of similar destinations located along the scenic east coast of Taiwan. To get there from the capital of Taipei or other big cities, cyclists simply store their bikes on racks aboard passenger trains at a reasonable fee. For those who can't be bothered to bring their own bikes, a wide selection is available for rent in bike parks, towns and cities and passenger train stations.

Cycling the scenic, mostly flat 12-kilometre Guanshan Bike Park takes only an hour or two but most people stretch that out to a full-day excursion by planning a picnic, taking photos or venturing further on trails connected to other towns. The paved path is wide enough for multiple riders plus pedestrians, joggers and e-bikes (scooters). Signs placed every kilometre inform riders of distance ridden, calories burned, and percentage of the grade ahead.

For more serious cyclists, a climb through the spectacular marble-walled Taroko Gorge and over the 4,000-metre peaks of the local mountains will certainly test anyone's mettle. On the hot southern end of the island at Kenting, the Yoho Bike Hotel encourages cyclists to ride right into reception.

From there, you ride into a special bike elevator to your room where you can hang your bike and gear on the wall. The hotel even supplies a bike repair shop, retail outlet, bike spa with shower stalls and bike training courses with instructors to make cycling fun for beginners. The recently opened bike hotel has proved a hugely popular tourist attraction as well.

High-speed and passenger train lines now allow tourists to make a complete circumnavigation of the entire island, with a huge choice of bike paths, mountain trails, bike parks and other tourism sights along the route. The busy west coast of Taiwan with its highways can easily be avoided by climbing aboard the 320-kilometre bullet train, similar to flying but a lot smoother and with frequent departures.

-- Postmedia News

IF YOU GO

What to do: Guan-shan Bike Park http:youtube.com/watch?vErslyHK7ivI

Where to stay: Yoho bike hotel: yohobikehotel.com.tw/eng/bikehotel-about-10.html

Taiwan rail reservations http://railway.hinet.net

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 14, 2012 D3