Huandao Cycling Trip
Taiwan Huandao 2024
In October 2024, I spent 9 days doing a cycling trip around Taiwan, on a route known as the Huandao (Route 1). I’m documenting my travels here in case it is useful to anyone out there.
Before leaving
Deciding to do the Huandao
At the beginning of October 2024, I decided to take a trip. I had two weeks of holidays to use by the end of October, or they would be lost. I didn’t have a lot of time to plan the trip, so I was looking for some sort of adventure that I could map out as I go. A colleague suggested a cycling trip in Korea–on a route called the Four Rivers. It sounded amazing, but wouldn’t use even half of my holidays. It’s rare that I get such a long holiday and I wanted to do something that would require the full length of time. But that got me thinking. What about other, long distance cycling routes?
Online, I discovered the Taiwan Huandao and it seemed like a perfect fit.
- the route is said to take 9-13 days.
- October is perhaps one of the best months to do it because the weather is mild and taiphoons are infreqent.
- descriptions online mentioned an abundance of bike maintence stations, bike lanes, and the ability to bring onto the train–it seemed like there would be a great support system.
Preparation
I booked my flight Saturday night for a flight the following Thursday evening. But I was bothered by a lingering thought. Was I fit enough to cycle 100km+ every day for 9 days? Was I even fit enough to cycle 100km in 1 day? I decided to try it. I’ve cycling quite a bit casually and even done longish day trips, but nothing like this. So the next day, I woke up early to cycle the coast of Kanagawa prefecture in Japan. This is a part of the Pacific Cycling Road, a route that is 1,487km long stretching from Chiba prefecture to Wakayama. Of that length, the coast of Kanagawa is about 110km.
The app I used logged 113km in 6.5 hours, going from Yokosuka to Yugawara. I had a leisurly dinner and two hot spring visits and ended up missing the last train home. Instead I took the last train to Machida and had to cycle another 2 hours (+31km) for a total of 145km in 8.5 hours. That wasn’t my plan but the next day, I felt pretty good and I considered the trial a success.
Was I fit enough to cycle 100km+ every day for 9 days? Maybe not, but I felt that I could at least do a few days. It was all part of the adventure.
I tried to read up as much as possible before leaving but
Cycling the Huandao
Overview
The Huandao follows Route 1 around Taiwan, starting and stopping in Taipei. I took the recommended route, going counterclockwise. Below is an overview of my iterinary.
Arriving in Taipei, preparing for departure
| Day | Date | Start | End | Cycling Time | Distance | Elevation Gain | Avg. Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Oct 11 | Taipei | Hsinchu | 4:28:46 | 76.5km | 398m | 17.1km/h |
| 2 | Oct 12 | Hsinchu | Changhua | 6:25:43 | 116.28km | 213m | 18.1km/h |
| 3 | Oct 13 | Changhua | Chiayi | 5:24:15 | 83.37km | 80m | 15.4km/h |
| 4 | Oct 14 | Chiayi | Kaohsiun | 7:38:09 | 128.63km | 104m | 16.8km/h |
| 5 | Oct 15 | Kaohsiun | Sichongxi | 5:17:04 | 93.73km | 161m | 17.7km/h |
| 6 | Oct 16 | Sichongxi | Taimali | 6:26:14 | 110.19km | 757m | 17.1km/h |
| 7 | Oct 17 | Taimali | Ruisui | 6:27:00 | 113.23km | 688m | 17.6km/h |
| 8 | Oct 18 | Ruisui | Jiaoxi | 4:57:34 | 85.95km | 298m | 17.3km/h |
| Oct 18 | Jiaoxi | 2:14:57 | 37.56km | 45m | 16.7km/h | ||
| 9 | Oct 19 | Jiaoxi | Taipei | 6:15:09 | 110.27km | 416m | 17.6km/h |
- On Day 1 I didn’t start recording my route until around when I was leaving Taipei. My actual riding time was probably another hour long or so.
- On Day 2 I took an official detour which followed the coast.
- On Day 8 I followed the official recommendation to take the train from Xincheng to Su’ao. The actual distance between Ruisui and Jiaoxi is about 200km.