Yes, this cycling tour covered the entire round of Taiwan island. Including the outbound and return flights, the total trip took 9+2 = 11 days. The total cycling distance is 904 km. There was a short 2 hour train ride on the 8th day as that was mountainous bike unfriendly terrain.
Taiwan Round Island route and elevation:
Elevation of climb up the hills on Days 6 & 9.
The legs ached so much that there were many times I felt like giving up. But the thought of a 67-year-old couple in this tour group completing these climbs spurred me on to finish the climbs, albeit slowly.
Our group had 30 cyclists. The support provided by Giant included 5 staff, 2 vans for our luggage , water and generous amount of snacks. There was a ride leader, marker and sweeper cycling with us while the vans were driven by the tour leader and technician mechanic cum 1st aider. Every morning while we have breakfast, these guys will faithfully check our bikes, pump the tires and ensure its ride-worthiness. They change the tube when there is a puncture, they make all the necessary adjustments. I appreciate their service.
The accommodations were mostly in fairly new 4-star hotels except for 1 day up in the nature reserve where it was a cottage type.
The food was amazing! Breakfasts were mostly buffet, lunch or dinner were 8 or 10-course Chinese meals.
The scenery in Taiwan is gorgeous. I especially love cycling down slope aided by the gentle coastal breeze, sea view on the left and mountains on the right. My heart was just filled with such unspeakable joy and gratefulness. I celebrated life!
Being the 2nd week of March, the weather was cool. Although rain was forecast for some days, I’m truly grateful that it only drizzled on 1 day. The was sun on a few days but it was not too hot.
There are bike paths on most roads so cycling is much safer than in Singapore.
Along the way, it is common to have strangers cheers us along with encouraging shouts of ” Jia Yu !”
I am particularly fond of the time we rode in a park, being cocooned in the midst of trees, with butterflies flying around us. The feeling was simply enchanting. Watch the video for a clip of this tour at the bottom of this page.
The cyclists in the tour came from Germany, Canada, East and West Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan. After 9 days of bonding, we naturally became good friends and are keeping in contact even after the trip.
The cost of the Giant tour was about S$1650. Budget airfare was about $300. Total just under S$2000.
Video clip My Taiwan 9-day Cycling Tour
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