About

About this guide

This guide promotes cycling in the beautiful country of Taiwan, and gives an overview of what we believe are the nicest routes through its spectacular hinterland.

About me

Janco studied Chinese from 2007 to 2011 at Leiden University and did a year abroad at Beijing Language and Culture University. In 2013, I fell in love with Taiwan after doing a round-the-island trip by scooter. Shortly after, I developed a passion for cycling, which inspired me to organise a series of annual trips to Taiwan from 2017 to 2019 with small groups of Dutch men and women.

After visiting a few more times after Covid, I felt it was time to map out a guide introducing Taiwan as a great destination for a cycling (or scooter or car) trip. It's here to inspire you to travel to this amazing country, and more specifically to ride one of the three routes! See the story highlights on my Instagram for a visual recap of my last trip in November 2024.

Questions about your trip?

I'd love to answer any questions about the information in this guide, and I'm more than happy to comment on your own route or plans! If it helps: I speak and read Mandarin Chinese, so if you run into a language barrier or things get confusing, don't hesitate to get in touch.

WhatsApp+31 6 2552 2111

Emailjanco.nagelhout@gmail.com

Instagram@janco_travels

More sources

David's Taiwan Food GuideThis guide has hardly any suggestions on where to eat what. My good friend David lived in Taiwan for many years (Taipei and Taichung) and has built an extensive, ever-expanding list of recommended restaurants, coffee shops and other food spots, from big cities to small countryside villages.Bicycle Touring Taiwan: Roads above the CloudsMark Tovell has written an unparalleled book on Taiwan's most unknown backroads. Complemented with beautiful hand drawings, it carefully explains every detail of routes throughout the whole country. A must-read if you want to venture much, much further than this guide takes you.

Thanks

Thanks to the many people who joined me on trips in Taiwan over the twelve years I've been visiting. First of all David, with whom I did not only the first Round-the-Island by bike in 2017, but also two Northern Loop editions in 2018 and 2019. Most of these trips form the inspiration for the routes in this guide. Various trips with Raoul, Jiaheng, Xiaoban, and a recent relive-it-all with Rieneke, all contributed to my current findings. Thanks to Cassy for some running tips. Lastly, I salute Mark Tovell, whose amazing and extremely detailed book on off-the-beaten-track routes all over the country I have yet to finish, surely giving me more insights and inspiration for future cycling delights in Taiwan.