Cycling & running in the city
Riverside paths, U-bikes, bike shops and where to run.
Running
Taiwanese of all ages do square-shaped loops around Da'an Forest Park 大安森林公園 (~2.2 km per loop) from early morning until late at night. The riverside paths are also great for more solitary runs; to meet fellow runners, start from Dadaocheng Wharf or Gongguan Waterfront Plaza.
If you're up for some serious climbing and magnificent vistas of the city's skyline, don't miss the famous Fengguizui 風櫃嘴 or Jiannan Rd 劍南路 climbs in the north.
U-bike
Taipei (and now more cities too) offers free or cheap point-to-point shared bikes. You can rent a U-bike by activating your public transport card (EasyCard 悠遊卡), or install the app to unlock bikes. Also use the app to find stations for pick-up and return.
Bike shops, rentals and group rides
Bike repairs and servicing are great, cheap and fast at Giant stores (suggestion: the Dadaocheng branch). More premium boutiques include Yao Bike and Auranden. Get a high-end road bike rental at Taipei Bike Works in Dadaocheng, or a (decent) road bike rental at one of the eligible Giant stores, with the option to drop it off at another store anywhere in the country.
Premium apparel (and coffee) can be found at the Pas Normal Studios store, the Rapha store, the new MAAP LaB, Vélo Dream 唯樂郡 and Cycling Fabro (Tianmu branch). All of these stores frequently host (open) group rides. Nice coffee-and-bikes cafés include Nabiis Cycles & Coffee in Dadaocheng.
Riverside cycle paths
The city itself is a complex network of roads where cycling is not that common (yet), but safe enough: just watch the cars and scooters and keep right. If you want to get from one side of the city to the other without worrying about traffic, see if your destination can be reached along the riverside cycle paths (河濱自行車道). These are completely free of motorised traffic and, apart from elderly people on their daily walk and some fellow cyclists, nearly empty.
What we love is that you'll cycle along the colossal engineering works on Taipei's riverbanks. We believe the riverside paths are even worth a detour, and they'll save you waiting at numerous traffic lights. There's even a full 66 km loop to “encircle” Taipei (環小台北), which is mostly flat, with only about 200 m of climbing in the south-east.
