Taiwan, Taipei.. Is it really the Asian Majorca?. ADVICE

Morning or is it evening in London?..

I am currently a few months into a 6 month stay in Asia and since I have a lot of time on my hands my days are filled with everything cycling. I am currently shacked up in the Philippines until October and do not get me wrong its nice here and I am lucky to have a half decent road where I am staying but it isn't knocking my bollox off.

I can get really cheap flights from Manila to anywhere in Asia really, I have already spent a good deal of time in Thailand cycling in Chiang Mai and the Doi Sutep mountain range so I would be looking at another destination as I have ticked Thailand off the list.

I keep hearing that Taiwan has "the best cycling in Asia" but honestly I have never actually met anyone that has even been there let alone cycled. My internet connection where I am is stupidly poor at best so getting Map my ride routes up is a pain so what I am asking is there anyone on here that has any information they would like to share regarding Taiwan or if you can suggest a location that would be good for a 7-9 day training location.

I have my road bike with me so no real concerns about mountain ranges or the like, I am hoping there is a good couple off loops heading out of Taipei that can take in what looks like a decent amount of ascents in the Northern part of the country.

So any advice greatly appreciated.,

I have no knowledge of Taiwan.

However, I live in Japan (a longer flight from you as far as I can see) and there is some amazing cycling here.

If you have any interest in coming here, do drop me a PM and I can answer any questions you may have.

Japan is on my bucket list. I had planned to get there this trip but myself and the misses ending up purchasing a small home here in the Philippines so it has eaten up a lot of the budget. My concern was cost of a Japan trip esp with the pound getting slaughtered. I will look into forsure watch this space.

I spent some time in Taiwan during the nineties. I lived in Taichung and the riding was incredible, out of the door through the city and into the mountains in minutes. Wide, smooth highways or single track mountain roads with a nice variety of destinations and scenery. Being able to bail to the coastal plain was useful on occasion. The few times that I visited Taipei I didn't feel I was missing anything by not taking my bike - that corner of the island was just that bit more urban with less variety and more traffic.
I had good cycling times in Pingtung and Kenting and would love to have been able to spend a few days with a bike around Taitung on the east coast.
I'd describe Taiwan as a cycling paradise and that is before cycling took off there in the way it did.

Get there, fantastic riding, did Wuling mountain, The Gorge, all down the East Coast last year,,,£10 a night in hostels in the countryside, magic place, going back again this October

East Coast

East Coast

Right thanks for the responses, I would be looking to stay near to Taipei rather than trying to connect to another part of the country. I am not going to Lie I am fairly "over" long bus rides and all the faffing about that comes with loading a bike box etc.

Having dug through a ton of pages online I found this site https://theritual.dachitea.co/2015/09/03/best-cycling-routes-around-taipei/

It shows a good few routes in and around Taipei, and the Yangmingshan National park looks to have everything I would be looking for?. I was a bit surprised to see the cost of Hotels in Taipei, even the lower end are still a fair bit more than I was expecting but then I hope the costs of food etc will out way that.

Honestly, Taiwan is a small island and the extra cost and time of getting out of Taipei will be paid back within a day of staying a little further out where the cycling is amazing. The east coast is within cycling distance of the airport. It would be an epic ride though.